Slate Digital’s Complete Access Free Collection is now available, bringing together 16 plug-ins from Slate Digital, Solid State Logic, Harrison Audio and sonible. The company says they are permanently free, with no purchase or trial expiry. You need a free Complete Access account.
For existing users, the installation details matter as much as the bundle count. Slate’s updated support guidance says Free Collection no longer need an iLok licence. Older versions can still use one, so an existing installation of Fresh Air may need updating before that requirement disappears.
What is actually included?
The official collection page lists tools for mixing and effects, including Virtual Mix Rack, Fresh Air, Submerge, SSL’s GateVerb and sonible’s puffer:fish. This is a collection of software effects and utilities; the announcement does not mean every item is a newly developed plug-in.
Harrison’s Dyno Mite is a transient shaper, for adjusting attack and sustain. Its 3D Delay offers three delay taps with panning, feedback and filtering. Those give the collection some practical uses beyond adding another compressor to a folder already full of them.
A transient shaper could be worth trying on a drum part whose initial hit needs a different balance against its tail. A panned delay could give a short synth phrase some movement. Treat those as places to start listening, rather than reasons to insert an effect on every channel. We have not tested this collection.
Existing plug-ins may need an update
According to Slate’s redemption guide, the bundle is added to your account together, but you can choose which plug-ins to install in Complete Access Hub. Existing licences remain in iLok for older versions. The free rack and modules in Virtual Mix Rack are covered; paid modules still require their own licences.
The same guide says the Free Collection keeps working if a Complete Access subscription ends. Keep that separate from the paid catalogue and its trial when choosing what to install.
On a working studio machine, save a copy of an important session before changing plug-in versions. Open it afterwards and check that the sounds and settings are still where you left them. That is a general update precaution, not a reported fault with this release.
Check your host before downloading
Use the current manufacturer system requirements to check your operating system and DAW. A free download is only useful if it runs in the session you want to finish.
If you are putting together a software setup, our article on Pigments Play covers a free sound source. Our LUNA 2.0 coverage looks at another application with free and paid options. Check each product’s current terms separately.
