CHARACTER
ENGINE 01- DRIVETilted harmonic saturation
- SWEETENGlue compression and warm density
- FUZZStarved, high-gain clipping
- HOWLResonant feedback distortion
- SWELLVolume swells triggered by each note
Model SPX-01 · Stereo FX processor
SP3CTRA
A creative effects console built into a handheld. Four engines with twenty algorithms, a granular cloud and a half-time machine, all in one plugin. Every switch is click-free, so you can play it like an instrument.
VST3 · macOS & Windows · 0 samples latency
Hear it
Before and after.
One boring melody, three presets. Pick a preset, hit play, and flip the switch to hear your melody dry or through SP3CTRA.
A/B Listening Station
► COLD NIGHT0:00
AFTERPRESS PLAY
What it does
Six stages. One handheld.
Audio runs through four swappable effect engines, then the GRAIN cloud and TIME LAB. Turn any stage on or off, and drag the four engines into any of 24 orders.
Signal path
IN>CHARACTER>MOVEMENT>DIFFUSION>TEXTURE>GRAIN>TIME LAB>OUT
A safety limiter guards the output, and a global mix blends the whole console against your dry signal.
MOVEMENT
ENGINE 02- DOUBLERWandering stereo double-track
- VIBRATOPitch movement from a modulated delay
- PHASERMulti-stage all-pass sweeps
- TREMOLOAmplitude modulation and autopan, tempo-synced
- PITCHDual-head pitch shifter, ±12 semitones
DIFFUSION
ENGINE 03- CASCADEDark, modulated feedback delay
- REELSSaturated tape echo with wow and flutter
- SPACE8-line feedback-network reverb
- COLLAGEGranular micro-loop scatter
- REVERSEBackwards delay heads
TEXTURE
ENGINE 04- FILTERMultimode resonant filter with envelope
- SQUASHBrutal compression and saturation
- CASSETTEWorn tape bandwidth, hiss and wow
- BROKENDropouts, stutters and motor stalls
- INTERFERENCEBitcrush, aliasing, buzz and glitch
Stage 06 · Time Lab
Half-time on a button.
TIME LAB records your track and plays each musical segment back slower or faster, locked to your DAW's tempo. Drop a beat to half-time, stretch a vocal into a slow-motion tail, or double the speed for a build.
1/41/31/22/33/41.5x2x4x
TAPE or STRETCH
TAPE changes speed and pitch together, like slowing a turntable. STRETCH keeps the pitch and changes only the timing.
- Loop length
- 1/16 note to 4 bars
- Material
- Transient (drums) or Sustain (pads, vocals)
- Multiband
- Three bands with adjustable crossovers. Pick which bands change speed and solo any of them.
- Sync
- Follows host tempo, or runs free from 40 to 240 BPM
- Fade
- 1 to 250 ms per repeat, so loop edges stay smooth
Frozen cloud
Press FREEZE and the grain buffer stops recording. Whatever it holds keeps playing as an endless cloud while the track moves on.
- Size
- 10 ms to 1 s per grain
- Density
- 1 to 60 grains per second
- Pitch
- ±24 semitones. Free, semitone steps, or octaves and fifths only.
- Spray
- Grains start up to 2 seconds in the past
- Spread
- Random stereo placement
- Reverse
- Chance that a grain plays backwards
- Shape
- Smooth and soft, or tight and percussive
- Feedback
- Grains fed back in for shimmering clouds
Stage 05 · Grain
Turn any sound into particles.
GRAIN chops the signal into tiny overlapping pieces and scatters them across time, pitch and the stereo field. Use it for octave-up shimmer, sub-octave beds, reversed sparkle or a glitchy spray of hits.
Open the console
Everything, on one panel.
Press START and the handheld opens into a full console. Each engine has a main pair of knobs and a second layer for deeper control. A gesture recorder loops your knob moves, and CAPTURE grabs a bar of audio before or after the effects.
Console mode
Engines · Time Lab · Grain · Gesture recorder · Capture · Master and meters
How to play
Every button does something.
OFF / ON
The slider at the top bypasses the whole plugin with a short fade. It is the same control as your DAW's bypass.
D-PAD
Left and right flip through presets. Up and down pick which bank you browse.
A
A
Shows the live signal chain of the loaded preset.
B
B
Cycles the animated screens: wave, spectrum, warp tunnel and skyline.
SELECT
Opens the preset library to search, favourite, save, import and export.
START
Opens the full console with every engine and control.
MIX
QUICK ROW
Drag MIX, IN or OUT on the bottom of the screen. Double-click to reset.
[i]
SCREEN ICONS
The gear opens settings and skins. The [i] opens the annotated design sheet.
?
HIDDEN
Two games are hidden in the handheld. See the codes.
Arcade
Two games inside your effects.
Waiting on a bounce? The handheld has two hidden games. Open SP3CTRA on any track and type the code on the D-pad and buttons (or your arrow keys), with no more than a second and a half between presses.
Game 01
SPECTRAL SNAKEEat the signal. Don't bite your own tail.
▲▲▼▼BA
Game 02
CARTEL BREAKOUTSmash every brick. Steer with the D-pad or your mouse.
▲▲▼▼AB
D-pad / arrows: move · A / space: pause · Esc: back to your presets · audio keeps running
The screen
Watch your sound move.
When audio plays, the LCD animates. Press B to switch between four screens. Try it here with a demo signal.
Spectral matrix · Stereo FX
Presets
108 cartridges in the box.
Every preset is a cartridge. Load one and the screen shows GAME LOADED with its name. All factory presets are level-matched, so switching never jumps in volume.
- Share your sound. Save your own presets and export them as .sp3 files. Friends drag them onto the plugin to load them.
- Add cover art. Give any preset an image. It appears on the GAME LOADED screen, redrawn in the colours of the LCD.
- Factory presets stay locked. They can't be exported or overwritten. Save a copy to make it yours.
- Artist Type bank. Eighteen presets built around the sound of today's biggest rap and R&B records.
Preset banks
Clean / Foundation7
Bass weight7
Drum destruction7
Half-speed7
Stereo movement7
Cinematic space7
Tape & analog7
Glitch / Broken7
Reverse & collage7
Transitions7
Vocal experiments7
Signatures7
Granular6
Artist type18
Built for sessions
No clicks. No surprises.
CLICK-FREE
01- Algorithm swaps crossfade. Reordering the chain, loading presets and switching multiband happen under a short fade, so nothing pops.
ZERO LATENCY
02- Every engine only reads audio that has already happened. The plugin reports 0 samples of delay to your DAW.
SAFE OUTPUT
03- A transparent limiter catches peaks before 0 dBFS. If an effect ever misbehaves, the console resets itself and shows a notice.
GESTURES
04- Record knob moves into tempo-synced loops of 1 to 8 bars, and capture a bar of audio to replay before or after the effects.
Skins
Five shells. Pick yours.
Change the skin from the settings screen and the whole plugin repaints, LCD included. Tap one below to try it on this page.
Value
One cartridge. Four plugins' worth.
The sounds in SP3CTRA usually take a stack of separate plugins. Here's what that stack costs at typical list price.
Price check
Granular cloudsOutput Portal$149
Tape, vinyl & lo-fi colorXLN RC-20 Retro Color$99
Half-time, gates & stutterImage-Line Gross Beat$199
Glitch & reverse texturesArturia Efx Fragments$99
Bought separately$546
SP3CTRA: all of it + 108 presets, 5 skins, 2 games, free updates$29.99
Typical list prices in USD as of November 2026; those plugins often go on sale. Product names belong to their owners, and SP3CTRA is not affiliated with them. Each one goes deeper in its own lane; SP3CTRA puts the moves producers reach for most in one plugin.
FAQ
Before you press start.
How do I get it after paying?
Download buttons for Mac and Windows appear the moment PayPal confirms your payment. Save the order ID shown there. Lost the files? Go to sp3ctra.store/#download and enter your order ID, or the transaction ID on your PayPal receipt.
How do I install it on Mac?
Unzip the download, right-click Install SP3CTRA.command and choose Open. Then rescan plugins in your DAW. Manual install: copy SP3CTRA.vst3 to ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3.
How do I install it on Windows?
Unzip the whole folder, double-click Install SP3CTRA.bat and click Yes. If SmartScreen warns you, click More info, then Run anyway. Rescan plugins in your DAW. Manual install: copy SP3CTRA.vst3 to C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3.
Which DAWs work?
Any DAW that loads VST3: FL Studio, Ableton Live, Studio One, Cubase, Reaper, Bitwig and more. Logic Pro and GarageBand need AU, which is planned as a free update. Pro Tools (AAX) is not supported.
What do I need?
macOS 10.13 or later on Apple Silicon or Intel, or 64-bit Windows 10 or 11. Mono or stereo tracks, any sample rate.
Are updates really free?
Yes, for life. When a new version ships, download it again from the download page with your order ID. No subscription, ever.
Can I use it on more than one computer?
Yes. One license covers you on all of your own computers, Mac and Windows. Don't resell or share the plugin files.
Can I get a refund?
No. SP3CTRA is a digital download, so all sales are final. Listen to the before and after previews first so you know exactly what you are getting.
How do I play the hidden games?
Enter the code on the handheld's D-pad and buttons: Up Up Down Down B A for Spectral Snake, Up Up Down Down A B for Cartel Breakout. More in the Arcade.
How do I change skins?
Click the gear on the screen, then use SKIN < > to switch between DMG Classic, Pocket Silver, Play It Loud Yellow, Atomic Purple and Teal Color.
Specifications
| Updates | Free for life. Every future version is yours: come back to sp3ctra.store/#download with your order ID |
|---|---|
| Requirements | macOS 10.13+ (Apple Silicon or Intel) · Windows 10/11 64-bit |
| Formats | VST3 (macOS and Windows). AU for Logic is planned as a free update |
| macOS | Universal: Apple Silicon and Intel |
| Windows | 64-bit VST3 with a one-click installer and uninstaller |
| Channels | Mono or stereo in, stereo out |
| Sample rates | 44.1 kHz to 192 kHz |
| Latency | 0 samples |
| Engines | 4 engines × 5 algorithms, Grain, Time Lab, Gesture, Capture |
| Parameters | 80, all automatable |
| Presets | 108 factory, unlimited user presets, .sp3 sharing with cover art |
| Interface | Handheld and full console views, 5 skins, 60–200% scaling |
Get SP3CTRA
One price. Both platforms.
SP3CTRA v1.1
USD$29.99
Black Friday price. Regular price $99.99 after the timer ends.
Buy nowOne-time payment via PayPal · All sales final · Mac and Windows included · Free updates for life
4 engines / 20 algorithmsOK
Grain + Time LabOK
108 factory presetsOK
.sp3 preset sharingOK
5 skinsOK
VST3 / Mac + WinOK
2 hidden gamesOK
Updates for lifeFREE
macOS
VST3 · Mac Universal + Win 64-bit
- Unzip the download.
- Double-click Install SP3CTRA.command.
- Rescan plugins in your DAW.
Windows
VST3 · 64-bit
- Unzip the download.
- Double-click Install SP3CTRA.bat.
- Rescan plugins in your DAW.
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