As every year, a few keen brands have already started discounting their DAWs and VST plugins from the end of October. Here is our current top deals based on our Black Friday 5-Star Rating.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 Star Black Friday Plugin Deals in 2022
Our top deal this year is from Loopmasters: First of all you can get 2 months access for only $2, and get 50% off annual access to this top sample library (Using Coupon Code: BF50). Included are also our 4* rated Loopcloud sample manager, and the excellent Future Audio Workshop SubLab* for free (priced normally $79).
Sonnox offer cracking plugins, with the Oxford range Inflator and Limiter home in many studios. With 75% off, you can get your hands on the plugins from $39.
Image Line have increased their deals this year. 25% off FL Studio Producer Edition, 20% off FL Studio All Plugins Edition, plus Free Plugins & Sample Packs.
FabFilter sales have a predictable pattern, when we studied what discounts the company offered from 2018 to 2021. FabFilter have always offered 25% off, for a few days only. The FabFilter 25% off sale runs from 21 to 28 November 2022 this year, a few days longer than in 2021.
Waves are on sale every day but still leave their biggest discounts reserved to Black Friday*. 160 of their most popular plugins are now reduced to what Waves claims is their "biggest sale ever":
160 plugins & bundles at their lowest prices ever: Including Waves Harmony, Clarity Vx Pro, Vocal Bender, CLA-2A, F6, SSL 4000 Collection, WLM Meter, Abbey Road Saturator, CLA Nx.
In addition you will get free plugins when you spend over $50: 1 free plugin when you spend $50, 2 free plugins when you spend over $60, and 4 free plugins when you spend over $100.
Soundtoys is a table stake for many producer, with tasty analog emulations that add that extra dirt, spark and character to productions. Distressor, Echo Boy and Alter Boy are just a few of the ever green producer favourites. For Black Friday 2022, Soundtoys offer up to 80% discount. Highlights are Crystallizer* and Filter Freak for $29* (80% off), Decapitator for $49* (75% off) and the full Soundtoys 5 bundle for $229* (54% off).
This Black Friday season, Native Instruments offer 50% off 250 individual plugins and expansions, and up to $300 cashback when you buy Maschine or Komplete Kontrol hardware.
Wavesfactory have some top specialised plugins which found their niche and shine through. Cassette, Trackspacer, Spectre and Quantam all bring their own flavour to the table, and are well worth checking out. Even better, Wavesfactory have increased their discounts from last year for Black Friday 2022 from 40% to 50% across the range. So now you can pick up many Wavesfactory plugins from $29.
The Protools Black Friday deal AVID offers is a bit disappointing in our view, with 25 to 33% off Protools annual subscriptions. The discount is lower than up to 50% offered in 2021, and only applies for the first year.
Black Friday doesn't necessarily mean you have to spend your hard earned cash. Some brands are generous and offer a free plugin. We predict Waves, Plugin Alliance, and Baby Audio to release new free VST plugins, like in the last few years. The good news is that many free plugins from previous Black Friday are still available.
Soundtoys gives away the Little Radiator Mic Preamp for free during Black Friday 2022 - normally sold for $79.
So far, this is the free Black Friday plugin for 2022. Soundtoys are giving away the mic preamp Little Radiator for free during from November 2022 to 2 January 2023. This is an excellent little plugin that warms up and saturates audio signals, and works nicely on bass guitar, drums, or even buses. Little Radiator is normally sold for $79, and getting this quality for free is generous from Soundtoys. Thank you.
iZotope Audiolens is a desktop application to listen to any computer audio source for creating references.
iZotope released a new free referencing application ahead of Black Friday 2022. Audiolens* is a desktop app for macOS and Windows which makes track referencing and comparison easy. It works by analysing audio from any streaming platform or audio source. The application will collect data on key sonic characteristics, helping you to visualise, compare, and match your favourite reference tracks and sounds.
While this is useful to visualise the frequency curve of your references, iZotope Audiolens* increases value when you combine it with iZotope Ozone or Neutron. The integration of enables you to match your tracks or masters with the imaging, frequency, and dynamics of your reference tracks.
Referencing from Audiolens* operates with the following products:
Ozone Elements (Version from Nov. 23, 2022 onwards), Ozone 10 Standard and Advanced
For the last few years, Waves Audio has released one plugin for free during Black Friday weekend. In 2021, the Waves free plugin was Lofi Space, a new delay plugin. This plugin now sells for the usual $29.99.
Waves Lil Tube will only be available for free from its release on Black Friday to Cyber Monday 2022. Just register your email*, and you will receive the free Lil Tube Waves plugin via email within a few hours.
An easy to use algorithmic reverb VST plugin derived from Baby Audio Spaced Out. At every click, Magic Dice will generate a new texture, using Spaced Out's randomisation engine – and no two results are ever the same.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are when most VST plugin and DAW software developers offer their lowest prices of the year. Some brands, such as Ableton, are on sale for only 5 days. Many others, however, start in early November, or continue to offer deals well into December, into the Holiday or Christmas season.
We analysed the best plugin and DAW deals offered by the most popular brands from Black Friday 2019 to 2021. That information helped us predict what brands are likely to offer Black Friday deals, at what discount, at for how long.
