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
  • Guitars
  • Controllers
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Guitar Amps
  • Music Gear Reviews
  • Synths
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About us
More
  • "She knew what she'd created": Back to Black
  • Trower's '80s supergroup
  • Music theory tricks
  • Stage Tour game
  • 95k+ free music samples
  1. Tech
  2. Software & Apps
  3. Plugins

VST/AU plug-in instrument/effect round-up: Week 26

News
By Ben Rogerson
Published 12 October 2011

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

The best of the rest

The best of the rest

We’ve already brought new news of Image-Line’s Groove Machine and Arturia’s SEM V this week, but these are just the tip of the plug-in iceberg. Click on for seven other new music making tools.

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: Mellowmuse EQ3V

Page 1 of 8
Page 1 of 8
Mellowmuse EQ3V

Mellowmuse EQ3V

A 7-band vintage EQ plug-in that gives you five bands of fully parametric EQ along with variable Q high- and low-pass filters. Analogue modelled saturation is used to add harmonic colouration, and each EQ section can be bypassed should you wish.

Buy or download demo of Mellowmuse EQ3V

Page 2 of 8
Page 2 of 8
Sound Magic GrandEpiano

Sound Magic GrandEpiano

Sound Magic has been releasing acoustic pianos in software for a while now, but this plug-in emulates classic electromechanical instruments such as the Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer. That said, you can also combine it with any Sound Magic acoustic piano module to produce a hybrid sound.

Buy Sound Magic GrandEpiano

Page 3 of 8
Page 3 of 8
Softube Summit Audio TLA-100A

Softube Summit Audio TLA-100A

This software emulation of the famous tube levelling amplifier is a ‘set and forget’ compressor. Its program-dependent nature works with the signal to provide optimum performance, and promises to add a warm, rich sound to the likes of vocals, bass, drums and guitar.

BUY: Softube Summit Audio TLA-100A currently available from Thomann

Buy or download demo of Softube Summit Audio TLA-100A

Page 4 of 8
Page 4 of 8
Tekky Synths TinyStuT

Tekky Synths TinyStuT

If you’re looking for an easy way of creating stutter FX in real-time, this could be it. It furnishes you with just Speed and Space controls, along with a reverse delay unit that sports delay time and feedback controls. Host automation is supported, too.

Buy Tekky Synths TinyStuT

Page 5 of 8
Page 5 of 8
Waves Bass Rider

Waves Bass Rider

This sister product to Waves’ Vocal Rider plug-in rides bass levels in your mix automatically so that they’re kept in check throughout. It works note by note and has been optimised for the frequency range and envelope characteristics of bass instruments.

Buy or download demo of Waves Bass Rider

Page 6 of 8
Page 6 of 8
Antares Auto-Tune EFX 2

Antares Auto-Tune EFX 2

This update to the entry-level version of Auto-Tune is based on the same core technology as Auto-Tune 7, the flagship version of the software. The big new feature is Auto-Motion Vocal Pattern Generation, which enables you to apply melodic patterns to your vocals from a built-in and expandable library.

Buy or download demo of Auto-Tune EFX 2

Page 7 of 8
Page 7 of 8
KV331 Audio SynthMaster 2.5

KV331 Audio SynthMaster 2.5

This update to KV331’s semi-modular synth/effects plug-in is rammed with improvements: it’s now cross-platform, there are 400 new factory presets, new filter types and much more. If you pick it up before 15 October, you’ll pay the reduced price of $99.

Buy or download demo of KV331 Audio SynthMaster 2.5

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 8 of 8
Page 8 of 8
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
Steinberg Classics Collection
Plugins Steinberg marks 30 years of VST with the Classics Collection, which includes the first VST synth
 
 
Native Instruments Komplete 26
Soft Synths “We know you want it, but do you really (really) need it?”: Native Instruments Komplete 26 review
 
 
A guitar VST running in Kontakt player on a computer
Plugins Best guitar VSTs 2026: Get the best simulated guitar tones for your next production
 
 
Reason Free
Plugins Reason Free puts 15 classic Reason devices in one free plugin that you can use in your existing DAW
 
 
ujam
Tech UJAM's Retrocraft is an all-in-one multi-effects plugin for lo-fi vintage vibes
 
 
logic pro
Tech Logic Pro 12.3 is here – and my favourite stock plugin just got even better
 
 
Latest in Plugins
autotune
Tech "Since 1997, the complaint about pitch correction has been the same: it takes the singer out of the singing. That's the problem DVA was built to solve": Antares launches AutoTune Advanced with new DVA vibrato engine
 
 
autotune
Tech Antares AutoTune Advanced makes the trade-off between pitch-perfect vocals and natural vibrato a thing of the past
 
 
An Arturia MiniFreak synthesizer on a table
Hybrid Synths One of our favourite synths of recent years now lets you upload your own sounds
 
 
zplane
Tech Zplane's Timbre is a formant-shifting plugin with a few tricks up its sleeve
 
 
lunacy
Tech Lunacy launches Nova platform with five free virtual instruments – but bigger things are on the way
 
 
topline
Tech Universal Audio's Topline Vocal Tune is now available for Apollo and UAD hardware
 
 
Latest in News
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK - MAY 05:  Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood pose backstage during the exclusive launch event of The Rolling Stones new album “Foreign Tongues” at Weylin on May 5, 2026 in Brooklyn, NY. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for UMG)
Artists Andrew Watt says he kept thing loose when he produced the Stones, but also added a surprising synth sub-bass
 
 
Brian May
Guitarists “It blew me away so badly”: Brian May says that hearing Jimi Hendrix made him question whether he should be a guitar player
 
 
Prodigy
Samples Want to sound like The Prodigy? Download this free pack of Prodigy-style samples
 
 
(EDITORS NOTE: A special effects camera filter was used for this image.) Olivia Rodrigo at Daisy Chain Fields Festival 2026 held at Great Park on August 29, 2026 in Irvine, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty Images)
Artists Olivia Rodrigo on how being a "novice" guitarist led to a happy accident when she was writing The Cure
 
 
Jackso Pro Series Phil Collen PC1-E
Artists Phil Collen on why you can play anything on his new Jackson, and even nail those Hysteria tones
 
 
Oasis Dont' Look Back in Anger poster crop
Gigs & Festivals “Please remain vigilant”: Oasis warn against scammers in the forthcoming Live 27 ticketing bunfight
 
 

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 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...