WET Delay VST3 Plugin

A professional stereo delay VST3 plugin with authentic 80s rack-style digital delay character.

Features

• 100% Wet Delay: Pure delayed signal output with no dry signal mix
• 6 Delay Times: Switchable delay times (20ms, 40ms, 80ms, 120ms, 220ms, 400ms)
• Stereo Processing: Independent left and right channel delay processing
• Visual Metering: Real-time peak level meters for input and output
• VST3 Automation: Full parameter automation support in DAWs

80s Rack-Style Character

• 24 kHz Internal Sample Rate: Authentic vintage digital delay processing with band-limited frequency response
• 12-bit Quantization: Classic gritty digital character with 4096 discrete levels
• TPDF Dither: Smooth quantization with triangular probability density function dither (0.5 LSB)
• -80 dBFS Noise Floor: Realistic analog electronics and ADC/DAC noise simulation
• Vintage Filtering: 80 Hz high-pass and 9 kHz low-pass (6 dB/oct) for warm character
• Channel Crosstalk: Authentic -40 dB (1%) L/R channel bleed simulating analog circuitry

Download & Installation

Windows

1. Download the latest release from GitHub Releases
2. Extract the ZIP file
3. Copy WetDelay.vst3 to your VST3 folder:
   • User: C:\Users\[Username]\Documents\VST3\
   • System: C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\
4. Restart your DAW and rescan plugins

Linux

1. Download the latest release from GitHub Releases
2. Extract the ZIP file
3. Copy WetDelay.vst3 to your VST3 folder:
   • User: ~/.vst3/
   • System: /usr/lib/vst3/
4. Restart your DAW and rescan plugins

macOS

1. Download the latest release from GitHub Releases
2. Extract the ZIP file
3. Copy WetDelay.vst3 to your VST3 folder:

   ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/
   

4. Remove quarantine attribute (see below)
5. Restart your DAW and rescan plugins

Note that by default, the Library folder may not be shown in the Finder. See the macOS documentation on how to make it visible.

❗️ macOS Security Notice

macOS may block the plugin because it's unsigned. This does not mean the plugin is unsafe.

Remove quarantine attribute:

xattr -rd com.apple.quarantine ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/WetDelay.vst3

What this command does:

• xattr = extended attribute tool
• -r = recursive (process all files in the bundle)
• -d = delete the specified attribute
• com.apple.quarantine = the quarantine attribute

Restart your DAW after running the command.

Why macOS Blocks This Plugin

When you try to load the plugin in your DAW, you may see an error:

"WetDelay.vst3" cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified.

This does not mean the plugin contains malware or is unsafe.

This is due to Apple's security policy, which requires developers to:

• Enroll in the Apple Developer Program
• Pay $99/year for a developer certificate
• Notarize each build with Apple

As an independent developer releasing free, open-source software under the MIT license, I currently don't have the budget for Apple's developer program. The complete source code is available on GitHub for anyone to inspect and build themselves.

This is a common issue with free audio plugins on macOS. You'll encounter the same message with many free, open-source VSTs.

Usage

1. Load the plugin in your DAW (Reaper, Cubase, Ableton Live, FL Studio, etc.)
2. Select delay time using the Delay Time parameter (0-5 for 6 positions)
3. Monitor levels using the built-in input/output meters
4. Automate the delay time parameter for creative effects

Parameter Reference

Parameter	Range	Default	Description
Delay Time	0-5	0	Selects delay time: 0=20ms, 1=40ms, 2=80ms, 3=120ms, 4=220ms, 5=400ms

Delay Times

Position	Delay Time
0	20 ms
1	40 ms
2	80 ms
3	120 ms
4	220 ms
5	400 ms

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Building from Source

If you want to build the plugin yourself, follow these instructions.

System Requirements

Windows

• Operating System: Windows 10/11 (64-bit)
• Build Tools:
  • Visual Studio 2022 Build Tools or Community Edition
  • CMake 3.15 or higher
  • Git

Linux

• Operating System: Linux (x86_64)
• Build Tools:
  • GCC or Clang with C++17 support
  • CMake 3.15 or higher
  • Git
• Dependencies (Ubuntu/Debian):

  sudo apt-get install cmake gcc g++ libstdc++6 libx11-xcb-dev libxcb-util-dev \
      libxcb-cursor-dev libxcb-xkb-dev libxkbcommon-dev libxkbcommon-x11-dev \
      libfontconfig1-dev libcairo2-dev libgtkmm-3.0-dev libsqlite3-dev \
      libxcb-keysyms1-dev git
  

macOS

• Operating System: macOS 10.13 or higher (Intel) / macOS 11.0 or higher (Apple Silicon)
• Build Tools:
  • Xcode Command Line Tools or Xcode
  • CMake 3.15 or higher
  • Git

Step 1: Clone VST3 SDK

If the vst3sdk folder is not present, clone it:

git clone --recursive https://github.com/steinbergmedia/vst3sdk.git

Step 2: Build

Windows

Run the automated build script:

build.bat

This will:

• Configure CMake for Visual Studio 2022
• Build the plugin in Release mode
• Run the VST3 validator (47 automated tests)
• Output: WetDelay\build\VST3\Release\WetDelay.vst3

Linux

Run the automated build script:

chmod +x build.sh
./build.sh

This will:

• Configure CMake with GCC/Clang
• Build the plugin in Release mode
• Run the VST3 validator (47 automated tests)
• Output: WetDelay/build/VST3/Release/WetDelay.vst3

macOS

Run the automated build script:

chmod +x build.sh
./build.sh

This will:

• Configure CMake with Clang
• Build the plugin in Release mode
• Run the VST3 validator (47 automated tests)
• Output: WetDelay/build/VST3/Release/WetDelay.vst3

Step 3: Install

Windows

To install the plugin to your system's VST3 folder:

install.bat

Note: You may need to run as Administrator if you encounter permission errors.

