Frequently asked questions.

A studio with cool people in Vancouver making sounds, instruments, effects and plugins that aren't already out there. 139 releases so far, numbered SSS001 to SSS137, and one payment gets you all of them. Forever.

Everything we've made and everything we make next, for one payment of $20 CAD. Every release in the catalogue the day you join, every release after it, and our plugins, at no further cost. Not a subscription: nothing renews, nothing expires.

Now and then. Our newsletter subscribers find out first.

No, we make them. If we ever do, we will explicitly say so, but there are no plans for this, and there probably never will be.

Believe it or not, we actually enjoy the process of making this stuff. It's a beautiful obsession.

Sometimes we use tools that help with trimming files, cleaning up file names, organizing files, and analyzing things for quality control. Some of them may qualify as AI, but they are administrative, not generative or creative crutches or replacements.

Canadian dollars (so it's basically free). Your card or PayPal converts at your bank's rate. Sales tax is added at checkout where it applies.

Credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal, through a secure checkout.

Yes. Every release has its own page and its own price. Bought one at a time the whole catalogue comes to $933.08 CAD, which is the whole argument for Subsocial Forever at $20.

As you would expect, digital downloads can't be returned, so digital sales are final. If there's a bug or technical issue we will fix it. If something has gone wrong with an order, write to us before you decide we won't help: we usually can.

Please read the requirements and specifications for each release, or get an idea of what's included in our current catalogue before buying, or contact us and get clarity.

Physical merchandise can be returned unused within 14 days, but you have to pay the return shipping.

All 99 releases in the main catalogue plus the 40-release spatial audio library, every future release, and our plugins (1 so far). Also the members' downloads area and the Subsocial Forever app for macOS and Windows.

Expanding to other formats is in development right now, and so is bringing our existing Ableton packs forward: more formats, and in some cases full VST and AU instruments and effects built from them.

Yes. One payment, a lifetime of downloads. No renewal, no tier, no "Forever Plus".

Sign in and you'll find a coupon worth what you paid for Now, good toward Subsocial Forever.

Your downloads and plugins are yours to keep.

You can still download the latest updates for any plugins you received licenses for during your month of Subsocial Now.

Yes. Members get a licence for every plugin we release, from the members' area or the desktop app.

Your account signs in on one device at a time, on the app or the web: signing in somewhere new signs the last place out.

No. The licence is for one person, and sharing a sign-in gets the account suspended. If a friend wants in, be cool and send them here.

139, and counting. Each has a catalogue number; the newest is SSS137 nasty box. Every release page has a demo you can play before you buy, and most have a video of some sort that shows or demonstrates what's inside.

We're big on WAV samples and loop packs that work in any DAW, the 40-release spatial audio library (field recordings in binaural and Ambisonics), and the multi-sampled WAV recordings inside many of our Ableton sampler based instrument packs.

We've started on other formats too: Logic, FL Studio, Kontakt, Battery, Decent Sampler, MPC, Serum and Vital each have a title so far. 80s hit is a good example of this.

For Ableton users, many releases also come as Live packs, with the sounds built into instruments and racks you can play straight away: a bonus on top of the sounds. The exception for non Ableton users is preset packs for Ableton's own synths and effects, which need a specific version of Ableton Live.

Worth knowing: the WAVs inside an Ableton instrument are usually multisamples, one instrument recorded note by note so it plays across a keyboard. They're happy in Live, or in a sampler you map them into. Many packs also include one-shots you can drop straight into any sampler, drum kit or DAW.

The format tags on each release page say exactly what's inside.

More than it looks, and there's more to come very soon. Our current roadmap is focused on getting all our single format releases into more formats and VST/AU plugin effects and instruments that will work in any DAW. Forever members will always get new formats and releases. You can join now or wait, it's forever either way.

The current state of things:

Every spatial audio library release and every plain one-shot sample or loop pack is WAV and works anywhere.

Kontakt (Full Version - not "Player"), Battery, Decent Sampler (Free), MPC, Logic, FL Studio, Serum and Vital packs will work in those formats in various DAWS or as standalone apps.

Most of the Ableton packs were made from recordings, and they ship those recordings as WAV files in a Samples folder, so you get the sounds in any DAW.

Obviously the Ableton instruments are a "bonus" if you're an Ableton user. The ones to avoid without Ableton are the presets for Ableton's own devices (Drift, Meld, Roar, Wavetable, Operator and friends), where Ableton itself makes the sound. The rule: if the sound was recorded, you get the audio; if an Ableton device makes the sound, you need Ableton.

