XEN FX LAB: sequel to Zen Delay adds tweakable spring tank, dub mode

XEN FX LAB is a follow-up to a software hit (and hardware, before that), adding a modeled spring reverb, strike for “knocking” the virtual tank, and a dub button for adding dub-style throws, plus significant performance optimizations all round. And yeah, it’s time for more wild drones and dubs and echoes and the lot. macOS, Windows; VST3, AU, standalone; also on iOS.

Free Friday: D16 is turning 20 and they’ve got a new free stereo delay

Straight outta Katowice, our friends at D16 Audio Group are celebrating 20 years with an all-new stereo delay: Echolite. And don’t let the “lite” in the name deceive you: this all-new giveaway has some power beneath its simple UI.

Peter Kirn - October 23, 2026

Audio Damage ShinRonin, now free, is a throwback to 2003 plug-in design

You wake up. It’s the year 2003. Some upstart software developer called Audio Damage wants to let you patch a combo filter-delay however you like, including ways that will break your ears. Ronin is reborn as ShinRonin, from a time when software developers let you run with scissors and do strange things. This is one […]

Peter Kirn - July 6, 2026

Erosion side-by-side with Erosion Legacy.

Ableton Live 12.4 adds Link Audio, updated effects, more: hands-on details

Peter Kirn - February 10, 2026

Valhalla’s all-new reverb, 8 years in development, goes clean and natural

Peter Kirn - November 13, 2025

GForce just made a West Coast, MPE-playable synth playground

Peter Kirn - October 28, 2025

Xaoc’s Samarkanda is a massive, patchable delay and audio mangler

Peter Kirn - March 25, 2025

Free SSL X-Orcism II plug-in will let you dial in sonic spookiness all year

Peter Kirn - October 31, 2024

Dancing “vibes” and 2 more mood-elevating freebies for Live, DAWs

Peter Kirn - August 5, 2024