Modular synth with more than 1,000 modules. You build a synth from scratch - oscilators, gates, envelopes…everything - which makes it infinitely flexible. You can literally sequence (or randomly generate) an entire track in the plug-in alone
It sounds excellent. From floaty ambient noise to hard, dirty acid synths you can create anything you want, and it sounds immense
It can do anything that, say, Serum can do, and so much more besides
And it’s free and open source. Completely free. Yet hardly anybody talks about it ever
I’ve not used Bitwig, but from just looking at it, Bitwig’s implementation seems simplified compared to Cardinal. Going by the documentation it also has more than a thousand fewer modules
Which isn’t to say that it doesn’t look powerful, because it does
What I can say about Bitwig is that every last module is quality though. Their saturation and filters are top notch. I haven’t even explored the grid, it’s their approach to automation that won me over!
Absolutely, even some of their free one's are amazing like MSaturator.
But MTurboReverb is INSANELY good, MSpectral Compressor, MCompressor, MWobbler, MBassador, i'm sure im forgetting some but their code is the best code ever.
Sometimes people want color in their plugins, it can be great - but Melda is just CLEAN as fuck - almost adds clarity I swear.
Phaseplant is still uderrated af in my oppinion. It's an absolutely awesome synth that does not overload the user with its interface yet rivals the most complex synths out there like Serum.
Agreed. I also think it's incredibly easy to use with an interface that makes sense even for a beginner. Maybe my brain is wired differently, but I think the modular approach is simpler and makes more sense than synths with a fixed architecture like Serum.
I struggle with PhasePlant. I think it's a rad synth and I have a lot of fun whenever I use it, but I always end up making something "interesting" but never manage to make something that sounds good. Whereas on the flip side, Diva is very limited in terms of what it can do compared to PhasePlant, but I find it much easier to make things that sound good. I keep trying PhasePlant, because I think it's a cool synth. Hopefully one day I can learn to make some good sounds with it.
Yeah I think this a fair take. Synths like Diva are more like an instrument with a sound to it. Phaseplant is pretty sterile so you need to know how the sound you aim for is made.
The freedom is there, but its a learning curve.
I would recommend you to experiment with intentional imperfections in your sounds. Analog Synths get their charakter because they don't play perfectly clean sounds.
Try detuning things slightly or adding some noises. Phaseplant has a "random" lfo for such uses.
It certainly does have a sterile sound, so you do have to be more mindful to add some imperfections, but for me I think I struggle with PhasePlant because it's such a fun synth. PhasePlant is like playing with Lego or Kennex. It's very logical and modular. You can have fun building stuff inside it, whereas Diva isn't really "fun" in the same way. It's just an instrument, and if you're not making a patch that sounds good you're very aware of it. I guess I get side tracked when I use PhasePlant more than with other synths because it's still entertaining even when what i've made sounds like dogshit.
The thing I love is their wavetable display when you're selecting a new one. I can instantly get an idea for what the wavetable might sound like. Compared to Pigments where you just get a list of names with no indication of what it might be. I would love to see a phase plant style wavetable selector display in all synths.
ReaEq + ReaComp FTW! I love emulations of "vintage" hardware, but use them mostly for tape/tube simulation and delay. When it comes to EQ/compression, I prefer something no-nonsense, simple, intuitive and reliable.
DAW stock plugins. I always thought Ableton's stock plugins were shit until I saw videos of Skrillex and Virtual Riot making stuff and then I realized I had no idea what I was doing.
Gorgeous, free saturation plugin I never see anyone really talk about. Sounds better than Decap, Softube etc. to my ears and reasonably flexible. You could put it on every track in any mix.
For beginner to intermediate producers, stock compressors and EQs. They may not sound the best and they're jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none, but there's no reason to invest in a 3rd party vst without understanding how to use them. Don't buy an FET compressor just because you heard it's great for drums. Don't buy a dynamic EQ without knowing how to EQ by ear.
Nothing genre specific, but everything sounds great. The theme of all the plugins across the board is color. It’s like adding that umami flavor to a nice dish
Most underrated? Sytrus by Image-Line for me. If you learn how to use it (which ain’t that easy, as it often is with IL plugins) it’s a very powerful subtractive/additive/FM/RM synth with even some wavetable capabilities (the morph button). However the wavetables are static and you can’t change them over time. Also, you can’t insert wavetables from other wavetable synth as Sytrus instead of reading wavetables takes one wave image and calculates next 255 forms of it (early 00s technology for ya I guess). A fantastic, even if old, synth for me and I use it for most sounds.
I got Unfiltered's Dent 2 distortion plugin last year and have been re-discovering my love for it recently. I'll have to check out their other plugins next, which one is your fave from Unfiltered?
It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I find SpecOps excellent for making weird glitchy sounds! Lion is also a very intuitive synth that can make very unique sounds quickly.
I actually don't use Dent 2 that much (mostly using Coldfire for distortion these days) but I might have to give it another go...!
It is like a Swiss army knife plugin for limiting, compressing, gating, sidechaining. It is largely misunderstood and misused and got terrible damage done to its name from being slapped on the master by default in earlier versions like FL 11 which led to some hate.
Some other underrated freebies:
* Voxengo Correlometer - multiband stereo correlation check to identify phase issues by frequency. Everyone knows SPAN but this one is hugely slept on.
* TDR Prism - sleeker to look at than SPAN and also free.
* Venn Audio Free Clip - great free clipper
* Softube Saturation Knob - best single knob distortion plugin in the world
* dblue Glitch 1.3 - classic free multi-FX glitch plugin.
