KVR Audio has announced that all entries of its 2026 Developer Challenge are now available to download as the voting stage of the 10th edition of the event has opened.
The KVR Developer Challenge began in 2006 and has occurred every 2-3 years ever since. It’s for anyone who develops Audio Plugins, Applications or Soundware. The challenge is to create and release a brand new free audio plugin, application or sound library / pack / set that will benefit the community at large. Creativity is always key, it can be as simple or as complex as you want – KVR members will vote on the entries and pick the eventual winner using whatever criteria they choose.
This year’s entries include plugins from Darkpalace Studio, Tilr, DSPTone, Session Loops, Clack.DIGITAL, Quiet Music, Bjango, and many more.
I will highlight some of my personal favorites over the next few days. Feel free to drop a comment and let us know which entries you think are worth checking out!
The studio workhorse that defined affordable digital effects × 2 and The bedroom producer's secret weapon
MDV-II plugin interface
MCV-I plugin interfaceINCLUDED WITH MDV-II
One Two Chips. 100 Programs. Unlimited Character.
There are two types of producers: those who think this reverb sounds "too colored," and those who refuse to mix a track without it. We modeled this cult-classic style because sometimes, perfection is boring. You use it when you want your synth to float in space, your guitars to smear into a lush nostalgic wash, and your mix to have a sound that's unmistakably its own.
MCV-I & MDV-II are FREE!
(Don't let "free" fool you — these are two of my favorite effects. Because they're so easy to use, and Keith Barr's algorithms sound incredible!)
Release Notes
I played an acoustic guitar to it and then it's basically an Alesis Midiverb II, it's the reverse reverb program. If I ever had a secret weapon it's the Alesis.
- Kevin Shields, My Bloody Valentine (Tape Op)
And if you like two engines, try four. Meet the DEEP/4— our four-engine multi-FX plugin.
Hear the Character
Each source includes a dry (unprocessed) sample followed by various programs from the MDV-II across reverb, gate, reverse, flange, chorus, delay, and multi-tap effects.
MDV-II Features
Seven Categories of Classic Effects
All 100 factory programs are included, organized into seven categories that cover every effect type the original hardware offered.
CategoryProgramsDescription
Reverb01–29Small, medium, and large rooms from bright to dark, plus extra-long ambient decays
Gate30–39Slow and fast gated reverbs for punchy drums and percussive sources
Reverse40–49Reverse reverbs and regenerated reverse effects for atmospheric swells
Flange50–59Triggered flanges and stereo panning flanges with triangle-wave LFOs
Chorus60–69Light to deep chorus with sine-wave modulation for thickening and shimmer
Delay70–89Fixed delays from 35ms to 460ms, multi-tap, and regenerated echo up to 4 seconds
EFX90–99Stereo generation, thickening, multi-tap ambience, and frozen flange
Dual DASP-16 Engine
The MDV-II uses two DASP-16-inspired processing engines running in series. Unit A feeds into Unit B, so you can stack a reverse reverb into a chorus, run a gated verb into a delay, or chain any two of the 100 programs together. Each unit has independent program selection, mix, and bypass controls.
Pan-Spread Stereo
Each unit has its own pan control. With both pans centered, the signal runs as a pure series chain — you hear the combined result of A into B. Spread the pans apart and the two stages separate in the stereo field, letting you place each effect independently. It's a smooth crossfade from stacked mono to wide stereo.
Faithful DASP-16 Emulation
The heart of the MidiVerb II is the custom DASP-16 (Digital Audio Signal Processor) chip designed by Keith Barr. The MDV-II models the signal flow, tone, and bandwidth-limited character associated with this style of processor, including the warm, compact sound of its 31,250 Hz internal sample-rate behavior.
Vintage Mode
Toggle vintage mode with the fuse icon in the toolbar to drop the internal engine from 44.1 kHz down to the original hardware's native 31,250 Hz sample rate. This lowers the Nyquist ceiling to ~15.6 kHz and stretches reverb tails and delay times to match the original unit, reproducing its characteristic darker, softer tone.
Intuitive Controls
Input Level, Mix, Pan, and Output Level knobs give you precise control over signal flow. A/B buttons switch between the two engines, each with its own program, mix, and pan settings. A per-unit bypass button lets you disable either engine independently. The two-digit numeric keypad, arrow buttons, and drag-to-scroll LED display make program selection fast and familiar. All parameters are fully automatable in your DAW.
