Best new mixing plugins, effects and VST instruments out this week

Software instruments, effects and mixing plugins – here’s everything fresh in the plugin marketplace.

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Man making music using a MIDI controller

Credit: Getty / Михаил Руденко

In music production, plugins are software add-ons that expand the capabilities of your DAW; these could be virtual instruments and creative effects, EQ and compressors, or tools that make editing a lot more manageable.

Below is a rolling list of the new plugin releases that catch our eye, so you can keep on top of any software goodies you may have missed that could be essential to your production process. We update this list every week, so be sure to check back regularly for the latest virtual instruments, effects, mixing plugins and more. Happy producing!

Latest virtual instruments, effects and mixing plugins

(Last update: 21 March 2024)

NEOLD Wunderlich by Plugin Alliance

Wunderlich brings vintage vacuum tube processing to modern mixes, replicating the warm, nostalgic tones of Arcturus tubes from the 1930s. With preamp, compressor, EQ, and mixer sections, it’s a versatile tool for adding character to any audio source, available at a discounted launch price.

Find it for an intro price of $129.99 on Plugin Alliance.

Virtual String Machine IV by GForce Software

String Machine IV is a massive virtual instrument offering 46 classic and rare string machine emulations. With over 1900 presets and new features like a scalable UI and enhanced controls, it provides endless creative possibilities for making unique synthetic strings, ready to fit into virtually any project.

Buy it for $69.99 on G Force Software.

Pro-54 by CMajor

Pro-54 by CMajor offers a faithful browser-based emulation of the classic Native Instruments Pro-53 synth. Featuring an intuitive interface reminiscent of early 2000s music software, it provides a nostalgic experience with oscillators, filters, and ADSR controls, making it an accessible tool for exploring sound synthesis in a browser environment.

Find it for free on CMajor.

Trash by iZotope


Trash is back, baby. This iconic distortion plugin by iZotope was originally launched in 2003 but has returned with a reimagined new look and modern features.

This is a powerful distortion plugin with over 60 distortion types and 600 impulse responses. It features intuitive XY pad controls, an Envelope Follower, and a cool Dice Roll random function for finding new inspiration.

There’s a new free version, Trash Lite, and it’s now available for desktop and iPad, giving you professional sound shaping for musicians and producers alike.

Buy it for $79 on Plugin Boutique

Studio Drums by Crow Hill Vault

The Crow Hill Company, the brand of ex-Sptifire co-founder Christian Henson, introduced Studio Drums this week, the latest of its Crow Hill Vaults series. This is a free alt-rock drum kit plugin that aims to be unlike typical drum samples by letting you play multi-sampled drums. Functioning, coincidentally, a bit like LABS by Spitfire Audio, Studio Drums provides a unique ecosystem of drum sounds for you to explore, thanks to a robust alt-rock kit reminiscent of the 90s.

Find out more on The Crow Hill Company.

Bïrb by Blööps

This one’s a bit strange. Bïrb is a multi-effect plugin, “as created from a chirp heard outside of the window”, built for Ableton Live. It aims to… make your sounds sound like a bird, we thnk? Anyway, it has a petrifying promo video.

We’re not exactly sure what’s going on here, to be honest, but by the looks of it, Bïrb ​​is inspired by birds, letting you add effects, including stereo delay, fine-tune spread and feedback. It comes in three parts: Flock, a repeater, Sing, a resonating engine with 10 bird types, and Nature, an enveloping space with wind motion.

Bïrb costs $14. Find out more on Blööps.

Time Oddity Chorus by Modalics

Time Oddity Chorus, a new chorus plugin by Modalics, enriches your tracks with immersive depth and movement.

Its centrepiece, the Color knob, offers a spectrum of tones, while the Voices control adds dimension. Warp Mode is there for wild modulation effects while the Filters section includes a unique Damp knob for warmth.

Buy Time Oddity Chorus for $29 on Modalics.

TUNDRA by Soundghost

TUNDRA is a new synth that offers “frozen ambient soundscapes”.

Crafted from acoustic and modular synthesis, Tundra offers two layers of 100 frozen-in-time samples with reverb and granular effects. Randomize for infinite soundscapes, or use built-in tools like bit crushing and filters to craft your own. With 50 presets and 100 samples, it’s ideal for instant sound design.

