A circuit-modelled channel strip for Windows, macOS, and desktop audio workstations. Tube Channel combines a preamp, compressor, four-band equalizer, output stage, and optional power-supply simulation in one plug-in.
The interface is available in a digital layout and an analogue-style layout. Both control the same audio model.
| Digital | Analogue-style |
|---|---|
|
 |
1.2.3 adds a dedicated icon for the standalone app and fixes the Linux GUI test setup so menu tests run with a native X11 window. The audio processing is unchanged from 1.2.2.
1.2.1 adds an Offline Bounce dropdown between Redo and System. Choose any of nine combinations: Eco, Circuit or HQ at 2x, 4x or Derp (8x). New instances use Eco/1x for playback and HQ/8x only when the host reports offline rendering. Playback, recording and realtime exports keep the normal System-page settings. Older saved projects retain their previous bounce behavior until a dropdown choice is made. See the 1.2.1 release notes.
1.2.0 adds the reduced Eco engine as the default for new instances. It uses measured filters and asymmetric nonlinear maps without runtime circuit solves. Circuit and HQ retain the original engine. Older sessions, including legacy Derp settings, retain their original processing.
The measured stereo workload matrix achieved 26–35x at 48 kHz and 14–19x at 96 kHz against v1.1.4 Default, exceeding the 10x minimum throughout. The 20x stretch target is met at 48 kHz. These are local measured results; they do not establish listening acceptance or actual multi-instance DAW playback. See the measurement report and development plan.
Pick the download for your operating system. The macOS installer includes VST3, Audio Unit, CLAP, LV2, standalone, and AAX. Windows and Linux builds include VST3, CLAP, LV2, and standalone.
Windows 1.2.3 (Windows 10 or later, x64) — TubeChannel-1.2.3-win.exe Double-click the installer and choose which formats to install: VST3 and CLAP for most recording apps, LV2, and the standalone app (run it on its own, no other software needed).
macOS 1.2.3 (Apple silicon and Intel) — TubeChannel-1.2.3.pkg · TubeChannel-1.2.3.dmg Signed and notarized. The installer lets you choose VST3, Audio Unit, CLAP, LV2, AAX, and the standalone app.
Linux 1.2.3 (x86_64) — TubeChannel-1.2.3-linux-x86_64.tar.gz (SHA-256)
Includes VST3, CLAP, LV2, and the standalone app. Extract the archive and copy the contents of VST3/, CLAP/, and LV2/ into ~/.vst3, ~/.clap, and ~/.lv2.
All packages include the user guide and applicable license texts. Browse all downloads on GitHub Releases. See the 1.2.3 release notes.
Windows may show a security prompt. Because the Windows installer is not yet code-signed, Windows SmartScreen might show a blue "Windows protected your PC" message the first time you run it. The file is safe — click More info, then Run anyway. (See the note about code signing below.)
See the Tube Channel User Guide for the complete control reference, signal-flow diagrams, quality-mode details, and setup notes.
For engineering teams, the HQ-to-Eco engineering guide documents the model-reduction process, measurement pipeline, validation, compatibility work and reusable project handoff.
The System page has three engine buttons, in this order: Eco, Circuit, HQ. Eco is the new-instance default and uses the reduced engine. Circuit is the renamed Default mode with its prototype detector; HQ uses the original modeled detector. The original circuit code remains available in Circuit and HQ.
Three separate small buttons select 2x, 4x, or 8x (the Derp symbol). Oversampling applies independently to every engine at every session rate. Clicking the selected oversampling button returns to 1x, shown with no button lit. New instances start at 1x to retain Eco's low CPU cost. +L LINEAR chooses linear-phase filters and reports their latency when oversampling is active; minimum-phase filtering reports zero latency.
Older saved states retain their previous adaptive oversampling and quality mapping. The first engine click freezes their current factor as an independent setting. The legacy Quality automation parameter retains its three-value range; the new Oversampling parameter is appended after the existing parameters.
Eco approximates the stages with calibrated filters, nonlinear maps, the retained optical response, and reduced supply/load states. Heavy-drive harmonics and aliasing differ; Eco is not circuit-identical. Oversampling increases CPU cost; the published Eco measurements use its 1x default. PSU SIM is off for new instances.
In Circuit and HQ, the audio path is solved sample by sample at the selected oversampling rate. Eco uses fixed-cost filter and nonlinear stages. The detector is mode-selected and runs at the session rate. The supply model can feed changing rails back into the audio stages when enabled.
Stereo processing uses a lockstep circuit pair. Tests compare it with two independent channels to better than -125 dB. The circuit netlists are embedded at build time.
Earlier development measurements on an Apple M1 Max at 48 kHz, 2x, 256-sample blocks, with circuit noise and component tolerances on, processing a -18 dBFS sine:
| Configuration | Measured real-time CPU |
|---|---|
| Mono, supply simulation on | about 35% |
| Mono, supply simulation off | about 30% |
| Stereo, supply simulation on | about 70% |
| Stereo, supply simulation off | about 60% |
These measurements predate the current quality-mode mapping and came from a machine that was not idle; use them as historical reference only. Actual results vary by host, session settings, and computer. The supply simulation is off by default for new instances.
macOS / Linux
git submodule update --init
cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build
ctest --test-dir build --output-on-failureWindows
From a command prompt after running the Visual Studio x64 tools (vcvars64.bat):
git submodule update --init
cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build
ctest --test-dir build --output-on-failureOr use the convenience wrapper once the x64 tools are active:
build_win.bat configure
build_win.bat build
build_win.bat testTo package the installer you also need Inno Setup. Then run:
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File installer\build_installer_win.ps1The build produces VST3, Standalone, LV2, and CLAP; Audio Unit is also built on macOS. The macOS 1.2.3 release package includes AAX. Building AAX from source requires a separately licensed AAX SDK and PACE signing access. On macOS, pass -DTUBECHANNEL_UNIVERSAL=ON for an arm64 + x86_64 build. Existing JUCE and CLAP extension checkouts can be supplied with -DTUBECHANNEL_JUCE_SOURCE=<path> and -DTUBECHANNEL_CLAP_EXT_SOURCE=<path>. A Windows installer script (installer/TubeChannel.iss) and build script (installer/build_installer_win.ps1) are included for the Windows distribution.
- SmartScreen warning. The installer is not code-signed, so Windows may show a "Windows protected your PC" dialog the first time it runs. Click More info → Run anyway. Code signing requires a Windows code-signing certificate and a
signtool.exestep after the installer is built; that step is not included here.
Tube Channel source code is MIT licensed; see LICENSE. All official plugin binaries, including the macOS AAX binary, are freeware. The package includes the applicable third-party license texts. See THIRD_PARTY_LICENSES.md for the dependency list and build requirements. Building from source requires a JUCE license that covers your use and distribution.