Looking for Soundtoys set alternatives

[ct12345]

I want to get rid of iLok. I am a PC power user, I change 1 piece of hardware ever 6 months on average.

I also like to produce on my Mac. I have had multiple mishaps/annoyances where I get locked out of my account for a weekend and have to wait for them to allow me to use the plugins that I pay for.

I can't stand the entire process of iLok and am looking to sell my Soundtoys suite as its really the only thing using iLok.

Is there a set of plugins out there that can replace Soundtoys?

The main plugins I use are:

- Decapitator
- Filter Freak
- Alter Boy

[iTzPrime]

Arturia has TUBE-CULTURE plugin which is very similar to Decapitator. There is also Saturn 2 from Fabfilter, Coldfire from Arturia if you look for different - but still very capable distortion plugins.

FabFilter Volcano 3 is a good Filterfreak alternative, so is Cytomic the drop. I also like the Kilohearts bundle here (which is free). Polyverse Filterverse is also very good.

Graillon as an alternative to Alter Boy is free. Toneboosters VoicePitcher 4 is cheap. Polyverse Manipulator is probably the most versitaile out there (wait for a sale).

I think Efx MOTIONS from Arturia also has a formant variable (as well as having decent filters). If you can wait until Black Friday, the best deal which would include most stuff - would probably be the Arturia collection.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

If you're changing hardware regularly, and that's causing an issue with iLok plugins (I'm guessing you mean Machine Auth, not dongle based), then wouldn't you likely also run into issue with Challenge and Response plugins?

I'd think the iLok dongle is the safest option for hardware tinkerers because the plugins shouldn't care about the machine at all, just "is dongle present?" I get why a $50 USB stick is annoying for other reasons.

But I just want to warn you that if you're ditching iLok because you change your PC hardware often and it messes with authorizations, you may have to add another criteria to your iLok free alternatives search: serial number based activation, or at least, start reaching out to vendors and asking if hardware changes will clobber authorizations if they use a Challenge and Response system (answer: it's likely).

[martiu]

yeah, go serials and key files only
check out this thread - viewtopic.php?t=612966

[ct12345]

If you're changing hardware regularly, and that's causing an issue with iLok plugins (I'm guessing you mean Machine Auth, not dongle based), then wouldn't you likely also run into issue with Challenge and Response plugins?

I'd think the iLok dongle is the safest option for hardware tinkerers because the plugins shouldn't care about the machine at all, just "is dongle present?" I get why a $50 USB stick is annoying for other reasons.

But I just want to warn you that if you're ditching iLok because you change your PC hardware often and it messes with authorizations, you may have to add another criteria to your iLok free alternatives search: serial number based activation, or at least, start reaching out to vendors and asking if hardware changes will clobber authorizations if they use a Challenge and Response system (answer: it's likely).

Not a fan of the dongle approach. And any major change on your desktop (operating system change, hard drive change, etc...) causes issues.

[ct12345]

yeah, go serials and key files only
check out this thread - viewtopic.php?t=612966

This is cool thank you

[xx JPRacer xx]

Maybe u-he Uhbik. Version 2.0 is releasing next week with a price increase but if you buy version 1 now you'll get a free upgrade to version 2. Check this link: viewtopic.php?t=624081

[Gam456]

Coldfire ican do dual filter/saturation/distortion, feedback, OTT, and modulation

Not a fan of the dongle approach. And any major change on your desktop (operating system change, hard drive change, etc...) causes issues.

I changed almost a year ago my OS (win 10>11) and workstation with zero issue
I have more than 300 plugin with ilok

[ct12345]

Coldfire ican do dual filter/saturation/distortion, feedback, OTT, and modulation

Not a fan of the dongle approach. And any major change on your desktop (operating system change, hard drive change, etc...) causes issues.

I changed almost a year ago my OS (win 10>11) and workstation with zero issue
I have more than 300 plugin with ilok

Good for you? My experience with iLok has NOT been a smooth one. I'm pretty sure it does hardware scans of your PC and creates a profile. So any major component change like GPU,CPU, hard drive has caused me issues.

[Gam456]

Coldfire ican do dual filter/saturation/distortion, feedback, OTT, and modulation

Not a fan of the dongle approach. And any major change on your desktop (operating system change, hard drive change, etc...) causes issues.

I changed almost a year ago my OS (win 10>11) and workstation with zero issue
I have more than 300 plugin with ilok

Good for you? My experience with iLok has NOT been a smooth one. I'm pretty sure it does hardware scans of your PC and creates a profile. So any major component change like GPU,CPU, hard drive has caused me issues.

It's not an issue, it how is works. Your hardware is the keylock.
Before any change you must disable the licence.

As a safety measure, It's always recommend to have 1 licence on an ilok usb drive

[zerocrossing]

I really like the Arturia FX Collection, though I'm a few versions behind. I also think waiting for Black Friday to see if there are sales on Eventide plugins is a great way to go. The Uhbik collection is another one to look at, though I don't think it could be a 1:1 replacement for the Soundtoys bundle. That said, I'm not super familiar with v2, though I should probably dig into it a bit deeper.

[djanthonyw]

The Tube-Culture and MS-20 filter plugins from Arturia are not just alternatives to Decapitator and Filter Freak, but they are actually better.

[scalawag]

If you have money to invest in hardware every 6 months, you have money to buy an iLok dongle...