Cubase 16 introduces new creative possibilities, faster workflows, and meaningful refinements across every stage of music production.

Link: Steinberg Cubase 16

Powered by 12 cutting-edge machine learning models, custom-trained on our own real-world audio data, Photon runs locally on your GPU for a fast, easy workflow. No uploads, no cutoffs, no interruptions. Split stems, remove noise, balance levels, and isolate vocals, even in conversations with up to 6 speakers.

Link: iZotope Photon

What’s New in RC-20 Retro Color v2:

• Echo: A feedback delay with RC-20 inside the loop so repeats wobble, distort, and degrade as the sound evolves with each pass.

• Grains: Transform delay trails into wide, shimmering ambient soundscapes and granular textures.

• Codec: Dial in digital grit that’s become today’s retro, from lossy network compression and packet dropouts to formant shifts and smeared, blurry artifacts.

• Expanded Sonic Palette: Explore new tape, classic preamp, and 4-track cassette distortions, 32 new reverb types, warp modulation, Digital Sputter and Drive, Space ducking, and pre/post Noise blend.

• Movable Modules: Drag Wobble, Distort, Digital, Space, and Loss into any order to discover unexpected interactions and timbres.

• Focus/Cut Filters: Target effect ranges precisely with dedicated filters in the Noise, Wobble, Distortion, and Loss modules.

• Tempo Sync: Keep modulation, Magnetic tape flutter, and Echo times locked to your project’s tempo for beat-synced movement.

• Loudness Match: Audition changes objectively without volume bias by automatically matching processed output to the dry signal level.

• Faster Preset Browsing: Instantly discover, categorize, and export presets using tags, custom collections, search filtering, and seamless preset sharing.

• Enhanced Production Workflow: Stay in the groove with full undo history, module locking, modifier-key control of several parameters at once, snapshot comparisons, oversampling, and master compression.

• Compatible with v1: The new version of RC-20 Retro Color installs alongside the original, so your existing projects open just as they did before. All the original v1 factory and artist presets are included in v2. You can also import your own v1 presets in a few clicks.

Link: XLN Audio RC-20 Retro Color v2

PSP ClassicQlite brings the warmth, punch, and musicality of classic British equalizers to your DAW. Inspired by legendary console EQ designs, including early Neve equalizers, it combines beautifully musical low- and high-frequency shelving filters with precise midrange control.

Shape your tracks with an adjustable high-pass filter, switchable Q settings for the shelving filters, and a flexible midrange bell filter with Auto Q. Add extra character with PSP’s second-generationSAT(uration) algorithm, delivering smooth, analog-style overdrive while helping protect against digital clipping.

Whether you’re adding weight to drums, presence to vocals, or warmth to instruments, PSP ClassicQlite makes classic British-style equalization easy, musical, and inspiring.

Link: PSP ClassicQlite

ThrillMe Classic joins the FX Bundle next to ThrillMe 3. The original 2002 ThrillMe tube compressor, rebuilt from its own DSP: an exciter EQ, a three-band compressor with fixed attack and release per band, a peak limiter and a tube stage, followed by a lookahead true-peak limiter so the output never clips. Release runs in Classic mode or as an SSL-style Auto release. Input and Mix sit on the two small knobs (Shift or right drag), every knob takes MIDI learn, and the window scales from 100% to 200%.

Link: discoDSP ThrillMe Classic

D16 is celebrating 20 years with a free gift: Echolite. A no-nonsense delay with an intuitive interface and zero learning curve, ready for any scenario. Insert, FX send, you name it.

Link: D16 Echolite

Native Instruments has released Massive XL, its next-generation flagship synth: built on the sound and open architecture of Massive X, compatible with its presets and Expansions, and evolved with faster, more visual routes to original results.

Step into a synth that hits hard fast, then keeps opening up. Massive XL builds on its iconic heritage to quickly guide you to your own distinctive sound with grit, weight, and character. It takes you deep and accompanies your exploration – without oversimplifying. Make movement playable, push presets into new territory, and turn audio samples into real, tweakable synth patches. Prepare for chest-rattling bass, razor-sharp leads, pads that glow and unfold, and so much more. This is the sound of pushing further.

Link: Native Instruments Massive XL

Pulsar Audio has released DigiTape, a free digital tape plugin.

Early tape plugins shaped the sound of the 2000s, bringing a distinctive character that today’s more accurate tape models don’t reproduce. Developed when processing power was limited, these algorithms relied on clever design and the experience of engineers who knew tape machine inside out. DigiTape pays tribute to their work, bringing two complementary algorithms together in one free, low-CPU plugin.

Link: Pulsar Audio DigiTape

hitshaper has released SubKick 2, its updated low-end trigger plug-in.

Add subtle sub-bass to give your mix the depth it’s missing, or unleash massive, MIDI-controlled 808s with wild glides. Add harmonics with Shape and Saturate to help your bass cut through even on small speakers. Your kick supplies the trigger; SubKick supplies the low end.

