Modalics' Plugin Buddy is a free plugin host and utility that lets you run VST3s in Pro Tools - and much more

Modalics , the developer behind the pizza-inspired beatmaking plugin Beat Slicer, has announced the launch of a new free plugin and app: Plugin Buddy.

Plugin Buddy is a plugin host and utility that does a lot of useful things. As a standalone app, it can host VST3 plugins, so you can use it to open up and play with instrument, effects and MIDI plugins outside of your DAW. But, as Plugin Buddy is also available in AU and AAX formats - and hosts VST3 plugins - you can also use it to circumvent compatibility issues by opening up VST3 plugins in DAWs that don't support them, such as Pro Tools.

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Open up Plugin Buddy and you're able to load up an instrument plugin via the central panel, located below a display that visualizes incoming MIDI notes and the frequency spectrum. Below this, you can host up to four audio effects and tweak their individual wet/dry mixes.

Nearer the top of the interface you'll find Quick Controls that can be assigned to quickly tweak specific parameters in any hosted plugin, and space to host up to four MIDI effects. With all of this functionality combined, you can use Plugin Buddy to create complex chains of MIDI effects, audio effects and instruments, that can be hosted in your DAW in a single VST3 plugin.

Plugin Buddy is equipped with a few MIDI utilities that may also prove useful. Velocity Curve applies custom velocity curves to incoming MIDI notes, Transpose will transpose notes by a chosen number of octaves or semitones, and MIDI Monitor displays incoming MIDI data in real-time.

There's also a built-in synth installed in Plugin Buddy, a basic two-oscillator affair named The Bud, along with two effects plugins: a clipper and a low-pass filter. Another fun feature is Plugin Buddy's randomizer, which lets you randomize all of a plugin's parameters to create unpredictable and chaotic sounds.

Visit Modalics' website to download Plugin Buddy for free.