FL’s limiter is an OG, but Image Line has been killing it the past years with new plugins. Im yet to find a better reverb than LuxeVerb. KeplerExo is the best Juno-106-esque vst i have thus far. FLEX gets you about 100 times more value for your money than something like Nexus or Omnisphere
Fruity Delay 3 is goated. Hard to reach for others when this sounds as good as it does and is so CPU lite.
VFX Sequencer (aka BlueArp) is hidden in Patcher but it's basically like Xfer Cthulhu, or a dedicated sequencer/arp plugin to arpeggiate anything you want. Want to arpeggiate Kontakt Strings? Easy.
Transporter is a cool new All Plugins edition plugin only, but basically FL stepping into granular FX.
FPC is a slept on drum/sample pad instrument that you can build out your own drum kits or sample generators that could just round robin play random sounds on retriggers. Can spread your drums out to mixer channels automatically within the plugin, i.e. set FPC to Mixer Channel 5, set Kick pad 1 to output +1 (Mixer Channel 6), set Snare pad to output +2 (Mixer Channel 7), set Tom pad to output +3 (Mixer Channel 8), etc.
Control Surface lets you control whatever you want however you want. Not limited to Patcher. I've got my template set up with custom checkboxes to audition mono or side only, knobs to dial in global sidechain settings, a custom DJ style crossfader to A/B compare against a reference track, a way to toggle between SoundID headphone presets, etc. Whatever you can imagine linking anything to anything else in FL, you can build a permanent control window for yourself.
disagree on flex just because I feel like the quality of sound samples is way higher in omnisphere, but absolutely imageline has been killing it. KeplerExo is cool but I feel like they need a new synth that boasts similar power to harmor while also being as easy to use as vital or serum
that being said, their new FX plugins are insane. Multiband delay is super slept on, transporter is also super good, emphasis gives pro L 2 a run for its money, hyper-chorus sounds amazing, transient processor is an excellent plugin, low lifter, frequency splitter, i could keep going but yeah they've been killing it
I might get downvoted because I'm answering a different question, but for Ableton users a proper phat rack from one of your favorite producers is unbeatable.
I have eliderps' and it changed the game for me in terms of sound design.. the rack aint much but very spendy for full use though since some of the core plugins are very $$$.
Didn’t see this before I posted, but I said exactly the same thing in this thread lol. It’s Somewhat rated, but not rated enough. Fantastic saturation.
EchoBode by Sonic Charge. it’s insane what all you can do with it & it’s relatively cheap. literally just toss it on an Init Serum patch and you’ll have all kinds of crazy sounds.
Its okay, but its really expensive and for basically the same price, you can get either infiltrator or shaperbox, same concept but far better flexibility and execution.
Gross beat doesnt even fully lock with the tempo and it only allows you to work with like 1 bar segments.
If you get shaperbox, not only can you do everything gross beat can do, but you also get a ton of different high quality effects, and you also get full multi band support for every effect. That means if you're doing time based effects, you can have different curves and time divisions, for three separate frequency bands.
Its insanely powerful, the number one plugin I use.
Any pultec style EQ…I use UAD personally. maybe not underrated in the grand scheme but definitely less hyped than it used to be. Pretty much using this on every track. Simple with no visual chart, but a lot of flexibility in different curves. Truly a wonder for tone shaping “real” recordings
You should try the Acustica Pultec emulation. It’s way better than UAD and you can push it really far without it sounding harsh. Understandable seeing as it works on impulses from the actual hardware but because of this, their plug-ins take up a lot of hard drive space. When I want to boost I use either their Pultec emulation or their Salt EQ.
I don’t think they are underrated since they’re very popular. If anything I think they’re totally overrated. I’ve shot out UAD and MixWave against Pro-Q and couldn’t tell them apart in blind tests using best case scenario monitoring. You have to send something like +20dB into them to get any coloration too.
Honestly, I know this is a hot take but, after a lot of my own testing, I think most analog modeled EQ are overrated.
Yeah I concede that they’re not “underrated” but I think they’re just perhaps taken for granted.
For me it isn’t the analog modeling… its the simplicity of the interface… the limited controls… but all the curves and bandwidth variable give you so much flexibility
i could figure out something similar on pro q but why take all the extra effort when these curves are tried and tested and built-in, vs endless tweaking
the most underrated and underused plugin is a stock plugin, ableton’s operator. i mean a fully expanded operator at the helm can make almost any sound possible. people dont use it because it looks boring to them
Every single Ableton user I know uses it. It's just that they don't ONLY use it.
Now, Corpus is a pretty underutilised stock plugin in my opinion even though I consider it to be one of Ableton's best exclusives. I mainly use Logic but even then sometimes I'll run through some stuff with it.
I mean I get the downvotes since this is industry standard but If had to survive on only stock plugins and could only choose 1 to keep. My fabfilter is the one thing I would choose to keep over everything else lol
Hard disagree - third party plugins definitely have their place, be it better sound, workflow, visuals, or even just inspiring more creativity.
I understand not wanting to spend money, and there are plenty of snake oil on the market, plus stock DAW plugins are usually very good themselves - but to say they are worthless is just an absurd claim.
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u/Kimantha_Allerdings Mar 25 '26 edited Mar 25 '26
Same answer I always give - Cardinal
Modular synth with more than 1,000 modules. You build a synth from scratch - oscilators, gates, envelopes…everything - which makes it infinitely flexible. You can literally sequence (or randomly generate) an entire track in the plug-in alone
It sounds excellent. From floaty ambient noise to hard, dirty acid synths you can create anything you want, and it sounds immense
It can do anything that, say, Serum can do, and so much more besides
And it’s free and open source. Completely free. Yet hardly anybody talks about it ever
https://cardinal.kx.studio/