UVI Workstation

Picking a digital audio workstation is a fairly easy process, considering that there are only a handful of high-profile programs of the kind, recommended by musicians from all over the world. But after you’ve finished exploring all the native sounds and effects of a DAW, you’ll most likely start looking for external plugins. That journey is a long and difficult one.

Audio plugins come in all shapes and sizes, deals and prices. Usually, your best bet is to ask fellow producers on the Internet. Just remember that sometimes you can find quality free of charge, as is the case with UVI Workstation.

First off, you must not let yourself be confused by the word “workstation” in the program’s name. This is in no way a DAW. But it is a workstation in its own right, enabling you to add all the instruments developed or powered by UVI.

And this is, in fact, the catch; while you don’t have to pay anything for the workstation itself, you’ll most likely have to pay a lot for their virtual instruments. Thankfully, UVI Workstation already comes with more than a few quality sounds and presets, which will surely convince you to at least keep an eye and ear on other UVI releases.

UVI Workstation is obviously designed to be used with a MIDI controller keyboard, so you probably won’t have a lot of success creating captivating leads with just a mouse. But even if you’re not a keyboard player, the multi-voiced synths will allow you to come up with a few catchy melodies as soon as you start playing.

The plugin also features a complex effects section for each instrument and an arpeggiator that will take your melody to the next level. But probably its best feature (and the one that makes it worthy of the name “workstation”) is that it allows you to mix and work with multiple instruments at the same time in Multi-mode.

While UVI Workstation is great in many ways, you should also know that it will automatically install iLok License Manager on your computer and won’t run without it. You won’t have to activate this particular program’s license (since it’s free), but you’ll probably need it to activate other plugins from UVI.