How we predict Black Friday plugin deals
Unfortunately, we cannot gaze into the future. However, we are in contact with many companies who share upcoming promotions with us. In addition, we conducted in-depth research into what deals were offered during Black Friday 2019 to 2021, and then predict which plugin or DAW developers might offer during Black Friday 2022. In 2021, we got most of our predictions right, and just a few wrong. In any case, we update our predictions with any confirmed or live deals as soon as possible.
The best Black Friday Plugin Deals in 2022 - analysed, compared and rated
How our detailed Black Friday list can help you decide what plugins and DAW (not) to buy
Rating all Black Friday plugin deals
We rate all live and confirmed deals out of 5 from worst (1/5) to best (5/5). We arrive at our Black Friday deal ratings by rating them according to three criteria:
Length: How long the deal lasts.
Breadth How many of the brand's product range are included in the Black Friday sales.
Depth: How deep the Black Friday discount offered in 2022 is, compared to Black Friday 2019 to 2021, and other discounts the brand offers throughout the year.
How do know what Black Friday deals will be offered? Unfortunately, we cannot gaze into the future. However, we are in contact with many companies who share upcoming promotions with us. In addition, we conduct research into what deals were offered during Black Friday 2019 to 2021, and then predict which plugin or DAW developers might offer during Black Friday 2022. In 2021, we got most of our predictions right, and a just few wrong. In any case, we update our predictions with any confirmed or live deals as soon as possible.
Only top plugins and DAW brands
We don't want to overwhelm you. That is why we focus on a selection of the most popular brands, but then analyse, rate and predict all the Black Friday VST deals in more detail.
Plugins and DAWs only: We only include audio VST/AU/AAX plugins, and DAWs. We don't cover sound presets, sample packs, and rarely music instruments or hardware.
Top brands only: We include Black Friday VST deals only from the most popular plugins and DAW brands, not every deal for every plugin we can find.
I have been there and done that. Yes, I spent more than in hindsight I wanted. And I bought plugins that I ended up not using. But I also saved massively. I now want to pass on the learnings from my costly mistakes to you, the musicmanta community. That's why I wrote a 5 step guide to help you prepare, plan, and purchase plugins at plunged prices (phew!).
Ableton Live is one of the most popular DAWs for music production. But it is not cheap, in particular when you want to go for the bigger bundle Ableton Live Suite.
From 2019 to 2021, Ableton offered 25% off for 5 days, from the day before Black Friday, to Cyber Monday. All Ableton Live versions were included, from Ableton Live 11 Intro, to Ableton Live 11 Standard, up to the top of the range Ableton Live 11 Suite. The 25% discount applied to both new purchases and upgrades.
Contrary to our prediction that Ableton will repeat this regular pattern in 2022, Ableton decided to cut their discount to only 20%. That is disappointing in our view, in particular as other retailer like Thomann, our lowest priced Ableton retailer, offers 35% discount all year round.
It is still possible that Ableton will increase their discount to 25% for the usual 5 days. But for now, while this is good offer, we can only advise you to buy at a lower price at Thomann.
Black Friday 2022 Rating (based on buying from Ableton): ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Length Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Nearly two months 20% off is vastly longer than the 5 days on previous years (from 15 November 2022 to 11 January 2023)
Breadth Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - All Ableton Live versions, full and upgrade, and Push 2 hardware, are included.
Depth Rating: ⭐️⭐️ - The discount has been decreased from 25% from 2019 to 2021, to now only 20% in 2022, and is surpassed all year by Thomann* who offer 35% discount all year.
Thomann* has been consistently the cheapest official retailer selling Ableton Live, as our extensive research showed over the last years*. So the great news is, you don't have to wait until Black Friday to buy Ableton at a great price, and can still pick Ableton up after it has ended.
Reverb is offering a rare and massive 35% discount on the top of the range Ableton Live 11 Suite, when you buy the DAW together with the Ableton Push 2 hardware controller. The offer started 9 November 2022 for a limited time.
Black Friday 2019, 2020 and 2021
Ableton Black Friday 2021: 25% discount off Ableton Live, for 5 days, from Thursday 25th November 2021 to Cyber Monday 29th November 2021.
Ableton Black Friday 2020: 25% discount off Ableton Live, for 5 days, from Thursday 26th November 2020 to Cyber Monday 30th November 2020.
Ableton Black Friday 2019: 25% discount off Ableton Live, for 5 days, from Thursday 28th November 2019 to Cyber Monday 1st December 2019.
Other Ways to Buy Ableton Cheaper
Not yet live, or missed Black Friday and Cyber Monday? Here are other ways to save before Black Friday 2023:
Since T Pain and Cher made Auto-Tune famous, Antares has dominated the pitch correction plugins. Antares continue to expand their range, and now include an extensive product selection.
We predicted Antares would continue its discounts from Black Friday in 2022, which were 70%. However the discount on subscriptions increased in 2022 from 50% off for the first year to now 65%, and Antares added a bigger free perpetual licence worth $179, compared to free perpetual Auto-Tune Access license worth $99 that was included in Black Friday 2022.
Black Friday 2022 Rating (based on Early Black Friday Auto-Tune deal): ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Length Rating: ⭐️⭐️ - Only 5 days so far but we expect for this to be extended until end of November.
