Aphex Vintage Aural Exciter

Add brightness and clarity to any track, without EQing

Make Your Tracks Sparkle with ‘Air’ and Excitement

In the 70s, the Aphex Aural Exciter had almost mythical status. It ‘excited’ tracks by restoring the highs lost through the recording and playback processes of the time, and was available only as an expensive rental item.

The Aphex Exciter’s secret for adding sheen, brightness and excitement was based on creating controlled 2nd-harmonic distortion. Now, Waves has captured the original unit’s elegant sound quality, enabling you to make tracks brighter without making them more trebly or forcing you to reach for an EQ.

Developed in close association with Aphex®
Provides brightness without boosting treble or adding hiss
Secret weapon for vocals, guitars, (especially acoustic) and more
Add spark and sheen to final masters
Controlled distortion adds sonic excitement to tracks and masters
Compensates for speakers with weak high-frequency response
Restores older, duller recordings by giving them new life
Two insert modes and send/return mode give three sound qualities

Watch It in Action

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What Top Pros Are Saying

[{"itemID":2094,"itemGUID":"8b8aed0d-062f-479f-967e-f53c41ed0854","artistName":"Jacquire King","artistTitle":"Producer \u0026 Mixer","credits":"Kings of Leon, James Bay, Tom Waits, Niall Horan","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/jacquire-king.png","quote":"The Aphex Vintage Aural Exciter is a go-to for me for adding some parallel frequency content in a mix.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":1},{"itemID":1796,"itemGUID":"91a0cfef-e1b0-4bba-a9e7-471ed2d1fce3","artistName":"Tritonal","artistTitle":"Musical Duo, Producers, DJs","credits":"The Chainsmokers, Armin Van Buuren, Adam Lambert","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/tritonal.png","quote":"When we need warmth and a bit of tube sound on our bass lines, or some grit and punch on drums, the Aphex plugin is our go-to. An amazing tool for creating color and fantastic-sounding saturation.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":2},{"itemID":171,"itemGUID":"3f2bb6b9-1281-430b-94a4-48b123c6a7b6","artistName":"Gil Norton","artistTitle":"Producer","credits":"Foo Fighters, Pixies, Stornoway","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/gil-norton.png","quote":"I\u2019ve always been a fan of the Aphex Vintage Aural Exciter. I\u2019ve been using it on various instruments such as bass guitars and of course on vocals. It brings a new life to them, and I love the extra sparkle it adds.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":3},{"itemID":262,"itemGUID":"1553542e-4ddb-46ca-86b9-7630ecf46b05","artistName":"Dave Darlington ","artistTitle":"Composer, Recording, Mixing \u0026 Mastering Engineer","credits":"Avicii, David Guetta, Sting, \u003Ci\u003EOz\u003C/i\u003E","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/dave-darlington.png","quote":"I love using the Waves Aphex Vintage Exciter to give sparkle and clarity to my synths and guitar tracks. From a light touch to an aggressive setting, nothing helps tracks stand out better in a mix.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":4},{"itemID":263,"itemGUID":"75957491-c56b-4a1d-b753-2646a8312ad3","artistName":"Ross Hogarth","artistTitle":"Producer \u0026 Engineer","credits":"Van Halen, REM, Ziggy Marley, Keb\u2019 Mo\u2019","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/ross-hogarth.png","quote":"I remember using the hardware at the great Record One studio many years back, and the plugin did not disappoint that memory. It can give the vocal an intelligibility and air that no other processing can do.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":5},{"itemID":264,"itemGUID":"f8af3b89-973c-44a6-8926-6c8960b06257","artistName":"Guy Sigsworth","artistTitle":"Producer","credits":"Bj\u00F6rk, Madonna, Seal","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/guy-sigsworth.png","quote":"Great if you want to get that Michael Jackson/Quincy Jones-type bright DI guitar sound. Nothing else comes close.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":6},{"itemID":265,"itemGUID":"65b58bd7-38da-4689-99c8-afc9697f48ec","artistName":"Ken \u0022Pooch\u0022 Van Druten","artistTitle":"Mixer, FOH Engineer","credits":"Linkin Park, Kiss, Justin Bieber, Jay-Z","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/ken-van-druten.png","quote":"For that special occasion when I need extra sparkle and shine on my mix. Waves come through again with a great product.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":7},{"itemID":266,"itemGUID":"6f9c7882-0bd0-49bc-a240-e2ca27eb63a1","artistName":"Pete Keppler","artistTitle":"FOH Engineer","credits":"David Bowie, Katy Perry, Nine Inch Nails","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/pete-keppler.png","quote":"This plugin does what few digital EQs or harmonic generators seem capable of: smooth airy highs and beautiful detail. I have tried it on many instruments and vocals, all with great results.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":8},{"itemID":2786,"itemGUID":"69333bc7-aa9b-46ab-afda-3f0f2e8fd056","artistName":"Damian Kulash","artistTitle":"Singer, Producer, Director","credits":"OK Go","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/damian-kulash.png","quote":"Aphex is great for adding sparkle to keyboards or snap to a snare. It\u0027s also the perfect way to re-animate a guitar you\u2019ve pitched down to change the key of a song. A sprinkle of Aphex gets the bite back and helps recapture the original bright tone.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":9},{"itemID":2892,"itemGUID":"79579e38-82be-4413-b71d-e5fefc20e6ec","artistName":"SUR","artistTitle":"Artist, Producer, Engineer","credits":"SUR, Billy Porter, Fire in the Hamptons","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/sur.png","quote":"I love using a combination of the API 2500, Aphex Vintage Aural Exciter and the CLA Unplugged to get a crisp acoustic guitar tone to cut through the mix.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":10},{"itemID":3098,"itemGUID":"3f480704-f18b-4f80-bb60-54baad9fdfba","artistName":"Psychemagik","artistTitle":"Producer, Sound Designer, DJ","credits":"Psychemagik, Thomaas Banks","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/psychemagik.png","quote":"This was a go-to plugin for a lot of the Psychemagik edits. It\u2019s an amazing tool to add natural sparkle and presence to older, muddier recordings. It definitely has its own unique flavor which is near impossible to replicate with EQ.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":11}]

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Excite Your Mixes, Brighten Your Masters

Add New Life to Vocals & Instruments
Need to revive a slightly dull vocal, piano, acoustic guitar or synth? Nothing rivals a touch of the Aphex Exciter. A little goes a long way, without needing to boost with an EQ.
Minimum Controls, Maximum Options
Aphex’s simple interface produces a wide variety of musical effects, thanks to the plugin’s 3 Modes, and the way the effect interacts with the input level.
Brighten Your Masters
Older recordings often lacked the “air” and presence of today’s recordings, which is how the Aural Exciter earned its reputation as a miracle worker. In today’s world, it’s an essential mastering and remastering tool.
Keep It Pristine, or Add Analog Noise
After extensive analysis, our engineers found that the unit’s inherent hum and noise were part of its sound. Enable them for full replication of the original unit’s sound, or bypass for pristine digital clarity.
Instant Inspiration
Over 60 presets, including custom ones from acclaimed 1980s mix engineer and Aphex Aural Exciter power user Val Garay, showcase the exciter’s versatility for all types of instruments, masters, mixes, and even PA.