DROP-TUNE YOUR GUITAR. NOT YOUR STRINGS.
DropShift is a polyphonic drop-tune pedal for your DAW: whole chords down 1 to 7 semitones or an octave, from 2 ms live playing to studio-clean HQ.
WINDOWS & MACOS · VST3 / AU / CLAP · NO ILOK
Real guitar recordings rendered through DropShift's own engine, for every mode and drop: what you hear is the plugin. Press play, then turn DROP, switch modes or stomp the footswitch; the difference is clearest on chords at −4 or lower.
What you get
- Windows & macOS installersVST3 and CLAP on Windows 10/11; Audio Unit, VST3 and CLAP on macOS 10.15 or newer, native on Apple Silicon and Intel.
- One license, 3 computersYour key arrives by email right after purchase. No iLok, no dongle, no account to create.
- Free 1.x updatesDownload them from your Gumroad library; DropShift shows UPDATE when a new version is out.
- Try it firstThe free demo is the full plugin: every control works, with soft noise for 3 seconds of every 20 until you enter a key.
Validated with pluginval at its strictest level, Apple's auval and clap-validator · Sold through Gumroad, by card or PayPal · License agreement
PICK YOUR ENGINE
DropShift trades latency for how clean low chords stay. Pick the engine for the job: Studio and HQ report their latency to your DAW, so the shifted guitar stays on the grid.
Switching modes mutes the output for 10 ms and changes the latency reported to the host. Click an engine to try it in the preview above: the difference is clearest at big drops on chords, much smaller at −1 or −2.
FAQ
No. The demo never expires and every control works. While the pedal is engaged, the last 3 seconds of every 20 are replaced by soft noise (about −24 dBFS), and the plugin window shows DEMO MODE while it plays. A license key removes the noise.
There is nothing to reinstall: the demo and the full version are the same download. Click ACTIVATE at the bottom of the plugin window, paste your license key and click AUTHORIZE. DropShift unlocks right away, and the key is remembered for every DAW on that computer. If typing in the key field does nothing, your DAW keeps the keyboard for itself: paste the key instead, or in Reaper enable “Send all keyboard input to plugin”.
Activation needs an internet connection once: DropShift checks the key with Gumroad, where you bought it. One license activates up to 3 of your computers; to move it to a new one, write to support@animusvertex.com.
It depends on the mode. Live is made for playing through: pick attacks come after about 2 ms, the rest about 6 to 9 ms. Classic, the default, sounds the most natural at about 20 ms. Studio plays every attack at exactly 12.5 ms and reports it to your DAW, which compensates it. HQ, a phase vocoder for the cleanest low chords, reports about 171 ms at 48 kHz: it is meant for mixing and reamping, not for playing through.
Windows (64-bit): VST3 and CLAP. macOS 10.15 or newer: VST3, CLAP and Audio Unit, native on Apple Silicon and Intel. Mono and stereo tracks; every mode is tested at 44.1, 48, 88.2 and 96 kHz. Both systems get an installer. They are not signed by Microsoft or notarized by Apple yet, so the first run takes one extra click: More info › Run anyway on Windows, Open Anyway in System Settings › Privacy & Security on macOS.
Any host that loads VST3, CLAP or Audio Units, for example Ableton Live, Cubase, FL Studio, Reaper, Studio One, Bitwig Studio and Logic Pro (AU). Every release passes pluginval at its strictest level, Apple's auval and clap-validator.
No iLok and no account. DropShift processes audio entirely on your computer and goes online only for small checks: once when you activate your license key, to confirm it with Gumroad; about once a month after that, to confirm it again (without a connection it simply keeps working); and when its window opens, at most once a day, to see whether a newer version is out, shown as UPDATE in its footer.
Write to support@animusvertex.com. Tell me your system, your DAW and the DropShift version (shown at the bottom right of the plugin window), and what happens. Questions about work and projects go to contact@animusvertex.com.
MADE BY A GUITARIST WHO CODES
DropShift started as a tool I could not find in the quality I needed, so I built it myself, and I use it every day. Besides audio plugins, I build fast web applications and developer tools.
GET IN TOUCH
Questions about DropShift: support@animusvertex.com. Work, projects or anything else: write below.