Future Audio Workshop

What Future Audio Workshop does

Future Audio Workshop (FAW) is an independent music software company founded in 2008 and operating remotely across Berlin and Los Angeles. It develops software synthesizers and audio plugins sold as VST, VST3, AU, and AAX formats for macOS and Windows, targeting music producers — with a primary emphasis on hip-hop, trap, and electronic genres but with cross-genre applicability. The company maintains four core products: Circle² (flagship general-purpose synthesizer), SubLab (808-style sub-bass synthesizer), SubLab XL (expanded all-in-one sub-bass/808 tool with sampler, synth, and X-Sub™ engines, plus expanded FX and modulation), and Notes (a chord-based 'Ideas Machine' launched in 2024 with AI-assisted chord detection via The Lab). Notable technology differentiators include the proprietary X-Sub™ psychoacoustic sub-bass engine, the Lab chord sampler, and multi-sampled instruments recorded from rare vintage hardware at the Berlin Synthesizer Museum.

FAW's business model is built on one-time perpetual software licenses sold direct-to-consumer through its own e-commerce storefront (futureaudioworkshop.com), with activation on up to 3 computers and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Pricing for flagship plugins ranges from $29 (intro) to $129, while an extensive ecosystem of 13+ expansion packs (signature artist packs, genre-specific 808/sub packs, City Sounds location-themed packs) priced $10-$45 — plus an all-inclusive $25 bundle — drives ongoing repeat purchases. Secondary revenue lines include educational books on sound design ($25-$35) and branded merchandise. Go-to-market is product-led and community-led: free patch packs and tutorials capture email leads, a Discourse-based community forum supports engagement and beta testing, and integration with Native Instruments NKS embeds the brand inside the dominant hardware/software ecosystem. Customers include a long tail of individual producers globally, with marquee endorsers such as Illangelo (The Weeknd), DJ Dahi (Kendrick Lamar), Supah Mario (Lil Uzi Vert), Flume, Hudson Mohawke, Arca, and Richie Souf (Future, Gunna, Playboi Carti).

Name

Future Audio Workshop

Legal name

Future Audio Workshop

Website

https://futureaudioworkshop.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Future Audio Workshop is a Berlin- and Los Angeles-based indie music software company that builds software synthesizers and audio plugins (Circle², SubLab, SubLab XL, Notes) for music producers worldwide, specializing in 808s, sub-bass, and chord-based composition.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Audio Plugins and Virtual Instruments

NAICS

Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing (334310), Musical Instrument and Supplies Retailers (459140)

SIC

Musical Instruments (3931)

akta.pro primary industry

Audio Plugins & Virtual Instruments (VST/AU/AAX) (MPAIAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Music Production Workflow & Project Management Tools (Session management, asset/versioning) (MPAIAIAK), Pro Audio & Recording Equipment Retail (MI-adjacent) (CRALAEAC)

Keywords

• Music production software
• Audio plugins
• Synthesizer instruments
• Sub bass synthesis
• 808 sound design

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Software Instrument Sales: One-time license sales for flagship synthesizer plugins (Circle², SubLab, SubLab XL, Notes) available as VST/AU/AAX formats for Mac and Windows.
2. Expansion Packs: Additional preset packs for existing instruments, including 808/sub-bass packs, signature artist packs, and genre-specific sound collections. Prices range from $10-$45 per pack.
3. Educational Content: Books on sound design and synthesis including 'Creating Sounds from Scratch', 'The Synthesizer', 'Welsh's Synthesizer Cookbook', and 'Power Tools for Synthesizer Programming' priced $25-$35.
4. Merchandise: Branded merchandise including hats ($20), hoodies ($40), t-shirts, and sticker packs.
5. Bundle Deals: Pack bundles offering all expansion packs at discounted prices (SubLab Pack Bundle $25, SubLab XL Pack Bundle $25).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Future Audio Workshop develops and sells virtual instrument plugins (VST, VST3, AU, AAX) for music producers, focused on synthesizers for sub-bass, 808s, and chord-based composition. Its product line centers on Circle² (flagship synth), SubLab and SubLab XL (808/sub-bass engines), and Notes (chord "Ideas Machine" with automated chord detection), sold as perpetual licenses via a direct e-commerce storefront and complemented by a large catalog of expansion/signature sound packs and educational books.

Product overview

Future Audio Workshop is an indie music software company (operating since 2008) that makes music creation tools including four core software products: Circle² (flagship synthesizer), SubLab (original 808 sub-bass synth), SubLab XL (expanded version with more engines, FX, and modulation), and Notes (chord-based Ideas Machine). The products are sold as plugins in VST/AU/AAX formats and work with major DAWs. Beyond the core products, they offer an extensive ecosystem of expansion packs for SubLab and SubLab XL featuring signature sounds from notable producers (Richie Souf, Sean Divine, Machinedrum, Mr. Bill, DECAP), genre-specific packs (Drill Subs, Future 808s, Hits DNA series), and location-inspired City Sounds packs. Notes expansion packs include artist packs like Melodic Elements by MacShooter. They also publish educational books on synthesis and maintain an active community forum. Notable users include Illangelo (The Weeknd), DJ Dahi (Kendrick Lamar), Supah Mario (Lil Uzi Vert), and other prominent producers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Circle²: Flagship synthesizer plugin with a cult following amongst producers and sound designers worldwide.
• SubLab
• SubLab XL
• Notes

