Are there any plugins that you often use which are more than 10 years old?

[foosnark]

u-he Uhbik
Plogue Chipsounds
FXPansion Maul
Voxengo MSED, Overtone GEQ, Span

Soon we'll be able to 3-D print 10+ year old computers on demand.

Soon, 10 year old computers will be able to print us on demand.

[ATS]

I can't help but think this is a really silly question. Tons of great software is easily 10 years old. 10 years isn't that long.

[JerGoertz]

Soon, 10 year old computers will be able to print us on demand.

[yellowmix]

u-he Uhbik
Plogue Chipsounds
FXPansion Maul
Voxengo MSED, Overtone GEQ, Span

Uhbik was last updated in 2015.
Chipsounds was updated at the end of 2019.
Maul was launched in 2013.

[yellowmix]

I can't help but think this is a really silly question. Tons of great software is easily 10 years old. 10 years isn't that long.

It is in terms of technology and many other factors that impacted audio plugin development specifically. But I find it silly when many of these products launched possibly > 10 years ago have been updated, several significantly, through these conditions and in some cases with improved technology (e.g., new features, more voices, more CPU quality processing), effectively renewing their birth date. And some were future-proofed with obscene but configurable CPU consumption options. Can't do that with hardware (firmware can only do so much).

A more interesting question would be what more than 10 year old and discontinued plugins are people still using. Now those would be real gems.

[Jafo]

Plenty. SQ8L: 2008. (The recent sampled version is superb, but neither works nor feels the same as the VST.) Augur: 2007. The original MultiLens: 2004. Crazy Diamonds: 2002; when you ask about plugs that I use after a century, it'll still be there.

[foosnark]

Uhbik was last updated in 2015.
Chipsounds was updated at the end of 2019.
Maul was launched in 2013.

"Last updated" without a major version number change doesn't count?

I didn't extensively research this, I just Googled for company & product names with a filter set to "before March 28, 2010" and it showed Maul in results as old as 2006, so I just ran with that. Turns out it's dynamic content on pages that were written back then.

[yellowmix]

You're on KVR, no need to Google. If the plugin database doesn't have the information (some plugins weren't added at launch), searching for an announcement thread is pretty accurate. There is the occasional sleeper plugin no one has mentioned for one reason or another but whenever it shows up here is more or less when it's "arrived" to the public consciousness.

I'm glad KVR exists for this. Some plugins have their entire history of development in their respective threads. The u-He Zebra threads are especially rich, from the pre-Zebra 1 days through now and beyond. The Fathom development thread is a possible future classic.

As for what counts for the question, sure, it's debatable what the OP's intent is. Like I and others said, we don't find the question particularly useful when taken literally. But reading what OP wrote about the pace of technological change, the spirit of what OP is looking for is fairly clear to me. If the developer has kept up with the changes in technology and competition then does product launch date matter as much?

With respect to "major version number" it really depends on the developer. Chipsounds, for example, received several new chip emulations in 1.5. Well that's a .5 release which is major, right? Well what about 1.6, which added Amiga import, arcade game sounds, and more? It's been regular and consistent and they're on 1.9 now with NKS and everything you'd expect from a contemporary synth. They updated in 2020 in fact, for Catalina, but I don't consider that a new feature—that is support, which is why I said late 2019. But personally I think support like that definitely means it's not abandoned. Plogue has since launched improved specific emulations but Chipsounds still can't be beat in breadth.

Likewise, Uhbik is fine as it is, still one of the best bang-for-buck surround sound FX suites. It's been updated in parallel with their entire portfolio—getting 64-bit, VST3, etc. Uhbik 2 is in alpha and current owners will get it for free so if that isn't support I don't know what is.

I do find your use of Maul interesting as it is discontinued even if it is somewhat "recent". I'm still using DCAM: Synth Squad for Amber and Fusor, I have my own patches in there. In terms of divide-down synthesis there are possible replacements like XILS-V, Loomer Ensemble, etc. But I also like using Amber in FX mode for its ensemble which adds a lot of boeuf to anything. But as it's discontinued that tip doesn't help anyone who doesn't already have it and probably already knows it. In any case I'd like to hear why you're still using Maul in light of replacements. Then again I still reach for Ohmicide before anything else and it predates Maul (though updated for Catalina).

[olepro]

Vaz 2010, originally launched under the name Vaz 2001, is close to 20 years old, but is still fresh and soundwise in line with all the best VST instruments, when it comes to analogue behavior on PC.
Still my go to synth for original analog sounds.
For me the new kid on the block is VPS Avenger!
Totally in sane what this synth can do!!

[yehno]

I sometimes still use 'Ambience' by Smartelectronix. It came out in the early 2000s sometime. I've tried to find something to replace it and ended up with Valhalla Shimmer, which I actually like better over all. Still, Ambience is great sometimes

[Jace-BeOS]

Most of the software I use was originally released ten or more years ago, and much of that has been updated enough to keep it running on Mac OS (I’m stuck at High Sierra). As for stuff that hasn’t been updated at all in ten years... probably just the stuff I have loaded on my Receptor (which I have yet to use in a recording anyway).

When I moved from Windows/Sonar to Mac/Logic, a few Windows-only and abandoned cross-platform 32-bit plug-ins (looking at you, Cakewalk) had to be abandoned, but it was not as bad as I expected it would be. I rendered a few audio tracks and found replacements for others.

Age of plugins is only relevant if they’ve not been updated to keep them functional on new Operating Systems... and the weird need some companies have to abandon perfectly good products because they’ve lost interest in them...

[dark water]

...
As for what counts for the question, sure, it's debatable what the OP's intent is. Like I and others said, we don't find the question particularly useful when taken literally. But reading what OP wrote about the pace of technological change, the spirit of what OP is looking for is fairly clear to me. If the developer has kept up with the changes in technology and competition then does product launch date matter as much?
...

Thank you - that spirit of my (perhaps badly phrased thread?) is what I meant

Also, the emphasis (as per my opening post) was on OFTEN using these because they are irreplacable by more modern (or updated version) plugins.

So maybe not in every project but certainly EVERY SECOND OR THIRD project that we complete.
Otherwise, as some have said here, it just becomes pointless if we quote the name of a plugin that we use maybe twice per year, if that, in completed projects.


And to be fair to ATS, it would be an excellent thread idea for our current and frequent use of discontinued plugins etc.
I don't mind if you'd prefer to take this thread in that direction (or create a new thread perhaps?).

Anyway, good suggestions everyone thanks.

[clueless]

most of them! on a 10 year old laptop. which i nicke... er, liberated from an outgoing boss...

[highkoo]

For a while I made beats on a Pentium 2 through an entire full time work schedule.
Those were some great days.

[VariKusBrainZ]

Hell yes, my purchasing started in earnest in 2003, though they would have been updated since in many cases, heres a few:

Ohmforce
Cameleon 4000 = Alchemy
Kjaerhus
PSP
Soundhack
AAS
Sonicbytes Era
Vaz
Elemental Audio
Reaktor