Electronik Sound Lab has released Voltus FX, a free multi-effect plugin for Windows that combines a BBD-style delay, dual-stage saturation, a six-waveform LFO, and a state variable filter in a single plugin.
We covered several Electronik Sound Lab plugins in the past, all of which were sample-based instruments made with Maize Sampler (most recently Arctic Dreams Lite).
As far as I know, this is their first effect plugin. And it’s quite feature-packed, with a fun combination of delay, saturation, and modulation.
The saturation section has two circuit models. The Tube mode is based on an asymmetric triode topology, clipping positive and negative peaks differently in a way that’s characteristic of valve-driven hardware.
The Diode mode uses an algebraic soft-clipping algorithm modeled after germanium diode behavior, producing a harder response. The input gain stage runs from -12 dB to +48 dB using an exponential mapping, so the character of the distortion shifts significantly as you push the gain.
The delay is modeled after a Bucket Brigade Device circuit, which was used in a range of classic hardware effects. It sounds pretty good, and the developer added several details to make it more interesting.
For example, Voltus FX intentionally runs at zero oversampling, and the developer’s idea here was to allow the harmonics from the saturation and delay circuits to interact directly.
Delay time changes are implemented using Hermite interpolation to avoid artifacts. Also, the Analog Character knob shifts the delay tone from cleaner repeats toward a noisier sound that I personally prefer.
Modulation is handled by a continuous LFO with six waveforms: Sine, Triangle, Saw, Square, Sample and Hold, and Drift. The Sample and Hold mode is internally smoothed to avoid clicks, and the Drift mode introduces slow random pitch movement for an organic, tape-like quality.
The filter section is based on the Chamberlin state variable filter topology, which provides smooth high-frequency rolloff. It also has adaptive resonance limiting to prevent instability at high resonance.
The plugin runs at zero latency with no look-ahead, so you can use it for live performances, too. The factory library includes 30+ presets, and custom presets can be saved and loaded as portable XML files from the built-in browser.
Voltus FX is available in VST3 format for Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit). macOS support is listed as coming soon. Tested DAWs include FL Studio, Ableton Live, Reaper, Studio One, Cubase, and Bitwig. Minimum system requirements are a dual-core processor at 2.0 GHz and 4 GB RAM.
Download: Voltus FX by Electronik SoundLab (FREE)
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- voidDSP releases Echo1, a FREE stereo delay plugin with modulation
- Smiarx has released ÆLAPSE, a free tape delay and spring reverb plugin
Last Updated on March 2, 2026 by Tomislav Zlatic.
