NIH-plug
Key Features
- Spectral Compressor with up to 16,384 FFT bands, independent upward and downward compression ratios, sidechain spectrum matching, and configurable window size and overlap
- Diopser phase rotation plugin inspired by Kilohearts Disperser for reshaping kick and bass transients without altering frequency content
- Crossover utility that splits audio into two to five bands with linear-phase crossover filters for dedicated parallel processing
- Buffr Glitch for MIDI-triggered buffer repeating where note duration directly controls the length and character of the glitch effect
- Crisp harmonic enhancer that adds upper-frequency presence and body to bass-heavy instruments and low-end material
- Full cross-platform support with VST3 and CLAP formats on Windows, macOS (including Apple Silicon), and Linux
Description
NIH-plug is an API-agnostic audio plugin framework written in Rust by developer Robbert van der Helm. It ships with a curated collection of creative effects plugins that cover spectral compression, phase rotation, multiband crossover splitting, and more.
The Spectral Compressor is the standout tool in the bundle, offering up to 16,384-band FFT compression with simultaneous upward and downward ratio controls. It can squash audio into pink noise, spectrally match a sidechain signal to morph one sound into another, or apply subtle frequency-aware dynamics.
Diopser brings Kilohearts Disperser-style all-pass phase rotation to your signal chain, reshaping transients on kicks and bass without changing the frequency balance. Crossover splits audio into two to five bands with linear-phase filters for parallel processing workflows.
Buffr Glitch provides MIDI-triggered buffer repeating where note duration controls glitch length, while Crisp adds upper harmonics to bass-heavy material. Loudness War Winner and its companion Safety Limiter offer a tongue-in-cheek loudness maximizer that sends an SOS in Morse code when you push it too far.
All plugins are available as VST3 and CLAP formats across Windows, macOS, and Linux. Nightly builds bundle every plugin into a single download, and the project is fully open-source under an ISC license with GPLv3 for VST3 bindings.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Spectral Compressor actually do differently from a normal compressor?
Instead of compressing the entire signal or a few frequency bands, the Spectral Compressor divides audio into thousands of individual frequency bins using FFT and applies independent compression to each one. This allows it to flatten a spectrum, match the tonal balance of a sidechain input, or morph one sound into another in ways that traditional multiband compressors cannot.
How do I install NIH-plug plugins if they come from GitHub?
You can download pre-built binaries from the nightly builds page on GitHub without compiling anything. The download includes all plugins bundled together. On macOS, you may need to bypass Gatekeeper since the binaries are unsigned.
Is Diopser a true replacement for Kilohearts Disperser?
Diopser replicates the core concept of all-pass phase rotation that Disperser is known for, and users in the electronic production community consider it a capable alternative. The interface and parameter layout differ, but the fundamental effect on transient shaping for kicks and bass is comparable.
Can the Spectral Compressor be used for sidechain ducking or spectrum matching?
Yes. By feeding a sidechain signal into the Spectral Compressor, you can dynamically match the spectrum of one sound to another. This enables creative morphing effects where the plugin reshapes the processed signal to follow the spectral profile of the sidechain input.
