Native Instruments Hybrid KeysNative Instruments Hybrid Keys Hybrid Keys is a unique and innovative virtual instrument from Native Instruments, designed to push the boundaries of traditional keyboard sounds. Rather than simply providing faithful recreations of pianos and synthesizers, it blends sampled acoustic instruments, classic synthesizers, mallets, and other eclectic sound sources, then processes them with creative effects to forge entirely new sonic textures. This instrument is part of Native Instruments' "Play Series," known for delivering high-quality sounds with an intuitive, streamlined interface, making it accessible for both seasoned producers and those new to music production. The core concept behind Hybrid Keys lies in its ability to combine two distinct sound sources, A and B, which can be blended and manipulated to generate a vast array of expressive and unconventional sounds. Native Instruments achieved these unique sounds through innovative recording techniques, including re-amping, creative microphone placement in diverse spaces, and experimental vari-speed tape effects. This meticulous approach results in a collection of presets that range from ethereal pads and shimmering leads to gritty basses and percussive plucks, all imbued with a distinctive character. The instrument's intuitive macro controls allow for quick and effective sound sculpting, enabling users to dial in effects like dirt, reverb, lo-fi tape warble, and noise with ease, transforming the initial sound into something entirely new. Beyond its rich sound palette, Hybrid Keys offers robust sound design capabilities. Users can delve into the Sound Editor to fine-tune individual sound sources, adjusting parameters such as tuning, filters, panning, and envelopes. The Effects Editor provides a customizable chain of effects, allowing for easy swapping and reordering of processing modules to further shape the tone. For dynamic and evolving textures, the integrated 16-step sequencer enables the creation of melodic phrases and offers six additional lanes for modulating assignable macros. This level of control, combined with the initial blend of unique sound sources, ensures that Hybrid Keys is not just a preset player but a versatile tool for sonic exploration and creative expression. Features: Hybrid Sound Blending: Combines sampled pianos, synthesizers, mallets, and other unique sound sources. Intuitive Interface: Designed for quick sound tweaking with a focus on playability. Dual Sound Layers (A/B): Blend two distinct sound sources to create complex textures. Six Assignable Macro Knobs: Quickly adjust key parameters for instant sonic transformation. Sound Editor: Access detailed controls for tuning, filters, panning, and envelopes for each sound layer. Effects Editor: Customize effect chains with various processing modules, including dirt, reverb, tape warble, and noise. 16-Step Sequencer: Create melodic sequences and modulate up to six macros for dynamic sound design. Macro Editor: Assign and manage macro controls, set parameter ranges, and customize mappings. Settings Page: Adjust key ranges, velocity curves, glide, note priority, and bend range. Extensive Preset Library: Over 100 carefully designed presets across categories like Acoustics, Electrics, Harpsichords, Mallets, Organs, and Synthy. Part of the Play Series: Offers high-quality sound in an easy-to-use package, ideal for quick inspiration. Read More

HeadRush introduce the VX5 The latest arrival to the HeadRush range is aimed purely at vocalists, and offers a compact and cost-effective way to incorporate industry-standard pitch-correction into a live performance.

Get Illume by Moonwave FX FREE via Pluginomat (Limited Time Only)
Pluginomat is currently offering Illume by Moonwave FX as a free download for a limited time. The plugin usually costs $34.96, so it’s an excellent opportunity to snag it as a freebie if you enjoy quick and easy tools for brightening your mix. Illume is a one-knob signal enhancer in the style of Waves’ OneKnob [...]
View post: Get Illume by Moonwave FX FREE via Pluginomat (Limited Time Only)

Acustica release Mahogany filter plug-in Mahogany sets its sights on one of Moog’s classic filter designs, and relies on a combination of Acustica's Hyper engine and the new modulation architecture introduced in their Marea instrument series. 

MIDI Innovation Awards 2025: Vote Now! With the final list of entrants now confirmed, The MIDI Association are inviting the public to cast their votes in this year’s MIDI Innovation Awards.

