Sale-itis has made the full year a maddening deluge of discounts. (You know who you are, inbox plagues!) But here are some legitimately excellent deals on music software available now.
I’m going to focus on plug-ins partly because — I’ve been reviewing a lot of these this year!
I’ll keep updating this this week, so feel free to hit refresh.
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The plug-ins
Ending today, Dec 1: FabFilter Pro-Q 4 at 24% off.
Soundtoys’ once-a-year mega-sale is on. Now is the time! The exceptional stuff from Soundtoys is on sale, and they don’t do those once-a-month mailers. That includes all classics, plus newer stuff like the SuperPlate or unique SpaceBlender. SpaceBlender still sounds like nothing else — it’s like getting an all-new digital effect, which we don’t see very often. And now we hear it in combination with their other tools in Effect Rack; see above. Or go all in with the full Soundtoys suite.
Everything Applied Acoustic Systems is discounted. Chromaphone 3 is still the best entry point for most people, but String Studio VS-3 is a great option, too — here with packs that expand on this classic.
Baby Audio’s stuff is on sale, which means now is the time to grab the awesome Tekno drum synth, truly one of my favorite plug-ins of the year, and then get the free patterns and kits I built for it! Transit 2, the multi-effect I had championed as a multi-effect and not just a “transition” maker, is also worth picking up — and I’ve got free presets for you for that, too, from last year.
BEATSURFING I think has some of the most unique, forward-looking sounds anywhere at the moment. RANDOM Metal and RANDOM are just a brain-bending combo, and I still need to try LØW. They’re all deeply discounted — this is the one (they’ve had a sort of ongoing sale, but this is really affordable). It’s an addiction. I’m happy to share it.
Resistance is futile; the KORG sale is on. I’ve made no secret about this: the new (and new modeled) KORG plug-ins are fantastic. It’s just great to have access to this vintage gear without taking up the space. But they were a little spendy — not so with the discounts on now.
Check the App Store, too!
Toybox Audio! Ooh, I did not mean to forget about these folks — but they’re sort of ridiculously affordable at full price so I forgot for that reason. All these incredible Reaktor modular goodies (see also the Reaktor deal), and the awesome Buzz Zone and FM Zone. I use Thump One all the time, too, but you can’t really discount its already-free price of $0.
Klevgrand has their wonderful software on sale. My must-have pick is easy: Walls is an essential multi-algorithm reverb, from plate and spring to room to more arcane digital sounds. Or there’s their joyous OneShot and Skaka drum machines. And a whole lot more. Klevgrand’s stuff just always gives me a warm, happy feeling.
That’s true on the App Store, too. I might whip up a quick rundown on their stuff shortly.
D16 is a software maker I adore like hardware, and this is their biggest sale of the year. I still reach regularly for stuff like the classic Decimort bitcrusher and Devastator distortion, among others. (PunchBOX is a weapon.) And while I do list Roland here, I enjoy the D16 recreations more (sorry), at least when it comes to 303/808/909! Nic, tylko miłość.
u-he has discounts of up to 50% off on flagship synths and FX. Diva, Hive 2, Filterscape, Bazille, and more for about half off — and even the very affordable ACE becomes a nice impulse buy. I’ll be totally honest — Urs makes great stuff and it always falls into that “I have too many synths” category so I don’t give them enough love. Yeah, even me.
Lots of PSP Audioware is on sale. Favorite VintageWarmer2 is over half off, among many other gems. Or you can go nuts and get the full library at a steep, steep discount (90%!). Gratulacje z okazji 25-lecia!
The Softube Weiss series is, to me and a lot of other people, simply the best mixing, mastering, and finishing toolset out there, bar none. (Little tip: I use the MM-1 to quickly get levels right on sound sample updates here.) Buy these, learn them, and skip those AI mastering tools that don’t work. I think there’s nothing out there this transparent. Check Plugin Boutique or Softube’s direct Cyber Week page for the best deals this week.
Eventide’s wonders are on sale. I’ve checked, and I can’t get anything that makes the sound of the H910 Harmonizer. Now’s your sign. Or check the evergreen Blackhole reverb. Someone asked and, no, I have not yet tested the Mk II edition of H3000 Factory. But there are a lot of unique sounds here. They’re a reference, down to the presets, even. It’s like going to school, using Eventide stuff.
