Tape Double Track by AIR Music

Tape Double Track takes the classic sixties tape based doubling trick and turns it into a tidy modern plugin that simply works. It creates a subtly shifting second voice much like the old two machine setups, only now the drift, width and movement are all easy to dial in without extra hardware or fuss.

Whether you are opening up a vocal, widening a guitar or giving a synth a bit more spread, it adds presence without changing the character of the sound. It is a warm nod to a timeless studio move, it drops straight into any session and it is free for a limited time, so it is worth grabbing

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TAPE DOUBLE TRACK

AIR MUSIC

remaincalm: Paranoia

Paranoia from remaincalm is a distortion plugin made for exploration. It merges multiband drive, waveshaping and modulation to turn clean sounds into something unpredictable and alive. You can add warmth, crunch or complete chaos depending on how far you push it.

The filters and envelope followers react to your playing, so the sound always feels dynamic. It can sit subtly in a mix or dominate it entirely. Paranoia is a powerful way to add movement and personality when your production needs texture and bite.

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REMAINCALM

PARANOIA

XILS Lab: The Eighty

The Eighty from XILS Lab recreates the legendary Yamaha CS-80 with stunning attention to detail. Its three synthesis lines capture the rich analog tone and expressive modulation that made the original famous, while modern workflow touches make it easier to control.

The instrument includes more than 500 presets covering pads, leads and evolving cinematic sounds. With Jean Michel Jarre among its admirers, The Eighty stands as both a loving restoration and an update of one of synthesis’s most expressive classics.

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XILS LAB

THE EIGHTY

Imaginando: Visual Synthesizer

The Visual Synthesizer by Imaginando turns your music into motion. It uses eight layers of shader-based materials that respond to audio and MIDI in real time, shaping colours and forms that move with your track.

Modulators like LFOs and envelopes make it easy to design visuals that pulse naturally to sound. With 4K output and support for Syphon, Spout and NDI, it fits smoothly into live setups. VS offers a simple way to connect sight and sound, making performance visuals feel part of the music itself.

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IMAGINANDO

VISUAL SYNTHESIZER

AAS: Lounge Lizard EP-5

Lounge Lizard EP-5 from Applied Acoustics Systems delivers the tone and feel of vintage electric pianos through advanced physical modelling. It accurately recreates the interaction between hammer, tine and pickup, giving you expressive control over every nuance.

The refreshed interface and updated effects make shaping sound fast and musical. From soulful Rhodes and Wurlie tones to crisp modern textures, Lounge Lizard EP-5 captures the warmth and playability of the classics while staying light on CPU. It is an electric piano that feels built to be played rather than programmed.

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AAS

LOUNGE LIZARD EP-5

Impact Soundworks: GameVerb

GameVerb captures the distinctive ambience of classic consoles, offering reverb modes inspired by the SNES, N64 and PlayStation. Each delivers its own space, from clean 16-bit reflections to lo-fi grit with nostalgic charm.

he interface is straightforward, and Geek Mode opens extra parameters for precise tweaking. GameVerb is equal parts fun and functional, ideal for producers and sound designers who want character over realism. It delivers that unmistakable ambience of classic gaming without any fuss.

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IMPACT SOUNDWORKS

GAMEVERB

Molecular Bytes: AtomicReverb 2

AtomicReverb 2 focuses on clarity and flexibility. Its advanced reflection modelling produces natural-sounding rooms and halls that sit effortlessly in a mix. Hundreds of algorithms cover everything from tight studios to expansive spaces, while modulation and damping controls allow fine adjustment of tone and decay.

Despite its depth, it runs efficiently on any session. AtomicReverb 2 is a professional, transparent reverb that adds space and dimension without washing out your sound.

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MOLECULAR BYTES

ATOMICREVERB 2

TAL: EQ

TAL EQ keeps things simple in all the right ways. It gives you smooth filters, clear control, and a natural tone that always feels balanced in a mix. The layout is familiar and easy to navigate, so you can make adjustments quickly and focus on the music.

It delivers consistent results across vocals, instruments and buses, staying transparent while adding shape and presence. With real time feedback and zero latency, it feels dependable in any session. It keeps things simple but delivers the kind of control professionals rely on.

