Reviews
Is Claire the Best Fazioli F308 Library Yet? Native Instruments Might Have Nailed It
Derek Oswald
When it comes to sampled pianos, the bar keeps getting higher. Every year, new libraries promise pristine realism, expressive nuance, and creative tools that move beyond the traditional. In late 2024, Native Instruments dropped ...
CMEPRO WIDI Master – Unleash Wireless 5-Pin MIDI and Ditch the Cable Chaos!
Derek Oswald
Intro – An Overview of the WIDI Master The CMEPRO WIDI Master is designed as a wireless MIDI solution that frees you from the traditional cable clutter. For bigger studios or even a smaller ...
Nightfox Audio’s Plugin Suite: A Deep Dive Into Their 9 Virtual Instruments
Derek Oswald
An Introduction to Nightfox Audio If you’ve ever wished your plugins worked like a box of LEGOs—clicking together real instruments to build something completely your own—Nightfox Audio might be your new playground. Their whole ...
Tiny Titans of MIDI Control: This.is.NOISE.inc’s Astonishing NM2 and NMSVE
Derek Oswald
Sometimes the best creative sparks come from something small. Really small. Like, fits-in-the-palm-of-your-hand small. This.is.NOISE.inc, is a hardware company that’s built a reputation around ultra-portable, ultra-playful MIDI controllers that don’t just look cool — ...
Teenage Engineering EP-1320 Medieval: An Adventurous Sampler for Bards, Beats, and Battlefields
Derek Oswald
Introduction to the EP-1320 Medieval Only Teenage Engineering would take the phrase “sampler workstation” and respond with “What if we made it Medieval?” Enter the EP-1320 Medieval—a fully functional portable groove box, completely reimagined ...
Crystal Clear and Camera Ready: How the ISOVOX ISOPOP BroadCast Fixed My Sibilance In 5 Minutes
Derek Oswald
Pop filters are one of those accessories you don’t think much about—until they’re ruining your setup. Whether it’s an awkward arm that never stays in place, a filter so bulky it blocks your entire ...
Trails by Fracture Sounds – A Hauntingly Beautiful Kontakt Library for The Modern Composer in 2025
Derek Oswald
Let’s face it—there’s no shortage of string libraries out there. But now and then, something hits differently. Trails by Fracture Sounds is one of those very moments. This one’s for the subtle stuff—the kind ...
Beatsurfing: 5 Plugins You Need Right Now / Including Random, Random Metal and More!
Derek Oswald
Beatsurfing: A Creative Playground for Modern Sound Design If you’re curious about how innovative technology meets raw musical creativity, BEATSURFING is a name worth knowing. Born in 1997 under the moniker Herrmutt Lobby, this ...
5 Excellent Must-Have Sonora Cinematic Products: Emma Legato, Aria Vocalscapes & More!
Derek Oswald
If you’re into composing soundtracks or creating immersive soundscapes, chances are you’ve heard the buzz about Sonora Cinematic. This plugin developer, based in Edinburgh, UK, and helmed by Italian composer and sound designer Alessandro ...
Blezz Beats Purpl Pak Vol 3: Vocodine, SNOP & More – Packed With Vintage Greatness
Derek Oswald
A Blast from the Past Meets Tomorrow’s Sound Scrolling through Instagram one day, I was suddenly hit with a series of quirky, VHS filter-drenched ads that looked exactly like a 1980s infomercial. With over-the-top ...
Rast Sound Motif 2: Your New Creative Music Partner
Derek Oswald
Ever find yourself staring at a blank project with a head full of half-formed musical ideas? Sometimes the spark just isn’t coming, and you end up scrolling through endless plugin options looking for something ...
MIDI Agent v1.0.5 Beta Preview: A Powerful New Frontier in AI-Driven Music Creation
Derek Oswald
As our AI underlords get smarter and smarter (and perhaps one day become our overlords and take over our lives ala SkyNet), many music plugin developers are dipping their toes into the space, discovering ...
Elementary Sounds: Vintage Vibes Trusted by Depeche Mode and Lo-Fi Producers
Derek Oswald
In today’s world of hyper-polished digital production, it’s easy for music to lose a bit of its soul. Enter Elementary Sounds—a plugin company focused on sampling unique vintage instruments, that may have otherwise been lost ...
Void & Vista – “Folds”: The #1 Plugin Right Now for Haunting Vocals
Derek Oswald
FOLDS: A Gateway to Ethereal Expression FOLDS by Void & Vista is one of those special plugins that manages to strike a rare balance: it is at once deceptively simple in its appearance and ...
Klevgrand – Tomofon and Speldosa: 2 Creative Offerings from the Heart of Sweden
Derek Oswald
In today’s musical landscape, where tons of new plugin companies pop up daily and saturate the market, Klevgrand, a small but passionate Swedish music software company, isn’t afraid to break the rules. Known for ...
TAQS.IM: Beautiful World Culture Plugins – SOLO Synth and Microtoner – 10% Discount Code
Derek Oswald
Want a discount? Provide “ALTWIRE” at checkout upon purchasing these plugins to get 10% off. TAQS.IM: Bringing Global Sounds to Your Digital Studio Greetings Altwire readers! I recently had the privilege of getting to ...
Sunset: The Festival at The Espee (2025), Succeeds In It’s First Year
Daniel Benavides
Sunset: The Festival at The Espee in San Antonio, held on March 7-8, 2025, delivered an eclectic mix of genres and artists, creating a vibrant atmosphere that resonated with attendees from all over! The ...
Review: Baby Audio Humanoid – Fun & Futuristic Vocals From The Year 3000
Derek Oswald
Baby Audio’s Humanoid offers a fun and inviting premise. While many vocal modification plugins aim to refine, enhance, or subtly tweak vocals while keeping them as natural and transparent as possible, BABY Audio’s Humanoid, ...
Weird in a Fun Way: Infinitone 2 Delivers a Mesmerizing Mix of Creativity and Oddities
Derek Oswald
Introduction to Infinitone 2 When I discovered Infinitone 2, its promise to break free from the conventional 12-tone system immediately caught my attention. I was curious to see whether the plugin could open up fresh ...
F9 TRAX House Nation V1.5: The Best For House Producers
Derek Oswald
Introduction – F9 TRAX House Nation V1.5 When it comes to the vibrant world of EDM, nothing resonates with me quite like House music. My love for this genre was sparked in the early ...