Breadth Rating: ⭐️⭐️ - Only Auto-Tune Unlimited 1 year subscription is included so far.
Depth Rating: ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ - The Auto-Tune discount increased in 2022 from 50% in 2021 to 65%, and the free Auto-Tune plugin is worth $179 not $99.
Black Friday 2019, 2020 and 2021
Antares Black Friday 2021: up to 70% off selected Antares products, for 10 days
Full Antares Licenses: 50-70% off Auto-Key, Auto-Tune Access, Mutator and Harmony Engine
Auto-Tune Unlimited Subscription: 50% off for the first year (now $149.99), plus bonus Auto-Tune Access full license worth $99
Save 50% on Auto-Tune Unlimited subscriptions: the annual subscription that gives you access to all 20 Antares plugins is now only $149.99 for the first year, increased to $249 from year two.
Arturia has been prolific in recent years. Not only did they continue to update its V Collection range of analog emulations, they also launched a new massive synth plugin with Pigments, and expanded into effect plugins with FX Collection. Arturia also expanded into a vast range of hardware, from controllers to analog synths and drum machines.
I can imagine last year's Black Friday sale was a roaring success for Arturia. Why? Because the French company has repeated exactly the same Black Friday promotion, which they ran in 2020 and 2021. The sale includes:
Arturia's take on an all encompassing modern soft synth Arturia Pigments 3*, updated to version 3.5 this year - $99 (50% off $199)
Black Friday 2022 Rating (based on Early Black Friday Auto-Tune deal): ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Length Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Arturia massively extended the Black Friday deal period from 5 days to now 3 weeks (15 November to 6 December 2022).
Breadth Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Arturia's popular bundles V Collection 9, FX Collection 3, and the standalone synth Pigments, make the list. We wish that single plugins, and in particular their hardware would be included as well.
Depth Rating: ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ - 50% is a good level of discount for a quality brand, and consistent with previous years.
Black Friday 2019, 2020 and 2021
Arturia Black Friday 2021: 50% off V collection 8 ($599 down to $299), Pigments 3 ($199 down to $99), and FX collection 2 ($399 down to $199), for 5 days.
Arturia Black Friday 2020: 50% off V collection 7 ($599 down to $299), Pigments 2 ($199 down to $99), and FX collection ($399 down to $199), for 5 days.
Arturia Black Friday 2019: 50% off V collection 7 ($599 down to $299), $199 cross grade from any Arturia product, and $99 upgrade from previous V Collection versions, for 5 days.
Other Ways to Buy Arturia plugins Cheaper
Missed Black Friday and Cyber Monday? Here are other ways to save before Black Friday 2022:
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AVID Protools has been one of the main recording tools and DAW for a long time, with Media Composer video editing and Sibelius notation software also popular. However, after switching to a subscription service, discounts have been few and far between.
AVID released its Black Friday deals on Monday 14 November 2022, and will last until 27 November. Compared to the discount on offer during Black Friday 2021, this is a disappointment, as they offered 50% discount on a first year Protools Ultimate subscription.
Baby Audio has quietly but firmly edged itself into the spotlight with its unique take on classic effect plugins. True to form, Baby Audio IHNY-2 was released a few months ago, an updated version of their parallel compression (also called New York compression) plugin. We rated the plugin 4 out of 5 stars. Let's not forget last year's Baby Audio plugin release of TAIP, a fresh take on tape saturation and distortion, derived with the help of an AI algorithm. We liked this plugin a lot, which inspired us to include a few delicious demos in our article.
Baby Audio confirmed the upcoming Black Friday deals to us early. And we are glad to hear that our predictions became reality. Here is what we predicted all year: "After the company increased their Black Friday discounts in 2021 from 40% to 44%, we would like to think they increase this further to 45% or even 50%, at least on some of their plugins."
Baby Audio will stretch their discount to 51% for one plugin, Crystalline. This is higher than they have ever done. The Black Friday sale will be live from 11th November, and continue until 5th December 2022.
TOP TIP: Get an extra 10% off the Black Friday price - up to 56% off Baby Audio !
Baby Audio provided a coupon code for subscribers of their email list. 10% So please, if you decide to use it, be so kind and subscribe to the Baby Audio newsletter - which automatically gives you access to three free Baby Audio plugins as well.
Baby Audio Coupon Code: BABYFAMBF
Black Friday 2022 Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Length Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - One month is generous.
Breadth Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - All plugins are included in the sale, including the bundle. Bravo.
Depth Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - The discount is increased from 2021 level, now hitting 50% on one plugin.
Black Friday 2019, 2020, and 2021
Baby Audio Black Friday 2021: up to 44% off Baby Audio plugins, starting at $29
Baby Audio Black Friday 2020: up to 40% off Baby Audio plugins
Baby Audio Black Friday 2019: 40% off Super VHS (Black Friday intro sale)
Other Ways to Buy Baby Audio plugins Cheaper
Missed Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2022? Here are other ways to save after Black Friday 2022:
Celemony started their Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale on 18th November 2021, which will continue until 31st December 2021. Melodyne is not only one of the alternatives to the ubiquitous Antares Auto-Tune. This VST pitch correction plugin also brings a more natural pitch correction and advanced sound manipulation to the masses. While it's not free, Melodyne 5 Essential is certainly making the audio software significantly cheaper.
