Analogue Emulations: October Picks at Plugin Boutique
Plugin Boutique Analogue Emulations: Roland JUPITER-8 at $69, the polysynth bundle at $199, plus UA Minimoog, Ampex ATR-102, 1176, Distressor, and Pultec.
Plugin Boutique has an Analogue Emulations campaign up for October, and it gathers circuit models of the synths, tape machines, and dynamics that still finish a record. The hub is one page. The discounts do not share a single percentage, and the end dates run from 12 October out to 1 November.
At a glance: the Roland Analog Polysynth Collection is $199 from $499, 60% off, through 31 October 2026. JUPITER-8 on its own is $69 from $199, 65% off, through the same day. UA Minimoog is $39 from $149, 73% off, through 15 October. Ampex ATR-102 is $49 from $199, 75% off, through 15 October. The 1176 Classic Limiter Collection is $29 from $199, 85% off, through 1 November. The EL8 Distressor is $39 from $199, 80% off, through 1 November. The Pultec Passive EQ Collection is $39 from $149, 73% off, through 1 November.
Those figures are the US prices printed on each product page, and the full grid sits on the Analogue Emulations campaign.
One Roland flagship, or five
The collection is five Analog Circuit Behavior instruments: JUPITER-4, JUPITER-8, JUNO-60, JX-3P, and JUNO-106. ACB rebuilds the original circuits, drift included. Each plugin is VST3, AU, and AAX, with native Apple silicon support. The floor is Windows 10 64-bit or Windows 11, and macOS 11 or later. Install and activation need a Roland account and a connection. SYSTEM-8 owners can load these as PLUG-OUT instruments and play them without the computer.
$199 is the cart if you want more than one of those boards. $69 is the cart if the job is the 1981 flagship. The JUPITER-8 has eight voices, two oscillators, cross-modulation, oscillator sync, a two- or four-pole low-pass, and a high-pass. The software adds velocity, a wider oscillator range, and tempo sync on the LFO, the arpeggiator, and the effects. Those effects are chorus, reverb, flanger, delay, and overdrive. Circuit Mod sweeps the internal trims the hardware hid from the front panel. Condition ages the voice, from a fresh unit toward a road-worn one. Polyphony can drop from eight notes to two, so a lead does not turn into a pad.
Buy the single when one polysynth covers the track. Buy the bundle when a JUNO chorus and a JX-3P patch are also on the list. Five synths at $199 lands near $40 each. The JUPITER-8 is already in that bundle, so the $69 standalone only wins if the other four will sit unused.
Minimoog stays monophonic
UA Minimoog is $39 through 15 October. Universal Audio modeled it with Moog Music, from three vintage Model Ds, and kept one as the reference unit. It is a monosynth. Three oscillators, the ladder filter, and the feedback loop from the output back to the input. That loop is where the growl comes from when resonance is high. The plugin adds note priority, legato, a second LFO, and sample and hold.
No Apollo is required, because the licence is UAD Native on macOS 11 or later and Windows 10 or 11, for Intel, AMD, or Apple silicon. Formats are AAX, AU, and VST3, a free iLok account covers Cloud or a USB key, and a dongle is optional. It does not open in GarageBand.
Use it for bass and for single-note leads, because a chord is the wrong ask and pads belong on the Roland side of this sale.
Tape, then two compressors
Ampex ATR-102 is $49 through 15 October. Ampex authenticated the model, and it is a mastering 2-track rather than a machine you would print a whole multitrack session to. Head widths are 1/4 inch, 1/2 inch, and 1 inch, and the formulas include GP9, 456, 900, and 250. The circuit keeps the transformers, the amplifiers, and the Repro, Sync, and Input paths. Auto-Gain holds the level while record and repro move. A LUNA Extension puts the same machine on LUNA's mixer without a separate plugin window. The purchase includes Native and the Apollo or UAD-2 version. Leave it on the mix bus or the master when the balance is right and the mix still sounds unfinished. Head choices and formulas are on the ATR-102 page.
