Type A vintage enhancer plugin interface by AudioThing

Type A: Vintage Enhancer Plugin by AudioThing Free Download

Rated 4.7/5 on Plugin Boutique (514 ratings)

Type A is an enhancer plugin from AudioThing, inspired by the encode stage of the Dolby A noise reduction system. It adds high-frequency brightness and air using a 4-band multi-band compressor.

VST3VST2AUAAXCLAPWindowsmacOSLinux64-bit

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Free trial available from the developer

01Overview

Type A is an effects plugin in the Enhancer subcategory from AudioThing. It is modeled on a technique that engineers originally misused on tape recordings: using the encode stage of Dolby A noise reduction to add top-end presence. Rather than boosting EQ, the plugin dynamically compresses the high bands so quieter sounds gain brightness while louder material stays largely unchanged. It is available in VST3, VST2, AU, AAX and CLAP formats.

Best for

Vocal air and presence
Acoustic instrument brightening
Mix top-end enhancement
Adding sheen to drums
Subtle high-frequency lift

Developer: AudioThing
Category: Enhancers
Store: Plugin Boutique

02Key features

What you get

Vintage enhancer inspired by the Dolby A encode stage
Multi-band compressor with four bands
Per-band volume controls in the drop-down panel
Compressor attack and release controls
Adjustable unit noise level
Oversampling up to 16x
Preset system with randomizer
Resizable window with light and dark UI modes

03In depth

How Type A Adds Presence and Air

Type A splits the input into four overlapping bands and compresses each band dynamically. The amount of compression on each band is inversely proportional to its volume, so quieter parts of a signal are brightened more than loud ones.

According to AudioThing, this approach adds brightness and air without generating new harmonic content or distortion. The result is intended to sound more natural than a typical exciter.

The drop-down panel, opened with the arrow in the bottom left corner, gives access to per-band volume, compressor attack and release, noise volume and a VU-meter source selector.

Using the Vocal Trick Mod Option

Engineers working with the original Dolby A unit often disabled the two lower bands so only the high-frequency portion of the signal was compressed. This gave vocals extra air and became known under names such as the Vocal Trick and the Stretch Mod.

Type A emulates the encode stage only, so this kind of top-band focus is a natural fit for vocals, acoustic sources and other material that needs lift without harshness.

A resizable window, a preset system with a randomizer and light and dark UI modes round out the interface.

04Specs

Will it run?

Formats, systems and requirements as listed by Plugin Boutique. Missing details are left out, not guessed.

Developer	AudioThing
Type	Plugin
Category	Enhancer
Formats	VST3, VST2, AU, AAX, CLAP
Operating systems	Windows, macOS, Linux
Architecture	64-bit
Free trial	Yes

05FAQ

Questions, answered

What is Type A?

Type A is an enhancer effects plugin from AudioThing. It is based on the encode stage of the Dolby A noise reduction system and adds high-frequency brightness through multi-band compression.

Which formats and operating systems does Type A support?

Type A is available in VST3, VST2, AU, AAX and CLAP formats, all 64-bit. It runs on Windows (7-11), macOS (10.13 to macOS 15, native on Apple Silicon as a Universal 2 binary) and Linux (Ubuntu 20.04 LTS).

What do I need to run Type A?

You need a compatible 64-bit host that supports one of its plugin formats, a 2GHz CPU and 4 GB of RAM. Format availability differs by operating system, so check the system requirements for your platform.