Soundtoys MicroShift stereo widening plug-in: features and spec-based rating

Soundtoys’ MicroShift is a plug-in that recreates a classic studio technique for widening a vocal. You can choose from three ways of widening based on classic gear, and the Focus knob sets the band that gets widened.

A harmony and doubling plug-in makes harmonies from a single vocal, or gives it the thickness of several people singing.

In this article we compare MicroShift with 10 harmony and doubling plug-ins and rate how well it serves its purpose on three criteria. The basis is official manufacturer information.

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Summary

Among the 10 harmony and doubling plug-ins, MicroShift is rank B. The ranks run S, A, B and C, and B is third from the top. Averaging the scores for the three criteria (out of 5) gives 3.0.

Strengths

• Speed (4 points): you can get an effect quickly just by choosing, or from automatic creation.

Things to keep in mind

• Range of effects (2 points): it makes only one or two kinds of effect.

Who it suits: people who want to widen a vocal quickly with simple controls.

Main features of MicroShift

Three widening effects from classic gear

MicroShift widens voices and instruments left and right by combining a slight pitch shift with a delay that changes over time. With one button you can switch among three styles based on the effects of hardware such as the Eventide H3000 and the AMS DMX 15-80S. The manufacturer says it recreates even the distortion and the quirks of how the original connected the sound.

Adjust the character of the width

Delay adjusts the amount of time-varying delay and Detune adjusts the amount of pitch shift. Focus keeps the lows and mids from being widened so the sound does not get blurred.

Little MicroShift is included

When you buy MicroShift you also get Little MicroShift, which has only three buttons and one knob. It is handy when you want to widen a sound quickly.

Video: “Soundtoys MicroShift” (official soundtoys YouTube channel; narration in English) Watch on YouTube

Where it is useful

• Widening backing vocals so they blend into the mix
• Making a lead guitar or synth sound big and wide
• Using Focus to widen only the high band of a vocal, not the lows

Rating by criterion

Range of effects: 2 / 5

We check how many of harmonies, same-pitch voice layering (doubling), choir and stereo width it can make.

It is a product that widens a voice left and right in three ways based on classic gear.

If “range of effects” matters most to you, Harmony Engine (5 points) is a better fit.

Speed: 4 / 5

We check whether you can get an effect quickly, for example by choosing or automatic creation.

You get the effect just by choosing one of three ways of widening with a button (the official page advertises it as “with one button”).

Per-voice adjustment: 3 / 5

We check whether you can make the created voices sound natural (for example by shifting the timing or tone of each voice).

Focus sets the band to widen, and you can adjust the amount of shift and the range of the delay.

How we score (Harmony and doubling plug-ins)

Criterion	Basis	5 pt	4 pt	3 pt	2 pt	1 pt
Range of effects	Which of harmonies, same-pitch voice layering (doubling or choir) and stereo width are officially described	All three	—	Two of the three	One of the three	—
Speed	How quickly you can get an effect (automatic creation, just choosing, presets)	Parts can be created automatically (harmonies that follow the key or chord, or doubling from the original voice)	The effect is decided just by choosing the number or type of voices	Choose from presets	Detailed settings are needed	—
Per-voice adjustment	Features that make the created voices sound natural	Tone, vibrato, pan and more can be changed for each voice	Variation between voices, or per-voice volume and pan, can be adjusted	The tone and wobble of the whole effect can be adjusted	Volume and pan only	—

Each criterion is scored from 1 to 5 on how well the product serves one goal: adding harmonies, thickness and width to a vocal. Scores follow the conditions in the table above. So that products that make harmonies and products that double (layer the same pitch) can be compared by the same standard, there are three criteria: "Range of effects", "Speed" and "Per-voice adjustment". The basis is official manufacturer information. The naturalness of the sound has not been compared by ear, so it is not part of the score. Price is not part of the score. Features that cannot be confirmed from the manufacturer's or a retailer's description are scored as if absent. The "OBS (streaming)" column in the table shows whether the official page lists the VST2 format that the streaming software OBS Studio can use (○). OBS does not support the VST3 format. It is not part of the score.

MicroShift screens and images

MicroShift system requirements and getting started

Operating system	Windows 10 or later / Mac (macOS 10.15 or later). Windows on ARM is not supported
Plug-in formats	VST2, VST3, AU, AAX
Other	An internet connection is needed for activation
Trial	30-day trial available
OBS (streaming)	Works as it is (VST2 is listed)

Checked on the manufacturer’s official pages on September 27, 2026.

Compared with other harmony and doubling plug-ins

Click a heading to sort. On a phone, the table scrolls sideways.

Read next

• Quadravox: features and rating (rank B)
• MicroPitch: features and rating (rank B)
• Harmony Engine: features and rating (rank S)
• Choir: features and rating (rank A)