SOUNDRAW launches “Beat the Future” contest with $2,500 in prizes and free access
SOUNDRAW has launched Beat the Future, a global beatmaking contest with a $2,500 prize pool and a free trial for its AI-powered music creation platform. The Tokyo-based developer describes SOUNDRAW as an ethical, artist-first AI music generator, built entirely on original, in-house content. There’s no scraped data. With this contest, they’re inviting beatmakers, vocalists, and [...]
View post: SOUNDRAW launches “Beat the Future” contest with $2,500 in prizes and free access

Get the Lifeline Lite Bundle FREE at Plugin Boutique (Limited Time Offer)
Excite Audio has recently released the Lifeline Lite Bundle, which includes a pair of creative multi-effect plugins: Lifeline Console Lite and Lifeline Expanse Lite. You can get the bundle for free for a limited time at Plugin Boutique. We recently featured the Lifeline Format Multiband Bitcrusher, which is also free on Plugin Boutique (when you register a [...]
View post: Get the Lifeline Lite Bundle FREE at Plugin Boutique (Limited Time Offer)

Boris FX acquire Sequoia, Samplitude & Music Studio Visual effects specialists Boris FX have announced that they have acquired Magix Sequoia, Samplitude & Music Studio.

Ryu Yabana releases Taped Drum Kits, a FREE analog drum sample pack
Ryu Yabana has released Taped Drum Kits, a free collection of analog drum samples processed through cassette tape. It’s been a while since we’ve covered a simple WAV drum pack on BPB, but this one grabbed my attention right away. I’m a massive fan of retro drums and cassette tape saturation, so any combination of [...]
View post: Ryu Yabana releases Taped Drum Kits, a FREE analog drum sample pack

Lese HikariHikari Stochastic Reverberator Hikari is an ocean-themed random reverb. Emulating uncommon digital reverbs from the 1990s and early 2000s, Hikari aims to create something unconventional. Adding in Hikari's navigation & anomaly system, where moving to different positions makes the reverb behave differently according to the topology of the ground below, Hikari is made for sound exploration. Highlights Navigate the Ocean Floor Central in Hikari's interface is the "navigator", which lets you move around in two dimensional space. The contours of the terrain beneath the navigator are sampled and used to subtly alter various settings in the reverb algorithms. The two dimensions of the current navigation position can be used to modulate various parameters, using the same workflow that is available in Glow. The navigator can also enter "autopilot" mode, where the movement is automated & adjusted by various controls. Picking up an Anomaly... The navigator also points to multiple positions of interest, called anomalies. When you get close to the anomaly positions, the sound will change. Anomalies are randomly generated in-between plugin states, so the positions of them, and what they do is largely random. There are additional audio processes that only occur during anomaly states. Illusion & Fathoms Along with a reverberator, Hikari also features multiple additional processors to add ambience & create texture on top of what is already being processed. Illusion is a short, granularized reverse-audio effect that reads from an audio buffer. It essentially makes your sound come back again, but very disjointed. The fathoms control adjusts the "depth" of the signal (that's why it's measured in fathoms). It does multistage filtering, subtle decorrelation, and light noise adjustments. More Features Anomaly system, allowing for unpredictable processing in special states. Feedback Delay network modelling reverberation. Input tone controller (filtering, de-correlation, noise processing). High-quality diffusion network & damping system. Super cool visualizer / controller system. Vectorized, resizable interface. YouTube.com/watch?v=rq42hRbEuV8 YouTube.com/watch?v=fklpRmB395A YouTube.com/watch?v=mBJhxF9dQrE Read More

Fors Pivot-LitePivot-Lite is an FM synthesizer and is the smaller free version of Pivot with two operators, one morphing filter and zero cash. It's a great way to dip your toes into FM synthesis with its simple structure but still almost all the bells and whistles from its bigger sibling. Pivot-Lite has all the features from Pivot including MPE/Note Expressions/MTS-ESP support, the morphing 4-pole filter, distortion and widening effect but has one less operator and no mod matrix. Sounds made in the Lite version can be loaded into Pivot as well. Together they form the perfect pair for FM exploration and we think you'll find yourself reaching for one or the other depending on the occasion. https://youtu.be/dvY0DXM2FZc Read More

Bridge Guitar from The Crow Hill Company Inspired by a technique pioneered by LA luthier Rueben Cox, Bridge Guitar aims to offer something a little different from your average guitar library. 

