Techno producer Paradoks uses this EQ “on every channel of every project”Paradoks is a Belgian-Swiss producer who makes enormous-sounding melodic dance music that has fittingly found itself in DJ sets by the likes of Tale Of Us, Lost Frequencies, Tiesto, Vintage Culture and many more. His latest release, The Last Time on Armada Music, is another powerful track that weaves vocals with pads and an almighty lead synth to create a magical dancefloor moment.

READ MORE: “Ambient music is about drawing out the details in the small sounds”: Producer Cephas Azariah on his essential reverb plugins

We speak to Paradoks about why plugins work so well for his production process. He tells us about his obsession with FabFilter’s Pro Q3, and shares his experiences exploring new technologies like Synplant 2’s genopatch feature.
FabFilter Pro Q3
Do you use a lot of plugins when producing?
I mostly work with software plugins nowadays; I never had any hardware in the likes of compressors or stuff like that. The only hardware synths I use are my Sequential Prophet Rev 2, Roland SH01A, and from time to time my Moog Model D. I like the convenience of having software synths, especially when I’m on the move. Plus, I’m a perfectionist, so sometimes I want to be able to tweak the MIDI and the patch again in version 57 of my track, which is a flexibility I can’t get out of hardware synths.
Sonic Charge Synplant 2
What was your latest plugin purchase?
I recently bought Sonic Charge’s Synplant 2. I was already considering buying Synplant after seeing some Flume-inspired sound design videos. Then, out of nowhere, Synplant 2 came out with new “genopatch technology,” which I was really curious and excited about. It’s using AI to try and recreate sounds from samples. Having them as a synth patch gives it the versatility of tweaking the envelopes, filters, effects, and more for automation, as working with samples is very limiting when it comes to developing the sound over time.
I played around with it and created some cool sounds. Turns out the Genopatch works ok, but I enjoy using the seeds-planting feature from the synth more and use it mostly for some ear candy. The presets are cool, but I didn’t spend much time exploring those as I was mostly messing around with the Genopatch and seeds.
Xfer Records Serum
What’s the best free plugin you own?
Voxengo SPAN. It’s an amazing spectrum analyser that gives detailed information about frequencies, especially when you select the high-res mode. I’m currently not working in an ideal, acoustically treated environment, so it really helps my mixing decisions, especially in the low end when working with reference tracks. I use it all the time.
What plugins would your new single The Last Time be incomplete without?
Xfer Records’ Serum and Pro Q3 did most of the work here (arp, bass, pads etc), but the main synth comes from Arturia’s Analog Lab.
Cableguys Shaperbox 3
Is that what comes in at 1:50 on The Last Time?
Yes! This is a preset I tweaked from Arturia Analog Lab, as I just bought the suite in the same period that I produced The Last Time. I played with the pitch modulation rate, and envelopes and added some glide. I then used the Cableguys’ Shaperbox 3 noise module to give it a noise layer, Saturn 2 to saturate it and make it fatter, Pro Q3 to remove any unwanted frequencies, and Valhalla Room Reverb to make it big.
For the delay here, I used a return channel. On the return channel, I first cut out the lows with FabFilter Pro Q3, then used Native Instruments Replika for the delay (any delay plugin would work) and finally used the Ableton compressor to sidechain the wet signal (delayed signal) to the dry signal of the lead so that the delay doesn’t interfere when the synth hits. Quite a classic way of doing it I would say.
Nicky Romero’s Kickstart 2
Do you have any secret sauce plugins?
FabFilter Pro Q3 simply because it’s the most precise and versatile EQ out there. I can remove annoying resonances and use it as a dynamic EQ and check which frequencies interfere between synths. I’m honestly a freak with that plugin and maybe should start actually using it less. I use it on every channel of every project.
What about a guilty pleasure plugin?
Nicky Romero’s Kickstart 2 is amazing for side-chaining kick and bass. I duplicate the plugin as I use the first one in band mode for the low end and then the other one for the rest of the frequencies, generally applying different sidechaining to them. I just love that we can see the Kick waveform to allow precise sidechaining. I could use Shaperbox 2 and skip the need to duplicate the plugin but I somehow just love the Kickstart 2 sidechain.
Check out Paradoks’ website.
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Orchestral Brass from Bitwig & Orchestral Tools Orchestral Brass provides Bitwig Studio users with a range of high-quality brass samples that have been optimised specifically for use within the DAW’s Sampler tool.

