Skip to main content
MusicRadar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
UK EditionUK US EditionUS AU EditionAustralia SG EditionSingapore
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Music Gear Reviews
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Controllers
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Guitar Amps
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About us
Don't miss these
More
  • "The most expensive bit of drumming in history”
  • JoBo x Fuchs
  • Radiohead Daydreaming
  • Vanilla Fudge
  • 95k+ free music samples
  1. Tech
  2. Software & Apps
  3. Plugins

VST/AU plug-in instrument/effect round-up: Week 1

News
By Ben Rogerson published 23 February 2011

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Let's get started

Let's get started

MusicRadar is already rounding-up the latest free music software and iOS music making apps on a weekly basis: now it’s time for us to start taking a long-overdue look at the paid-for plug-in market.

Our latest regular round-up will see us gathering together the most notable new-to-market effects and instruments for Mac and PC. To kick things off, we’ve got delays, a synth, an arpeggiator and, firstly, Waves’ Aural Exciter.

NEXT: Waves Aphex Vintage Aural Exciter

Page 1 of 6
Page 1 of 6
Waves Aphex Vintage Aural Exciter

Waves Aphex Vintage Aural Exciter

First announced at NAMM, this emulation of Aphex’s Aural Exciter hardware from the ‘70s has now been released. It’s designed to increase and enhance presence, brightness and detail on vocal tracks and masters. Get it on its own or as part of the Waves Mercury bundle.

Buy or download demo of Waves Aphex Vintage Aural Exciter

Page 2 of 6
Page 2 of 6
vescoFX Cross Delay

vescoFX Cross Delay

Cross Delay promises to let you create advanced stereo delay images in your mixes all in a single plug-in (no routing between multiple plug-ins is required). You can send the echo output between channels, while the modulation section enables tweaking of the delayed sound with a dynamic combination of depth and speed (all on a single control).

Buy or download demo of vescoFX Cross Delay

Page 3 of 6
Page 3 of 6
Xoxos Amboea

Xoxos Amboea

Do you make ambient music? Amboea arranges eight filtered stereo delay lines in serial or parallel with algorithmic crossfading to create a multi-delay effect that’s particularly suited to said genre. The developer claims that just one instance of the plug-in can turn any sound into a dense, continuously varying soundscape.

Buy or download demo of vescoFX Xoxos Amboea

Page 4 of 6
Page 4 of 6
CubicAudio ProTon

CubicAudio ProTon

A new subtractive/phase modulation synth that’s designed for creating electro house basslines, fidget blips and 8-bit arcade-style effects. There are four oscillators, four filter types and several effects, while those who are seeking instant gratification can just head for the 128 presets.

Buy or download demo of CubicAudio ProTon

Page 5 of 6
Page 5 of 6
Wok D-Arp

Wok D-Arp

D-Arp is billed as a dual MIDI arpeggiator… which means that it contains two arpeggiators. These can be run in parallel or with the first triggering the second: use them in conjunction with your virtual instruments to create sequences that you might otherwise never have come up with.

Buy or download demo of Wok D-Arp

Liked this? Now read: Free music software: the best audio app and plug-in downloads on the net

Connect with MusicRadar: via Twitter, Facebook and YouTube

Page 6 of 6
Page 6 of 6
Ben Rogerson
Ben Rogerson
Social Links Navigation
Deputy Editor

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it. 

Latest in Plugins
amenbreak
AmenBreak VST is a break-slicing, sample-mangling junglist powerhouse - and there’s a free version
 
 
Neural DSP Archetype: John Mayer X – The latest and most high-profile addition to the Finnish brand's signature plugin range, Mayer's plugin is replete with captures of boutique, rare and one-off amps and pedals
It’s official! Neural DSP’s John Mayer Archetype plugin suite is here – and with Dumble, Klon and Reverberator captures, it is the motherlode for boutique electric guitar tone
 
 
kv331
KV331 Audio is giving away SynthMaster One for free until January 4
 
 
A laptop in a music studio with Universal Audio plugins running on it
UAD's free plugin offer is the biggest no-brainer I've seen this year – but time is running out to get your hands on a world-class studio weapon for nothing
 
 
absynth 6
Native Instruments' Absynth returns – here’s the inside story, with developer Brian Clevinger
 
 
soundtoys
"This is our way of saying thank you": Soundtoys is giving away six free plugins this Christmas, starting with Little PrimalTap
 
 
Latest in News
DETROIT, MI - NOVEMBER 4: American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, dancer, actor, and filmmaker Prince (1958-2016) and American guitarist, singer-songwriter and member of the Revolution Wendy Melvoin perform onstage during the 1984 Purple Rain Tour on November 4, 1984, at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Ross Marino/Getty Images)
How Prince and The Revolution turned the bare bones of Purple Rain into a lighters-in-the-air epic
 
 
 Iconic female rap group Salt-N-Pepa members Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper)
"Did not establish they ever owned the copyrights to their sound recordings": Salt N Pepa lose legal battle with Universal
 
 
DAVID BYRNE AND OLIVIA RODRIGO
“I actually cried when I heard his version of this song”: Olivia Rodrigo on David Byrne's cover of Drivers License
 
 
Buddy Guy [left] smiles as he takes a solo on his Fender Stratocaster. He wears a red jacket and black hat. Billy Gibbons [right] wears shades, a wide-brimmed hat and a red blazer as he plays his custom SG-style electric with the V-style headstock.
Billy Gibbons on the tip Buddy Guy gave him after they jammed a T-Bone Walker classic
 
 
Pat Smear performs onstage during the FIREAID Benefit Concert for California Fire Relief at The Kia Forum on January 30, 2025 in Inglewood, California
“In the classic tradition…”: Pat Smear is out of upcoming Foo Fighters dates after “bizarre gardening accident”
 
 
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 23: Raye performs onstage during All Points East at Victoria Park on August 23, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Jim Dyson/Getty Images)
Producer Mike Sabath reveals the surprisingly limited instrumentation in Raye's Where Is My Husband!
 
 

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...