It’s Arturia time, too. This is usually when you get the deepest Arturia discounts, like V Collection to stock up on synths. I’m going to call particular attention to Pigments 6, which remains one of my favorite polysynths and got huge updates in this v6 edition. At 50% off, this one is almost a must — Plugin Boutique has an exclusive expansion pack add-on in the deal. (Then go pick up my free audio input-processing presets!)
Minimal Audio individual and bundle effects and Currents instrument, all on sale. Minimal Audio is another go-to — not just more remakes of old gear (love those as we do sometimes), but genuinely new processing and synthesis ideas. Now, if you didn’t like Currents as a subscription, you can absolutely enjoy it standalone; the exclusive Plugin Boutique bundle they set up even gets you the extras. Or try their great effects, like the Wave Shifter I reviewed earlier this year. 50% off that or tools like Cluster Delay are shopping spree-friendly, for sure.
Hate the Roland Cloud subscription options? Buy lifetime licenses on Roland software which some individual synths and bundles at a steep discount. That includes their digital polysynths bundle, which you aren’t going to see remade by anyone else.
Sugar Bytes’ work is criminally underrated. They’ve got a big sale going, including the brilliant new Effectrix 2. Oh yeah, and why don’t more people know about Graindad?
Plugin Alliance sale is running, including crucially Unfiltered Audio stuff). Check the wild, wonderful world of SILO reverb at a fraction of its usual price. Today only!
Plus direct from Unfiltered Audio, it’s Battalion on a flash sale for a little longer. You know how people say it’s too easy to make music? Battalion makes it too easy to be awesome. I ain’t gatekeeping this, though; let’s just all be awesome because why not? $69 through December 2.
Universal Audio may always be emailing us, but these are actually good deals. Check the Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor, Topline Vocal Suite, and more. A lot of these run through December, so you’ve got time.
Expressive E is your MPE one-stop shop. All Expressive E’s excellent stuff is on sale. You’ll find some deals at Plugin Boutique, and additional ones (including bundles) on the Expressive E shop direct — including refurbed Osmose to give you a new way to play these. Let me specifically say how amazing Solina sounds.
Nothing but love for K-Devices, and they have an 80% off “Winter’s Edge” sale. Also new, they have all their Max for Live stuff in a value-packed bundle, going back to their roots. See the Fauve review I wrote this summer, though that’s just the start.
GForce’s Oberheim recreations are all on sale. Authorized by Tom, this stuff just sounds great. I’m partly on recreation overload, but these just feel fresh now. Doing this interview with Tom was a highlight this year, and he talks about the TVS Pro that’s finally in software form from GForce. It’s roughly half off through tomorrow!
Cableguys has big discounts through Dec 2. It’s the perfect combo of deep effects and envelope shaping, like, shape everything.
Modular modular
VCV Rack has its Black Friday sale on now (ends today!). That includes a little discount on Pro so you get some extra modules and plug-in support, and you can find 10-40% discounts on the paid modules from various makers like Klavis, ALM Busy Circuits, and Vult.
Reaktor 6 is 50% off as are all the Reaktor instruments.
And this one we didn’t expect — Max and RNBO at a full 50% discount, including student licenses and anyone adding this on from Ableton Live Suite. That’s this week for Cyber Week over at the ‘Cycling shop:
The DAWs and more
Reason 13 is available for $ 199/€199 for those of you who want to avoid their Reason+ subscription. (The sub is an option for $1 for 30 days.) That’s a massive saving off the usual $499. That’s direct from them, though I also see some nice deals on the new Osmium Distortion Matrix, Objekt synth, and even 50% off annual subscription to Reason+ over at the Reason Studios Plugin Boutique page.
Steinberg has some of the deepest discounts [Plugin Boutique link], through December 8, with 40-50% off major flagship software from Dorico notation to the awesome WaveLab sound suite and, of course, Cubase.
Ableton software is 25% off through Dec 2. And so you might want to check my guide to Live 12 and Live 12.3.
I’m going to update this through today/tomorrow, but if I missed stuff, shout out in comments anyway!
It’s also the last call on a lot of these: