Skip to main content
MusicRadar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Guitars
  • Guitar Pedals
  • Synths
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Guitar Amps
  • Drums
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About Us
More
  • Radiohead theory
  • Steely Dan's drum machine
  • Deep Purple in the dungeon
  • Prince's drummers
  • 95k+ free music samples
Don't miss these
Pluginweek logo
Plugins Plugin Week 2025: Exhibitor A-Z
Plugins
Plugins To mark Plugin Week, here’s our pick of the most out-there sound design plugins you should grab now
Sonic Charge Synplant 2
Software & Apps "This really is the ultimate sound design tool": 6 of the most creative plugin synths for sound design
plugins
Tech The ultimate soft synth showdown: Serum 2, Pigments 6, Phase Plant, Vital and Massive X: But which is best?
Plugins Future owns
Plugins Our resident platinum award-winning mixer and producer shares 10 of his go-to plugins
synths
Tech 5 innovative synth plugins daring to do things differently
plugins
Tech "It's a stupendously powerful tool": 10 of the best sampler plugins in 2025
Plugins
Plugins Our go-to plugins for adding flavour to our sounds
Arturia V Collection 11
Soft Synths “Still the synth and keyboard collection to beat”: Arturia V Collection 11 Pro review
iZotope FXEQ
Gear & Gadgets iZotopeʼs colourful new FXEQ multi-effects plugin lets you “paint” with saturation, reverb, and delay
Odin 2
Synths Fantastic (free) plugins and how to use them: The Wave Warden Odin 2
API
Plugins Our pick of the very best VCA compressor software emulation plugins for any music project
linux
Digital Audio Workstation 14 of the best plugins and DAWs you can use on Linux
Best VST synths
Plugins Don't know where to start with virtual instruments? We're here to help
Forever89 Visco 2
Synths Visco 2.0 turns Forever89's boundary-pushing drum machine into a polysynth – hands-on
  1. Tech
  2. Software & Apps
  3. Plugins

VST/AU plug-in instrument/effect round-up: Week 20

News
By Ben Rogerson published 10 August 2011

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

We're going to need a bigger rack

We're going to need a bigger rack

A full-on glut of new plug-ins this week; if you’re looking for a different way of processing your sounds, you’ve definitely come to the right place.

Also make sure you check out these regularly updated features.

The 17 best VST plug-in synths in the world today

The 14 best VST plug-in drum machines in the world today

If you've got a new PC or Mac plug-in, make sure you let us know about it by emailing musicradar.pressreleases@futurenet.com with all the details.

NEXT: PSP Audioware PSP NobleQ

Page 1 of 10
Page 1 of 10
PSP Audioware PSP NobleQ

PSP Audioware PSP NobleQ

PSP’s latest combines the features of a passive program EQ with a wide range of frequency settings and extended functionality. This includes an adjustable high-pass filter and the ability to switch high peak and shelf filters to Boost or Attenuation operation. That it’s designed to sound warm almost goes without saying. An extended version, PSP NobleQex, is also on offer.

Buy or download demo ofPSP Audioware PSP NobleQ

Page 2 of 10
Page 2 of 10
Sound Magic Meter Man

Sound Magic Meter Man

Four meter types are included here: there’s a traditional peak meter that has a maximum peak level of 0dB, then further meters that are designed for broadcasting, pop music production and home theatre use, and movie scoring. These last three conform to the K System.

Buy or download demo of Sound Magic Meter Man

Page 3 of 10
Page 3 of 10
The Sound Guy Spectral Machine

The Sound Guy Spectral Machine

A frequency-domain plug-in that features several spectral effects. These include spectral freeze, delay spectral bands, 3-band amplitude modulation, harmonize and pitch quantisation. Both general purpose and monophonic effects are included.

Buy or download demo of The Sound Guy Spectral Machine

Page 4 of 10
Page 4 of 10
SoundHack Pvoc Kit

SoundHack Pvoc Kit

This four-plug-in bundle serves as an exploration into phase vocoding and granular synthesis algorithms. The included effects are known as +pitchshift, +spiralstretch, +pvocloop (pictured) and +phasemash and deal with pitch shifting, timestretching and more.

Buy or download demo of Pvoc Kit

Page 5 of 10
Page 5 of 10
Sinevibes Turbulence

Sinevibes Turbulence

Looking like a souped-up Space Invaders, Turbulence is designed for creating rich, animated synth textures via its waveshaping algorithms. The waveshape modulation is driven by the 32-step sequencer, waveshape matrix and envelope matrix: use these to create wild and varied rhythmic patterns.

