The amount of last month’s quality freeware plug-ins had me struggling to limit the list of top picks to just 4.

The following plug-ins stood out for me. Feel free to post additions if you feel they should’ve made this list.

1. Shattersync by Pluggotic
   Pluggotic took Jack Dark’s Shattershot Lite and modified it to be host synchronized and implemented MIDI. Shattersync is perfect for creating subtle hiccups to full scale FSU madness.
2. Beatburner by Code Audio
   This synth turns your beats into lovely new sounds by waveshaping and filtering the input.

   Warning: Beatburner tends to suck up big chucks of your spare time!

3. Umbra by H.G. Fortune
   Umbra is a synth / SF player combination much like H.G. Fortune’s STS and ProtoPlasm series plug-ins. It is great for experimental soundscapes & athmospheres. The free version of this synth includes only 24 waveforms (128 for the full version), but it is still has a lot to offer. I love H.G. Fortune’s lazy buttons which allow for fast and sane randomizing of this synth.
4. Machin by de la Mancha
   I have to admit I haven’t even had a chance to check this one out, but I just know it’s going to be great fun, just like truc. Be sure to check this one out if you’re into FSU type plug-ins.

I know there aren’t any Mac plug-ins in this list, but I’m afraid I don’t own a Mac…

Pluggotic has released Shattersync, a modified version of DarkWare’s Shattershot Lite.

Shattersync is a stuttering/repeating effect plug-in based on modulated delays triggered by a step-sequencer. Repeats of all sorts, glitches and noises, random events and singular/casual phrases re-arrangements can be achieved quickly, on both melodic and rhythmic material.

Carlo writes:

For those knowing and loving Shattershot Lite VST, Shattersync is essentially a host (and therefore BPM) synchronized version of its predecessor. it should be noted that the work I made to modify the creature will not make it sound any better and possibly all the voodoo magic spawned from Shattershot Lite will disappear, replaced by a tamed, ordered, boring, mechanism of nothingness.

The alterations of the original design are focused on:

• New modulations, now host-synchronized.
• A new independent stuttering FX in the signal chain.
• MIDI implementation.
• New GUI.

Visit Pluggotic for more information and a link to download Shattersync.

Pluggotic has released CB Grillo Parlante, a sample kit featuring a circuit bent Grillo Parlante, the italian version of the glorious Speak and Spell.

Grillo Parlante - the Italian Speak & Spell

Short and pitched phonemes, glitches, molested and distorted words, drunk Bmovie-styled nonsense, frozen screams with scattered lo-fi particles, all divided in four banks. Plus, the raw character of the frozen sounds has been tuned with Kontakt2’s tone machine for a massive set of 28 oscillators with a vocoded feel, a special robotic choir at your service.

Features

• 4 banks: 55 short glitches, 70 medium glitches, 24 monologues, 28 frozen sounds
• 4 original patches, 28 frozen/tuned oscillators (Kontakt2 only), 17 frozen/tuned layered & effected patches (Kontakt2 only)
• 177 wave samples at 16bit/44100, unprocessed tone

You can listen to a mp3 demo here.

CB Grillo Parlante is available in wav, Reason’s NN-XT and Kontakt2 formats and costs 5 GBP (payment via paypal).

Visit the Prokits product page for more information.

Pluggotic has released NanoX2, an additive sequenced VSTi groovebox.

Features

• a raw 8bit-style sound inspired by the sound of gaming systems & consolles from the past
• a sequencer that triggers eight partials inspired by Nanosynth (by Oliver Wittchow & Julian Rohrhuber)
• a scene morphing sequencer that will fuse the previous features into a nice mess
• 128 presets

Differently from its predecessor, NanoX2 doesn’t require midi notes to be triggered and pitched. Open it and just press play on your sequencer to start the serenade.

Visit Pluggotic for more information and a link to download NanoX2.