Building a great kick from scratch is one of those jobs that sounds simple and almost never is. You stack a sub, a click and a bit of body, then spend twenty minutes fighting phase, level and tone until the whole thing either slaps or turns to mud. For years, plenty of producers reached for one plugin to make that process actually enjoyable instead of a chore.
Now it's back, and considerably deeper. PunchBox 2 is the long-awaited sequel to D16 Group's cult kick-drum designer, and the Polish developer has resisted the urge to sand off the character that made the original a studio staple — while quietly turning it into something close to a full bass-and-kick synth.
Let's dive into what makes this a genuine upgrade rather than a fresh coat of paint.
A Familiar Engine With a New Heart
The core architecture you already know is intact. You still get three sample-based layers — once labelled "click", "tops" and "tools", now simply numbered 1–3 so you decide what each one does — feeding a dedicated Kick generator. That generator still serves up the classic 606, 808, 909 and sample modes, but it now adds a brand-new Wavetable engine with a position control (and a knob that cheekily nods to the Waldorf Microwave). The payoff is an instantly broader palette: the same fast, fun workflow you remember, with a stack of modern tones the original simply couldn't reach.
The Advanced Editor That Earns the "2"
If one feature justifies the version bump, it's the new Advanced mode. Every layer, the kick generator and the master bus now get multi-segment pitch and amplitude envelopes, complete with proper drawing tools, a menu of ready-made shapes and live visual feedback as you sculpt. That turns PunchBox from a kick machine into a playground for rumbles, melodic sub-bass and tuned percussion — sounds you'd normally bounce out to two or three other plugins to create. It's deep, but it stays immediate: you still land a satisfying result in seconds rather than getting lost in menus.
Routing, Effects and a Cheeky Back Panel
The effects chain has had a thorough refresh, the drag-and-drop module ordering returns, and a new Patchbay Config pop-up finally lets you see and reshape your internal signal flow. The real talking point, though, is the skeuomorphic "back panel": flip the unit around, Reason-style, and you can route individual layers, the kick generator and the master to separate outputs in supported hosts. It's gloriously over-engineered for a kick plugin — and genuinely useful when you want to mix or process each element on its own channel.
What You Get Under the Hood
- New Wavetable kick engine: joins the 606, 808, 909 and sample modes, with position, phase and low/high-cut controls plus a load of fresh content for more modern kicks.
- Advanced multi-segment envelopes: draw your own pitch and amp curves per layer, kick and master — ideal for rumbles and melodic bass, not just kicks.
- Refreshed effects modules: the filter now comes in resonant and SH-101 flavours, the EQ in modern and vintage variants, and distortion modes are finally labelled with visual graphs instead of mystery numbers.
- New Patchbay routing: a Patchbay Config pop-up visualises your signal flow and opens up new internal routing choices.
- Smarter output strip: readable LED metering, a mono-bass generator and a built-in pitch detector so you know exactly what note your kick is hitting.
- Multi-output "back panel": route separate layers and the kick generator to different outputs in supported hosts, with trims and meters.
- Expanded export and browser: batch-export with pitch, normalisation, duration and a target folder, plus a new tag-filtered preset browser.
- Formats and compatibility: Mac and Windows, in VST2, VST3, AU and AAX (32-bit is still supported on Windows) — so it drops straight into Ableton Live, Logic, Pro Tools, Reason or your DAW of choice.
- Price (USD): an introductory $89 (around €79) runs until 25 July 2026, rising to $109 after, with friendly upgrade deals for PunchBox 1 owners and a full-feature demo available. Australian pricing isn't confirmed yet — check with Koala Audio for local AUD pricing.
Whether you're carving brutal techno kicks for an abandoned warehouse or just want a sub that sits properly under your mix, PunchBox 2 looks like one of the most complete kick-design tools going — and a sneaky-good bass synth in disguise.
Want to add it to your arsenal? Shop D16 at Koala Audio for local pricing and availability.
What do you think — is PunchBox 2 the ultimate kick plugin? Let us know in the comments below!