Feds want anti drunk-driving tech in cars. Here’s what stands in the way.The in-car tech used by the likes of Ford and GM to make sure drivers pay attention to the road has come a long way. But it’s just not ready to help prevent or mitigate the damage done by drunk driving, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That assessment is threaded throughout a […]
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Snoop Dogg launches ‘Death Row Pro’ production music unit in partnership with Sony Music Publishing’s Extreme MusicDeath Row Pro to serve as a production music arm of Death Row Records, for licensing newly created music for TV, film, ads etc.
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Universal Music Group is worth more than $50 billion, as firm’s share price hits highest point in 2 yearsUniversal's market cap is currently around $12 billion higher than Spotify's
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DistroKid Launches Mobile App for AndroidDistroKid, the world’s largest distributor of independent music, unveiled today its first-ever mobile app for Android. Earlier this year the company launched its first mobile app for iOS which to date has been downloaded more that half a million times. Like its iOS predecessor, the new Android app puts DistroKid’s powerful suite of tools directly in the hands of artists, enabling them to upload new releases, receive instant payment alerts, access stats from Apple and Spotify, edit metadata, and more–right from their phones.

The DistroKid app is available for download here: https://distrokid.com/app

“DistroKid’s mobile app for iOS has been hugely popular,” said Matthew Ogle, Chief Product Officer at DistroKid. “We’re so excited to give millions of Android users around the world access to the same streamlined experience, so they can distribute and manage their music directly from their mobile device.”

Over the last year, DistroKid introduced other innovations to its platform. Earlier this year, the company unveiled Mixea, an AI-powered intelligent mastering tool that helps artists instantly make their music “radio ready” by optimizing bass, compression, stereo enhancement, EQ, limiting & loudness.

Late last year, the company launched DistroVid, a service which enables users to upload music videos to Apple Music, Tidal and Vevo. DistroKid was the first music distributor to offer this kind of deal to artists – unlimited full length music video uploads for one low price.

These were just the latest in a suite of services developed by DistroKid to help artists work faster & become more prolific. These innovations build upon DistroKid’s basic offering – unlimited music distribution – plus more than 20 free tools that help artists have fun, make music & get heard.

In September DistroKid acquired Bandzoogle, whose powerful tools enable artists to easily create websites and sell their music directly to their fans.

As always, DistroKid pays artists 100% of their earnings.

About DistroKid

Founded in 2013, DistroKid distributes 30-40% of all new music in the world. They have built their business on providing musicians, managers and record labels with online tools and services that are innovative, easy-to-use, and affordable. More than 2 million artists rely on DistroKid, including hobbyists, up-and-coming musicians, top influencers, and international stars. DistroKid’s expanding array of services include music distribution, monetization, metadata customization, storage, and promotion. DistroKid’s skilled staff, coupled with a largely automated backend, has enabled DistroKid to process more than 25 million songs, while simultaneously providing fast, personal & friendly customer service to artists of every size.

FREE AI-Powered Sample Pack Generator.
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Output Releases FREE AI-Powered Sample Pack Generator
Output released Pack Generator, a free AI-based sound generator that lets users create royalty-free sample packs using text prompts. It’s no secret that AI tools for music production aren’t as advanced as their counterparts for generating images, videos, and text. However, AI music generators and similar audio tools are catching up, and the latest one [...]
View post: Output Releases FREE AI-Powered Sample Pack Generator

Solid State Logic launches PlateVerb as first in a range of boutique reverb pluginsSolid State Logic has today (12 December) released its PlateVerb plugin – a classic plate reverb emulation, which is the first in a range of boutique plugins set to deliver the sounds of classic and contemporary reverbs.
PlatVerb arrives as part of its premium FX plugin range, and is available now as part of the SSL Complete subscription, its Rent To Own plan, and for perpetual purchase via its eStore.

READ MORE: Review: Solid State Logic’s PlateVerb is a pro-sounding reverb in a pedal-style plugin package

PlateVerb is the first of the new range, which offers a streamlined FX pedal style interface. It “precisely” emulates the distinct sound of classic plate reverb in your DAW, combining two bespoke ‘SSL-crafted’ algorithms for Early Reflections and Late Reflections. It captures the warm, lush, and smooth reverb “that only a classic plate can provide.”
It also hosts a range of reverb decay times, spanning right the way from 100 milliseconds to a broader three seconds, and can be used across a range of production applications on a variety of instruments and vocals.
SSL says it is capable of delivering classic plate reverberation sounds while also incorporating innovative features like colour adjustment, ducking with external side-chain, and freeze.
Hear it in use in the video below:

MusicTech has compiled a rolling list of the best new mixing plugins, effects, and VST instruments offered weekly. The current guide features new offerings from the likes of Cherry Audio with its Expander Module plugin and Nepheton 2 by D16 Group, which emulates the renowned Roland TR-808.
PlateVerb is available in all standard formats including VST2, VST3, AAX Native and AU. It is also available as part of the ‘complete access’ dual subscription where users can access every SSL and Slate Digital plugin for only $19.99 per month.
Find out more at Solid State Logic.
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Arturia V Collection X boasts six new instruments – here’s what’s newWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. For more information on how this works click here.
Arturia has launched V Collection X, the tenth edition of its coveted soft synth suite.

