Freev1.0.0

Tension Builder

House riser FX. Sweep a resonant DJ filter, throw in tempo-synced delay and a wash of reverb, and take your track into the drop — all from five knobs.

Download for macOS VST3 + AU + CLAP · 9 MB Windows VST3 + CLAP · coming soon

Works in Ableton Live, Logic Pro, FL Studio, Cubase, Studio One, Bitwig, Reaper and other VST3, AU or CLAP hosts. Free, no account needed. First time on a Mac? See the install guide — macOS asks you to confirm the installer once.

Tension Builder plugin window showing the filter response curve at a high-pass setting, an output meter, and knobs for Filter, Resonance, Delay with a 1/8 dotted time selector, Reverb and Output.

What it does

One knob per job

Everything a build-up needs in one plugin, so you can automate a single device instead of chaining four.

Filter

DJ-style: turn left for low-pass, right for high-pass, centre is off. A steep 24 dB/oct slope, smooth enough to automate over 16 bars.

Resonance

From clean to screaming. A built-in safety stage keeps peaks from clipping your channel.

Delay

Ping-pong delay locked to your project tempo: 1/4, dotted 1/8, 1/8 or 1/16. Repeats are filtered to stay out of the kick and hats.

Reverb

The higher you go, the bigger the room. Low end stays tight, and tails ring out naturally when you pull it back.

Output

Trim or push the level by −24 to +6 dB, with a meter so you can see it.

Transparent at rest

With the filter centred and the effects down, Tension Builder passes audio through untouched. Leave it on a group all track long.

Hear it

Audio demos

A 124 BPM house loop. Four bars of groove, then an 8-bar build: the high-pass sweeps up with rising resonance, dotted-eighth delay and reverb while a snare roll speeds up. Then everything snaps back for the drop. The before/after clip plays four bars dry, then the same bars through a low-pass setting.

Try this: draw an automation ramp on Filter from centre to fully right over 8 bars, with Delay and Reverb rising alongside. Snap all three back to zero on the downbeat of the drop.

Build-up into the drop

Before / after

Details

Specs

Formats	VST3 & CLAP (macOS, Windows) · Audio Unit (macOS)
macOS	11 Big Sur or later · Apple Silicon & Intel
Windows	10 or 11, 64-bit (coming soon)
DAWs	Ableton Live, Logic Pro, FL Studio, Cubase, Studio One, Bitwig, Reaper and other VST3/AU/CLAP hosts. Not Pro Tools.
Latency	None
Channels	Stereo and mono
Price	Free
Version	1.0.0

Changelog

1.0.0

First public release.