Pakotec Rent-a-Plugin: a new way to access great processing?
Top effects and instruments with 10hrs free use
Pakotec aren’t a company I’m familiar with, but I’ve a feeling their name will spread fast in the audio world! Based in Israel, they’ve announced a rental platform for accessing 3rd party plug-ins. Companies whose plug-ins will be available through the platform include: SoundRadix, Kilohearts, Beatskillz and d16 Group. It’s likely many more will be added. Will we see any of the biggest plug-in developers added to that mix – perhaps with an announcement at NAMM 2017? But there is one important caveat at the moment…
Hopefully there will be lots more info soon, but the key details are already enough to tantalise home studio enthusiasts and pro producers alike. Through a free sign-up, it seems you’re able to download a host of fully working demos. Each of these will work for up to 10 hours per month, after which time the user is able to rent each plug-in needed.
Pakotec – studio plug-in subscription
What really excites me is the idea of accessing plug-ins that not everyone has the budget to purchase, including some of the more esoteric ones. Need a surgical tool to correct a specific problem? Maybe you want to try a specific effect on a vocal for one song only. Or perhaps you’ll want to add some subtle analogue emulation to add harmonic richness to certain stems?
Pakotec Rent-a-Plugin · Source: http://www.rent-a-plugin.com
These are all tasks that, approached the right way, could take advantage of the free demos. Depending on the plug-ins on offer, I could imagine using a demo or paying for a short use of specific synth plug-ins too. Having used a bundled instrument in your DAW, when it comes to final mixes why not audition a better sounding virtual instrument and bounce MIDI parts out as audio?
If I try a new plug-in and like it, I would be tempted to dip in again to another free usage the following month. I could imagine working fast to set up a sound and then bounce a stem so I could keep that great sound! Having done this a couple of times there would be a tipping point where I’d need to seriously consider paying the cash for a tool that is becoming indispensable. Or if it’s something I’ll only use for perhaps one project each year, I’d be happy to rent as needed. It all saves the hassle of repeatedly installing demos or being tempted by illegal downloads.
Rent-a-Plugin preview3 · Source: Roman Weinstein/Pakotec Ltd.
However, there is no pricing info available as yet, so it’s difficult to say anything about what value for money this platform might offer. But my feeling is many people will want to keep an eye on how this develops! If you want to be kept in the loop of latest updates on the platform, you can sign-up to get the latest news here.
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