Music Production Forum

Below is a list of some of the best software synths & virtual pianos (free & paid). Please reply to this post if you recommended any others There are a huge number of plugins available, here are some other lists I've created for products I recommend https://jamesm.blog/music-production/my-hardware-software/ https://jamesm.blog/music-production/my-hardware-software-wishlist/ https://jamesm.blog/music-production/physical-modeling-synths/ Synths (Free) Vendor Plugin Name Key Features Blamsoft VK-1 Viking Synthesizer Moog Voyager emulation, strong basses Digital Suburban Dexed Yamaha DX7 emulation, FM synthesis discoDSP OB-Xd Oberheim OB-X emulation, analog sounds M…

For a limited time, Plugin Boutique is offering massive discounts (80%) on two premium reverb plugins: FlexVerb and ShimmerVerb. These offers end on February 28, 2026. I picked up SSL Native FlexVerb a few years ago, during another promotion, and I’m glad that I did. It’s one of a select few SSL plugins I’ve purchased [...] View post: Get over 80% off reverbs from SSL and Eventide at Plugin Boutique View the full article

Sound Magic has introduced Supreme Drums Blue, a hybrid modeling drum virtual instrument that they say is designed for music production, film and game audio.… Read More Sound Magic Releases Supreme Drums Blue, A Hybrid Modeled Acoustic Drum Virtual InstrumentView the full article

It’s 2026, and free DAWs are better than ever. So I spent last week testing four of them to see which one I’d actually use for real projects. One clearly stood out. Waveform Free is my top pick for anyone who wants a real, full-featured DAW without spending money. Here’s why it beat the competition. [...] View post: I Tested 4 Free DAWs for 2026 — Waveform Free Wins View the full article

Behringer today officially introduced the BM-17 Freq Box, their 'Boogerfooger' knockoff of the Moog MF107 Moogerfooger FreqBox pedal. … Read More Behringer BM-17 Freq Box ‘Boogerfooger’ Now Available To Pre-OrderView the full article

Luxora Audio has released Titan Tube Compressor, a free vari-mu compressor plugin for macOS and Windows. Titan is described as a detailed software model of a high-end, $7,000-class vari-mu hardware compressor. As you’d expect from that topology, the focus is on relatively smooth, program-dependent compression and harmonic richness instead of aggressive gain control. If you recognize [...] View post: Luxora Audio releases free Titan Tube Compressor plugin for macOS and Windows View the full article

FRCTL has released SWRL Lite, a free modulation plugin for macOS, Windows, and Linux. SWRL Lite combines six movement-based effects into a super clean interface with just two controls: Amount and Mix. The idea here is simple, and I like it. You turn one knob to enhance your sound with motion, depth, and character. Then, [...] View post: FRCTL releases SWRL Lite, a FREE modulation plugin for Windows, macOS, Linux View the full article

Acon Digital is offering Limit, a transparent limiter plugin for Windows and macOS, free of charge until March 1st. This is a time-limited promotion, so anyone interested can download and activate the plugin at no cost before the deadline. After March 1st, Limit will return to its regular status as part of Acon Digital’s premium [...] View post: Acon Digital offers the Limit limiter plugin for FREE until March 1st View the full article

Mode Audio is offering BPB readers an exclusive 33% discount on Airspace, its hybrid convolution reverb and stereo delay plugin for macOS and Windows. Airspace normally retails for €68.83, but you can reduce the price by 33% with the coupon code AIRBPB33. If you’ve been considering it, this is a good opportunity to pick it [...] View post: BPB Deal: 33% OFF ModeAudio Airspace Hybrid Reverb and Delay plugin View the full article

Artists in DSP released Amorph (open beta), their free AI-prompt-driven app, for macOS and Windows. AI has been a relatively hot topic around here recently, with the release of projects like Noizefield’s Audio Plugin Coder (APC). The conversation continues as we take a look at Amorph by Artists in DSP. Before we look at Amorph [...] View post: Artists in DSP releases FREE AI-driven Amorph plugin that lets you create plugins View the full article

The UB-Xa mini Editor gives you direct access to the synths parameters, and can be integrated into you DAW. … Read More Behringer UB-Xa MINI Synth Gets Custom Patch EditorView the full article

HoRNet offers the 3XOver three-band DJ-style EQ and crossover plugin for macOS and Windows as a free download for the next 48 hours. The plugin normally costs €5.99, but you can add it to your HoRNet user account for free during the limited-time promotion. To get it, visit the product page on HoRNet’s website, add [...] View post: HoRNet 3XOver DJ-style EQ plugin is FREE for 48 hours View the full article

Blueprint: Wurli from Fracture Sounds is the 26th and latest addition to the stellar series, and it’s something of a return to the project’s genesis for Fracture Sounds. The Blueprint series started with Electric Keys, a sampled Fender Rhodes Mk1, and Wurli is revisiting the vintage electric piano genre. This time, Fracture Sounds has sampled [...] View post: Fracture Sounds releases Free Blueprint Wurli library for Kontakt Player View the full article

Cherry Audio has launched a new virtual instrument plugin, SH-MAX, which combines the greatest features of three classic Roland synths in one. Inspired by Roland’s SH series produced in the 1970s, the SH-MAX integrates the SH-5, SH-7, and SH-3A in one instrument. Cherry Audio says it has taken the bold sound of the SH-5, and mixed it with the finest features of the other two models. The final result is infused with “even greater power and versatility” for the music makers of today... The post Cherry Audio’s new SH-MAX instrument plugin fuses together three vintage Roland synth emulations appeared first on MusicTech. View the full article

Ableton Live 12.4 is now available as a 'beta' release, bringing new features and updates for Push, Move and Note. … Read More Ableton Live 12.4 Now Entering Public Beta, Here’s What’s NewView the full article

