Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Guitar Amps
  • Guitar Pedals
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About Us
More
  • EVH trance state
  • Antonoff on Please Please Please
  • “Mick looked peeved. The Beatles had upstaged him”
  • 95k+ free music samples

Recommended reading

plugins
Tech Serum 2, Pigments 6, Phase Plant, Vital and Massive X: The ultimate soft synth showdown
excite audio plugin
Tech Excite Audio's Motion: Fractal plugin is a granular powerhouse for twisting, stretching and scattering sounds
Plugins Future owns
Plugins Our resident platinum award-winning mixer and producer shares 10 of his go-to plugins
waves free plguins
Tech Waves makes 7 plugins available for free, including convolution reverb, FM synth and tube saturator
synths
Tech 5 innovative synth plugins daring to do things differently
topos
Tech Forever 89 releases Topos, a topographical effects plugin that (quite literally) puts saturation on the map - and there's a free version
arturia
Tech Arturia’s V Collection gets a Roland JP-8000 emulation and lo-fi synth/sampler, along with five more instruments and a host of updates
  1. Tech
  2. Software & Apps
  3. Plugins

VST/AU plug-in instrument/effect round-up: Week 43

News
By Ben Rogerson published 2 May 2012

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

Your one-stop release guide

Your one-stop release guide

Arturia gave us the Wurlitzer V and Native Instruments Instruments unveiled Skanner XT, but these aren’t the only plug-in releases from the past week or so. Read on for the best of the rest.

Also make sure you check out these regularly updated features:

The 20 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: Subsonic Labs Wolfram

Page 1 of 9
Page 1 of 9
Subsonic Labs Wolfram

Subsonic Labs Wolfram

Billed as an ‘advanced sound manipulation device’, Wolfram is a slightly eccentric-looking multi-effects unit. It offers the likes of delays, pitch shifting, distortion, chorusing, phasing, panning, filtering, cabinet emulation “and all strange combinations in between”. Plenty of modulation options are included, too. The price rises to $80 on 27 April.

Buy or download demo of Subsonic Labs Wolfram

Page 2 of 9
Page 2 of 9
Modartt Pianoteq 4

Modartt Pianoteq 4

Another update for the acclaimed physically modelled piano. This time we get a brand new grand that’s based on the Steinway D (the D4), which promises an even better sound. There are new effects, too - including a convolution reverb - and a resizable interface.

Buy or download demo of Modartt Pianoteq 4

Page 3 of 9
Page 3 of 9
Sound Magic Hybrid Harpsichord

Sound Magic Hybrid Harpsichord

Now here’s a real vintage emulation: Hybrid Harpsichord is based on an instrument built by Kirckman in the 1770s. It has a single manual with three stops, one of which is a lute stop (you can switch between the stops using key switches). As its name suggests, the plug-in uses a combination of samples and physical modelling.

Buy or download demo of Sound Magic Hybrid Harpsichord

Page 4 of 9
Page 4 of 9
Scuffham Amps S-Gear 2.0

Scuffham Amps S-Gear 2.0

An update for the virtual guitar amp suite - it’s free for existing users. You can now drag ‘n’ drop modules in the effects rack for extra flexibility, there’s a dedicated modulation processor in the shape of ModThing, you’ll find more MIDI controller options and the factory presets have been revised.

Buy or download demo of Scuffham Amps S-Gear 2.0

Page 5 of 9
Page 5 of 9
Mecha Audio Dirty Bits

Mecha Audio Dirty Bits

A rack-style multi-effects unit that comes with three devices that are designed to mess up your audio. These go by the names of Distortion Compressor, Vintage Bit Crusher and Vinyl Damage, and we’re told that they can be used subtly or pushed to the extreme.

Buy or download demo of Mecha Audio Dirty Bits

Page 6 of 9
Page 6 of 9
NTS Audio Labs Drum Loop 2

NTS Audio Labs Drum Loop 2

Designed to create beats and grooves on the fly that can then be triggered via MIDI, Drum Loop 2 comes with a sizeable collection of one-shot samples and can also make loops out of the ones you already own. The price listed above is an introductory one.

Buy or download demo of NTS Audio Labs Drum Loop 2

Page 7 of 9
Page 7 of 9
Voxengo Warmifier 2.0

Voxengo Warmifier 2.0

A valve warming effect that sports valve preamp and console colouration simulators, plus a harmonic enhancer. You can control the strength and colour of the effect using various parameters, and although the overall impact is said to be subtle, the developer believes it can make a difference. The price listed above is an introductory one.

Buy or download demo of Voxengo Warmifier 2.0

Page 8 of 9
Page 8 of 9
Vox JamVox III

Vox JamVox III

Announced at Musikmesse 2012 but only just available, this significant update to JamVOX combines amps and effects, the Guitar Xtracktion feature (which enables you to remove/isolate an instrument track in a song, apparently) and now plug-in support. The price listed above is an introductory one.

Buy or download demo of Vox JamVox III

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 9 of 9
Page 9 of 9
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
plugins
Serum 2, Pigments 6, Phase Plant, Vital and Massive X: The ultimate soft synth showdown
excite audio plugin
Excite Audio's Motion: Fractal plugin is a granular powerhouse for twisting, stretching and scattering sounds
Plugins Future owns
Our resident platinum award-winning mixer and producer shares 10 of his go-to plugins
waves free plguins
Waves makes 7 plugins available for free, including convolution reverb, FM synth and tube saturator
synths
5 innovative synth plugins daring to do things differently
topos
Forever 89 releases Topos, a topographical effects plugin that (quite literally) puts saturation on the map - and there's a free version
Latest in Plugins
tapeoplex
"A tape delay plugin that finally sounds like the real thing": Heritage Audio takes on the legendary Echoplex with its TAPEoPLEX plugin
Arturia Pigments
“Pigments is becoming so powerful it risks making the V Collection look obsolete”: Arturia Pigments review
codec
Codec, one of our favourite free lo-fi plugins, just got an update
acon digital
This AI-powered plugin could be a game-changingly useful tool for drum production
rhodes
"Raw, warm, and beautifully expressive": Rhodes releases Wurli, a virtual instrument based on the Wurlitzer 200A
excite audio plugin
Excite Audio's Motion: Fractal plugin is a granular powerhouse for twisting, stretching and scattering sounds
Latest in News
Home studio
You don't need to be a music theory expert to make electronic music, but it helps - here's our guide to the basics
Ed Sheeran, Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix
How Ed Sheeran generated royalties for Bob Dylan by borrowing from Jimi Hendrix
Deals of the week
MusicRadar deals of the week: My pick of Father's Day deals for musicians include $400 off the Polyend Play+, $200 off a Martin acoustic and so much more
pmt
"It’s been a tough few years": UK gear retailer PMT closes its doors, makes 96 staff redundant and sells £2.4m of stock to Gear4Music
Gretsch Broadkaster Jr LX Center Block with Bigsby
Gretsch’s unveils new MIJ high-end semi-hollows with redesigned bodies and Pro Twin Six humbuckers
Sabrina Carpenter
Sabrina Carpenter on her musical heroes, why she decided to release a new album so soon... and Rush

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...