Link: hitshaper SubKick 2

That’s your roundup of this week’s audio plugin news! 🎛️

For the latest deals, discounts, and freebies, head over to Plugin Deals and make sure you don’t miss a bargain!

Add subtle sub-bass to give your mix the depth it’s missing, or unleash massive, MIDI-controlled 808s with wild glides. Add harmonics with Shape and Saturate to help your bass cut through even on small speakers. Your kick supplies the trigger; SubKick supplies the low end.

Link: hitshaper SubKick 2

Early tape plugins shaped the sound of the 2000s, bringing a distinctive character that today’s more accurate tape models don’t reproduce. Developed when processing power was limited, these algorithms relied on clever design and the experience of engineers who knew tape machine inside out. DigiTape pays tribute to their work, bringing two complementary algorithms together in one free, low-CPU plugin.

Link: Pulsar Audio DigiTape

Step into a synth that hits hard fast, then keeps opening up. Massive XL builds on its iconic heritage to quickly guide you to your own distinctive sound with grit, weight, and character. It takes you deep and accompanies your exploration – without oversimplifying. Make movement playable, push presets into new territory, and turn audio samples into real, tweakable synth patches. Prepare for chest-rattling bass, razor-sharp leads, pads that glow and unfold, and so much more. This is the sound of pushing further.

Link: Native Instruments Massive XL

Link: D16 Echolite

HoRNet has released ZeroLevel, an automatic level-adjustment plugin.

Link: HoRNet ZeroLevel

AIR will release Vocal Distortion on Black Friday. Bring warmth, grit and attitude to your vocals, from gentle vintage-style saturation to bold, overdriven effects. The free offer runs from 27 November to 6 December 2026—sign up today and be ready to claim your copy when it goes live.

Link: AIR Vocal Distortion

Karanyi Sounds has released Voicemax: real-time vocal tuning, smart harmonies and a full vocal editor in one VST3 / AU / AAX plugin.

Link: Karanyi Sounds Voicemax

zplane has released TONIC 2, an important update to its real-time key and scale detection plugin. TONIC 2™ is a music theory analysis plugin that detects the key and scale of any audio source or MIDI, and suggests compatible notes and chords.

Link: zplane TONIC 2

The Tone Foundry has released Mass, a saturation plugin which adds weight, drive and character.

Link: The Tone Foundry Mass

Excite Audio has released Bloom Ensemble Mallets, the latest ensemble instrument in the Bloom series. It turns loops, one-shots and phrases into a mallet instrument that’s ready to play.

Link: Excite Audio Bloom Ensemble Mallets

Thenatan has released CROWD, a vocal choir & crowd maker plugin. Built for Mac & Windows, CROWD treats every copy of your voice as a separate person.

Link: Thenatan CROWD

That’s your roundup of this week’s audio plugin news! 🎛️

For the latest deals, discounts, and freebies, head over to Plugin Deals and make sure you don’t miss a bargain!

Built for Mac & Windows, CROWD treats every copy of your voice as a separate person. Each singer has its own pitch, its own timing, its own detune and its own vibrato, and each one stands at its own spot in the same room. That is why sixteen singers in CROWD sound like sixteen people - not one voice turned up sixteen times.

Imagine dropping a Tenor on either side of your lead for an instant wide double, pulling a Bass in underneath for weight, lifting a Soprano to the top of the stage for the octave above, then shift-dragging the back row into the distance until it turns into a crowd behind the choir - all in the time it takes to play the chorus once.

Link: Thenatan CROWD

Experience the ringing melody of tuned percussion with Bloom Ensemble Mallets, the latest ensemble instrument in the Bloom series. It turns loops, one-shots and phrases into a mallet instrument that’s ready to play.

Bloom Ensemble Mallets is built from a rich collection of pianos, vibraphones, marimbas, glockenspiels and bells. Play anything from solo voices to high-energy sequences and full ensemble stacks. It brings organic melodic movement to electronic, ambient, downtempo and cinematic music where every note adds shimmer and depth.

Link: Excite Audio Bloom Ensemble Mallets

MASS adds weight, drive and character to anything you put through it, from a gentle lift on the mix bus to a growling, parallel-crushed bass.

One large control, Mass, sets how hard the signal is pushed. Three styles decide the flavour. Modern is clean and dense, adding solidity without obvious colour. Vintage is warm and asymmetric, with a slow, tape-like drift that keeps sustained sounds alive. Resonant drives a tuneable mid band into clipping and adds it in parallel, so a reese can growl and a snare can crack while the sub underneath stays exactly where it was.

Link: The Tone Foundry Mass

TONIC 2™ is a music theory analysis plugin that detects the key and scale of any audio source or MIDI, and suggests compatible notes and chords.

Put TONIC 2 on any audio track, hit play in your DAW, and it suggests three potential keys and scales, as well as their percentage probability. Audition and monitor compatible notes and chords on external sound sources, or drag-and-drop specific chords straight into your DAW as MIDI clips.

Whether you want to discover the key of samples and recordings, explore new ways to write melodies and harmonies, or simply level up your music theory, TONIC 2 is a powerful music production tool.