Celemony offer the entry level Melodyne 5 Essential for only $49, which is $50 off. In addition, Plugin Boutique has a clever "buy & upgrade" bundle. With this offer, you can buy Melodyne 5 Essential for $49, and immediately upgrade to a more fully featured Melodyne version for up to 53% off. As a result, you can buy any Melodyne 5 version (from Melodyne 5 Assistant and Editor to Melodyne 5 Studio) for around up to 52% off. That is a lot bigger discount than the maximum 40% offered in 2021.
Length Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 10 days in not long but you don't have to rush either.
Breadth Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Only the most expensive bundle is included.
Depth Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - up to 52% off is an increase over 2021 and a lot higher than 2020, with upgrades and updates discounted even higher up to 70%.
Black Friday 2019, 2020 and 2021
Celemony Black Friday 2021: 50% off Melodyne 5 Essential (reduced to $49), 40% off Melodyne Assistant, Editor and Studio, 33% off Melodyne upgrades to bigger version, and 40% off updates to newer version 5.
Celemony Black Friday 2020: 50% off Melodyne 4 Essential (reduced to $49), and 33% off Melodyne upgrades.
Celemony Black Friday 2019: 50% off Melodyne Assistant, and 67% off Melodyne upgrades.
Other Ways to Buy Melodyne Cheaper
Missed Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2022? Here are other ways to save before Black Friday 2023:
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Devious Machines have developed an intriguing range of effect plugins in recent years, with plugins such as Infiltrator released in 2021, which morphs and mangles audio through its modulated multi-effects set up.
Devious Machines is a plugin developed that has reduced the discount year on year since 2019, from 40% in 2019, 35% in 2020, 30% in 2021 to only 25% this year. The sale started on 16 November 2022, and will continue until 11 December 2022.
FabFilter are considered one of the most desirable plugin brands. Not surprisingly, we also rated FabFilter Pro Q 3 5 stars in our in-depth review. But with FabFilter Pro Q 3 costing $179, ratcheting up to nearly $1000 for the FabFilter Total bundle, they are far from cheap.
FabFilter sales have a predictable pattern, when we studied what discounts the company offered from 2018 to 2021. FabFilter have always offered 25% off, for a few days only. No surprise then that we predicted FabFilter will continue to offer 25% off for Black Friday 2022, on all plugins and bundles. And they did just that. The FabFilter 25% off sale runs from 21 to 28 November 2022 this year, a few days longer than in 2021.
Length Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - FabFilter extended their Black Friday sale window from 5 to 8 days. Good to see this extending but could be longer. 3 stars.
Breadth Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - All plugins and bundles are included. Full marks.
Depth Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 25% is a healthy amount off for such desirable, high quality plugins.
Black Friday 2019, 2020 and 2021
FabFilter Black Friday 2021: 25% off all plugins and bundles for 4 days, from Black Friday 26th November 2021 to Cyber Monday 29th November 2021
FabFilter Black Friday 2020: 25% off all plugins and bundles for 4 days
FabFilter Black Friday 2019: 25% off all plugins and bundles for 4 days
This deal is the best of the year from FabFilter, and increased in breadth from FabFilter Summer Sale, which is also a 25% discount and ran for two weeks, but only included plugin bundles.
Other Ways to Buy FabFilter Cheaper
Missed Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2021? Here are other ways to save before Black Friday 2022:
The Cheapest way to buy FabFilter: Black Friday may not be the cheapest way to buy FabFilter. Save up to 60% with ourguide to the cheapest way to buy FabFilter plugins. It includes personal offers for existing customers (up to 60% off), education offers for students and teachers (saving 50%), buying used licenses and how to transfer them officially (saving around 50%), and choosing the cheapest official retailer (saving up to 22%).
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Image Line rarely offers FL Studio at any discount throughout the year. However, Black Friday is different. Our research shows FL Studio offered a significant discount in the last few years.
In 2021, Image Line released its Black Friday deal early in November, which continued until 30th November 2021. The offer was limited to the All Plugins Edition. For 2022, we hoped less fully featured versions, such as the FL Studio Producer Edition, would be included in the Black Friday 2022 sale, as that move would make buying FL Studio much more accessible.
Length Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - One month is plenty of time.
Breadth Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Only two FL Studio Editions are included - the All Plugins Edition and the most popular Producer Edition. Signature and Fruity Edition are not included. Upgrades for existing owners however attract a discount between $50 and $100.
Depth Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - The discount increased from 2021 level from 20% to 25% on the Producer Edition now included. Compared to other brands, this is not the highest, but the best ever discount offered by Image Line.
Black Friday 2019, 2020 and 2021
FL Studio Black Friday 2021: FL Studio All Plugins Edition was reduced to $399 (from $499), plus $300 worth of plugins and samples: KSHMR Essentials FX, Urban Puncher FX + 5 Producer Loops Sample Packs
FL Studio Black Friday 2020: FL Studio All Plugins Edition was reduced to $399, from its higher price of $899, for about one month (2nd November 2020 to 30th November 2020).
