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A free flute plugin packed with emotion, attitude, and expressive sound design — built to instantly transform any track.

Software developer Ujam announced that it is releasing a free virtual instrument based on the ear-splitting sounds of the child-sized duct flute… just in time for April Fool’s Day.

BeautyFlute Pro is a virtual instrument based on the discordant tones of a poorly-played recorder. This free plugin captures the shrill and squeaky sound of the most irritating musical instrument known to man.

Inspired by the off-pitch flute and recorder renditions that have become “a staple of internet culture”, Ujam’s BeautyFlute Pro promises to “take your tracks to a whole other dimension”. “It looks like a polished instrument, but delivers some very unconventional results,” reads Ujam’s press release.

Capturing the shrill and discordant sound of a poorly-played recorder, BeautyFlute is equipped with multiple, equally distressing velocity layers, and even features three unique recorder models: Vanilla, Diva and Sisters, an ensemble mode.

You also get a choice of three levels of “Emoçion” – Delulu, Tantrum, and Drunk – which adjust the level of note-off samples for added realism, and three Ambience settings for the onboard reverb.

“There are songs that just can’t be left alone the way they were released. I felt they needed a ‘flute with ’tude’ to bring out their true emotional potential,” said Ujam’s “Head of Recorder Recording” Derek von Krogh. “This may be the most important contribution I’ve made to music.”

Inside, you’ll find:

• 3 Flute Models
  • Vanilla
  • Diva
  • Sisters
• 3 Levels of Emoçion
  • Delulu
  • Drunk
  • Tantrum
• 3 Ambience Presets

For dialing in just the right space and vibe.

BeautyFlute Pro is compatible with macOS and Windows and available in VST/VST3/AU/AAX formats.

There are fair share of pranks pulled by music tech companies on April Fool’s Day, but BeautyFlute Pro is up there with the best of them – and while it may be a joke, the plugin is 100% real, and you can download it now from Ujam website.

Temecula DSP has introduced MDV-II, a free virtual effects unit, for macOS and Windows, inspired by the Alesis MIDIVerb II.

The heart of the MidiVerb II is the custom DASP-16 (Digital Audio Signal Processor) chip designed by Keith Barr. The MDV-II faithfully recreates this chip, reproducing the signal flow of all 100 factory programs at the original 31,250 Hz internal sample rate. Every program produces the same output as the original hardware — including its characteristic warmth and bandwidth-limited charm.

The MDV-II goes beyond the original hardware, though, with two mathematically-modeled DASP-16 chips running in series. Unit A feeds into Unit B, so you can stack a reverse reverb into a chorus, run a gated verb into a delay, or chain any two of the 100 programs together. Each unit has independent program selection, mix, and bypass controls.

Here’s what they have to say about it:

“There are two types of producers: those who think this reverb sounds “too colored,” and those who refuse to mix a track without it.

We meticulously recreated this cult-classic unit because sometimes, perfection is boring. You use it when you want your synth to float in space, your guitars to smear into a lush nostalgic wash, and your mix to have a sound that’s unmistakably its own.”

Temecula DSP MDV-II is available now as a free download.

Retromulator – a free hardware synthesizer emulation plugin – has been updated to version 1.2.

Retromulator 1.2 features two new hardware cores: the Wurlitzer 200A physical model piano and Yamaha OPL3 FM synthesis, along with expanded Akai S1000 browsing and import capabilities.

Here’s what’s new:

New Hardware Cores:

• Wurlitzer 200A: Physical model piano via OpenWurli, ported from ~3,000 lines of Rust to C++ and integrated directly into the JUCE plugin framework. Models the tine, pickup, and tone bars of the classic electric piano with per-voice physics.
• Yamaha OPL3: FM synthesis via Nuked OPL3 v1.8 cycle-accurate emulation by Nuke.YKT, with SBI instrument loading, folder-based bank browsing, and zip import support.

Other Improvements:

• OpenWurli settings panel with live parameter editing via combo and navigation pill.
• Akai S1000 browse folder mode with auto-slice drum mapping and state persistence.
• Akai S1000 ISO/BIN/CUE disk image loading.
• CC20 global tuning support with auto-slice and tuning state recall.
• Import/Export/Delete and drag & drop support for all cores.
• Engine author credits in synth selector.
• Bug fixes.

Retromulator is available as a free download for Windows, macOS (including Apple Silicon), and Linux in AAX, AU, VST3, and standalone formats.