Monster Factory

Killer Vocals FAST.

Most vocals are mono. The vocal bus isn't. Drop Monster Factory on the bus and the whole picture - lead, doubles, everything - goes through one chain that takes it from raw to finished. Heavy or polished, mean or expensive, dangerous or radio-ready. The same insert does all of it. The knobs just aren't in the same position.

The front end gives you control before anything else runs. GAIN trims the input +/-12 dB. GATE closes in the silences - dial in how aggressively it closes between transients, no threshold to find. HI-PASS sweeps 40 to 400 Hz, cutting low-end content before the compressor sees it. The compressor adds THRESHOLD, ATTACK from 1ms to 100ms, and a HARD/SOFT KNEE switch. Then a TONE section with a DARK-to-BRIGHT tilt knob and a DE-ESSER switch. By the time the signal hits SATURATION, it's already been shaped. Everything downstream works better for it.

SATURATION is where it gets loud. Four modes, all running parallel against the dry signal - the source never gets destroyed, you're blending character into it. TUBE gives you the asymmetric odd-harmonic edge that cuts without getting harsh - the mode that makes a thin vocal take up space in the mix without fighting everything else for room. TAPE is the polished end: even-harmonic warmth that makes a clean track sound like it went through something with actual weight. AMP opens up under drive and gets mean - heavy guitars, 808s, anything that's supposed to sound like it means it. BROKEN is past the design limits. Complex harmonics, deliberate grit, the sound of something worked hard enough that it started giving back in ways it was never designed to. A second DARK/BRIGHT tone tilt on the saturation path shapes the character before it blends in.

DOUBLE thickens it. SCHTACK controls the amount, HUMANIZE puts micro-variation into the doubled signal's timing and pitch so it reads as a second performance instead of a copy, WIDEN spreads it across the field. SCHLAPP adds the slapback - 60 to 180ms, short enough to feel like a room instead of an echo, feedback capped at 35% to keep it in slapback territory. REVERB runs Small, Medium, or Large, with a DUCK knob that pulls the reverb back when the source is hot and lets it bloom in the gaps. The OUTPUT section closes it out: a final GAIN trim, LIMITER amount, and brickwall CEILING from -0.3 to -1.0 dBFS.

Features

• Complete channel strip - Input, Gate, Hi-Pass, Comp, Tone, Saturation, Double, Delay, Reverb, Output - one insert.
• Gate - Amount control 0-10, closes between transients, no threshold to set.
• Hi-Pass Filter - 40-400 Hz, pre-compressor.
• Compressor - Threshold, Attack 1ms-100ms, Hard/Soft Knee switch.
• Tone - Dark-to-Bright tilt knob. De-Esser with On/Off switch.
• Saturation - Parallel character stage. 4 modes: TUBE (asymmetric odd-harmonic edge), TAPE (even-harmonic warmth), AMP (aggressive under drive), BROKEN (complex harmonics, deliberate grit). Dark/Bright tone tilt. Amount 0-10.
• Double - Schtack (thickness 0-10), Humanize (micro-variation in timing + pitch), Widen (stereo spread 0-10).
• Schlapp - Slapback delay, Time 60-180ms, Feedback 0-35%.
• Reverb - Small/Medium/Large room, Amount 0-10, Duck (source-reactive level pull).
• Output - Gain +/-12 dB, Limiter amount, Ceiling -0.3 to -1.0 dBFS.
• Dual VU meters - Left and Right, input and output monitoring.
• Factory presets including "The Dead Rock" default.
• VST3 on Windows and Linux. VST3 + AU on macOS. Universal Binary (Apple Silicon + Intel).

Pricing

$49 - perpetual license, no subscription. Three simultaneous activations. Demo mode available, no account required. Download and demo at mmediaaudio.com/plugins/monster-factory.

System Requirements

• Windows 10/11 - VST3 64-bit.
• macOS 11 Big Sur or later - VST3 + AU 64-bit, Universal Binary. Signed and notarized.
• Linux - Ubuntu 22.04+ or equivalent, VST3 64-bit.