8.2Great
Devious Machines Duck by Devious Machines. Sidechain-style pumping without routing headaches—volume shaping for modern electronic mixes.
Plugin comparison
Devious Machines Duck vs Cableguys VolumeShaper 6
Specs, price and the Dubspot Score, side by side — with our verdict on which effect to buy.
Independent score / workflow fit / buying signal
Contenders
The side-by-side
Effect / Cableguys
Cableguys VolumeShaper 6
8.4Great
VolumeShaper is a Cableguys effect plugin that shapes audio with a drawable volume LFO triggered by beats, MIDI or transients across three frequency bands.
Score verdict
Which should you buy?
On the Dubspot Score, Cableguys VolumeShaper 6 comes out ahead (8.4). That said, the right pick depends on your workflow and budget — read both reviews before deciding.
Technical matrix
Specs compared
| Signal | Devious Machines Duck | Cableguys VolumeShaper 6 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $49 | — |
| Dubspot Score | 8.2 | 8.4 |
| Formats | VST3, AU, AAX | VST 2, VST 3, AU (Mac), AAX |
| Type | Sidechain / volume shaping effect | — |
| Developer | Devious Machines | — |
| Current version on official page | — | VolumeShaper 7 (version 6 no longer listed/sold by Cableguys) |
| Multiband shaping | — | Separate volume LFOs for lows, mids and highs |
| Triggering | — | Beat-locked sync, MIDI, or audio-transient triggering with external sidechain input |
| Smoothing | — | Click-free lookahead smoothing with transient pre-smoothing |
| Mac formats | — | VST 2, VST 3, AU or AAX |
| Windows formats | — | VST 2, VST 3 or AAX |
See the full plugin database for more comparisons.