Link: zplane TONIC 2

Pick the key and scale and Voicemax tunes the lead as you sing. Tune Amount sets how firmly, Retune how fast and Smoothing how natural the moves between notes are - from transparent correction to the hard, robotic sound of modern pop.

Up to four harmony voices sung live next to your lead, always in key. Start from a preset - Thirds, Octaves, Unison, Deep, Full Stack - then set each voice's interval, pan and level. Spread and Formant shape the width and the size of the singers.

Drop chord blocks on the timeline and the four voices sing that chord. Copy, paste, stretch and move chords to write a whole progression - the notes you froze under a chord are never lost.

Link: Karanyi Sounds Voicemax

Pre-sign up now to claim your FREE copy of AIR Vocal Distortion for Desktop and MPC Standalone. Bring warmth, grit and attitude to your vocals, from gentle vintage-style saturation to bold, overdriven effects.

The free offer runs from 27 November to 6 December 2026—sign up today and be ready to claim your copy when it goes live.

Link: AIR Vocal Distortion

Before the EQ and compression, there are the levels. Open a multitrack session and the differences are already there: a loud snare, a quiet guitar, or backing vocals that disappear behind the lead. Getting those tracks into a useful relationship is part of mixing. It is also a first pass you may want help with.

That does not mean making every track equally loud. A kick and a backing vocal have different jobs. Nor does it mean flattening the dynamics until everything fits. A starting balance should let you hear the arrangement and decide what needs attention, without pretending to make the creative decisions for you.

ZeroLevel assists that first pass. Insert it on the tracks you want to coordinate and assign them the same Group ID. A group is simply a set of plugin instances sharing an ID — it is not a bus, and it does not change your routing. Check each source type, play the song, and stop the transport to start the analysis.

When every instance in that group has a valid Learn result, ZeroLevel applies the gains automatically. The audio path uses one global gain per instance, not EQ or compression. After Learn, that gain is held rather than continuously riding every phrase or transient.

From there, listen and make it yours. Try a different group preset, bring the guitars forward with a source offset, or change a source type without learning again. Valid Learn results are saved with your project. We see this as a useful place to begin: the final balance, processing choices, and movement of the song still belong to you.

Link: HoRNet ZeroLevel

discoDSP has released Roboto, a free singing voice synthesizer. Write a melody in the piano roll, type a word on each note, and Roboto sings it. It runs as a plugin or standalone app on macOS, Windows, Linux, iPhone and iPad.

Link: discoDSP Roboto

Thenatan has released DJFX, a 15-Pad DJ Transition Effects Plugin for Mac & Win. Every great track lives or dies on its transitions. DJFX makes them in one click. 15 transition effects on 15 pads, each one tuned to sound finished the moment you hit it - no automation lanes, no effect racks, no routing.

Link: Thenatan DJFX

Audioblast has released V10F, a monophonic virtual analog synthesizer inspired by the Kawai 100F, expanded with modern sequencing and sound design tools.

Link: Audioblast V10F

2B Played Music has released 2B Shaped 2, a new multi-effect plugin featuring 17 creative effect modules, drawable motion shapes, dynamic modulation and advanced sidechain control.

Link: 2B Played Music 2B Shaped 2

AudioThing has released Materia, an additive re-synthesizer that transforms any sample into a playable instrument.

Link: AudioThing Materia

Universal Audio has released Empirical Labs FATSO. The FATSO is one of the most widely used analog saturators in recording history. Now get the same subtle harmonic coloration and extreme squeeze of the original hardware unit, with or without an Apollo.

Link: Universal Audio Empirical Labs FATSO

Cableguys has released TimeStop, the new way to stop time. TimeStop is the fastest, most intuitive way to get tape‑stops that always fit your track.

Link: Cableguys TimeStop

Safari Pedals has released Everything Bundle V2, including 16 Safari plugins, instruments and studio tools for mixing, producing, mastering and getting wild in the studio.

Link: Safari Pedals Everything Bundle V2

Imaginando has released COLAPSO, the Atomic Synthesizer. A synth that plays the periodic table. Pick one of 22 elements and its emission spectrum becomes the timbre: its measured emission lines, cross-checked against the NIST Atomic Spectra Database and transposed down into hearing range.

Link: Imaginando COLAPSO

W.A. Production has released InstaComposer 4, the creative companion that takes powerful MIDI generation and songwriting to the next level.

Link: W.A. Production InstaComposer 4

Boz Digital Labs has released Gatey Watey 2. Kill bleed, reduce noise, keep the tone.

Link: Boz Digital Labs Gatey Watey 2

That’s your roundup of this week’s audio plugin news! 🎛️

For the latest deals, discounts, and freebies, head over to Plugin Deals and make sure you don’t miss a bargain!

Gatey Watey is a gate that, through a simple crossover network, lets you have significantly more transparent gating without cutting off the sound you want to hear.

V2 has the same simple layout as V1, with extra features:

• Apple Silicon Native

• External and Internal Sidechain

• Resizable GUI

• Independent range controls over High and Low band

Link: Boz Digital Labs Gatey Watey 2