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TAL

EQ

Modartt: Pianoteq 9

Pianoteq 9 from Modartt takes piano modelling to a new level of realism. Instead of relying on large sample libraries, it recreates the behaviour of real instruments in real time, giving it a dynamic, responsive feel. Version 9 refines its soundboard modelling for extra depth and adds flexible microphone positioning, with up to eight virtual mics in 3D space. The collection now includes a wide range of acoustic and electric pianos, each highly detailed and fully adjustable. Lightweight, expressive and endorsed by major piano makers, Pianoteq 9 continues to set the standard for realistic piano software.

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MODARTT

PIANOTEQ 9

Handcrafted Audio: Handcrafted Piano

Handcrafted Piano from Handcrafted Audio captures the rich, intimate tone of a modern felt piano. It was recorded with over 100 velocity layers per note using Neumann M49, Coles 4038 and Neumann M62 microphones, processed through Lexicon 960, Bricasti M7 and Quantec Yard Stick reverbs for a sense of depth and warmth.

A built-in synth engine, built from the same recordings, adds more than 120 curated presets drawn from 150 sound sources. The result is a beautifully recorded instrument with character and space, equally suited to songwriting, scoring and ambient production.

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HANDCRAFTED AUDIO

HANDCRAFTED PIANO

HOFA: SYSTEM Ducker

HOFA’s SYSTEM Ducker makes keeping your main audio clear feel almost effortless. Whether it’s a podcast, vocals, or layered music, it automatically lowers background elements just when you need it, keeping the focus where it should be.

You can also integrate other HOFA SYSTEM effects into the Ducked Chain, letting the Ducker dynamically control their levels. Combine this with flexible attack, hold, release, and lookahead settings, and you have a powerful way to manage everything from reverb tails to backing loops — all while the visual feedback keeps dialing it in very intuitive. 

The result is mixes that stay balanced, polished, and professional without constant manual tweaking. SYSTEM Ducker quietly handles the tricky stuff, giving you the freedom to focus on what matters most — your sound.

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HOFA

SYSTEM DUCKER

Kraftur: Soundtheory

Soundtheory’s Kraftur is a multiband saturator and clipper that adds warmth, punch, and presence without compromising dynamics. Whether on a full mix of individual tracks, it brings a polished, cohesive feel that makes everything sound more alive.

The triangular blend control lets you shift between single-band and multiband processing, while Drive, Offset, Knee, and three Shift sliders let you shape each band with precision. MATCH mode keeps levels consistent, and the colourful meters give real-time visual feedback that’s both helpful and engaging.

Standout features like dynamic loudness compensation, oversampling to minimize distortion, and visually intuitive feedback make Kraftur a modern saturation tool you’ll reach for again and again — it’s the kind of plugin that instantly elevates a mix.

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HOFA

KRAFTUR

SOUNDTHEORY

VHS Home Video Flavor Box: Audio Hertz

If you’ve ever been drawn to the warm, unpredictable quirks of old VHS tapes, Audio Hertz’s VHS Home Video Flavor Box nails that feel in plugin form. It recreates the slightly fuzzy, unpredictable charm of tape by emulating two classic VCRs — each with its own unique character — and works just as well on clean synths as it does on punchy drums.

It doesn’t overload you with controls, but gives you exactly what you need: wow and flutter for that pitch wobble, hiss for tape noise, saturation for analog warmth, plus an EQ and limiter to shape and keep everything in check. It’s the kind of tool that’s easy to jump into and quickly find something that just clicks with your track.

What’s great is that it doesn’t try to be a hi-fi emulation; instead, it embraces all those little imperfections that made tapes feel personal. So if you’re after a quick way to add character and a touch of nostalgia without the fuss, VHS is a fun and reliable go-to.

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VHS HOME FLAVOR VIDEO BOX

AUDIO HERTZ

Bloom KSHMR: Excite Audio

Bloom KSHMR turns cultural richness into instant inspiration, blending the sounds of South Asia with a modern, fast-moving sample engine. Co-created by KSHMR and Excite Audio, it puts playable percussion, vocals, winds, and strings right under your fingers — no digging, slicing, or stretching required.