Linux

To install the plugin to your user VST3 folder:

chmod +x install.sh
./install.sh

This installs to ~/.vst3/WetDelay.vst3

macOS

To install the plugin to your user VST3 folder:

chmod +x install.sh
./install.sh

This installs to ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/WetDelay.vst3

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Technical Details

Architecture

• Framework: VST3 SDK (Official Steinberg)
• Language: C++17
• Build System: CMake (MSBuild on Windows, Make on Linux)
• GUI: VSTGUI4

Audio Processing

• Host Sample Rates: Supports 22.05 kHz to 384 kHz
• Internal Sample Rate: 24 kHz (80s rack-style)
• Host Bit Depth: 32-bit float processing
• Internal Bit Depth: 12-bit quantization with dither
• Latency: User-controlled (20-400ms delay)
• CPU Usage: <0.5% (typical)
• Memory: ~200 KB

Implementation Details

• Delay Engine: Circular buffer at 24 kHz internal rate
• Resampling: Linear interpolation with anti-aliasing and reconstruction filters
• Quantization: 12-bit uniform quantization with TPDF dither
• Noise Floor: Fixed -80 dBFS analog-style noise
• Filtering: 1st-order high-pass (80 Hz) and low-pass (9 kHz)
• Crosstalk: 1% (-40 dB) bidirectional channel bleed
• Metering: Atomic peak detection with exponential decay
• Thread Safety: Lock-free atomic operations for GUI communication
• Buffer Size: Pre-allocated for 400ms @ internal sample rate

Project Structure

WetDelay/
├── vst3sdk/                    # VST3 SDK (git submodule)
├── WetDelay/                   # Plugin source
│   ├── source/
│   │   ├── wetdelayprocessor.h/cpp    # Audio processing
│   │   ├── wetdelaycontroller.h/cpp   # Parameter control
│   │   ├── delaybuffer.h/cpp          # Delay buffer implementation
│   │   ├── wetdelaycids.h             # Plugin IDs
│   │   └── version.h                  # Version info
│   ├── resource/
│   │   └── wetdelayeditor.uidesc      # GUI definition
│   ├── CMakeLists.txt                 # Build configuration
│   └── build/                         # Build output (generated)
├── build.bat                   # Build automation script
├── install.bat                 # Installation script
├── LICENSE                     # MIT License
└── README.md                   # This file

Validation Results

The plugin passes all official VST3 validation tests:

✅ 47 tests passed, 0 tests failed

Key validations:

• Valid state transitions
• Proper bus configuration
• Correct parameter handling
• Sample rate support (22.05 kHz - 384 kHz)
• Thread safety
• Preset save/load
• Plugin suspend/resume

Troubleshooting

macOS Issues

Plugin not appearing in DAW:

• You forgot to remove the quarantine attribute - see Installation section above
• Restart your DAW after running the xattr command
• Check VST3 scan path: ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/
• Verify the folder contains WetDelay.vst3

Still getting "cannot be verified" after running xattr:

• Right-click the plugin → "Open" → "Open" to bypass Gatekeeper
• Check DAW console for error messages
• Report issue at GitHub Issues

Plugin crashes DAW:

• macOS 10.13+ (Intel) or macOS 11.0+ (Apple Silicon) required
• Check DAW console for error messages
• Report issue at GitHub Issues

Runtime Issues

No sound output:

• Verify the plugin is receiving audio input
• Check that the delay time is not set to minimum (varies by sample rate)
• Ensure your DAW is routing through the plugin correctly

Crackling/Clicking:

• This shouldn't occur with discrete parameter changes
• If it does, report as a bug with your DAW and sample rate info

Author

Ronald Klarenbeek

• Website: https://wetvst.com
• Email: contact@wetvst.com
• GitHub: https://github.com/yonie

License

MIT License - Copyright © 2026 Ronald Klarenbeek (Yonie)

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Note: This project uses the VST3 SDK which is licensed under a BSD-style license. See the VST3 SDK license files for details on SDK licensing.

Acknowledgments

• Steinberg Media Technologies for the VST3 SDK
• VSTGUI framework for cross-platform GUI support
• The audio plugin development community

Version History

v1.1.0 (2026-03-09)

• Multi-Platform Support:
  • Universal VST3 bundle for Windows (x64), Linux (x86_64), and macOS (Intel x86_64 + Apple Silicon arm64)
  • GitHub Actions CI/CD for automated cross-platform builds
  • Single download contains all platform binaries

v1.0.0 (2026-01-07)

• Initial release
• Core stereo delay functionality
• 6 fixed delay times (20-400ms)
• 100% wet output
• Input/output peak metering
• Full VST3 automation support
• Validated with official VST3 validator
• 80s Rack-Style Character:
  • 24 kHz internal sample rate with resampling
  • 12-bit quantization (4096 levels)
  • TPDF dither for smooth quantization
  • Fixed -80 dBFS noise floor
  • Anti-aliasing and reconstruction filters
• Channel Crosstalk:
  • Authentic -40 dB (1%) L/R channel bleed
  • Simulates analog circuitry imperfections

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Built with ❤️ and precision engineering

Support

If you find this plugin helpful, consider buying me a coffee!