Buy TUNDRA for £29 on Soundghost.

Super Lynn Drums by SampleScience

Super Lynn Drums is a new plugin that emulates the classic 1980s drum machine, the LinnDrum, using FM synthesis and physical modelling. It features four drum kits, customisable tuning, effects, and is available in VST/VST3/AU formats for $20.

Find out more about Super Lynn Drums at SampleScience.

AMPKNOB S_ZERO 100 by Bogren

Ampknob MLC S_Zero 100 gives you boutique tube amp sounds in a simple format, thanks to its one-knob nature and three channels for versatile, high-quality guitar tones. It includes a pedal switch and a standalone version with a tuner, metronome, and riff recorder.


AMPKNOB S_ZERO 100 is €39 as an intro price, jumping back up to €49 soon. Buy it on Bogren Digital.

Factoid 2 by Anemond

Factoid 2 is a plugin and standalone app that lets you extract stems from a sample and loop them in interesting ways to come up with new grooves. Say, for example, a snare and a kick occur on the same beat in a sample, they could be separated, allowing for interesting remixing opportunities.

Factoid 2 costs €29 and you can find out more from Anemond.

Jacob Collier Audience Choir plugin by Native Instruments

Six-time Grammy winner Jacob Collier, who featured on our My Forever Studio podcast in 2022, has worked with Native Instruments to build his own free virtual choir through the Audience Choir plugin.

It offers 22 unique show recordings, percussion tracks, a Vowel Morph Pad, preset options, effects, stereo width adjustment, and a chord generator for enhanced user control.

It’s free to download from Native Instruments.

Lace by Acustica Audio

Lace by Acustica Audio is essentially a new plugin suite that offers emulations of carefully selected high-quality hardware limiters, including rare models. It’s an advanced true peak brick wall limiter, preserving transparency, transients, and low frequencies. With two GUI options, Lace solves challenges in mixing and mastering, ensuring balanced sound in your project.

It’s $89 until 25 March, jumping back up to its original price of $189 thereafter.

Check it out at Acustica Audio.

Bloom Drum Breaks by Excite Audio

Looking for drum breaks? Excite Audio has you covered. Its new plugin, Bloom Drum Breaks, provides 250 royalty-free drum break loops, giving you a fun-to-use interface on which to chop them up in a colourful, visual way.

Bloom Drum Breaks currently costs $49. Find it on Plugin Boutique.

Lumina Delay by Mountainroad DSP

Lumina Delay transforms traditional delays with its unique features, enabling instant and precise pattern drawing without limits. Offering dynamic effects, intuitive controls, and a grid-based interface, it redefines delay possibilities for that can create spacey atmospheres in your music.

The plugin costs $150. Find it on Mountain Road DSP.

How to install VST and AU plugins on Windows, Mac and iOS

If your plugin came as a .zip file, and not an installer, you may have to manually install it. Here’s how…

VST3 plugins:

  1. Unzip the plugin folder
  2. Copy the .VST file to your default plugin folder (Windows default: C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3, Mac default: /Library/Audio/Plugins/VST)
  3. Start your DAW
  4. Rescan your plugin directory

AUv3 plugins:

  1. Download and install plugin from the App Store
  2. Insert plugin in your DAW
  3. Select the AUv3 plugin from the Audio Unit Extensions tab

Where to download freeware plugins and VSTs

Our freeware section is an excellent place to start; each month, we also compile round-ups of the best free plugins and samples to download.

The production community is full of passionate developers who’ve given away instruments, effects and other plugins as freeware. Some of our favourites include Valhalla’s Supermassive reverb, Apogee’s Soft Limit and Matt Tytel’s Helm polysynth. Remember, most developers also offer free trials for their plugins.

Are DAW stock plugins good enough?

Most major DAWs these days will come with a more-than-serviceable collection of ‘stock’ plugins for music-making: Logic Pro’s software instrument library is rich and varied; Ableton Live’s synth engines cover additive, subtractive and granular methods, and the Pro Tools suite of mixing plugins is still widely used by pro engineers.

A good producer isn’t their plugin folder, but their ability to make good decisions. Increase your knowledge: instead of buying a synth samples, learn about the fundamentals of synthesis; kick drum sounding too skinny? learn to compress properly.

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