FL Studio Black Friday 2019: We could not find any deal offered in 2019 during Black Friday. (If you have a source that confirms a 2019 Black Friday offer, drop us a message and we will update this article).
Other Ways to Buy FL Studio Cheaper
Missed Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2022? Here are other ways to save before Black Friday 2023:
The Cheapest way to buy FL Studio: Black Friday may not be the cheapest way to buy FL Studio for you. Save up to 50% with ourguide to the cheapest way to buy FL Studio. It includes limitations for the infinite free FL Studio trial, education offers for students and teachers (saving 50%) and choosing the cheapest official retailer (saving up to 15%).
Sign Up: Subscribe to the musicmanta newsletter and we will send you updates on the latest deals and discounts.
iZotope is recognised as one of the premier plugin developers, most famous for the ubiquitous iZotope Ozone 9* mastering suite, or the iZotope RX9* audio restoration software.
iZotope released its Black Friday deals earlier in November and will continue those deals until the end of the year. The discounts iZotope offers are massive, not just the huge discounts of up to 96%, but also including low price points from $9. So this Black Friday is a fantastic opportunity for anyone to start with iZotope plugins, or expand your iZotope selection.
The top deals iZotope offers during Black Friday 2021 include:
This iZotope Black Friday special bundle includes 14 plugins:
Trash 2
Iris 2
Exponential Audio Phoenix Verb Stereo\
Exponential Audio R2 Stereo
Exponential Audio Excalibur
BreakTweaker Expanded
Stutter Edit 2
RX Elements
Neutron Elements
Nectar Elements
Ozone Elements
Black Friday 2019 and 2020
iZotope Black Friday 2020: Ozone 9 Standard $99 (from $249), Neutron 3 Standard $99 (from $249), Mix & Master Bundle $149 (from $697), Tonal Balance Bundle $299 (from $699), Music Production Suite 4 $499 (from $999), iZotope Holiday Bundle $49 (from $1,211), RX Elements $29 ($129)
iZotope Black Friday 2019: Special Black Friday Bundle was 93% off to $49 (including RX Elements, Nectar 3 Elements, Neutron 3 Elements, Ozone 9 Elements, Trash 2 Expanded, DDLY, Mobius Filter), and up to 60% off other plugins
Other Ways to Buy iZotope Plugins Cheaper
Missed Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2021? Here are other ways to save before Black Friday 2022:
Native Instruments is one of the longest-established developers of electronic music-making software and hardware, which can be found in most home and professional studios. No surprise then when this massive company also wants a piece of the crazy Cyberseason action in 2021. Who doesn't like a nice Native Instruments sale, making many of their tasty VST plugins more affordable?
This year, Native Instruments decided to focus on individual plugins, rather than discounts on its Komplete flagship bundle or hardware, such as Komplete Kontrol or Maschine. This is a bit disappointing, but a repeat of the Native Instruments 2020 and 2021 sale. Discounted highlights include:
Sampled Instruments*: 50% off sampled instrument VST plugins from Native Instruments, including Session Guitarist, Spotlight Collection: East Asia, Noire Piano, Session Strings 2 (Pro), Piano such as Alicia's Keys and The Grandeur, and the Scarbee sampled bass guitar series.
Samplers*: 50% off Native Instruments samplers, including Battery 4, and Polyplex - but not Kontakt 7.
Synths*:50% off Native Instruments modern and classic VST plugins, including Massive, Massive X, Reaktor 6, FM8, Monark, Razor, and Absynth 5.
Cinematic*: 50% off Native Instruments cinematic instruments, including Action Strings, Stradivari Violin, Thrill, Symphony Series, Action Strikes, Damage, and Rise & Hit.
Drum & Percussion*: 50% off Native Instruments drum and percussion instruments, such as Battery 4, Abbey Road Drummer Collection, Studio Drummer and Drumlab.
Play Series*: 50% off Native Instruments play series instruments, including Analog Dreams and Hybrid Keys.
Effects*: 50% off Native Instruments effects, including Guitar Rig 6 Pro amp simulation multi-effect, Raum reverb, Replika delay, Solid Mix series, and Vintage Compressors.
Expansions*: 50% off all Expansions for Massive X and Maschine, reduced to $22 each.
Traktor*:50% off Traktor Pro 3, the DJ software, reduced to $44.50.
Black Friday 2019, 2020 and 2021
Native Instruments Black Friday 2021: 50% off most individual plugins and expansions but Komplete was excluded
Native Instruments Black Friday 2020: 50% off most individual plugins and expansions but Komplete was excluded
Native Instruments Black Friday 2019: 50% off Komplete updates and upgrades
Other Ways to Buy Native Instruments Plugins Cheaper
Missed Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2021? Here are other ways to save before Black Friday 2022:
The Cheapest way to buy Native Instruments: Black Friday may not be the cheapest way to buy FabFilter. Save up to 66% with ourguide to the cheapest way to buy Native Instruments plugins. It includes Free Komplete Start, 50% off Reaktor 6 for students, and a hidden way to legally buy Komplete 13 for $200-$300
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oeksound have carved out a strong reputation as a specialist plugin creator, since it was created in 2006. First of the gates was Soothe, a dynamic resonance suppressor, which has since been updated to Soothe 2. A few years later, oeksound released its second plugin, Spiff, an adaptive transient processor.
