AP Mastering - Class-A v2.3.0 VST3, AAX for Windows

AP Mastering releases

0. Remove previous versions.
1. Install.
2. Start and open activation.
   This displays the URL to activate the plugin.
   https://apmastering.com/activate?c=eySOMETHING==
   Value after «active?c=» — this is your confirmation code.
   The code begins with «ey» and often ends with «=».
   In this example, «eySOMETHING==» — is an acknowledgement code.
3. Launch WitchMagic.
   Choose the right product.
   Insert confirmation code.
   Register.
4. Enjoy!
   TEAM R2R 2026

• Does the same thing as vintage class A microphone preamps
• Asymmetric saturation adds even-order harmonics
• The type of saturation can be selected separately for the positive and negative sides
• Visualizing saturation processing with an intuitive low-frequency sinusoid
• Magic banana
• 3 D distortion that forms the wave-like shape of sound

The Class A are named after a type of amplifier design that was historically used in many vintage amplifiers and preamplifiers (such as the Neve 1073). Class A single-cycle amplifiers are often associated with expensive analog equipment, but there's no reason why you couldn't do the same with modern equipment without spending a lot of money. In fact, many modern electronic devices operate on the Class A principle. Nothing stops you. But one of the reasons people have abandoned this design is that it is very inefficient and energy is wasted as heat.

Why does this happen? The point is the DC bias voltage, which is used to convert an alternating signal into DC electrical components. Instead of setting the zero zero crossing point for our audio signal, we set the voltage to non-zero to move the signal up and prevent it from going into the negative region. It stays positive all the time, say in the range of 0 to 10 volts. So our new zero crossing point for the audio signal is now 5 volts. This is called point Q. This is short for «rest point». But this means that even in the complete absence of an input signal, the amplifier still produces half of its electrical power, which is not spent on anything, but simply turns into heat. Fortunately,plugins can be used to simulate exactly the same processes in the digital domain without wasting as much electricity.
Well, it's already a bit of geek culture, and you don't have to know about all of this. You can simply experiment with a plugin that does something similar and as a result creates different types of rich harmonics... different types of odd and even harmonics depending on the degree of saturation of the positive and negative sides and the quality point. The higher the quality factor and the more asymmetric it is, the more even-order harmonics you will get.

It's important to note the following... although some mastering engineers believe that it is possible to make the sound more rich by running it through an XLR cable, the truth is that XLR cables do not affect the sound in any way. So if you pick an XLR cable, which is actually the default connection type, and you try to move it, you'll hear that the result will disappoint you... nothing will change. Because, contrary to popular belief, XLR cables are completely transparent. While this may be disappointing, this plugin models real-world objects with absolute precision.
For those who want to understand the theory of class A preamps in more detail, in particular the Neve 1073 design, I made a video on this topic.