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The Best Sound Design Plugins You Need in 2025

Find the sonic key that will open the door to a whole new realm of creative potential in this list! Music production is a many-headed beast, with a variety of disciplines combining to make up one creative endeavour, namely: writing, recording, arranging, mixing and mastering. There’s another step on the production journey though, one which borrows from and overlaps with some of the skills mentioned above - sound design.  Originating from the world of film and television, where audio

Here’s Why Cubase Could Be Your Next DAW

Compare these top Cubase features to another DAW to see if you would benefit more from Steinberg’s special formula   Cubase has been part of the music production landscape for a long time. Archeologists have identified Steinberg’s DAW as having been used as early as far back as the neolithic period in central Europe, long before the invention of even plugins. If we had to describe Cubase as a ‘type’ of DAW, it would be as an advanced application for handling both mixing and creation. It

How to Install VST Plugins to Your DAW: a Step-by-Step Guide

As modern-day music producers, we rely primarily on virtual tools for our workflow. They’re more accessible and affordable, and save you from taking up physical space in your home –  perfect for bedroom producers with minimal resources. The main type of software you’ll need to produce music virtually is a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). This is where all the recording, composing, mixing, and mastering will occur. Within the DAW architecture you can use software components called plugins to w

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 Articles for music producers, sound designer, and audio enthusiasts looking to elevate their sound. Plugin Boutique is the go-to resource for everything related to music plugins, VSTs and other music software. Find expert advice, in-depth tutorials, and comprehensive reviews to discover how you can harness the power of plugins to enhance your productions.   Best Plugins Curated lists of the top plugins across various categories, handpicked to ensure you have the best options at your

Best Synth VST Plugins For Every Budget

We’re here to help you find the synth to suit your needs, whatever you’re willing to spend – starting from free. If you’re looking for a software synthesizer, you’re in luck! There are many options available to you, ranging from completely free to paid. Soft synths can offer incredible value for money and sounds that you can’t find in the hardware world. They can faithfully emulate iconic models, offer brave new sounds, and even present fresh ways to synthesize audio – all at prices that are

8 Top Delay VST Plugins for Hobbyists and Pros

Find the right flavour of delay to suit your needs in this hand-picked plugin roundup.   In this round-up article, you'll discover eight great delay plugins, and we'll discuss the wider points you should consider when choosing the type of delay plugin that's right for your needs. Elsewhere, don't miss our round-up of the 11 Best Reverb Plugins, as well as this read, covering the Best EQ Plugins on Planet Earth.   Contents What Is Delay? Types of Delay Plugin Karanyi Soun

12 Of The Best Vocal Processing Plugins

From pop to rock, jungle to house, vocals are a core component of contemporary music. Whether you’re recording your own vocalists, working with samples, or even Generating Your Own Vocals from Software, you’re likely going to want to process your vocals one way or another. In this article, we take a look at some of the best plugins to have at the ready when it comes to vocal processing. Once you've capped off your vocals, you'll need to make sure your track is mixed the best it can be. The

The Best Multi-Effects VST on Plugin Boutique

These creative effects each pack a host of options within a single plugin – which is the right one for your production style? Some effects plugins are shamelessly singular in their focus: the EQ, the distortion, the analogue character compressor, and so on. Others take a different approach, questioning why, in an age of computer-based production and almost limitless DSP audio power, can’t we arm every plugin with a whole arsenal of effects firepower from granular reverbs to trance gates? And

5 Plugin Bundle Deals Worth Every Penny

Make your money stretch even further with this curated assortment of plugin bundles. It’s no secret that music production can be an expensive pastime. With tons of new products being released week on week that promise to offer a new breakthrough in mixing techniques or virtual instrumentation, it can be hard to keep up with the current state of the market and know where to spend your hard earned dosh. Thankfully, Plugin Boutique is on hand with our Bundles+ range, which combines plugins th

Nine Of The Best AI-Inspired VST Plugins

Harness the power of artificial intelligence to supercharge your music production skills with these smart tools. Artificial intelligence is on the march, and starting to become more prevalent in our day to day lives. You can now Generate Vocals Using AI and Other Techniques, and Remove Vocals from Finished Stereo Tracks. Here at Plugin Boutique, we stock a variety of plugins with AI power, as music production has a breadth of applications for this type of technology.  Mixing is an obvious

VPS Avenger: 9 Ways To Get The Most Out Of It

  Ideas to up your game if you own it already; reasons to check it out if you don’t. Vengeance-Sound’s VPS Avenger is a synth of extremes. It’s got seemingly infinite potential to generate any sound you could imagine, it’s capable of practically anything you can dream up, and it’s even got a whole drum machine inside. Maybe even more notable is the fact that Avenger is now available as a rent-to-own plugin. You can get it right here on Plugin Boutique for £15.50 per month, stop your

The Best Free Mastering Plugins in 2023

For many of us, paying a mastering engineer to get our tracks over the finish line is out of scope and out of budget, or maybe you just want to apply some level of polish to your productions before sending them out to record labels. Either way, mastering is a tricky process to perfect, and blowing a load of cash on a suite of expensive mastering plugins might be out of the question while you’re only starting out on your mastering journey.   Here at Plugin Boutique, we have an entire sectio

Ultimate Guide to Essential Mixing VST Plugins on Plugin Boutique

Looking for the best VST plugins for mixing? In this article, we'll explore some of the top VST mixing plugins that can take your productions to the next level.  Having the right mixing tools can make all the difference, and there are many categories of mixing plugin, each fulfilling its own purpose.. From equaliser plugins that shape your tone to compression plugins that control dynamics, and reverb plugins that add space and depth, we'll cover it all.  Get ready to enhance your mu

Get Your Tracks Heard With LabelRadar

We have have collaborated with LabelRadar on an exclusive offer to help you accelerate your career and get your tracks heard! Submit your demos to a wide array of the best labels around, and get notified as soon as they listen. LabelRadar connects you with the right people and helps you take back control over demo submissions. Thousands of artists have had their tracks signed through LabelRadar, so start taking advantage of their award-winning platform and work smarter not harder.

8 Simple Mixing Tips for Professional Results

  Level up your mixes with VST plugins, tips, samples, and more. Make your music sound better and get closer to the results your favourite artists.  Mixing is a very abstract job. Using your ears, you’re supposed to gauge how multiple elements should work together, and to identify parts of each that can be removed or improved to make the whole thing better when they all stack up together. But the answers are out there, and once you’ve got to a point where you feel you’ve improved up

12 Of The Best Bass Synth VST Plugins [Free and Paid]

In this guide, we’re rounding up the best bass instrument plugins on Plugin Boutique. From analogue synths of the 60s with a vintage tone, to modern sub bass generators and more besides, we’ll fill you in on what’s best for your bass frequencies.  It’s a rule that holds true in music from drill to orchestral: at the foundation of everything is bass. It keeps us grounded, providing a solid root that chords and melodies appear to stem from, whether it’s coming from an instrument, a virtual inst