Each release page says. Live Suite runs all 82 of our Ableton packs, Standard runs 26 of them and Intro runs 18; the rest use Suite-only devices.

Every pack needs Live 11 or later. How many each version runs:
Live 12.3: all 82
Live 12.2: 79
Live 12.1: 74
Live 12: 66
Live 11.3: 57
Live 11: 22

Update to the latest Live either way: we build in the current version usually.

Yes, and soon. Expanding to other formats is in development right now, and so is bringing our existing Ableton packs forward: more formats, and in some cases full VST and AU instruments and effects built from them. Everything we do with the catalogue, old or new, lands in Forever at no extra cost. Whether you join now or later gets you everything we've made and everything we'll make for a one-time payment either way.

Yes. Nasty Box was the first. Plugins we release are included in Forever; members get a licence from their downloads area.

Plugins can be installed and authorized straight from the Subsocial Forever desktop app on up to 3 machines.

40 releases of field recordings and soundscapes (insect at night, a Boeing 737, a tiny elevator, a park in London, a coffee shop in Mexico, a beach in Canada...) in binaural and first order Ambisonics (AmbiX). The binaural files play as stereo anywhere; Ambisonics is for VR, games and spatial/surround/ATMOS immersive music or post productions. It's part of Forever and has its own page. It tends to grow in chunks. More coming in the future.

5 of them, same licence as everything else. Look for the FREE tag in the shop.

96 kHz, 24-bit WAV, mono, stereo or spatial. MIDI files are standard MIDI.

About 57.2 GB unzipped for the whole catalogue; the biggest single release is analog 2587 at 12.3 GB. The app's bulk download and "Unzipped Downloads" handle the download and updates stress free.

Yes. Members see the new version in their downloads area and the app. If it's an important or big update we send an email to members.

In the email after checkout, within a few minutes. The download links for store orders last 30 days and allow a few downloads per release. Missed the window, or need the files again later? Send us your order number and we'll send fresh links.

Sign in at subsocials.com, or use the Subsocial Forever desktop app. Members' links never expire.

Lots of stuff!

Bulk downloads (pick everything, grab a coffee or tea), unzips downloads straight into the folder of your choice, resumes/retries downloads after a dropped connection, and it installs your plugins and authorizes them easily. You can also mange your whole account in the app.

Current version 1.1.1. For macOS 10.15 and later (Apple Silicon and Intel) and Windows 10 and later. Download it from the website's members area.

Download it again: the first copy didn't finish. On Windows, update your unzip app or use 7-Zip (free). Our zips are tested, so a second clean download fixes it almost every time.

Store links allow a few downloads each. Write to us with the order number and we'll reset it.

If you see this in the desktop app, it means your account was flagged for sharing/download abuse.

We suggest a folder named "Subsocial Studios" that never moves, with each release as its own folder inside. This is how releases will download with the desktop app.

Just choose a "Download Folder" that works for you. If you move the "Subsocial Studios" folder to new drive or computer, that's fine - just point the desktop app to it's new location.

Add it to your DAW's browser. Nearly every "it won't load" is a moved file. Each release should be kept intact inside its originally downloaded folder, and you should load things for each release from its original folder. If you do this, everything will work flawlessly. That being said, if you know what you're doing with your files, feel free to do what you like!

Your account was signed in somewhere else at the same time, and it signs in on one device at a time. Totally normal.

You don't need to sign out on the other machine, browser, or app, and you can do it remotely on whatever new browser or device you're signing in on.

Yes. Everything is royalty free for music, sound design, film, games, podcasts, broadcast, live shows, client work, whatever you release. No credit required (we'd love one anyway).

Resell or share the files, or build another sample library, preset pack or instrument from them, free or paid.

Each person needs their own. Write to us about a few seats; we're reasonable.

Yes, the same one.

No. Our content can't be used to train or build generative AI systems or datasets.

Here: the EULA (PDF), dated 9 October 2026. It's two pages and written to be read.

With your email and password, or with Google or Facebook, at subsocials.com. Forgot your password? Reset it from the sign-in page.

Yes, from your account page.

Free, worldwide, by standard mail, so delivery times vary a lot by destination country. Unused merchanise can be returned or exchanged within 14 days of arrival.