“Black Friday” has become a traditional date for talking discounts, but one price you can’t beat is free.

Cakewalk is giving away some of their older effects and synth plug-ins. These aren’t just hand-me-downs – Cakewalk forum members lamented that a couple of these didn’t receive greater development attention. They’re eminently usable on Windows systems now. Available free:

• SFZ+: The real highlight here, rgc:audio’s excellent SoundFont sampler player, with built-in effects, various performance options, and an all-in-one interface
• Square I: A very lovely analog subtractive synth
• Audio FX 1: Multi-effects including compressor/gate, limiter, expander/gate, dynamics 
• Audio FX 2: Guitar amp and tape simulation
• Audio FX 3: A unique reverb / room emulation plug-in that allows you to design your own soundstage

Audio FX 1-2 have been easily supplanted by newer options from Cakewalk, but Audio FX 3 is fun to play with. And Square I and SFZ+ are both good bread-and-butter additions to your plug-in library. Note that the FX plug-ins are all DirectX plug-ins, not VST, but the two synths will work as VSTs – meaning they can also work on Linux, making them a nice choice for your netbook.

Holiday discounts

Cakewalk is also discounting software in their Holiday Guide – and offering savings on new, music-optimized PCs. Native Instruments is running a $99 sale on their synths, which is repeated here, but Cakewalk has some deals, too: