Sound design has in recent years expanded beyond the creation and modification of audio for movies, TV and games, to include the processing of synths and samples for purely musical purposes. And in that arena, there are plenty of amazing plugin effects to discover. Here’s our pick of the bunch.

Output Portal

Bringing together a refined granular synthesis engine, seven ‘conventional’ effects and a supercharged modulation setup, Portal is a sound design monster.

The granular engine generates up to 16 ’grains’ from the incoming signal and facilitates all manner of manipulation thereof, from Pitch and Pan to Size (length) and Scale constraining, before (optionally) routing them back to the input via the Grain Delay section for feedback effects. After that, two insert effects slots each draw on the same Bit Reducer, Chorus, Distort, Filter, Phaser, Reverb and Delay processors, and at the end of the path, a compressor and HP/LP filters provide the finishing touches. Modulation – especially of the granular engine – is key to getting the most out of Portal, and to that end, any number of parameters can be set in motion using two freeform envelopes/LFOs with limitless breakpoints, and a pair of assignable Macros.

There’s also a stripped-back secondary interface for hands-on performance, housing a flashy XY controller for the two Macros, a dry/wet mix slider and a Reverse switch.

Opening the door to an endless array of lively rhythmic and tonal treatments, Portal is by far our favourite Output plugin, and a must-hear for any electronic producer.

Unfiltered Audio SpecOps

This ambitious spectral multi-effect starts by slicing the input into thousands of FFT ‘bins’, and the first stage in SpecOps’ surprisingly user-friendly workflow is tweaking the FFT sizing, windowing and frame acquisition rate, and applying pitch and frequency shifting. After that, three effects slots each independently process a specified frequency range with any of 36 diverse modules – categorised as ‘Filters’, ‘Freezers’, ‘Glitchers’, ‘Mixers’, ‘Geometry’ and ‘Effects’ – and collectively feed into the excellent Spectral Compander. This is applied independently to each individual bin to elicit everything from conventional compression and expansion to outrageous crushing and distortion.

On top of all that, a wicked modulation scheme – LFOs, step sequencers, envelope followers, etc – brings the whole thing to life, with up to six sources set to modulate any number of target parameters via drag and drop.

Perhaps the most overtly ‘sound design-y’ plugin in our list, SpecOps will put the smackdown on your CPU with its demanding FFT algorithms, but the unique textural quality and broad-ranging character of the noises it makes are well worth the expense.

Psychic Modulation VectoMelt

For many producers, degradation and lo-fi colouration are part and parcel of the sound design process – a bit of analogue distortion and faux tape wobble can really bring the best out in a signal. Comprising Chorus, Equalizer and Echo processors, and a crazy modulation system, VectoMelt is all about evocative analogue-style modulated delay-, pitch- and distortion-based effects. The three main modules are straightforward but well specified, and sound awesome. Notably, the three-band EQ features Saturation, Overdrive and dry/wet Mix controls, while the Echo ’tape’ delay incorporates a stereo pitchshifter in the feedback circuit.

The central XY controller mixes two multi-target LFOs – one running at 1-15Hz, the other at 15-30Hz – and can itself be wildly animated by the Flex modulator, which sets the ‘puck’ in orbit around its specified position and allows deviations and randomisation to be worked in for jumps and glitches. The chaos doesn’t end there, either, with Randomise buttons in every section providing instant inspiration when required.

Adding up to far more than the sum of its parts, VectoMelt is a fabulous source of beautiful retro textures, solarised tape effects, grainy synthwave flavours, crunchy beats, eerie soundscapes and more.

Cableguys ShaperBox 2

The seven LFO-driven ‘Shapers’ of Cableguys’ modular multi-effects plugin (buyable individually or as a bundle) come together to form a supremely versatile sound design tool. While VolumeShaper and FilterShaper Core deliver the essential modulation of amplitude and frequency content, more than anything, it’s the colourful distortion styles of DriveShaper and CrushShaper, and the magical temporal trickery of TimeShaper that make ShaperBox 2 such an empowering option for radical sonic transformation.

The incredibly detailed waveform editor enables independent LFO shapes to be hand-drawn for each of three discrete frequency bands per Shaper, running at rates from 0.02Hz to 5kHz, synced or unsynced; and the signal path is highly configurable, with Shapers arranged in any order you like, and every band of every Shaper including its own dry/wet mix control.

There’s simply nothing else out there that can do what ShaperBox 2 does, and although we’d enthusiastically recommend shooting for the full bundle if at all possible, if you’re just going to get one module for your sound design pursuits, make it TimeShaper.

Blue Cat Audio Late Replies

The winner of our Product of the Year for 2018 award, Late Replies is an epic multi-effects powerhouse and VST/AU plugin host in its own right. It centres on an eight-tap delay, into each tap of which up to four further processors, selected from the 30 built-in modules (reverbs, dynamics, EQs, filters, modulation effects, shifters, distortions, Late Replies itself, etc) and/or any external VST/AU plugins, can be inserted. The same four-slot FX racks are also available in the Pre-FX and Post-FX stages, as well as the two feedback loops – so that’s up to 48 modules/plugins within a single instance!

Late Replies’ creative capabilities don’t end there, however, as the core delay architecture is superb even without all those inserts. Each tap is freely positioned on a timeline relative to the Base Delay time, while the Feedback Loops Module offers similar customisation of the feedback paths. Onboard ducking, stereo spread control and brickwall limiting complete the picture.

Not only a great choice for sound design of all kinds, but without doubt one of the most impressive multi-effects plugins ever committed to code, Late Replies is nothing short of essential. Get our full take on it in Eli Krantzberg’s review.

What plugins are crucial to your sound design workflow? Let us know in the comments.