MFKNE Releases Tonebleed and Grainwash Free VST3 Effects

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MFKNE has released two new free VST3 effects: Tonebleed and Grainwash. Both are available for macOS and Windows. These plugins are designed to bend your sound in unique ways. They are free to download from the MFKNE website.

Tonebleed: Fuzz with Stacked Octaves

Tonebleed is a fuzz effect that multiplies the signal before distortion. This results in a saturated chord rather than a single note. It features four controls: BLEED, FUZZ, GRAIN, and AGE. BLEED stacks drifting unison voices and granular octave copies. FUZZ drives them through a two-stage pedal circuit with a tone stack that closes as it opens. GRAIN cuts the result into tempo-synced grains, from an eighth note to a sixty-fourth. AGE adds tape transport effects like wow, flutter, and head loss.

Moreover, Tonebleed can work as a subtle thickener at low settings. At full settings, a single note becomes a wall of sound. The plugin reports a latency of 52 samples, which is about 1.08 ms at 48 kHz.

Grainwash: Tempo-Synced Shimmer

Grainwash is a delay and reverb hybrid with a granular octave shimmer. Unlike typical shimmer reverbs, it pulses with the host tempo. The shimmer swells on every subdivision and opens further when the source falls away. This creates a rhythmic response to the music.

Furthermore, Grainwash has four controls: SPACE, SHIMMER, GRAIN, and WASH. SPACE drives a tempo-synced multitap delay and a reverb network. SHIMMER adds a granular octave inside the reverb feedback. GRAIN sets the grain size as a note value. WASH runs the wet path through a tape machine and controls level and width. The dry path remains untouched, and the plugin reports zero latency.

Pricing and Availability

Both Tonebleed and Grainwash are free. They are available in VST3 format only. The macOS builds are Universal Binaries for Apple Silicon and Intel. The Windows builds are 64-bit. However, the plugins are not code-signed. This may trigger system warnings during installation. The download page includes a Terminal command to clear the macOS quarantine flag.

In addition, MFKNE offers other free plugins like Punchdust, Pulsemelt, Texturetap, Tapewreck, and Glitchruin. These are also available on the same website.

Features

  • Tonebleed: Stacked octaves, fuzz, granular processing, age control
  • Grainwash: Tempo-synced shimmer, reverb, ducking, tape saturation
  • Both: VST3, stereo in/out, automatable parameters

Price
Free

Pros

  • Free to download for macOS and Windows
  • Innovative sound design with interactive controls (e.g., stacked octaves, tempo-synced shimmer)
  • Low latency and clean dry path (Grainwash reports zero latency)

Cons

  • Only available in VST3 format, no AU or AAX support
  • Not code-signed, requiring manual quarantine removal on macOS

More info: MFKNE | Tonebleed and Grainwash