KVR Developer Challenge 2023
After a one-year hiatus, the KVR Developer Challenge is back with its 9th installment. The 2023 edition presents us with a variety of fresh new VST plugins from developers all around the world.
As per usual, this year is no different from previous years, with most of the works being either VST audio effects or MIDI-oriented applications.
There are also a handful of sample libraries and virtual instruments competing for that donation-based monetary prize (which stands, as of this writing, at 386 US dollars), but nothing really stands out in that department, unfortunately said.
Solaris
This post is dedicated to the creator of one extraordinary plugin, introduced to us in this fruitful KVR Audio contest, and it’s called Solaris.
Solaris is a free reverb unit, developed by Hungarian musician and DJ, Adam Szabo – which is also responsible for other (commercially released) titles such as the Viper & JP6K digital synthesizers.
This plugin offers various reverberation possibilities. It functions in a similar way to other freebies that are already out there – yet provides the quality of higher-end, paid products. Personally, it reminds me of the good old dSHIFT by whiteLABEL – mainly due to its harmonizing/shimmering effects – and also some free ambient-style reverbs like the more recent, producer-appreciated Valhalla Supermassive by Valhalla DSP.
Just like the ones mentioned above, Solaris proceeds to integrate a bunch of audio effects altogether, which is something that most plugin developers focus on these days – with the growing demand for comprehensive, innovative and creative plugin effect utilities.
Solaris, as it seems, takes the free plugin game to a whole new level – at least from a quality perspective. Its pro-sounding shimmer effect and the harmonizing feature that goes with it are beyond good – they’re exemplary, and they set a new standard.
Solaris is available for Windows users and supports VST2 (32-bit and 64-bit) and VST3 (64-bit).