Buy Sinevibes Turbulence

Page 6 of 10
Page 6 of 10
Cableguys MidiShaper

Cableguys MidiShaper

A new plug-ins that takes Curve’s modulation engine and lets you use its LFOs and envelopes in a sophisticated matrix. The LFOs can run infinitely or be retriggered, and their waveforms are completely editable. MidiShaper is designed to be used on both your software and hardware instruments. The price will double after 23 August.

Buy or download demo of Cableguys MidiShaper

Page 7 of 10
Page 7 of 10
Voxengo BMS 2.0

Voxengo BMS 2.0

Admittedly, the majority of people still mix their music in stereo, but if you’re a surround kind of cat, this second version of Voxengo’s bass management system plug-in could be worth a sniff. It can extract and manipulate low-frequency content of non-LFE channels in up to 7.1 surround configurations.

Buy or download demo of Voxengo BMS 2.0

Page 8 of 10
Page 8 of 10
Starplugs Vintage Diode Limiter

Starplugs Vintage Diode Limiter

Billed as a ‘hard and precise’ limiter, this classically-styled plug-in promises a warm sound, steep transients and mega attacks. Starplugs also says that there’s “no pumping, no ducking, no fades, no delay and no attack times”. This is an introductory price - it’ll rise to €49.95 in due course.

Buy or download demo of Starplugs Vintage Diode Limiter

Page 9 of 10
Page 9 of 10
Bluenoise Plugins Bandecho

Bluenoise Plugins Bandecho

This tape echo is based on vintage units such as the Roland Space Echo and Watkins Copicat, but adds extra features of its own. There’s a Drive rack for adding distortion, an Effects rack, a Multiecho rack and an Output rack. 100 presets are included to get you started. The price will rise to $99 at the end of August.

Buy or download demo of Bluenoise Plugins Bandecho

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 10 of 10
Page 10 of 10
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. 

Read more
Pluginweek logo
Plugin Week 2025: Exhibitor A-Z
 
 
Plugins
To mark Plugin Week, here’s our pick of the most out-there sound design plugins you should grab now
 
 
Sonic Charge Synplant 2
"This really is the ultimate sound design tool": 6 of the most creative plugin synths for sound design
 
 
plugins
The ultimate soft synth showdown: Serum 2, Pigments 6, Phase Plant, Vital and Massive X: But which is best?
 
 
Plugins Future owns
Our resident platinum award-winning mixer and producer shares 10 of his go-to plugins
 
 
synths
5 innovative synth plugins daring to do things differently
 
 
Latest in Plugins
minimal audio plugin
Minimal Audio drops Formant, a free formant-shifting plugin for creative vocal production
 
 
Baby Audio Tekno
“The hardest hitting synthesized drums ever put in a plugin”: Baby Audio Tekno isn’t pulling its punches
 
 
A selection of Waves plugins on a yellow and orange background
I've been through Waves entire Labor Day plugin sale and these 5 gems at $34.99 each are unmissable - plus get 2 free when you buy 2
 
 
the crow hill
"No strings attached": The Crow Hill Company releases Lo-Fi Strings, a free tape-treated string library with a warm and nostalgic sound
 
 
ablaze
"Take your pig squeals to the next level": Ablaze's Screamer is a vocal production plugin "crafted for metalheads, by metalheads"
 
 
crushstation plugin
Eventide is giving away a killer $99 distortion plugin for free
 
 
Latest in News
Jackson Pro Origins 1985 San Dimas: these retro S-styles take the high-performance electric guitar brand back to the '80s, offering single and dual-humbucker platforms for shred with the choice of rosewood or maple fingerboards – and what about that "Two-Face" black-and-white finish?
“These guitars empower metal artists with the authentic, crushing tone that built Jackson’s legendary reputation”: Jackson takes us back to the heyday of shred with the Pro Origins 1985 San Dimas series – and what about that Two Face finish?
 
 
Mark Ronson and Michael Jackson
How a teenage Mark Ronson convinced Michael Jackson to write him a bassline so he could make a hit song out of it
 
 
English singer-songwriter FKA twigs attends the MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on September 7, 2025
"It shows the breadth of talent from across all of our nations”: The Mercury nominations are out and diverse as ever
 
 
The new Gibson Murphy Lab Light Aged Acoustics released on 9 September 2025, all lined up in a wood-panneled show room with round windows and a rural landscape outside.
Gibson expands acoustic Murphy Lab collection with five Light Aged classics – including a Nick Lucas 1929 reissue
 
 
A mac book being closed
Transform your MacBook into a theremin! Or a creaking door!
 
 
Elektron Tonverk
“Made for expansive sound design and immediate play”: Elektron Tonverk is real, and it's out now
 
 

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

  • 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...