READ MORE: HeadRush launches fifth edition of its free ReValver software with new cloning tools

The collection, made up of modern instruments and emulations of classic gear such as the Sequential Prophet-5 and Yamaha CS-80, now consists of 39 instruments, with the upgrade being “one of our most extensive updates yet” Arturia states.
What’s new in Arturia V Collection X?
Six new instruments have been added – the CP-70 V, the MiniFreak V, the Acid V, the Augmented Brass, the Augmented Grand Piano and the Augmented Woodwinds. Two instruments, the Mini V and the Wurli V, have been “fully rebuilt”, says the French brand, and three new preset expansion packs.
The CP-70 V is a meticulous recreation of Yamaha’s iconic 1976 electro-acoustic piano, the CP-70. It combines sampled strings and circuit modelling of the CP-70’s output stage, preamps, EQ, and Tremolo circuits for an authentic sound, going a step further with advanced tonal controls, responsive features, and a comprehensive Pedal rig.
Another new addition, Arturia’s MiniFreak V, is a 6-voice polyphonic hybrid soft synth that mirrors the MiniFreak hardware. It’s syncable with MiniFreak hardware and boasts two sound engines with 22 oscillator modes, per-voice envelopes and LFOs, modelled analogue filters, and VCAs.
If you’re a lover of acid basslines, the addition of the Acid V may excite you. It’s an updated emulation of the iconic Roland TB-303 bass synth with 14 distortion algorithms, a vibrato, an advanced sequencer/arpeggiator, drag-and-drop MIDI pattern editing and over 350 presets.
The three remaining additions, Augmented Brass, Augmented Grand Piano and Augmented Woodwinds, all come from Arturia’s Augmented series. These are acoustic instruments “captured in detail and combined with state-of-the-art synthesis”.
What’s been upgraded or expanded in Arturia V Collection X?
Arturia’s V Collection X is, of course, not just about new additions. Alongside new synths, two instruments have been “fully rebuilt”, according to Arturia.
The brand’s recreation of Moog’s classic Minimoog synth, The Mini V – now Mini V4 –, has been “stripped back to try and be as pure as we can to the OG synth”. It now has a brand-new audio engine, polyphony, a Vintage knob, a new user interface, two modulators and keyboard expressivity.
The Wurli V – now Wurli V3 –, which is a recreation of the 1954-launched Rudolph Wurlitzer, has also been revamped. There’s a new updated physical model, new output circuit model, new GUI, new effects, advanced settings, a new hardware view and a pedal rig.
Alongside all of these updates and additions, are three new expansion packs of presets. Not many have been provided on these yet, but Arturia says they “cover a vast array of soundscapes, ranging from cinematic atmospheres to the timeless essence of urban soul and the cutting-edge sounds defining today’s electronic music genres”. Be sure to keep an eye on Arturia for details.
The Arturia V Collection X is available to buy for $643/£512.
Buy it at Plugin Boutique.
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Arturia V Collection X is here The latest iteration of Arturia's flagship software instrument bundle has arrived, delivering the most expansive and feature-packed version to date. 

Apple eyes paying extra for music in a format Spotify doesn’t offerApple Music may soon pay all artists that release music in the Dolby Atmos spatial audio format a higher royalty rate than regular stereo mixes. “Listeners wouldn’t necessarily have to. Continue reading
The post Apple eyes paying extra for music in a format Spotify doesn’t offer appeared first on Hypebot.

2024 Music Industry Predictions from Janelle Borg of AmplifyBetween now and the end of the year, Hypebiot will be publishing a series on 2024 Music Industry Predictions from our favorite forward thinkers in music and music tech. First. Continue reading
The post 2024 Music Industry Predictions from Janelle Borg of Amplify appeared first on Hypebot.

Solid State Logic’s PlateVerb is a pro-sounding reverb in a pedal-style plugin packageSolid State Logic is a company that you’ll surely know if you’ve ever worked in studio, thanks to its extensive legacy of studio hardware, and more recently, an ever-growing collection of quality plugins. Whether you’re looking for an emulation of a classic SSL desk, or new, cutting-edge effects, the SSL roster has been steadily expanding to meet all these needs.
With that in mind, PlateVerb is the first in a new series of boutique reverbs that aim to offer pro-sounding effects in a streamlined, pedal-like design. At first glance, it looks a little lacklustre, but luckily a few useful extra features and excellent sound quality help to save the day.