You will love Sphinx. Sphinx is a very powerful software synthesizer with a simple interface that suits any type of producer and genre. Easy to use. Very impressive interface with features and functionality. Sphinx makes the process of creating music less time-consuming and as simple as possible, offering the required complexity and quality. Find the sounds you want quickly and easily and do what ever matters when creating your music.
Contents
Huge 2GB library of high quality sounds. Over 3000 instruments & sounds divided into 14 categories. available up to 128 presets. Stunning sound library.
Variety of sounds
Solid basses & leads, epic strings, beautiful pianos, professional sounds is only just the beginning. Professional samples for all genres from EDM to Bounce to Hip-Hop to Trance to Dance, and everything in there. Sphinx features a huge library with a total of over 3000 sounds, all in high level commercial quality.
GREAT SOUND FOR FREE
No dongle required. We always make sure to provide the highest quality sounds and a constant uploading new fresh Expansion Packs.
See why Sphinx is becoming the producers’ choice.
IMPORTANT: 64-bit (Windows Only) VST2/VST3
IMPORTANT: Keep all files in the same folder or it will not work.
IMPORTANT: This VST requires ‘Visual C++ Redistributable Packages for Visual Studio 2013’ which you can download for free
PC minimum system requirements
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
• Windows 7, 8, 10, 11 • Intel Core 3.2Ghz or equivalent AMD CPU, 4 GB RAM • 5 GB free disk space • Supported system: Windows 64-bit VST
United Plugins has announced the release of a lightweight version of its highly acclaimed automatic vocal tuner, TrapTune.
Simultaneously expanding its popular UnitedFree Bundle, United Plugins continues its mission to provide independent creators and bedroom producers with professional tools completely free of charge.
While the flagship TrapTune is celebrated as an all-in-one auto-tuning powerhouse, TrapTune Core focuses strictly on the essentials. It delivers the exact same elite Tune-In engine as its big brother, optimized to maintain a lightweight footprint with near-zero latency—making it perfect for tracking vocals live or managing large project sessions without straining the CPU.
To achieve this streamlined workflow, the core version focuses purely on pitch manipulation and omits the comprehensive modulation and spatial modules found in the premium version:
No Second Voice / Doubler: The automated unison harmony and stereo widening engine has been removed. No Distortion: The custom vocal saturation and overdrive section is excluded. No Reverb & Delay: Space and time eff ects are completely omitted, allowing producers to route the tuned signal to their own external processors.
What remains is full, uncompromized access to natural pitch correction, aggressive hard-tuning (for the classic artificial vocal effect), formant shifting, voice transposing, and precise key/scale selection.
Existing customers may already have an ad-free experience waiting for them. Users who already own the premium UnitedFree Bundle license will find the ad-free version of TrapTune Core automatically credited to their accounts. Additionally, those who own the full version of TrapTune can install and use TrapTune Core directly, as the full license automatically unlocks the Core version and removes the advertisements.
TrapTune Core is available for macOS and Windows (VST/VST3, AU and AAX) and can be downloaded directly via the United Plugins Manager application.
The plugin is free to use with ads. Users who prefer to remove the advertisement banner can purchase an ad-removing license, which is available for an introductory launch price of just €7 EUR (regular €19 EUR).
Mercurial Tones Dagon Mercurial Tones has introduced a new audio plugin which is designed to delivers smart resonance control and volume suppression.
Dagon pulls the painful parts down without flattening the track. Resonances, harsh notes, and runaway level spikes are detected in context, then reduced with transparent spectral control that keeps the musical shape intact.
Dagon features:
Smart suppression – Resonance control that follows the source: Smart mode detects relative spectral prominence instead of chasing raw input level. Quiet tracks and loud tracks get consistent resonance reduction, so you can set the amount musically and keep moving. Focus – Broad or surgical: Focus controls spectral selectivity without changing the feel of the plugin. Low values are wider and smoother. High values are narrower and more surgical, locking onto the exact resonant areas that need to move. Five Modes – Choose the kind of control: Dagon is not locked to one style of suppression. Move from classic resonance control to softer perceptual cleanup, volume ducking, or Smart mode when you want the plugin to decide from musical context. The plugin is free to download for Windows and macOS in VST3 and AU formats.