We have received confirmation from oeksound that their Black Friday offer in 2022 will take place for 4 days, from Black Friday 25th November to Cyber Monday 28th November 2022.
oeksound is offering free trial resets for both Soothe2 and Spiff. If you’ve used a trial license for either plugin in the past and would like to give them another go, visit the oeksound plugin trial reset page and enter your iLok account.
A trial extension license will be deposited directly onto your iLok account - you won’t receive a license code via email. Log in to your iLok account in the iLok License Manager program to find and activate your new trial license, and enjoy an extra 20 days of Soothe2 and Spiff for free.
Black Friday 2022 Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐
Length Rating: ⭐️⭐️ - oeksound confirmed the Black Friday deal will only be offered for 4 days, like in the last three years.
Breadth Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Both oeksound plugins, Soothe 2 and Spiff, are included.
Depth Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 30 to 33% is on the lower end of discounts among plugin brands, however, given the high regular price, this equates to a solid saving between €50 and €60.
Black Friday 2019, 2020 and 2021
oeksound Black Friday 2021: 30% off Soothe 2: €139 (from €199), 22% off Soothe 2 update from Soothe 1: €39 (from €50), 33% off Spiff: €99 (from €149), for 4 days from 25 to 28 November 2021.
oeksound Black Friday 2020: 30% off Soothe 2: €139 (from €199), 22% off Soothe 2 update from Soothe 1: €39 (from €50), 33% off Spiff: €99 (from €149), for 4 days from 26 to 29 November 2020.
oeksound Black Friday 2019: 30% off Soothe 2: €139 (from €199), 33% off Spiff: €99 (from €149), for 4 days from 29 November to 1 December 2019.
Other Ways to Buy oeksound Plugins Cheaper
Missed Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2022? Here are other ways to save before Black Friday 2023:
Buying a second hand license, then transfer the license:This is possible through oeksound, if you can find a cheaper copy of Soothe 2 or Spiff.
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Since it was created in 2013, Output has expanded its range of sample-based instruments to Arcade, its VST plugin subscription, and even studio hardware. Without a doubt, Output's pedigree is illustrious. Many artists have used their plugins, such as Kendrick Lamar, Bjork, Justin Timberlake, Rihanna, Imagine Dragons, Coldplay, and Drake. Output plugins have also been used to create film scores and music for shows such as Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, and Black Panther.
Output in 2021 repeated pretty much the same deals as it offered in 2020 and 2019, with around 35% off. Hardware is excluded, as well as Arcade 2.0. This is a decent deal, but not spectacular. The instruments including Output Exhale, Analog Strings, and Substance are all 35% off, with Output Expansions 37% off.
This monster bass VST plugin was built using Native Instruments' Kontakt sample engine. It comes with 300 presets, combing analog bass, with electric and acoustic bass instruments, all run through the Output engine using layers, filters, and modulations. If that is not enough, you can expand the sonic spectrum further with Substance Expansions, which are 37% off:
Exhale is a vocal-focused VST plugin that can be heard on countless tracks. It has been a favorite for EDM and pop producers who want to sprinkle vocal chops and phrases onto their songs. 3 Exhale Expansions add even more phrases, all on sale for 37% off:
Output Black Friday 2020: Output increased its savings to 35% off individual Output instruments and effect plugins
Output Black Friday 2019: Save 25% off individual Output instruments and effect plugins
Other Ways to Buy Output Plugins Cheaper
Missed Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2021? Here are other ways to save before Black Friday 2022:
Bundle: Save 65% off individual prices when you buy the complete selection of all non-subscription Output instruments and effects, together with their Expansions. The Bundle costs $849, compared to $2,510 when bought individually. During sales periods such as Black Friday, Output adds a 35% discount, reducing the Output Bundle to $551.
This VST synth plugin has been in the shadows of the likes of XFer Serum, Lennar Digital Sylenth1, and Native Instruments Massive for a while. But it encouraged at least serious EDM producers like Armin Van Buuren and Morgan Page to put their names against it. The VST brings both digital and analog engines to the virtual table, which runs through 4 oscillators, and 2 filters, beefed up with 9 unison voices. Movement stems from copious amounts of modulation options, before adding 2 multi-effect units for extra sonic flavor. 900 Presets bring plenty of choices if you simply want to get going.
Black Friday 2019 and 2020
Reveal Sound Spire Black Friday 2020: 30% off to $129.
Reveal Sound Spire Black Friday 2019: 30% off to $129.
Other Ways to Buy Reveal Sound Spire Cheaper
Missed Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2021? Here are other ways to save before Black Friday 2022:
Education Discount: Students can save 48% all year round, reducing Spire from $189 to $99.
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British developer Sonnox has been around for many years and is most well known for its Sonnox Oxford Inflator and Limiter plugins, as well as their full Oxford range, which includes dynamics, EQ, and reverb plugins. But Sonnox plugins are certainly in the more expensive category, with most of their individual plugins costing over $200.
Like in previous years, Sonnox is one of the earliest out of the blocks in 2022, with top deals starting from the end of October. The deals will continue until 30th November 2022.
Length Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Sonnox is one of the earliest brands offering Black Friday offers and keeps them running until after Cyber Monday.
