This year’s KVR Developer Challenge has entered the download and voting stage. For the 2021 edition of the popularity contest for developers of audio plugins and soundware, a total of 37 entries have been submitted.

The entries include synthesizers, MIDI tools, effects, sampled instruments, and more. I will highlight some of my personal favorites in news posts in the next few days, but for now here’s the full list of entries:

  • Laras Composition by Heri H. Hasyim, a music composition tool.
  • FKFX Influx by FKFX, a sequenced resonator distortion
  • GR-8 by Phuturetone, an 8-pvoice virtual analog synthesizer with built-in effects and an arpeggiator.
  • Grain Strain by Full Bucket Music, flexible grain looping with sync-to-host options.
  • Emphasis by Truality Audio, emphasizes in a rather refined way certain bands of frequencies.
  • Solina2K by Fanan Team, a physical modeling based Solina strings ensemble emulation.
  • WhispAir software synthesizer instrument with 3 flexible wavetable oscillators.
  • DeLate by Truality Audio, delay/echo effect plugin
  • Transperc by Apisonic Labs, a transient processor (shaper) created mainly for percussive material.
  • DruModifier_P by Uncle Igor Doodads, allows you to change the pitch of drum instruments in real time manually, host automation or using MIDI.
  • Olitanh by John Crosby Acoustics, distortion coupled with compressor brings interdependent wave-shaping and envelope-shaping.
  • Switch-Mode Synth by Zoned, a fresh look at pulse-width modulation. This retro-look synth borrows its signal flow from a switch-mode power supply – but the sound doesn’t seem to have suffered.
  • MixMaxTrix by ArtV, mixer with 8 stereo buses in and out and 8 mixer channels with fx.
  • SeeSaw by lkjb, a flat-curve Tilt EQ where only the pivot frequency and max gain can be set.
  • Cloud Chorus by Signalsmith Audio, a thick ensemble chorus with a multi-stage design producing a dense cloud of echoes.
  • PiKTrix by Midi Mobiles, a ‘Sample Instrument Collector Tool’ rompler.
  • Virtuosity Drums by Versilian Studios, an open source contemporary Jazz drum kit library performed with sticks.
  • GFilter by Flandersh Tech, an easy and quick to use multi-type filter.
  • FourHead by Fugue State Audio, an experimental audio buffer fx.
  • DSPplug Blumlein Shield by King Oz Records, noise suppression plugin.
  • Hum808 X by Callybeat, hybrid synthesizer with 3 oscillators with 5 waveforms and a sampler with 70 useful samples in FM synthesis.
  • NB01 – distortion/sustainer by Noizebox Industries, inspired by a circuit from an ancient guitar pedal that was originally intended as a soft-distortion-sustainer for guitars.
  • The King by Evil Sound Lab, high-gain distortion pedal based on a brand-new schematic.
  • Nettle by Fellusive, a software instrument that explores the unique and relatively under-explored world of scanned synthesis.
  • C-C- -01 by Christopher Carmichael, a signal enhancer effect.
  • T.Rex vBeats by Max Project, a virtual instrument with 10 analog drum sounds and 8 classic rhythms.
  • BamBoomBa by Way Music, a wooden key thumb piano SoundFont and sample library.
  • FilterDeMystifier by Jade Hochschule, a filter plugin for educational use
  • Emergence by Daniel Gergely, a real-time granulator.
  • STFU by ZEEK, a super quick to use sidechainer that can be automatically sync’d to host BPM or triggered by MIDI.
  • More by Mod Sound, the one-knob distortion plugin with too many knobs.
  • Reducktion by Dead Duck Software, a 32-voice polyphonic software synthesizer with wave, pulse and FM oscillators.
  • EchoMatrix by ImprovOid, 6 delays that can be modulated and are connected by a feedback “echo” matrix.
  • Tick Metronome by Tal Aviram, a self-contained metronome. It runs almost anywhere. It runs as a plug-in, it runs on your phone. Everything is self-contained so your metronome sounds (and your BPM/time-signature) can go wherever you go.
  • Chameleon by GuitarML, a guitar plugin/standalone app using neural networks to create three distinct sounds from a vintage style amp head.
  • RDistortion by REMS, multi-mode distortion plugin with filters.
  • Eplex7 Analog Filter + Analog Distortion by Eplex7 DSP, warm liquid analog filter and fat sounding analog type distortion.

All entries are free to download to anyone, while KVR members can also vote for their top 5 favorite entries until July 31st, 2021.

More information: KVR Audio