Aqeel Aadam Sound Weeping WallA zen garden of responsive sound. Weeping Wall will listen to what you have to say, and chatter back words and phrases that it learns - a morphing ambient bed that reflects recency, with an organic feel at its heart. Weeping Wall is a set of microloopers that automatically record based on input detection. Each new sound will be smoothly introduced and replace older sounds, resulting in a group of sounds that always reflect the most recent input. Each looper behaves independently - their size can vary and they will beat against each other as they phase. Up to 5 loopers are available to record into, with repitching and reverse controls as well. A dedicated "jitter" control allows you to randomly vary the size of each looper on each loop, creating variations that will never be heard again. Weeping Wall can be used as an effect directly on a track, or as a send effect. Weeping Wall is intended to be a modular tool; it doesn't include reverb, EQ, saturation, flutter, etc., but it plays extremely well with them. Weeping Wall is a brand new effect that can be used in any number of creative ways - you can place it fully wet in front of a reverb, place a hint of it behind a saturator, combine it with your favorite pitch modulation - whatever you can dream. Weeping Wall is fully compatible with automation and modulators such as Ableton CV to broaden the horizons even further. Manual. One week free trial available for desktop. Features: Weeping Wall has the following controls available: Threshold: The volume at which input will start recording into a looper. Looper size: The size of loopers, in seconds, from 0.1s to 3s. Jitter: A control for desynchronizing loops. Loops will be randomly shortened, and each one is free to change size independent of one another. Semitones: Repitch loops, with a range of +/- one octave. Reverse: A latching control to reverse looper playback. Looper number: Up to five loopers are available. Decay rate: How long loops will be held before fading away, from seconds to forever. This essentially controls whether WW functions more as a looper or as a delay. Independent dry and wet volumes: Use Weeping Wall as an effect directly on your track, or as a send effect. Macro mode: Loops can optionally extend up to 60 seconds in length. Beat syncing: Sync your loops to any division of your tempo, from 1 bar to 64th notes. Pause/stop loops automatically: Loops can be paused or destroyed when your DAW is paused. Crossfade length: Change the length of the crossfade that occurs at the start/end of each loop. This can preserve initial transients and "blur" sounds into ambient bliss. Fade time: Change how long loopers take to fade in/out, from almost instant to 5 seconds. Quantizing: Loop pitch can be restricted to octaves or octaves+fifths for coherent playback while automating/modulating. Read More

PSI Audio introduce the A326 D-REX Descibed as a dynamic range extender rather than a subwoofer, the latest addition to PSI Audio's range has been designed to pair perfectly with their A226 MAIN system.

Black Salt Audio Telos - GuitarsMixing guitars used to be hard. Harsh highs, muddy lows, and uncontrolled mids required chains of 3-5 different plugins and hours of tweaking to dial in. Telos - Guitars streamlines the process. Whether it's cleans, leads, heavy guitars or even acoustics, you'll get the tone and control you need faster than ever. Telos - Guitars Guitar Mixing Zen: EQ, compression, saturation and dynamic control, all dialed in for guitars inside one intuitive plugin. Cluttered to clear in seconds: Whether it's harsh highs, muddy lows, or lost-in-the-mix mids, Telos - Guitars gives you intuitive controls to fix the real problems, fast. Get clean, focused, professional-sounding guitars without endless tweaking. Built for every guitar: From tight rhythms to soaring leads, acoustics to clean strums, Telos - Guitars gives you the tools to shape tone, tame problem areas, and bring your parts forward in the mix. Mix guitars the way the pros do: The pros don't waste time tweaking 10 plugins, they know what to fix and get it done fast. Telos - Guitars gives you that same instinctual workflow: fewer decisions, better tone, faster mixes. Key Features A Low band offers switchable shelf and peak EQ topologies, allowing you to either reinforce sub-bass weight or sculpt punchy low-mid energy. A variable frequency control lets you center the boost or cut exactly where your mix demands. A Mid band employs a fully parametric EQ filter optimized for musical slopes and Q factors, making it ideal for carving space around vocals or emphasizing guitar articulation and presence. A High band provides selectable modes for either airy "top" shelving boosts or focused "presence" peaks, enabling precise tonal shaping to add shimmer, clarity, or bite to guitars. A De-Harsh circuit uses dynamic, frequency-dependent attenuation to mitigate abrasive upper-mid frequencies without sacrificing tonal integrity, smoothing harshness while preserving harmonic detail. A Chug Control dynamically attenuates excessive low-frequency bloom generated during palm-muted passages, maintaining tightness and preserving weight and impact for rhythm guitar parts. A single-knob Compressor integrates adaptive attack and release parameters along with program-dependent ratio curves, delivering smooth, modern compression tailored for guitar without pumping artifacts. A Saturation module emulates analog circuit non-linearities, introducing harmonic coloration ranging from subtle warmth to bold distortion, enhancing perceived loudness and adding character. A built-in Limiter applies transparent brickwall limiting to manage peaks and prevent clipping, ensuring guitars remain controlled and confidently placed within dense mixes. Read More