Broke chord in, rich chord out.
RichChords is the chord-glaze machine: detuned unison, ensemble chorus, shimmer reverb, a radiant top end and a tempo-synced pump behind six knobs, with the low end kept mono-safe automatically.
Free. No trial, no license key, no account, no activation.
VST3 on Windows · VST3 and AU on Mac · Zero latency · Works fully offline
The six knobs
Big chords without the six-plugin chain.
That wide, swimming, shimmering pad sound usually means a widener, a chorus, a shimmer reverb, an exciter or OTT and a sidechain tool on every chord bus. RichChords puts the whole chain behind six knobs. Drop it on your chord or pad bus, pick a mode, and turn Mix up until the transformation starts.
Width. Four detuned voices plus six micro-delay taps across the stereo field. Thicker, not louder.
Lush. A six-voice ensemble chorus, the two sides moving in opposite directions.
Space. Shimmer reverb: part of the feedback is pitched up an octave, so a chord grows a halo.
Glow adds air and pulls tails up; Pump ducks on every beat, synced to your DAW, no sidechain routing.
Mix. The dry signal holds full level until 60% while the wet rises on top. Mix at 0% is a true bypass.
Pad, Lead, Pluck
Three modes, one set of knobs
The mode switch never adds parameters; it retunes what the knobs mean.
- Pad is widest, with the longest tails (reverb 1 to 12 s)
- Lead is moderate (0.6 to 5.5 s)
- Pluck is tight, so short notes keep their attack (0.35 to 2.8 s)
- Switch while audio runs; every value glides
Built to stay out of the way
Your low end stays clean.
Mono-safe lows
The reverb input is high-passed at 170 Hz and the wet side channel at 150 Hz, so everything below stays centred and mono.
Zero latency, click-free
Safe on live inputs. The power button crossfades in about 40 ms, knobs are smoothed and fully automatable, and mode switches morph.
A meter worth watching
A note in a suit follows Width, Lush, Space and Glow, scaled by Mix. Silent plug-in: broke. Full glaze: mansion, jets and bags of cash.
Honest limits
Where to reach for something else.
Pump follows the grid, not the kick
For four-on-the-floor drops Pump and a sidechain sound the same. If your kick is syncopated or half-time, keep your usual sidechain and leave Pump at 0%.
Extreme Width in mono
At extreme Width settings mids can soften in mono. Pull Width under 60% if that happens.
An effect, not an instrument
RichChords glazes the chords you already have. Put it on a chord, pad, pluck or vocal bus.
Windows
Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit, any VST3 host, about 20 MB
Mac
macOS 11 or later, Intel or Apple Silicon, any VST3 or AU host, under 60 MB
Internet
Only for update checks, which you can turn off. No analytics or telemetry.
Free, really
Make your next progression rich.
No trial, no license key, no account, no activation, no device limit. Every feature works the moment it's installed. You can pay what you want on Gumroad, including $0; paying doesn't unlock anything.
Questions: [email protected] · License terms · Made alongside the music of DHC Studio. VST is a trademark of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH.