Sanjay C Drops the Sweetest Freebies: Plugins, Synths, and Sonic Mayhem

Musik Hack’s Sweet EQ isn’t just another plugin with a pretty face—it’s a saturating EQ that wants to punch up your mixes, not just polish them. Sanjay C points out that each fader targets a real-world problem: low-end saturation for kicks that need beef, a high control with built-in de-essing, and a density fader to slap some muscle on thin sounds. The presence-focused lift control is there to help your sounds slice through the mix like a samurai at a synth meet-up.

What’s clever here is the design philosophy. Instead of cloning one dusty bit of vintage gear, Sweet EQ cherry-picks the best bits from a bunch of hardware legends and mashes them into a signal chain with attitude. The sliders are weighted so even tiny tweaks make a massive difference—perfect for those of us who can’t resist cranking everything to 11. There’s a free trial, a rent-to-own option, and an intro price, so you can test-drive it before you commit. But honestly, the real magic is in hearing what it does—so if you want to know if it kicks like a drunken horse, you’ll have to check the video.

Cherry Audio’s SH-MAX is what happens when you throw three classic Roland SH synths into a blender and hit ‘maximum’. Sanjay C breaks it down: SH-5 sound, SH-7 and SH-3A features, plus duophony, filter FM, and enough routing options to keep even the most jaded modular nerd busy. The filters are the real stars—swinging from smooth and warm to aggressive and raw, with enough bite to cut through any mix without extra processing.

You get modular-style routing and multiple effects chains, all wrapped up in a retro interface that looks like it belongs in a synth bunker. At $59, it’s a steal for anyone craving vintage vibes with modern muscle. But let’s be real: no written review can do justice to the filter sweeps and sonic chaos this thing can unleash. For the full SH-MAX experience, you’ll want to hear it in action.

Brainworx bx_tonebox lands with six modules—drive, circuit, drift, comp, noise, and filter—and lets you stack, swap, and reroute them like a mad scientist on a caffeine bender. Sanjay C highlights the drive section, which comes with ten modes (tape, tube, fuzz, wave folder, and more), and a comp module with five styles, including bus and limiter, so you can smash drums, vocals, or full mixes to taste.

The real kicker? Each module can run in stereo, mid/side, or just left/right, opening up a world of creative processing. It’s a streamlined way to build wild chains fast, and the price is actually reasonable for once. If you’re after modular flexibility without the spaghetti cables, bx_tonebox might just be your new secret weapon. But don’t take my word for it—watch the video and see how deep the rabbit hole goes.

Safari Pedals’ Hippie Elephant is this month’s Plugin of the Month, and it’s a granular reverb that turns your boring reverb tails into swirling, evolving pads. Sanjay C explains how the main time control morphs grain size and density, letting you dial in everything from tight rooms to massive clouds. Hit the freeze button and you’ve got an infinite pad to play over and manipulate in real time.

There’s tone shaping, pitch shifting for shimmer or detune, and even a built-in tremolo. If you’re into turning guitars, vocals, or synths into ambient beds that sound like they were recorded in a cosmic soup kitchen, this one’s for you. At $20 with the exclusive code, it’s almost rude not to grab it. But trust me, you’ll want to hear the textures for yourself—words don’t do it justice.