Blue Cat’s PatchWork €99

Blue Cat have made a name for themselves in the pluginhosting sector, turning the art of the VST-in-a-VST into several useful applications, such as their Axiom amp sim (add plugins into the virtual studio signal flow) MB-7 Mixer (create multiband setups with your own plugins) and Late Replies (add plugins before or after a delay line, or even within the feedback loop).

PatchWork takes that basic functionality and focuses on it, serving as a rack hosting up to six parallel chains of up to eight effects each, plus Pre and Post sections, for a possible total of 64 running within one instance. What effects? There are 30 built-in, and you can load VST, VST3 and AU plugins of your own as well. There are macros onboard, with parameters mappable (or learnable) to single knobs on the front end, which are then automatable in your DAW.

PatchWork may be one of the more expensive options here, but Blue Cat’s pedigree in the plugin formats world makes it feel slightly more reliable, and that’s not to mention the 30 effects that come with it, although these are only available within PatchWork. This host can feel a bit more like a utility than a creative workbench, but for professionals needing reliability in the studio and on-stage, it’s a good choice. Note that in comparison to the other entries in this round-up, PatchWork doesn’t have an instrument-hosting version, although it can work standalone. bluecataudio.com VERDICT 7.8