Best free basic low CPU+latency EQ+DYN plugins for WIndows

Hi,
I’m setting up a 2nd laptop to run Gig Performer; it’s not as powerful as my main rig and I also would prefer if I wouldn’t have to use plugin licenses that I have on my dongles to be able to run the 2nd unit.

The unit will probably only be used to route inputs and outputs to different mixes, and if it is fast enough then also record the inputs during performance/rehearsals.

So apart from the simple built in mixer in GP, I think I might need some rudimentary EQs and DYNs on some of the inputs - an added bonus would be some reverb/delay.

So what are the best free and low cpu plugins that I can use for such a setup?

(and again, I have a vast plugin collection, Waves, Slate, Arturia, SoundToys etc etc - but I’m thinking about using something that doesn’t require a license and easy on the CPU over sound quality)

cheers,
Blossi

You might want to look at some of the Melda stuff

and some of the Voxengo stuff

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Also:

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thanks @dhj and @npudar;

have either of you any experience on which of these plugins have the lowest CPU-overhead?

cheers,
@Blossi

No idea – their stuff is pretty good though but you should test it yourself.

+1 for the Melda Free Effects! (The EQ has become my standard-EQ and also the compressor is used in some of my rackspaces).
Another really good and free compressor plugin is Klanghelm’s MJUC Jr. (the other free plugins are great too!) which is also moderate on CPU usage:
Klanghelm Freeware

The best is to try it yourself (you can download TDR Nova even with no installer, just copy the DLL to your VST folder).

TDR Nova adds 2-4% CPU usage on my setup.
Blue Cat is also very well optimized, it adds 1-2% on my setup.

Thanks all for your input,

for the record I went with the Dead Duck suite, and used the Dead Duck Channel II channelstrip for most of the processing needed and it seems to be fairly efficient (e.g. the TDR Nova raised the CPU overhead much more than the DD Channel II did).

This is not to say that the TDR stuff isn’t efficient, it just seems the DD stuff is even more so
(mind you, this is on a 7-8 year old i3 laptop, which is why I wanted to look out for the CPU usage).

cheers,