Plugin Boutique Staff Picks Archive

Helping You Make It: Seven UK Organisations Creating Change Through Music

Make Music Day celebrates everyone who creates. Meet seven UK organisations helping people find the tools and communities they need to make music and be heard. Music is a universal connector. It’s always there, comforting us through our headphones or uniting a thousand of us on a dark club floor. It rushes in to fill the spaces between us and reminds us of why we are here. But before any of that, it needs to be made. That might mean opening a blank session, recording an idea before it disappe

Free VST Plugins You Should Actually Get

[Article Last updated: 17 June 2026] –  There are a lot of free plugins out there, and you can sometimes feel overwhelmed by the paradox of choice. Thankfully, we've done the hard work, so you don't have to. Here’s a carefully curated list of the best free plugins that pretty much any music producer can benefit from. We even update this list approximately weekly to keep you informed of the new free plugins arriving on the scene. We’ve been especially considerate of plugins with a wide ap

Behind the Curtain with Just Her

From her early days as a vinyl collector, then musician and music technology lecturer to becoming one of the most respected names in melodic house, Claire's journey has been defined by curiosity and an unwavering commitment to authenticity. Whether through her releases on labels the likes of Anjunadeep and Crosstown Rebels, her multidisciplinary Constant Circles project, or her personal performances around the world, Just Her has built a reputation for creating music that resonates as strongly w

Essential Toolkit: What So Not

For the debut of our new Essential Toolkit series, What So Not details the plugins behind “Dancing in the Leaves” from their EP The Quiet That Hurts. The focus stays on speed and restraint. Each tool serves a defined purpose, supporting the idea without heavy processing chains or excess layering. Five plugins shape the session: FabFilter Pro-Q 4 handles spectral EQ on field recordings and unstable sources so the arrangement forms quickly. RC-20 Retro Color adds motion to an 808 line