Its 14‑pad phrase sequencer makes loops feel alive, while four macro controls shape tone, depth, grit, and space with quick, satisfying moves. Whether you’re after dusty folk textures or polished cinematic flair, Bloom balances authenticity with flexibility.

Switch into Edit mode and there’s full control over pitch, envelopes, filters, and layers — or just stay in Play mode and ride the presets. With 250+ curated sounds, onboard FX, and intuitive key snapping, it’s a sample instrument that invites you to follow feel over theory.

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BLOOM KSHMR

EXCITE AUDIO

Halogen FM: GForce Software

Halogen FM embraces the beauty of happy accidents, turning the complexity of FM synthesis into something playful and intuitive. Powered by the Spark engine, it generates fully-formed patches with a single click — surprising, musical results that encourage exploration over perfection. With six macro controls for shaping timbre, envelopes, modulation, FX, and operator mix, it’s fast, fun, and full of unexpected possibilities. 

For those who want to dive deeper, the interface reveals traditional FM parameters like waveforms and modulation indexes — without the usual confusion. With 320 presets, built-in reverb, and MIDI support, Halogen FM is a creative playground for producers chasing inspiration, not instruction manuals.

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HALOGEN FM

GFORCE SOFTWARE

Walls: Klevgrand

Klevgrand Walls offers a bold new approach to reverb design, blending familiar acoustic spaces with surreal, time-warped environments. With six unique modes—Plate, Hall, Spring, Cosmic, Hex, and Binary—it ranges from classic ambience to abstract, metallic reflections.

Walls moves beyond typical reverbs, offering up to 40 modulation LFOs, dynamic visualizers, and intuitive controls for stereo width, diffusion, and reflection shaping. EQ, damping, and Mix Lock give added precision, while its early/late mixer and varied room sizes open up deep sound-sculpting potential with impressive creative range and sonic character, Walls is a standout for producers and sound designers pushing beyond the ordinary.

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WALLS

KLEVGRAND

SpaceBlender: Soundtoys

Soundtoys SpaceBlender offers a fresh take on spatial effects, blending delay, reverb, and modulation into a fluid, evolving tool. Inspired by swarm synthesis, it lets users sculpt otherworldly textures through its intuitive sonar-style Visualizer. 

SpaceBlender moves beyond typical effects, offering time settings up to a minute, tempo sync, and Warp mode for pitch-shifting, tape-like warbles, and glitches. Color, Texture, and Mod controls add depth, shimmer, and motion, while Mix Lock ensures presets won’t override your balance. The Freeze function captures audio into looping, malleable layers, perfect for ambient sound design, rhythmic effects, or creative spatial manipulation. A must-have for sonic explorers.

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SPACEBLENDER

SOUNDTOYS

TRONIC: Sampleson

When you think of a “one-click beat generator,” you might picture something gimmicky, spitting out tired loops. TRONIC, however, is far from that. Sampleson’s latest creation blends simplicity with depth, offering instant inspiration without the fluff. Whether you’re after punchy drum and bass or lush rave rhythms, TRONIC delivers fully-formed grooves with a single click.

But it’s the tweaking that unleashes the magic—three generation styles and a semi-modular patcher let you shape dynamic beats that evolve over time. Intuitive, punchy, and packed with character, TRONIC brings a fresh approach to beat-making for just 29 bucks. An instant hit for producers and performers alike.

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TRONIC

SAMPLESON

Cloudmax Breeze: Karanyi Audio

Karanyi Audio’s Cloudmax Breeze is a game-changer for vocal production, harnessing AI to streamline the process and deliver polished results with minimal effort. Powered by the Karanyi Neural AI model, it transforms raw vocals into mix-ready tracks in seconds.

The interface is sleek and intuitive, ensuring a smooth workflow, while the standout feature, Capture mode, automatically adjusts over 40 parameters—including EQ, reverb, and dynamics—based on vocal style, mood, and tempo. Whether you’re shaping polished pop vocals or adding texture to rap, Breeze delivers quick, high-quality results, making it a must-have tool for producers looking to save time without sacrificing creativity.

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CLOUDMAX BREEZE

KARANYI AUDIO