Blog
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.
Latest Posts
Sampleson on Stage54
Sampleson on Stage54, and How We Made our New Collaborative Plugin Together Model citizens Augusto Filamino and Lucia Tkach use spectral modelling to summon rare instruments to life Thanks to continuous innovation in the field of virtual instrument development, music producers today can arm their tracks with authentic sounds they could only have ever dreamed of owning previously. Fancy a string section? Check. What about a church organ? Check. Sampleson, the developers behind our new e
Ten Years of Plugins
Relive the past decade of twists and turns in the world of music software with this trip down memory lane It’s hard to imagine a life where we couldn’t reach for our favourite synth, EQ, compressor, or barometric visual spline compander without a simple click and drag of a mouse, but there truly was a time when plugins didn’t exist. At the time that Plugin Boutique was founded, though, plugins had become an accepted part of most producers’ lives. Soft synths like Massive had been so influe
Ten Years of Music Tech
11 things that have changed the way we make music in the past decade In the ever changing world of music tech, if you’re standing still, you’re going backwards. Technological innovation directly impacts how music is made. For example, when CDs came along (remember them?) their increased data storage meant longer songs and more tracks per album; that is until streaming services saturated the music market and compelled artists to get to the point. Since Plugin Boutique landed in your laps
Ten Years of Plugin Boutique
Ten Years of Plugin Boutique After a decade of service under the awnings of the plugin marketplace, our ability to serve our customers is the strongest it's been yet. We’re not ones to toot our own horns, but Plugin Boutique exists today as the place where the best music software companies come to sell their wares to producers, musicians and DJs worldwide. Nowadays, we host over 6000 plugins from nearly 200 developers, from the Best Synths Out There, at All Budgets, to the Strangest I
Carl Craig's Plugin Picks
From his early days as a pioneer of the burgeoning sound of Detroit techno to his Grammy nomination in 2008 for his remix of Junior Boys’ ‘Like A Child’, Carl Craig has ensured that his signature sound has remained not only distinct, but gradually evolved in new directions. As the subject of producer focus for Loopcloud this month, subscribers can get closer than ever. Alongside an exclusive Planet E Breaks pack hand-crafted in his Detroit studio, Carl is also judging an exciting
Shop now. Pay over time with Klarna
Artist Insight: Marius de Vries on Creativity & Collaboration
In between producing for the likes of Bjork and Brian Eno, Marius de Vries has played pretty much every role there is to play in creating world-renowned music. We caught up with the grammy-award winning composer to find out about his latest work on the film CODA, directed by Sian Heder (Orange is the New Black, Little America), his approach to film scoring, and the gear he uses to keep him creative. Congratulations on your score for CODA (dir. Sian Heder). Can you tell us how that came ab
Why Studio One by Presonus is the Perfect DAW for ALL Types of Producers
Why Studio One 5 might be the Perfect DAW for You! Learn more about PreSonus Studio One 5 Choosing the right DAW is fundamental in any modern producers’ journey and with there being so many to choose from, each with their own fervent community of users championing reasons why each one is the best, it might seem impossible to choose one over the other. Well, in this video I’m going to tell you why Studio One might be the right choice for you. Presonus have created a DAW that
Reason Lite Rack Plugin | Tutorials
Reason Rack Plugin Tutorial #1 | Basic Introduction Reason Rack Plugin Tutorial #2 | Matrix Sequencer - Control Internal & External Instruments Reason Rack Plugin Tutorial #3 | MClass Compressor Sidechain - Internal & External Routing Reason Rack Plugin Tutorial #4 | Scales & Chords Player Reason Rack Plugin Tutorial #5 | Combinator Basics - Rotary & Button Macro Routing
Best EDM VST Plugins
If you want to get that polished, highly professional EDM sound, you’re going to need to use the right tools, and at Plugin Boutique, you can find some of the most helpful VST plugins out there. But which are the best plugins for EDM? In this rundown, we’ll shed some light on the top VSTs in 2022 for crafting tearing leads and solid basslines. 5. XLN Audio XO An innovative new way to get the right drum sounds, XO analyzes your one-shots and groups th
Top 5 Friday | Best Beatmaking VST Plugins
Top 5 Friday - Best Beatmaking VST Plugins When it comes to beat making VSTs, which are the essential selections that’ll get you slick, professional and vibey beats? From drum machine plugins to instant retro-ising effects, here we’ll take you through the best beat making plugins for getting that professional edge on your beats. Far from the abilities of your DAW’s stock plugin collection, these are the best beatmaking VST instruments and effects out there… 5. XLN Audio RC-20 Retro Col
Top 5 Friday | Best Drum & Bass VST Plugins
Top Five Friday - Best Drum & Bass VST Plugins Sure, technology is important in all forms of music, but in the super-tight DnB community, the need for a great drum and bass plugin is huge, with almost as many opinions on what’s the best drum and bass plugin as there are producers. So what are the best VSTs for drum and bass, really – and what’s the best drum and bass VST that you can get yourself on Plugin Boutique? In this rundown of DnB VST plugins, we’ll let you know the answers.
Top 5 Friday | Best Techno VST Plugins
Top 5 Friday | Best Techno VST Plugins 5. FabFilter Pro-R Perfect dystopian techno needs a perfect dystopian reverb, and FabFilter’s Pro-R is just that. Pro-R has all the hallmarks of any regular reverb plugin, with Space, Decay time and many more parameters, but it’s the lower half that makes it so versatile… Here, the yellow curves act to EQ the reverb signal, and the blue curves change the decay time for different frequencies. This gives you a new way to emphasise or roll back di
Plugin Professional
Who we are Plugin Boutique is the leading global marketplace for music production software. We curate and distribute the best virtual instruments, audio effects, and production tools from world-renowned developers—supporting millions of music creators, producers, and educators. Program Overview Plugin Boutique is committed to supporting professional studios and music professionals in their ongoing requirements for high-quality plugins and software at the best price, and Black Friday
Best EQ VST Plugin Emulations (Inc. a Free EQ VST)
Best EQ VST Plugin Emulations (Including a Free EQ VST) Are you looking for EQ VST plugins that get a little bit more old-school than today’s all-singing all-dancing best EQ VSTs? If analogue is what you need, we’ve got five recommendations that’ll get you that dusty vibe when you’re cutting your frequencies. Modern EQ VSTs today boast features like dynamic EQ, frequency matching and visual spectrograms, but old units get you the classic tones of the world’s finest and most legendary r
Top 5 Friday | Best Drum Machines
Top 5 Friday | Drum Machines (VST / AU) 5. Plugin Boutique BigKick Yes, we’re naturally a bit biased towards this one, but BigKick is a drum machine plugin par excellence. It may only do one type of drum, but that drum is the one that’s in every electronic music track ever, and this vertical monster does it to death! Choose two samples and operate their decay time, and then dial in dynamics controls with Attach, Hold and Decay, set the pitch mod depth and curve type, as well as the