Products and services

• Circle² Flagship versatile synthesizer plugin with a cult following among producers and sound designers, used across hip-hop, trap, future bass, electronic, and pop production. Sold as a one-time perpetual license at $129, available in VST, VST3, AU, and AAX formats for macOS and Windows DAWs.
• SubLab Original 808-style sub-bass synthesizer plugin designed for hip-hop, future bass, and trap genres, providing tools to sample, layer, widen, and distort kicks into powerful subs in one plugin. Sold as a one-time perpetual license (regular $70, intro $29).
• SubLab XL All-in-one sub-bass and 808 synthesizer with 3 sound engines, 10 signature bass packs, extensive FX chain, LFO modulation, and macro page. Sold as a one-time perpetual license (regular $80, intro $39), with upgrade pricing for existing SubLab owners.
• Notes Chord-based "Ideas Machine" plugin combining Sampler, Synth, and multi-sampled instruments with The Lab chord detection from audio or MIDI files, hundreds of chord progressions, the Blob macro control, and 6 signature factory packs. Sold as a one-time perpetual license (regular $79, intro $29).
• SubLab XL Pack Bundle Bundle of 13 expansion packs for SubLab XL containing 200 subs and 808s, including all future XL packs added for free. Sold as a one-time bundle at $25.
• SubLab Pack Bundle Bundle of all available expansion packs for the original SubLab at a special bundle price.
• SubLab XL Sound & Expansion Packs Collection of individual expansion packs for SubLab XL including signature artist packs (Richie Souf, Sean Divine, Machinedrum, Mr. Bill, DECAP, Drew Adieu), genre packs (Drill Subs, Future 808s, Hits DNA series, Crushed), and City Sounds packs (Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami), priced individually $10–$45. Each pack supplies presets and samples tailored to a specific producer, genre, or regional sound.
• Educational Books on Synthesis Set of educational books on synthesis and sound design including "Welsh's Synthesizer Cookbook" (universal patch recipes and reverse-engineering techniques), "Power Tools for Synthesizer Programming", "Creating Sounds from Scratch" (covering subtractive, FM, additive, physical modeling, wavetable, sample-based, and granular synthesis), and "The Synthesizer" (history and evolution of the instrument). Priced $25–$35 each.

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

AI capability2 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Native InstrumentscoreTechnology or IntegrationFAW's expansion packs are NKS-ready for Maschine and Komplete Kontrol, providing seamless integration for Native Instruments hardware and software users.
• XL RecordingsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFAW founders are producers and artists themselves who have released music with XL Recordings, one of the most influential independent record labels.
• E-BeamzminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFAW founders have released music with E-Beamz record label, demonstrating their dual role as both software creators and active music producers.
• Tectonic RecordingsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFAW founders have released music with Tectonic Recordings, the label founded by DJ Hazard, expanding their reach in the drum and bass/dubstep scene.
• Berlin Synthesizer MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFAW recorded rare vintage analog synthesizers at the Berlin Synthesizer Museum, including Roland Jupiter-8, Moog Minimoog, and Sequential Prophet-10, for use in their multi-sampled instruments.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Xfer Records: Developer of Serum, the dominant wavetable synthesizer plugin, and LFO Tool. Operates in the same VST/AU/AAX virtual-instrument category as FAW with a similar indie, producer-driven DNA and cult-status product.
• Spectrasonics: Independent developer of flagship virtual instruments (Omnisphere, Keyscape, Trilian). Closely comparable business model: indie, top-of-market pricing, deep sample libraries, and heavy use by the same A-list producers that anchor FAW's customer list.
• u-he: Berlin-based indie developer of synthesis plugins (Hive, Repro, Diva, Zebra) sold on a one-time license basis. Shares FAW's indie, Berlin-rooted identity, similar product-led/forum-driven community approach, and producer-focused plugin catalog.
• Output: Modern plugin and instrument maker (Arc, Exhale, Signal, Arcade) targeting the contemporary producer and trailer/film composer crowd. Comparable as a design-forward indie competitor chasing the same horizontal DAW user base with creative, preset-driven instruments.
• Spitfire Audio: UK-based developer of sampled instruments and libraries (Spitfire Symphonic Strings, LABS). Comparable through a multi-sampled, content-led approach — Spitfire's LABS free-tier model is a structural parallel to FAW's free Circle² download gating for email capture.
• EastWest Sounds: Long-running developer of sampled virtual instruments (PLAY, Hollywood Orchestra, Fab Four). Comparable premium positioning, content-heavy instruments, and a producer/studio customer base that overlaps with FAW's sound-designer segment.
• KV331 Audio: Developer of SynthMaster, a versatile wavetable/subtractive synth plugin. Comparable indie developer with a one-time-license pricing model and breadth across synth engine types, overlapping FAW's synthesizer segment.

Broad incumbents

• Arturia: Established maker of software emulations of classic synths (Pigments, V Collection) and hardware controllers. FAW has even coded algorithms for Arturia, signaling direct overlap on synth R&D and a shared customer base of producers and synth enthusiasts.
• Native Instruments: Owner of Komplete Kontrol, Maschine, and the broader Komplete ecosystem that FAW is NKS-integrated with. Comparable because both serve producers with deep content libraries, instruments, and effects, even though NI operates at vastly larger scale.

Emerging players

• Kilohearts: Maker of the Kilohearts Essentials + Phase Plant plugin ecosystem, which targets producers wanting modular sound-design workflows. Comparable as an emerging indie plugin ecosystem, though Kilohearts leans more modular/utility than FAW's chord/808 vertical focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/FutureAudioWorkshop
• Instagraminstagram.com/future_audio_workshop
• TikToktiktok.com/@future_audio_workshop
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/future-audio-workshop

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Future Audio Workshop