The first thing that strikes you with PlateVerb is that it looks a little bland. If there was an award for the greyest plugin then this would win hands down; the only bit of colour is a tiny red overload light on the metering. Obviously, the sound is more important than the looks, and this is supposed to replicate a more basic effects pedal, but it still feels a little uninspiring, especially when SSL is known for its colourful dials, plus the string of recent plugins with excellent design and visual feedback.
As it stands, we have to resort to using our ears to make adjustments and work out how each dial affects the sound. Thankfully, this is an excellent-sounding reverb with a vibrant, three-dimensional feel.
Is SSL PlateVerb easy to use?
The reverb is built around two bespoke SSL-crafted algorithms for early reflections and late reflections respectively, with a dial used to blend between the two. You also have controls for decay time, room size and tail density that can be used to tailor the overall sense of space. To refine things further and help the signal sit in the mix, you have low and high damping controls, and a harmonic colour dial (essentially a tone control). Coming off the back of the recent release of FabFilter’s Pro-R 2, which features an incredibly flexible damping EQ, this does feel quite restrictive. However, in fairness, this product is built more for speed, and learning how these three dials interact can lead to quick and surprisingly varied results.
Solid State Logic PlateVerb
Elsewhere you have controls for pre-delay, and a mix dial that goes fully wet when turned up full. There are also input and output gain controls, plus a meter for each so that you can set optimum levels. It feels like a bit of a missed opportunity not to allow some kind of soft saturation when pushing these dials, and as it stands, you can’t really add much interest to the tail outside of the main controls.
That said, there appears to be some subtle, random pitch and volume modulation hardwired into the reverb sound. It’s hard not to compare this to Soundtoys’ SuperPlate, which was also released recently and had several flavours of saturation as well as editable pitch modulation. We should be fair to PlateVerb though, as the two competing products mentioned have higher price tags, so perhaps it’s not a reasonable comparison.
What effects does SSL PlateVerb have?
PlateVerb picks up a few extra points for its useful additional features, including a built-in ducker with an external sidechain input. This has controls for threshold, attack and release, which are especially handy for fine tuning the response as the plugin ducks the volume of the reverb tail around the input signal. It seems to be a must for any reverb plugin released these days, and it’s implemented well here, allowing you to craft a more prominent lead signal without the need for additional compression and routing.
Solid State Logic PlateVerb
There’s also a Freeze button that can be used to make instant atmospheres from any audio. It can sound a little stuttery on certain percussive material, but it has an interesting character that slowly evolves over time. A fun bonus here is that you can edit the Size dial to create wild pitch sweeps of the frozen audio.
Finally, there’s a Kill button that mutes the signal going into the reverb but leaves the dry signal alone and lets the reverb tails ring out. This could be useful in certain arrangement situations where you want to keep the reverb mainly off but have it affect certain hits or phrases. In most situations, you would need to set up the reverb on a bus send and use automation to achieve this, so it’s great that it lets you do it directly on a channel in the plugin.
How does SSL PlateVerb sound?
We put PlateVerb to the test on a range of material to see how it can be used to blend and enhance tracks in the mix. It sits well underneath vocals and instrument parts, providing an atmospheric bed that makes them sound a bit more classy. It’s not so much a sense of an actual space, but more a smooth thickness that envelopes the sound and helps it feel alive. We compare it with a range of other plate reverbs, and interestingly, although it has a plate vibe, it sounds quite different to all of them. It feels a little more forward and prominent in the mid range compared to the flatter and smoother sound on some of the other plugins; this is perhaps what gives it a slightly livelier feel.

Although it might not fit with all productions, it’s a lush-sounding reverb that offers an extra plate flavour to your toolkit. It might be nice if there were more than just nine presets though.
Despite our initial misgivings about the uninspiring user interface, PlateVerb redeems itself when you start to mix with it in a track. The lack of visual feedback might make it harder for some to dial-in the sound they want and to connect the controls to what they’re hearing, but it’s relatively simple enough to get to grips with by just using your ears.
Although SSL’s PlateVerb lacks the bells and whistles of some other reverbs, the price isn’t bad for the high-quality algorithms. Extras like ducking, freeze and a Kill button only sweeten the deal. As it has quite a unique sound, your best bet is to try the 14-day demo to see if it works for your material.
Key features
Price: £79.99 / $99.99 / as part of SSL Complete subscription
Pedal-style plate reverb plugin (VST, VST3, AU, AAX)
Blend between two bespoke SSL early and late reflections algorithms
Decay time, room size and density controls
Tone control via Colour, low damping and high damping controls
Ducking with external sidechain, threshold, attack and release
Freeze and Kill buttons
Mix dial to blend dry and wet
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Music Will & the Importance of Music EducationAs the founder and chief visionary officer of Music Will, David Wish helps teachers and students transform lives through music education. Wish joins Michael Brandvold and Jay Gilbert on the. Continue reading
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