Sonic Joy Awards 2015 – Our Best Of The Year

Last year we revamped ANR and had a blast with our Sonic Joy Awards 2014. Now it’s that time of the year again…

Is this the be-all and end-all of the audio & music tech industry? Well, we do our best but we’re human after all!

Most of the products in this list have been covered in our reviews. Some haven’t (yet!), but we have enjoyed them so much that we decided they had to be featured in our list anyway.

Hopefully, these picks will help you decide what to buy next (in that case, please use the links below – your support is much appreciated, thanks!).

P.s: make sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for our next reviews!

VST Instruments

Omnisphere 2 (see our Omnisphere 2 review)
“Way more than an update: a tool that any composer/producer should consider”
Buy Omnisphere 2 here

Heavyocity Gravity (see our Heavyocity Gravity review)
‘I recommend it to anyone who’s looking for new, exciting and inspiring sounds for their hybrid scoring’

OUTPUT Signal (see our Signal review)
‘I was blown away by the ease of creating beautiful pulsing and evolving soundscapes‘
Buy Signal here

VST Effects

Eventide Anthology X (see our Eventide Anthology X introduction)
‘Based on 40 years of Eventide studio mainstays plus extra modern gems’. Enough said

Slate Virtual Mix Rack
‘More juicy analog flavours from Slate. One of our favorite mixing plugins: two classic EQs and two versatile mix compressors’
Buy Slate VMR here

Soundtoys 5 (see our Soundtoys V5 overview)
‘The return of a timeless bundle, with two extra plugins and greatly improved workflow’
Buy Soundtoys 5 here

iOS Apps

Patterning (see our Patterning review)
‘Amazing design work, inspiring and fun to use.’
Buy Patterning here

Fugue Machine
‘Brings Baroque’s (and Bach’s) technique to the 21st century schizoid man.’
Buy Fugue Machine here

Elastic Drums (see our Elastic Drums review)
‘I would recommend Elastic Drums for anybody wanting a synth drum machine with a clean interface and a lot of features’
Buy Elastic Drums here

Modstep (see our Modstep review)
‘Modstep is a great step forward for step sequencing’
Buy Modstep here

Controllers

Ableton Push 2
‘Improving on a modern classic wasn’t easy. Ableton did it, in-house’
Buy Push 2 in US – UK/EU

Softube Console 1 (see our Console 1 review)
‘Highly recommended to anyone who needs a top-notch, SSL-flavoured hands-on channel strip!’
Buy Console 1 in US – UK/EU

Arturia Beatstep Pro (see our Beatstep Pro review)
‘An eclectic, affordable and inspiring tool that can take your setup to the next level’
Buy Beatstep Pro in US – UK/EU

Innovations

EastWest Composer Cloud (see our Composer Cloud review)
‘An innovative subscription model, a win for both EastWest and their customer base, on many levels’

Ableton Link (see our Ableton Link overview)
“A godsend for iOS musicians. Look Apple, it just works…”

ROLI Seaboard Rise
‘Because new, expressive controllers don’t have to be something only high-rollers can afford!’
Buy in US – UK/EU

Eventide H9 Max
‘Retro-innovation: 11 x 7 x 3 inches of pure sound magic’
Buy in US – UK/EU

Audio Interfaces

RME Babyface Pro
‘Simply the best compact USB interface money can buy this year!’
Buy Babyface Pro in US – UK/EU