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.