Breadth Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - All Sonnox plugins are included.
Depth Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- 75% is on the higher range of discounts compared to other brands, and now includes one more plugin than Black Friday 2021. Claro was only discounted by 25% in 2021 and has tripled to 75%. 50% for the rest of the range is decent as well.
Black Friday 2019, 2020 and 2021
Sonnox Black Friday 2021: 75% off Sonnox Inflator, Limiter, Drum Gate, 25% off new Sonnox Claro, and 50% off most other Sonnox plugins, for one month.
Sonnox Black Friday 2020: 75% off Sonnox Inflator, Transmod, Broadcast, Enhance, and 50% off most other Sonnox plugins, for one month.
Sonnox Black Friday 2019: 50% off Sonnox plugins, excluding the newly released Drum Gate, for one month.
Other Ways to Buy Sonnox Plugins Cheaper
Missed Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2022? Here are other ways to save before Black Friday 2023:
Soundtoys have become a staple in many music producers' plugin collections. Decapitator, EchoBoy, and Little Alter Boy can be heard in numerous productions, and are well known for imparting analog flavors to your recordings.
But the full Soundtoys 5 bundle with 21 plugins is not exactly cheap, costing $499. Luckily, Soundtoys has offered tasty discounts in recent years during Black Friday, so you don't have to search for a Soundtoys mac torrent and download an illegal version. When are you getting your first soundtoy?
Soundtoys has offered what we predicted before Black Friday 2021. We have no reason to change our prediction for Soundtoys Black Friday 2022. We predict Soundtoys plugins will be on sale for about 7 days for their flagship Soundtoys bundle*, down to $229 from $499, as well as the $129 discounted price on Effect Rack (from $299)*. Discounts on individual plugins, such as the excellent Little Plate, Decapitator, EchoBoy, or Little Radiator, we think will continue, with up to 70% off*. This lowers the bar to access those excellent VST plugins, like Soundtoys Little Alterboy, to only $29.
Black Friday 2019, 2020 and 2021
Soundtoys Black Friday 2021: Soundtoys 5 reduced to $229 from $499 (55% off) - the lowest price of the year. Effect Rack $129 down from $299. Individual plugins were reduced by between 35% and 75%.
Soundtoys Black Friday 2020: Soundtoys 5 reduced to $229 from $499 (55% off) - the lowest price of the year. Effect Rack $129 down from $299. Individual plugins were reduced by between 35% and 75%.
Soundtoys Black Friday 2019: Soundtoys 5 reduced to $249 from $499 (50% off). 50% off upgrades. Up to 80% off individual plugins, including Decapitator, EchoBoy, and Little Alter Boy - typically $29 down from $49.
Other Ways to Buy Soundtoys Plugins Cheaper
Missed Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2022? Here are other ways to save before Black Friday 2023:
Education Discount: Students and teachers can buy the Soundtoys 5 bundle for only $249 all year round, a saving of 50%.
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Waves appeared to be the original plugin creator that started decades ago, and they are still going strong. You might not like their approach to promotions, which sees all plugins constantly on sale - meaning you should never ever buy a Waves plugin at full price. But many of their plugins are still fine quality in our view, and you can always test a free demo version of any Waves plugin before you buy.
We would prefer a more straightforward pricing and promotion policy than Waves offer. Our guidance is to ignore any discounts of up to 90% off their inflated "Manufacturer Recommended Retail Price" (MRSP). In reality, Waves plugins are always on offer, throughout the year. To make this easy, as a rule of thumb, use $29.95 as the "real" price for individual plugins throughout the year. So any real discounts should come off $29.95.
When it comes to our Black Friday prediction, this has not been easy. Waves constantly change its promotions and are very creative. However, when we researched recent years, a few patterns emerged. So far, our predictions have come broadly true. Waves Audio has started repeating the Early Bird Black Friday offer again, like in 2021. This offer entails:
Discount: Waves reduced 90 top-selling plugins to $29.95 from 2nd November.
Multi-Buy: Waves also offers an increasing discount based on the number of individual plugins you buy. 10% discount from the second plugin, 30% from the 3rd plugin, and 50% off from the fifth plugin onwards.
Black Friday 2022 Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Length Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Waves Audio started early November, but the duration has not been published, so we rate the 3 stars only.
Breadth Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Only 60 individual Waves plugins are included so far. We believe more plugins will be included in the coming weeks.
Depth Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - The Waves Audio pricing must be one of the most confusing for musicians. They are always on sale, so you never know what is or isn't good value. From our research, $29.99 is the base price all year for individual plugins. So if you can get plugins for less than that, you are likely to make a real saving. With the early offer, you can save 10-50% off $29.95 through multi-buys, so we think it is a good offer, worth a 3 star rating.
From Black Friday 2022 (25th November 2022) to early December: a new free plugin (similar to Lofi Space* offered for free for a limited time in 2021), and a multi-buy, reducing discounted prices further.
Black Friday 2019, 2020 and 2021
Waves Black Friday 2021
Waves offered various multi-buys off their already reduced "real" prices of around $29.99.
From early November, an extra 30% off the 2nd purchase, 40% off the 3rd purchase, and 50% off the 4th or more purchases. This represented about a 33% discount.
