Here are our choices for the 10 best secret sauce plugins of 2024, amazing little apps that can turn a blah track into a banger – and four of them are free!
We all have secret sauce plugins. You know, those little secret weapons that we pop onto a track to give it some extra oomph. It could be an instrument or an effect, a sonic sweetener or a workflow enhancer. It could be anything really, the important part is that whenever you reach for it, it juices you out of the doldrums and back on track.
When we first tried putting this list together, we went for the best secret sauce plugins of all time. With all of the Attack staff contributing, it soon turned into a gargantuan list. So instead we’ve decided to limit the candidates to ones that dropped in 2024. Here is our final list, organized in order of ascending price. And four of them are even free. Free secret sauce. How about them apples?
What are your top secret sauce plugins of the year? Let us know in the comments.
Google MusicFX DJ
OK, so this first one isn’t technically a plugin, it’s a webpage. But it still deserves to be included. MusicFX DJ from Google is another one of those AI things, but before you hit that caps lock button and head to the comments section to let us know how horrible AI is, realize that this one is kind of different.
Maybe because Google partnered with internet music darling Jacob Collier on it, MusicFX DJ is actually useful. Forget trying to make full tracks though, use it instead to generate custom parts like percussion lines, weird vocals or anything else to sample and chop. Like any other AI tool, it will take some trial and error, but working with the slider – particularly Chaos – can generate some interesting results. And it’s free. Find out more on the Google Music FX DJ website.
Tracktion Dawesome Zyklop
Myth by Tracktion Dawesome is one of the best soft synths to come out in recent years. With its resynthesis sound engine that can turn any user sample into a complex waveform, plus a semi-modular synthesis design, it’s capable of some pretty wild and unique sounds.
Zyklop is the free version, and although it is cut-down in some respects (only one oscillator, less modules and effects), it’s eight-voice polyphonic and it still has that Re-synthesis V2 engine at its core. Use it for pads, textures, or as a way to completely change up a sound.
It has to be heard to be believed. The fact that it’s free is pretty unbelievable. Find out more on Tracktion website.
U-he Zebralette 3
Another instrument in the “wait, this is really free?!” category is Zebralette 3 from U-he. The latest version of the free Zebra, number three is still in beta but don’t let that put you off. It’s fully functional and fully badass.
Zebralette 3 has a single oscillator that can do additive or wavetable, and it’s the wavetable part that’s particularly exciting as it lets you create your own wavetables by drawing them into the spline-based editor. When factory wavetables aren’t cutting it, whip this out and roll your own. You can even export them out. Download it for free from u-he’s website.
Audiomodern Soundbox
Sometimes what your track needs is something cinematic, something epic and processed in a way that doesn’t sound like a typical synthesizer. If you’re rich with beaucoup bucks you’ve likely got Kontakt in your plugin folder and maybe some $500 instruments. But for the rest of us, there’s Soundbox by Audiomodern.
Although it’s free, it’s a fully featured virtual instrument platform, with sample import, filters, modulators and effects. The available sample packs are uniformly excellent and not expensive at all, putting trailer-grade sounds within reach. There’s even a free pack, Mechania, which means you don’t have to drop even a dime to add some sound design sauce to your tracks. Find out more on the Soundbox website.
Kilohearts Filter Table
It’s a wavetable filter from Kilohearts. That’s really all you need to know to make this an insta-buy. Still unsure? OK, this is a filter that gets its spectral peaks and troughs from the shape of a wavetable and then imprints it on incoming audio. Once you start modulating, it basically turns any signal into a scanning wavetable. It works best on bass, as you might imagine, but can liven up any sound that needs a little movement.
Truly a vibe machine and it’s only $39. Works on its own as well as part of Phase Plant, Multi Pass and Snap Heap. Find out more on the Kilohearts website.
Cableguys Snapback
Cableguys Snapback is a clever little drum detection plugin that can layer transients and tails on top of your audio or MIDI drums. The detection algorithm is excellent, and it has all sorts of parameters to help align the samples, including filter, envelope, and pitch, plus a handy zoom feature to help you stay in phase.
Silly me, I haven’t mentioned the snapback part yet. The real trick of Snapback is that it can layer samples before the transient, giving your beats a quick thwack that leads into the main hit. It’s a common sound design trick for adding punch but with Snapback the plugin, it’s dead easy to do. Great-sounding samples from BT, Goldbaby, and others too. At only $49, it’s a no brainer. Find out more on Cableguys website.
Excite Audio Bloom Drum Breaks
There’s just something special about breaks. Whether it’s the primary force for the whole song or just a topper adding groove, breaks can offer something special that’s hard to achieve with programmed drum machines. They can also be a PIA to work with. Enter Excite Audio Bloom Drum Breaks, a breaks-focused plugin that makes it super easy to whip up dynamic drum lines. Trigger breaks from MIDI keys, chop them up, jump around between different lines, add effects and modulation, and get granular with sample editing.
Even if you just slap it on and work with a preset as-is, Bloom Drum Breaks can almost instantly transform any track. It’s super cheap too, only $64.90. Find out more on Excite Audio website.
Waves IDX Intelligent Dynamics
Sometimes you need a secret sauce plugin that just makes everything sound better. It could be a saturator, exciter, or a compressor, like IDX Intelligent Dynamics from Waves. But as the name suggests, this is more than just a regular compressor.
IDX is a frequency-dependent dynamics plugin that listens to your audio and decides what frequencies to suppress in order to add energy to the overall signal. You have some basic controls like speed, amount and EQ curve tilt, but really, it’s a pretty smart thing and you won’t have to do very much. Which is pretty much the textbook definition of a secret sauce plugin. It lists for $79 but you know Waves; it’s probably on sale for a lot less right now. Find out more on Waves’ website.
Newfangled Audio Recirculate
Delays are a dime a dozen but what most don’t give you is precise control. Recirculate from the genius minds at Newfangled Audio puts that control in your hands, allowing you to set where the first echo occurs on the timeline, thus setting the rhythm in motion. You can also adjust the volume of each delay tap independently. The potential for rhythmic echoes is off the charts. You also get control over delay transients, dynamics, and other effects like reverb and chorus.
At $99 it’s not the cheapest delay on the block, but it lets you do so much that it’s worth it. Find out more on Newfangled Audio website.
Roland Cloud RE-201 Space Echo
Our last entry of the 10 best secret sauce plugins of 2024 is another delay, the Roland Cloud RE-201 Space Echo. Yes, this is yet another emulation of the famous RE-201 tape echo and chances are you already have a couple space echo plugins in your folder. So why this one? Because it absolutely nails the preamp.
One of the reasons the RE-201 sounds so good is because of the preamp stage. Actually, a lot of producers and engineers will run vocals and instruments through the hardware for the preamp saturation alone. And that’s why we’re recommending it as a secret sauce plugin. Yes, it’s a great tape-style delay and it offers some pretty unique additional effects as well but it’s all about the preamp color with this version.
This is part of the Roland Cloud so you can either get it with an Ultimate subscription ($19.99 month/$199 year) or buy it outright for $199. Find out more on Roland Cloud’s website.