VST is 30 years old, and Steinberg is giving away some of its earliest plugins

It’s the format that changed software music making forever: the VST plug-in format turns 30 this year. Steinberg is giving away updated versions of Neon, CS-40, Karlette, VB1, and LM7 — some of its earliest plug-ins — to celebrate. And that means you can run these vintage instruments (plus one tape delay) on your modern Mac or PC.

Last call on these summer sales on gear and software

Don’t worry — summer’s not over yet (beloved northern hemisphere, anyway). But there are a bunch of sales ending tomorrow or at the end of July. Here’s a quick round-up, including a couple I missed in the last deals guide.

Peter Kirn - July 27, 2026

Free BEAST Repeat for Ableton Live is so good, you’ll switch genres to IDM

Dillon Bastan, prolific Max for Live patch stylist to the stars, is at it again. BEAST Repeat takes the fun glitchiness of Ableton’s stock Beat Repeat and adds extensive new ways to re-pitch, fade, stretch, twist, gate, pan, filter, and generally mangle per-pattern and per-beat. And it’s free?!

Peter Kirn - July 22, 2026

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

Peter Kirn - July 6, 2026

Download a book on Dutch electronic music history, Philips and beyond, free

Peter Kirn - July 3, 2026

Pac-Man, Befaco RANDOM8, and more free modules of VCV Rack

Peter Kirn - June 18, 2026

Turn Ableton Push 3 into a single expressive percussive surface, free

Peter Kirn - June 15, 2026

Free: 4ms VCV Rack ROMplers put gobs of drums under voltage control

Peter Kirn - May 19, 2026

Free: Minimal Audio Hybrid Filter, and some tips on how to use it

Peter Kirn - May 19, 2026