Maniac Audio Vst
Professional VST3 & AU plugins built for producers and mix engineers. Authentic analog modeling on Windows, macOS and Linux.
Built different.
Authentic Analog
Every plugin modeled from real hardware. T4 opto cells, FET waveshaping, VCA saturation, transformer harmonics.
Up to 8× Oversampled
Kaiser FIR filters eliminate aliasing. Even with heavy saturation and compression, the audio stays clean.
Mix-Ready
Every knob calibrated to musical ranges. Dark interfaces for long sessions. Fast, focused, no bloat.
Supported DAWs
Windows VST3 · macOS VST3 & AU (Universal Binary) · Linux VST3 (64-bit)
Officially supported on Windows & macOS: DarkStudio, Ableton, Logic, FL Studio, Reaper, Studio One, Cubase, GarageBand.
Officially supported on Linux: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS or newer and Arch Linux — tested with DarkStudio, Reaper, Bitwig Studio and Ardour.
The Linux builds have been tested on Ubuntu and Arch Linux. They may run on other distributions, but this is not tested or guaranteed.
Our free plugin may run on other DAWs too, but we cannot guarantee that the paid plugins will work outside the officially supported DAWs listed above.
Ready to go dark?
Start with a free plugin. No account required.
Frequently Asked Questions
What formats do you support?+
All our plugins are available in VST3 (Windows 64-bit), VST3 and AU (macOS Universal Binary — Intel & Apple Silicon), and VST3 (Linux 64-bit Intel/AMD, tested on Ubuntu and Arch Linux). We currently do not support AAX (Pro Tools), 32-bit systems, or ARM-based Linux such as Raspberry Pi.
How many computers can I install on?+
Each license allows installation on up to 3 computers that you own or control. No dongles or iLok required.
Do I need iLok or any dongle?+
No. Our plugins are completely dongle-free. Just download, install, and start using them immediately.
Which DAWs are supported?+
On Windows and macOS: DarkStudio, Ableton Live, Logic Pro, FL Studio, Reaper, Studio One, Cubase, and GarageBand. On Linux (tested on Ubuntu and Arch Linux): DarkStudio, Reaper, Bitwig Studio, and Ardour. Our free plugin may run on other DAWs too, but we cannot guarantee that the paid plugins will work outside the officially supported DAWs listed above.
What do I need to run the plugins on Linux?+
A 64-bit Intel or AMD system (x86_64) with glibc 2.30 or newer. Our Linux builds are tested and officially supported on Ubuntu (20.04 LTS and newer) and Arch Linux. They may also run on other distributions such as Debian, Fedora or Mint, but those are untested and not guaranteed. Nothing else is required: the plugins are statically linked against libstdc++, so there is no “wrong GCC version” problem. ARM systems such as Raspberry Pi are not supported.
How do I install on Linux?+
Unzip the bundle and run the included installer from a terminal:
unzip "Maniac Audio Bundle Linux.zip" cd "Maniac Audio Bundle Linux" bash install.sh
That installs every plugin to ~/.vst3 — no root needed. Use sudo bash install.sh --system to install for all users instead, or bash install.sh DarkQ Dark2A to pick individual plugins. An uninstaller is included. Afterwards, rescan plugins in your DAW. The installer has been tested on Ubuntu and Arch Linux.
What is DarkStudio and which platforms does it run on?+
DarkStudio is our own digital audio workstation — recording, editing, mixing and plugin hosting in one application. It runs natively on Windows (64-bit), macOS (Universal Binary — Intel & Apple Silicon) and Linux (64-bit Intel/AMD, tested on Ubuntu and Arch Linux), and it hosts VST3 plugins on all three platforms, plus AU on macOS. DarkStudio is currently in beta.
Can I try before I buy?+
Yes! We offer a free plugin (DarkQ Free) so you can test our quality before purchasing.
Do you offer refunds?+
All sales are final due to the digital nature of our products. Refunds are only considered for verified technical issues that our support team cannot resolve. See our Refund Policy for details.
How do I get my plugins after purchase?+
Immediately after payment, you’ll receive an email with download links for Windows, macOS and Linux.
What’s included in the Bundle?+
The Full Bundle includes all 23 paid plugins — compressors, EQs, reverbs, delays, saturation, limiters, gates, mic modeling, and more. You get the Windows, macOS and Linux builds with a single purchase. The Linux build is tested on Ubuntu and Arch Linux.
DSP · Design · Engineering by Giorgos Charilaou