Krotos Studio

Krotos Studio’s category‑based presets make it easy to find the sound elements required for a specific task.

Krotos Studio makes custom sound design accessible to almost anyone.

Sounds created with Krotos Audio’s products have found their way into major films and AAA video games so, when they release a sound‑design tool that claims to be easy to use and is accessibly priced, it’s likely to get budding sound designers paying attention. Whether you are new to sound design and need a simple‑to‑use creation process, a solo video or game creator doing their own sound design (as well as everything else), or an experienced sound designer needing a tool to get the job done fast when the deadlines are stacking up, is Krotos Studio a potential solution? Let’s explore...

In The Studio

From a technical perspective, Krotos Studio can run as a standalone application or as a VST, AU or AAX plug‑in. For the purposes of this review, I mostly used the VST plug‑in within Cubase Pro 12 but both it and the standalone version ran smoothly on my test system. The product installs in two parts; the base application/plug‑in and the sound content (currently around 17GB; this can be located on any drive). As well as the core Factory Content that gets you started, subscribers also receive access to new sound content each month.

The package is available on a subscription‑only basis, with either annual or monthly plans. Yes, for those just starting out, or working on a hobby basis, perhaps subscription‑based tools are not always their first choice, but for start‑up businesses, being able to set a fixed monthly budget for things like stock video footage, stock music, plug‑in suites — and now sound‑design tools — is an attractive and sensible way to keep budgets under control. Krotos Audio do also offer a free version with a limited amount of content so you can try the software before making a commitment. As made very clear on the website and in the documentation, an active Internet connection is required, presumably to confirm the status of your subscription when in use.

An active Krotos Studio subscription includes access to new content on a monthly basis.

Perhaps the other obvious technical feature to note is that the sound creation is in stereo and, currently at least, does not provide support for surround‑sound formats. However, in suitable hosts, you can use multiple stereo output channels (different sound elements are automatically routed to different output channels) so you could certainly generate audio that might then be used in...