Five releases worth your attention this week. Slate Digital made a library of 16 plugins permanently free, including tools from SSL, Harrison, and sonible. W.A. Production shipped a rebuilt version of their MIDI generation plugin at intro pricing. Carbonated Audio released a tempo-synced effects rack with an unusual loop-curve control model. TerminalVST updated their distortion engine with a proper modulation section. And Inear Display's free sequenced sound mangler got its first update since revival.
Slate Digital Complete Access Free Collection
Free forever, account required, VST3 / AU / AAX, Mac and Windows
Sixteen plugins permanently free is the headline. Slate Digital has bundled tools from their own catalog alongside contributions from SSL, Harrison Audio, and sonible into a collection available at no cost through the Complete Access Hub.
The Slate Digital portion includes Virtual Mix Rack (their modular channel strip framework), Revival (vintage high and low frequency enhancer), Monster (a transient and punch processor), Fresh Air (a high-frequency air enhancer that had a long run as a standalone freebie), Heatwave (tape saturation), Trimmer (a gain utility with metering), Submerge (a stereo width processor), VBC FG-Red (modeled on the SSL bus compressor character), FG-Bomber (a low-end punch processor), and Air and Earth EQ (a console-character tone shaper). SSL contributes X-Orcism II, a voice effect modeled on their console processing, and GateVerb. Harrison adds 3D Delay, Tape Saturator, and Dyno Mite, a transient shaper. Sonible rounds out the 16 with one tool from their catalog.
There is a catch: all 16 require the Complete Access Hub application to run. No iLok, no dongle, but a network account and the Hub as a plugin manager are required. Activation works offline after first connection. Playground sessions are included, short hosted mix contexts where you can hear each plugin before loading it yourself. For anyone not already in the Slate ecosystem, this is a solid starting point for a mixing template at no cost.
W.A. Production InstaComposer 4
$29.90 intro (regular $129, intro ends November 5), VST3 / AU / AAX, Mac and Windows
InstaComposer 4 is a MIDI generation plugin: load it on a track, pick a style and some constraints, and it outputs MIDI patterns you route to any instrument. Version 4 introduces MIDI Engine 2.0, which generates up to six simultaneous tracks (melody, bass, chord pads, percussion layers) rather than the single-track output of earlier versions.
The practical improvement is that you can generate a full arrangement sketch from one plugin instance rather than stitching together multiple InstaComposer instances or exporting each part separately. Built-in instruments using acoustic piano and General MIDI voices let you audition results before exporting. The interface has been redesigned around a session view with per-track generation controls, key and scale locking, and groove templates.
W.A. Production has run intro deals on this plugin line for years. Previous versions launched at similar discounts before settling at full cost. At $29.90 through November 5, version 4 is 77% off. Upgrades from any prior version cost $10. Whether AI-assisted MIDI generation matches your workflow depends on how you use MIDI. The new multi-track engine closes the gap that made earlier versions useful only as a starting point for single-part sketches.
Carbonated Audio Spritz
$49, VST3 / AU / AAX, Mac and Windows
Carbonated Audio is a one-person operation. Most of their plugins sell for $20. Spritz, at $49, is their most complex release and a clear change in scope.
Spritz is a tempo-synced effects rack built around a loop-curve editing model. Eleven module types are available: Time (stutter and slice), Volume, Filter, Drive, Pitch, Reverb, Pan, Width, Crush, Liquid (phaser, flanger, and chorus family), and Noise. You chain up to eight of these, with duplicates allowed, and for each module you draw a curve that controls the primary parameter across the loop length. Every module also includes its own envelope follower, trigger, and up to four crossover bands with independent curves per band.
Eight scenes per preset (labeled A through H) switch by hand, from MIDI notes, or step automatically every one, two, or four bars in sync with host tempo. Swing and phase offset are available on the step trigger. The factory library ships with 912 presets across 18 categories and 143 wave shapes for the curve library. One license covers three machines, with no iLok or dongle required.
What separates Spritz from a standard effects rack is the emphasis on per-module curve editing rather than automation. A filter sweep, a volume swell, and a reverb fade can run simultaneously with independent shapes without touching your DAW's automation lanes. For electronic production where you want in-plugin rhythmic variation without external modulation routing, this is a well-thought-out approach. A fully functional demo is available from their site.
TerminalVST Terminal v2.0
$39.99, VST3 / AU (Universal Binary), Mac and Windows
Terminal is a single-purpose distortion plugin: six circuits, one oscilloscope display, no channel strip wrapper. Version 2.0 adds what the original was missing: modulation.
The modulation section includes two LFOs. Either LFO can switch to AUDIO ENV mode, functioning as an envelope follower with independent attack and release controls. Both can be assigned to circuit Drive or Shape parameters. The circuit roster is unchanged: Tanh (smooth symmetrical transfer curve), Germanium (asymmetric soft clip with bias characteristics), Asymmetric (hard-edged asymmetric clipper), Wavefold (waveshaping that folds the waveform back on itself), Red LED (hard clip modeled on silicon LED limiting), and Blue LED (softer silicon clip with a rounder knee).
The v2.0 interface rebuilds around an oscilloscope you can interact with directly. Dragging it sets Drive. A peak EQ with a draggable curve is overlaid on the same display. The six-circuit setup covers most saturation and distortion use cases from gentle harmonic addition to full-range clipping. v2.0 is a free update for existing users. New licenses are $39.99.
Inear Display Danaides v2.1
Free (pay-what-you-want), VST3 / AU, Mac and Windows
Danaides is a sequenced sound mangler, a category with few representatives. Each parameter in the plugin is controlled by an independent step sequencer, and the sequencers run at different rates from each other. The result is that parameter movements do not repeat on a predictable schedule. Applied to a sustained sound, this produces evolving timbral textures. Applied to a drum loop, it cuts, filters, and distorts in irregular patterns that rotate through combinations no step programmer would write.
Danaides 2.0 revived the original plugin (first released in 2013, discontinued for several years) with a rewritten engine and UI. Version 2.1, released October 18, adds a Driller sequence lock switch that pins the current sequencer state in place while the rest of the plugin continues running. It also adds visual cues showing which sequencer step is active, and fixes a macOS installer bug and a UI resize glitch from v2.0.
Available via Gumroad where you can enter any amount including zero. Danaides does nothing clean or conventional. That is the point.