If you can think of something that you’d like to do to your audio, there’s a pretty good chance that there’s a plugin out there that will be able to help you out. And if such a plugin doesn’t already exist, someone somewhere is probably developing it.
Yep, the plugin market was already huge, and in 2017 it got even huger. We saw new takes on old favourites, and cutting-edge processors that sought to break new sonic ground.
We shortlisted our favourites from the past 12 months and asked you to vote for your best-of-the-year effect plugin. Now it's results time; click through the gallery and join us as we count down to the overall winner.
The MusicRadar Best in music tech awards 2017 are brought to you in association with Softube - Tools for the Audio Professional
AudioThing Outer Space
We said: "An emulation of Roland’s classic Space Echo RE-201, Outer Space features an echo section with three playback heads and the spring reverb tank. Three different tape frequency responses and saturations have been modelled, as have the imperfections associated with tape."
Universal Audio Moog Multimode Filter XL
We said: "Moog Multimode Filter has been a staple in our DAW since the day it dropped, and Moog Multimode Filter XL supersedes it in every way. It sounds even phatter, thicker, squelchier, creamier, screamier and dirtier, and the comprehensive onboard modulation tools make it infinitely more rhythmic and thus creative."
Slate Digital Virtual Tube Collection
We said: "While there are plugins out there that let you get deeper into the technical specifics of valve saturation, we’ve not heard many that match VTC for quality and authenticity; and, frankly, its simplicity is a huge part of the sell. Wonderful, wonderful stuff."