From Black Friday 2021 until early December 2021, buy 2 get 2 free. Prices included individual plugins at $29.99 already discounted "real" prices.
Here is an example of what discounts you could get in 2021 when you added multiple Waves plugins at the already discounted price of $29.99.
Total: less than $60 for 4 plugins (on average $15, or 50% off $29.95 "real" prices per plugin)
Waves Black Friday 2020
60% off all plugins and bundles.
Plus a free plugin selection with purchases over $50 (and two over $90). Free plugins included Abbey Road Vinyl, API 550/560, Bass Slapper, CLA plugins, virtual instruments (Clavinet, Electronic 200/88 piano), and Infect Mushroom Pusher.
Waves Black Friday 2019
50% off all plugins and bundles, for example, the Waves Gold bundle for $84.50.
Plus a choice of free plugins, one over $50 purchase, two over $100 purchases.
Free plugins when spending over $50 included H-Delay, RS56 Passive EQ, Bass Rider, Renaissance Vox, Renaissance Reverb, CLA Guitars, CLA Mixdown, DBX 160, Clavinet, and V-Comp.
Free plugins over $100 included SSL G-Channel, Abbey Road Chambers, EMI TG12345, CLA-3A, Abbey Road Vinyl, API 560, Submarine, and Flow Motion.
Other Ways to Buy Waves Plugins Cheaper
Missed Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2021? Here are other ways to save before Black Friday 2022:
Education Discount: Students and teachers can save 35% off Waves plugins* all year round. However, this is off the inflated MRSP and doesn't provide true value in our view.
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This Spanish VST developer from Mallorca created some waves in recent years. Plugins like Trackspacer have brought innovation to the sea of sameness. I have used Trackspacer to successfully duck (or sidechain) selective frequencies between vocals and other instruments - which is not straightforward to achieve. No surprise the team has gathered a following for its character plugins, including the Echocat tape delay plugin, Cassette saturation plugin, Trackspacer dynamic ducking plugin, and more recently Quantum transient shaper and Spectre EQ plugins.
Wavesfactory Black Friday 2022 Prediction: 50% discount*
For Black Friday 2021, Wavesfactory offered up to 50% off. However, only one plugin was discounted that highly. This was a bit disappointing and substantially reduced discounts to 33% for most of its plugins, after offering 50% discounts on most of them in 2019 and 2029. So we rated this offer only 3 out of 5 in 2021.
For 2022, we hope Wavesfactory will increase this to 40% across the range.
Black Friday 2019, 2020, and 2021
Wavesfactory Black Friday 2021: 33% off most plugins, with one 50% off
XLN Audio* is one of the specialists in plugins which found a neat niche. The Swedish VST developer expanded Addictive Drums* into an impressive collection of realistic drum samples over the years, capturing both acoustic drum sets and electronic drum machines, all accessible through a pretty plugin interface. Not stopping there, Addictive Keys* further takes XLN Audio's sample wizardry into electric and acoustic pianos.
XLN Audio XO* then is a unique plugin that enables beat making and drum groover creation a cinch. I have been using this plugin for a year now, and I found the classy cloud-like sample manager and filters truly a pleasure to use.
XLN Audio went for it during Black Friday 2022, repeating their discounts from 2021 and 2020. Just as we predicted all year, XLN Audio is running its promotion for 10 days from 21 to 30 November 2022, with all products 50% off.
Black Friday 2022 Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Length Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - XLN Audio have their offer live for only 10 days, more than just the Black Friday weekend but this could be longer.
Breadth Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - You cannot top the whole range being included. Full marks for XLN Audio.
Depth Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 50% is a pretty tasty discount, four stars.
Black Friday 2019, 2020 and 2021
XLN Audio Black Friday 2021: 50% off the XLN Audio range, for 10 days.
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Prepare, Relax and Save: Top Tips to be less frantic and have more fun this Black Friday
Using the musicmanta guide to surviving Black Friday, you can increase your chances of grabbing bargains, yet not leaving with any regrets.
Before you spend more than you can afford, you might want to consider the following top tips:
Organise your plugin folder: How many plugins do you have in your folder already? How many of them do you actually use? Can you organise your plugins into folders so you can find them better? Can you delete some that you haven't used for the last years? (But be careful if you have used them in any of your projects in the past).
Set a budget: How much can you invest in plugins this year? How much have you spent already this year? Have you got the money saved and ready to go, or do you need to set aside some money now to avoid credit card debt?
List your plugin priorities: Which plugins and upgrades will bring something new and different to your plugin folder? Are you sure you don't already have a plugin that does the job?
Estimate what you can likely afford this Black Friday: Use our guide of predicted deals to work out what discount you might expect this year, using our detailed guide.
So being a bit organised and prepared is an efficient way to enjoy the jolly season - and then have more time to do what you love doing, making music!
Let us know your top tips on how you are staying sane during Black Friday, and ensure you won't spend money on music tools you cannot afford or regret later.
Frequently Asked Questions on Black Friday plugin, DAW and music software deals
Can I buy Omnisphere cheaper? Will an Omnisphere Black Friday take place in 2022? Does Omnisphere offer any discounts? Will Spectrasonics offer an Omnisphere sale during Black Friday 2022?
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