This Week’s Best New Music Plugins: Free and Paid

This roundup lists the best new music plugins this week and covers newly released free and paid plugins, including Memory V, Bus Processor 670, Evolve Nest Acoustics, Sample Scout, Soothe3, Reservoir: Echo State Composer and the Tape Effects Collection. Memory V is priced at €149, is also included in V Collection 11 Pro for €699, and offers crossgrade pricing for existing customers. Softube’s Bus Processor 670 has introductory pricing of £85.71 until 27 June (full price £129), and AIR Music Tech’s Tape Effects Collection is priced at $99 until 21 June (full price $299). Other highlighted releases include Evolve Nest Acoustics (full version £39, full price £59; Lite £19, full price £29), Sample Scout (standalone app $29 with a free trial), Soothe3 (£199 with a £45 upgrade option), and Reservoir: Echo State Composer (¥9,999, approximately £47). Introductory pricing windows and full prices are specified for individual products above in the article.

Memory V features three oscillators per voice and offers square, ramp and triangle waveforms for primary sound generation and tone shaping. Its signal path includes a low-pass ladder filter with selectable 12 dB and 24 dB modes that alter the filter slope and tonal response and are used to shape the harmonic content produced by the oscillators. The plug-in includes Vintage and Dispersion controls intended to introduce analogue character and subtle instability to generated tones, and these controls are presented as part of Memory V’s core sound‑shaping toolkit. The technical description in the source lists these oscillator, waveform and filter options alongside the analogue‑character controls.

Memory V is distributed by Arturia and is presented as a newly released virtual instrument from the company. Standalone pricing for Memory V is €149, and the plug-in is included in Arturia’s V Collection 11 Pro bundle, which is priced at €699. The product listing indicates crossgrade pricing is available for existing customers. The available source does not provide the specific crossgrade amount.

The Bus Processor 670 by Softube is modelled on the Fairchild Model 670 compressor and mirrors that unit’s bus-compression design while aiming to expand its functionality. The plug-in provides additional parameters for saturation, spatialisation and sidechaining, offering more flexibility for mixing and processing signals. Softube has set an introductory price of £85.71 for the Bus Processor 670, with the offer valid until 27 June. After the introductory period the plug-in will be sold at its full price of £129. The product listing positions these expanded controls alongside the Fairchild-inspired architecture as key features of the release.

The AIR Music Tech Tape Effects Collection is presented as a comprehensive suite of tape emulation tools for music production and post‑production. The collection bundles multiple tape-style effects intended to emulate analogue tape characteristics across signal chains. AIR Music Tech is offering the Tape Effects Collection at an introductory price of $99 until 21 June. The full retail price for the collection after the introductory period is $299. The product listing specifies the introductory offer and the subsequent full price alongside the tape-emulation feature set.

1. Evolve Nest Acoustics: Full version is priced at £39 and will rise to the full price of £59. A Lite version is available for £19, with a future price of £29.
2. Sample Scout: This standalone sample manager app is priced at $29 and comes with a free trial.
3. Soothe3: The full version is priced at £199 with an upgrade option available for £45.
4. Reservoir: Echo State Composer: Priced at ¥9,999, which is approximately £47.
5. Aava: Introductory pricing at £69, rising to £89 after 15 June.
6. Polagone: Available for free via the App Store, with Polagone Pro available at £9.99.
7. Wavetable Designer: Free to access, however, a full licence requires a payment of €15.

“Arturia has breathed new life into an old synth that few of us would otherwise get our mitts on. Memory V oozes classic synth sensibilities and delivers an authentic Moog-like sound – why, you can almost smell the heady aroma of dust being baked on hot circuitry!” — James Langley.

“Arturia has breathed new life into an old synth that few of us would otherwise get our mitts on. Memory V oozes classic synth sensibilities and delivers an authentic Moog-like sound – why, you can almost smell the heady aroma of dust being baked on hot circuitry!” — James Langley.

CONCLUSION

The plugins covered in this article span a range from free mobile and desktop tools to paid single‑plugin purchases and paid Pro bundles, reflecting a mix of zero‑cost and commercial options. Product types include vintage hardware emulations such as classic synth and tape recreations, modern mixing and processing tools, and algorithmic or generative instruments and utilities that modulate parameters over time. Commercial terms vary across releases and include standalone purchase prices, inclusion in larger bundles, limited-time introductory pricing windows, upgrade and crossgrade offers for existing customers, and free trials where noted. Specific pricing figures, introductory offer dates, licence formats and availability details for each product appear in the sections above.

Evolve Nest Acoustics is offered in a full version priced at £39 with a stated full price of £59, and in a Lite version priced at £19 with a stated full price of £29.

Sample Scout is described as a standalone sample manager app priced at $29 and is available with a free trial.

Soothe3 is listed with a full price of £199 and an upgrade option priced at £45.

Reservoir: Echo State Composer carries a price of ¥9,999, which is noted as approximately £47.

Aava is offered at introductory pricing of £69 with a full price of £89, and that introductory offer is specified as running until 15 June.

Polagone is available for free via the App Store, with Polagone Pro offered at £9.99.

Wavetable Designer is free to access, with a full licence requiring a payment of €15.

The listings include the noted free and trial options alongside the stated prices and introductory windows where applicable.