Lunacy has launched NOVA, a new instrument platform and marketplace for macOS and Windows, with a free host plugin and five free virtual instruments.
The basic idea is somewhat similar to what Spitfire Audio LABS used to represent. You install one free host in your DAW and access a growing collection of instruments through it.
One thing I loved right away is that you can open any NOVA instrument in your web browser and get access to the full interface. All of the controls work, and you can click the individual notes along the bottom to play it before downloading anything.
That includes the paid instruments, so you can properly explore them before deciding whether to buy.
The five launch freebies are Woodland Piano, Chiptuner, Silhouettes, Good Vibes, and Zephyr Strings.
Woodland Piano is a four-layer upright with modeled pedal and key-release noise, plus an octave-climbing granular delay. It sounds very soft with a nice organic feel, and is very fun to play.
Good Vibes samples a vibraphone across four velocity layers and adds reverse delay, rotor tremolo, and granular texture.
Zephyr Strings uses two multisampled layers recorded with Budapest Strings. Its Intensity macro moves between dynamics and brightness, making it easy to control from the mod wheel. My second favorite one next to Woodland Piano.
Silhouettes is the more experimental freebie, combining five synthesis and sampling engines through an XY pad.
Chiptuner sounded promising on paper, but I didn’t love it as much as I expected. It’s a basic chip synth with 16 waveforms, a tempo-synced arpeggiator, and a two-stage bitcrusher, but it sounds a bit underwhelming.
Overall, though, the quality of free instruments available today is incredible compared to what we had before 2020. Collections like LABS, Soundpaint, and numerous Kontakt Player freebies helped raise the standard, and NOVA definitely seems like another platform worth watching if Lunacy keeps expanding the free section.
Apart from the freebies, Nova launches with five premium instruments.
Gleam is a physical-modeling resonator instrument, while Growl is a bass synth combining frequency and phase modulation with multiband distortion. Both cost $19 during the introductory offer and will regularly cost $29.
Anima is an eight-voice phase-distortion synth with recordable LFOs. Swarm stacks up to 16 detuned voices per oscillator, and Drift Cassette combines two sample decks with 60-plus instrument packs and a lo-fi effects rack. These cost $35 each at launch and will regularly cost $49.
All five premium instruments are also available in the NOVA Launch Bundle for $99, down from the regular $149 bundle price. Buying a premium instrument unlocks it inside the free NOVA host.
To use the free instruments in a DAW, visit the NOVA page, open the Download NOVA menu, and choose the universal macOS or 64-bit Windows installer. There is no checkout or coupon required to download the host. Install it, add NOVA to a MIDI track, and select one of the free instruments.
For now, NOVA is primarily a host and marketplace. Lunacy plans to add a no-code Builder later this year, allowing users to create, modify, and share instruments, but that part is not available at launch.
NOVA requires macOS 11 or newer in AU, VST3, and AAX formats, or Windows 10 or newer in VST3 and AAX formats. An internet connection is required to download and activate products.
Download: Lunacy NOVA (FREE)
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Last Updated on September 17, 2026 by Tomislav Zlatic.
