Matt Lange’s Prime 5 Favorite Plug Ins in 2026

What makes a plug-in grow to be a favorite? For Matt Lange, it comes down as to if it conjures up him to play. His selections for 2026 reveal an strategy to manufacturing the place sampling, processing and efficiency regularly feed into each other.

Beginning with a single recording of a mandolin performed with an Ebow, Matt demonstrates how 5 plug-ins can flip an acoustic supply into an expressive, evolving instrument. Alongside the best way, he explores impartial pitch bends, monumental reverbs, shifting harmonies and distorted atmosphere. Every processor brings one thing completely different to the sound, giving him new concepts as he performs.

1. Native Devices Kontakt 8

Kontakt is Matt’s longstanding sampler of selection and his most-used software program instrument. Though he usually prefers {hardware} and actual devices, Kontakt is the place he turns for pattern libraries and for constructing devices from his personal recordings.

For this demonstration, he hundreds a roughly 30-second recording of a mandolin sustained with an Ebow. The recording has a wealthy harmonic character, with an octave harmonic changing into extra distinguished because it develops. Vital time stretching provides to its uncommon sound.

As soon as the recording is inside Kontakt, Matt can play it throughout the keyboard, transpose it into completely different registers and construct chords from it. A single sustained mandolin observe turns into a wierd hybrid string instrument with a personality of its personal.

This strategy additionally performed a significant function in his work on the horror movie Devoted, for which he says he created round 80 devices from recordings of various sources.

Including expression with polyphonic aftertouch

Certainly one of Matt’s favorite methods is assigning polyphonic aftertouch to pitch. With a appropriate controller, strain utilized after placing a key can bend that particular person observe whereas the opposite notes stay unchanged.

For his horror scoring work, he makes use of a pitch vary of roughly 1.3 semitones, permitting notes to maneuver past a neat semitone into intentionally unsettling territory. A bit of further strain can introduce a delicate wobble or a extra pronounced bend.

The musical potentialities lengthen nicely past horror textures. Matt describes bending the minor third of a chord upwards to show a minor chord into a significant chord, or transferring a flattened fifth into an ideal fifth. These modifications occur by way of efficiency, giving the sampled instrument an expressive high quality that encourages him to discover completely different harmonies.

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2. MixWave D.W. Fearn VT-15

Subsequent, Matt provides the MixWave D.W. Fearn VT-15, a channel strip that mixes EQ and compression. He significantly likes utilizing it on acoustic devices with slower assaults and says it has grow to be a daily selection for piano.

On the sampled mandolin, his changes are restrained: just a little compression and a lower round 400 Hz. The goal is to form the sound whereas retaining the motion and harmonic element that made the unique recording fascinating.

Matt describes the outcome as just a little larger sounding. For him, the enchantment is the mix of a good-sounding EQ and a musical compressor, giving him a method to deliver an acoustic supply into focus earlier than making use of extra dramatic results.

His different cause for liking it’s moderately easier: “It’s pink and pink’s the perfect.”

3. Eventide Blackhole Immersive

Eventide’s Blackhole has lengthy been Matt’s favorite reverb algorithm. He describes proudly owning a number of {hardware} variations and implementations, and Blackhole Immersive continues that enthusiasm in plug-in kind.

On this demonstration, he makes use of it in stereo. The big, modulating reverb transforms the sampled mandolin right into a spacious, slowly evolving texture, extending its maintain and surrounding the notes with motion.

Matt additionally demonstrates taking part in by way of Blackhole at 100% moist. With the direct sign faraway from the output, he responds to the reverb itself as he performs. Its timing, density and decay grow to be a part of the efficiency.

That is a crucial a part of his strategy: the impact is already current whereas he’s discovering musical concepts. Listening to the instrument by way of such a big house modifications what he needs to play and the way he lets the notes develop.

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4. Zynaptiq ADAPTIVERB

Zynaptiq ADAPTIVERB brings a special type of texture to the identical supply. Matt explains its enchantment when it comes to resynthesis, making a sustained, synthesised extension of the enter that may additionally introduce extra pitch relationships.

For this instance, he units it so as to add a fifth. Switching between the dry instrument and the totally moist impact reveals how a lot the processing modifications the sound, including harmonic content material in addition to maintain.

When he performs fifths, that extra interval can lengthen the concord additional. In his E-flat instance, he describes the ensuing mixture as having an E-flat suspended-second character.

Mixing ADAPTIVERB with the instrument creates a textured layer across the authentic notes. Bringing Blackhole again in provides one other dimension, combining ADAPTIVERB’s harmonic contribution with Blackhole’s expansive atmosphere.

Matt enjoys utilizing these specialised reverbs collectively as a result of they provide various things. Their interplay can counsel melodies and chord progressions he would possibly by no means have performed with the dry sound alone.

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5. Arturia Dist COLDFIRE

Arturia’s Dist COLDFIRE completes Matt’s choice. He describes it as his favorite distortion since its launch, following years of intensive use of iZotope Trash 2.

He’s drawn to its vary of distortion algorithms and the variations accessible inside them. Within the demonstration, he explores wavefolding, deciding on a Twin Fold choice to push the sound into extra aggressive territory.

The essential determination is the place he locations it: after ADAPTIVERB, so the distortion processes the reverb tail.

This offers COLDFIRE a sustained, harmonically wealthy sign to work with. Because the reverb develops and fades, the distortion modifications its texture, including an edge that turns into particularly noticeable on low notes.

Matt adjusts the moist/dry stability and brings Blackhole again into the sound, combining the distorted texture with an enormous wash of atmosphere. The unique mandolin recording has now grow to be one thing a lot bigger, with layers of maintain, harmonic motion and grit.

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Selecting Plug Ins That Encourage You to Play

The connection between these 5 selections is Matt’s want to search out sounds that lead him in direction of music. Kontakt turns his recordings into playable devices. The VT-15 shapes their tone and dynamics. Blackhole and ADAPTIVERB add house and harmonic potentialities, whereas COLDFIRE introduces distortion that responds to the sustained results.

As Matt places it: “If it doesn’t encourage you to play, what’s the purpose of utilizing it?”

His demonstration affords a sensible place to begin for experimentation: file one thing fascinating, make it playable and take heed to how every processing determination modifications your response to it. A single acoustic recording can present the muse for an instrument that makes you strategy melody, concord and efficiency in a totally completely different approach.