Cherry Audio has introduced SH-MAX synthesizer, a virtual instrument plugin that they say is inspired by three synthesizers from the Roland's SH series of the '70s: the SH-5, SH-7, and SH-3A.… Read More Cherry Audio SH-MAX Fuses Features From 3 Classic Roland SynthsView the full article

GPU Audio, a company that's helped pioneer using powerful GPU graphics cards for audio DSP (digital signal processing), has announced Soundcore, their new Pro Audio division, and a new tool for real time audio separation. … Read More GPU Audio Announces Pro Audio Division, Soundcore, & GPU-Powered Real Time Source Separation SolutionView the full article

Cherry Audio’s SH-MAX celebrates the often-overlooked SH range of synths with not one, not two, but three ‘clasSHics’ represented in one instrument! ... The post Cherry Audio SH-MAX Celebrates Roland’s 70’s ‘SHuper SHynths’! appeared first on gearnews.com. View the full article

This week, we’re offering four software deals that make sense in everyday studio work and stand out for more than just their current price. Alongside the legendary Softube Chandler Limited Curve Bender, the Roland D-50 synthesizer, XLN Audio’s Life, and Klevgrand’s Korvpressor are also available at reduced prices. Each plugin follows a different practical approach, covering sound generation, sound shaping, rhythm, and dynamics: exactly the areas where small adjustments can make a big difference. That means you can make targeted improvements when a mix lacks excitement, a sound needs shaping, grooves need more life, or buses simply need more control... The post Roland, Sof…

With Live 12.4, Ableton Push 3 shifts its focus back to hands-on work and thoughtful hardware integration. This update benefits the hardware in particular, as it emphasizes better control, clearer signal paths, and more stable setups rather than new content. Users who rely on Push as a central element in their studio or live setup will quickly notice that the new features save time and support creative flow. The post Ableton Push 3: New Public Beta with Link Audio, Improved Mapping, and More appeared first on gearnews.com. View the full article

Plugin Boutique is offering a Universal Audio ‘Winter Mix Tape’ plugin bundle deal until 26 February, allowing you to pick 10 plugins for just £87. This bundle would normally cost you over £200, and lets you choose from 51 plugins in total, spanning across UAD’s studio effects, virtual instruments, and amp models. The bundle spans emulations of legendary hardware and UAD original plugins too. You can select from its range of vintage amp emulator pedal plugins – the Dream ‘65, Ruby ‘63, Lion ‘68, and Woodrow ‘68 — or get your hands on its celebrated Minimoog plugin. Its popular LA-6176 channel strip plugin and 1176 FET compressor are also up for grabs... The post Build you…

Stacks Audio has released its free eleven-product NAMM 2026 Bundle. For anyone lucky enough to visit the NAMM show in Anaheim earlier this year, I hope you had a great time. For everyone else, the only thing better than keeping up to date with YouTube videos is getting something free, just for the sake of [...] View post: Stacks Audio offers the FREE eleven-product NAMM 2026 Bundle View the full article

Woodstock Audio has released Waveform Compressor, a free compressor plugin for macOS and Windows. Obviously, free compressors are nothing new, and most of us already have way more compressor plugins than we realistically need. And pretty much every DAW out there comes with a decent comp of its own. But even so, Waveform Compressor is [...] View post: Woodstock Audio releases free Waveform Compressor plugin for Windows and macOS View the full article

Plugin Boutique is offering BFD 3.5, the flagship acoustic drum instrument from BFD, at an 80% discount until February 14. This brings the price down to $39 from the regular $199. BFD 3.5 is a full-scale virtual drum studio designed for realistic acoustic drum production. Instead of focusing on quick loop-based workflows, it aims to [...] View post: Plugin Boutique offers BFD 3.5 acoustic drum plugin for $39 View the full article

EVA Instruments offers BPB readers an exclusive discount on Epic Percussion 3, a cinematic percussion library for Kontakt. BPB readers can get it at 50% off for the next 7 days using the coupon code BPBEPIC. The discount is valid for 1 week and applies only to Epic Percussion 3. This is a good deal [...] View post: EVA Instruments offers BPB readers an exclusive 50% discount on Epic Percussion 3 View the full article

The line of instruments is designed to pack the power of an advanced synth into a tiny, rugged enclosure. while maintaining immediacy and ease of programming.… Read More Three New Portable M0SS Synthesizers Now Available To Pre-OrderView the full article

A new tool, Echoe, is designed to make it easy to share stems, tracks and other audio files without the hassles of other tools, like compressed previews and expiring links. … Read More New Tool, Echoe, Promises To Take The Hassles Out Of Sharing Audio FilesView the full article

Smiarx has released ÆLAPSE, a free delay and reverb plugin for Windows, macOS, and Linux. ÆLAPSE combines two classic effects in a single plugin: a tape-style delay and a reverb inspired by spring reverbs. While the reverb has a lovely lo-fi character, it isn’t locked into traditional spring sounds. You can push it into more [...] View post: Smiarx has released ÆLAPSE, a free tape delay and spring reverb plugin View the full article

Up until quite recently, hardware sequencers seemed on the way out. Faced with competition from DAW software, standalone sequencers looked like relics from a bygone era. But as more and more producers and performers discover their love for DAWless setups and modular systems, they’re now more popular than ever. Let’s check out some of the best hardware sequencers! ... The post The Best Hardware Sequencers for Electronic Music Production and Performance appeared first on gearnews.com. View the full article

Producers don’t need more stuff — they need the right stuff they can grab fast, drop into a project, and immediately get results. This list is a curated “freebie radar” for 2026: a mix of plugins, sound packs, and workflow tools that are genuinely useful right now. View the full article