The 1176 Classic Limiter Collection is $29 through 1 November, 85% off $199. Three revisions ship together, and Rev A is the Bluestripe, with more distortion and the original FET gain amplifier. Rev E is the early-1970s Blackface, the low-noise circuit. The 1176AE is the anniversary edition, and it adds a 2:1 ratio. All-Button mode is the crushed parallel-drum setting. With every ratio button off, the signal still crosses the transformers and the FET. That pass is color without gain reduction. Mix, Headroom, and a sidechain filter are the extras the hardware never had. Attack on the original design goes down to 20 microseconds. Vocals, drums, bass, and a parallel room are the everyday uses. The three panels are on the 1176 collection page.
The EL8 Distressor is $39 through 1 November, 80% off $199. Ratios are 1:1, 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, 6:1, 10:1, 20:1, and Nuke. At 1:1 you get harmonics without compression, which warms a synth or a string pad. Nuke is the room-mic setting, while Dist 2 and Dist 3 add even-order harmonics, or even and odd together. A sidechain filter, Band Emphasis, and a dry/wet mix cover the bus jobs. Pick it when the 1176 is not enough color, or when one compressor has to do both the gentle pass and the smashed room.
Pultec for the wide curves
The Pultec Passive EQ Collection is $39 from $149, 73% off, through 1 November. Three plugins ship in the set: EQP-1A, MEQ-5, and HLF-3C. The EQP-1A does the low shelf and the air. Boost and cut the same low frequency and the curve becomes a resonant shelf, which is how bass gets larger without a woolly band under it. The MEQ-5 is the midrange tool, for vocals, guitars, and keys. The HLF-3C is two knobs, high and low, for rumble, hiss, or a deliberate lo-fi pass. This is not the EQ you reach for to notch a ring. Native and Apollo versions are both included. The three units are spelled out on the Pultec collection page.
SSL and Softube on the same counter
Four other analogue prices are already on the deals desk, and they belong in the same cart conversation if you are filling out a mix chain this month.
SSL Native Channel Strip 2 is $19 from $149 through 12 October. That is the 9000K strip, with E and G Series EQ, a compressor, a gate, and the filters.
SSL Native Bus Compressor 2 is $19 from $149 through 12 October. It is the G-Series bus compressor, the one that usually sits across the mix.
SSL Reverb Collection is $39.99 from $296 through 14 October. The four plugins are FlexVerb, GateVerb, PlateVerb, and SpringVerb.
Softube Producer Collection Exclusive is $149 from $1,359 through 1 November. Inside that exclusive are Amp Room Vintage Suite, British Class A, FET Compressor Mk II, the Passive-Active EQ pack, and Tape, including the multitrack machine.
Who should buy which
| Pick | Street | Until | Buy it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| JUPITER-8 | $69 / $199 | 31 Oct 2026 | Pads, strings, and leads from one Roland flagship |
| Analog Polysynth Collection | $199 / $499 | 31 Oct 2026 | Five Roland polys, JUPITER-8 included |
| Minimoog | $39 / $149 | 15 Oct 2026 | Mono bass and leads |
| Ampex ATR-102 | $49 / $199 | 15 Oct 2026 | Mix-bus and master tape |
| 1176 Collection | $29 / $199 | 1 Nov 2026 | FET punch on vocals, drums, and bass |
| EL8 Distressor | $39 / $199 | 1 Nov 2026 | More harmonics, and Nuke on rooms |
| Pultec Collection | $39 / $149 | 1 Nov 2026 | Broad tube EQ, not surgical notches |
Roland software installs in Roland Cloud, and UA Native installs in UA Connect. Both sides start at macOS 11 and Windows 10, and both publish VST3, AU, and AAX. UA asks for an iLok account, and the product pages also say these plugins do not run in GarageBand.
A one-plugin cart comes down to the job in front of you. The 1176 at $29 is the deepest cut on the list, and the JUPITER-8 at $69 is the polysynth if you only need one board. Minimoog, the 1176, Pultec, and ATR-102 together are $156. Add the Roland bundle and that set is $355, against a combined list of $1,195.
Start from the Analogue Emulations campaign if you want the whole grid, then open the product page before you check out. End dates on this desk run from 12 October on the SSL strips to 1 November on the 1176, Distressor, Pultec, and the Softube bundle.
