If you’re starting out with music production, after choosing your DAW, grabbing a bunch of free VST plugins is the next thing you should do.
TAL have done it again, with the U-NO-LX – creating one of the best VST analogue emulations, of an all time classic, the Roland Juno 60. It’s one of the best value for money analogue emulations in 2021, & sounds almost identical to the original thing. Search results showing free VST Plugins for all operating systems (Windows, MacOS, Linux, iOS and Android). The results are sorted by most popular with KVR members (Data from MyKVR 'Favorites' Group). Page 60 of 146.
There are so many free VSTs out there – so we’ve compiled a list of some of the best VST instruments, effects and utilities to use on your next music production project.
NATIVE INSTRUMENTS KOMPLETE START PACKAGE
Native Instruments are one of the biggest names in the music industry and the free Komplete Start package has 8 VST synths, a few effects and 9 sampled instruments. You also get KONTAKT 6 and REAKTOR 6 in the package.
VALHALLA SUPERMASSIVE
Valhalla DSP are known for awesome audio processing tools, and most recently they made their Valhalla Supermassive VST available for free. This is the best free delay / reverb VST you will find.
SPITFIRE LABS
Spitfire LABS is a huge library of sounds and instruments to use that’s available on Mac and Windows PC. The interface is clean and easy to use too. If you’re looking to test out a bunch of free sounds at no cost – this is definitely worth the download.
SOUND MAGIC PIANO ONE
The Yamaha C7 grand piano is an iconic piece that makes some brilliant sounds. The Sound Magic Piano One samples the C7 piano and is available on Mac and Windows PC.
DEXED
A useful FM synth engine that can load all the classic patches from the 80s including the Yamaha DX7 and TX81Z. There’s over 3000 presets to choose from – which is massive.
CABLE GUYS PANCAKE 2
PanCake is a free plugin for most flexible panning modulations.
You can construct your own modulation curves. They can be easily drawn using soft or hard control points, thus producing gentle transitions or sharp bends in the waveform.
VEMBER AUDIO SURGE
A once premium VST that is now available as an open source download. Vember Audio Surge includes over 1000 preset patches, 180 wavetables and plenty of effects for you to play around with.
Since this software is Open Source, it can be modified to your liking and is available on Linux, Mac and Windows PC.
AMPLE SOUND AMPLE BASS P LITE II
If you want a realistic sounding bass guitar in your track, then the free Ample Sound Ample Bass P Lite II should do the trick. It mimics the Fender P Bass and sounds brilliant.
U-HE TYRELL N6
While this virtual analog subtractive synth might feel a bit old-school, it’s got brilliant sound quality for a free synthesizer. Based on a design similar to Roland’s classic Juno 60, this free plugin for Linux, Mac and Windows PC is a great addition for leads, keys, bass and effects.
VCV RACK
This virtual Eurorack modular system is open source and has a variety of modules to choose from. VCV Rack is used as a standalone piece of software – it’s not a plugin for your DAW. However, a third-party plugin called VeeSeeVSTRack makes this possible.
IGNITE AMPS PTEQ-X
This freeware emulation software mimics the legendary Pultec EQP-1A tube EQ. From my experience, it sounds warm and just like the Pultec EQ.
GLITCHMACHINES HYSTERESIS
Hysteresis is a free glitch delay geared toward creating robotic artifacts and musical malfunctions. It’s a versatile effects processor geared toward electronic music production and sound designers.
Process anything from drums to synths, guitars, vocals and sound effects. On top of being able to create contorted signal mutations, it can also be tamed to generate classic delay effects.
TAL-CHORUS-LX
TAL-Chorus-LX is a 1:1 standalone version of the chorus implemented in TAL-U-NO-LX. It has the same characteristics of the Juno-60 chorus, with 2 different modes, dry / wet control and a volume knob.
The magic of software virtual instruments ! Recreating known piece of hardware, emulating famous synth, trying to capture the spirit of a machine, attempting to copy the sound and feeling of an instrument!
Here’s a compilation of all the articles about free VST plugins that try to emulate the most famous synths, plus links to the freeware plugins that are the only one to recreate a kind of machine (they didn’t get an article). Below is a list of best free VST emulations.
Here you can find free virtual alternatives to the classic analog synths :
MiniMoog, Arp 2600, Arp Odyssey, Synthi VCS3, Obeirheim OB-X
There are also your favorite FM / Vector Synthesis / “digital” synths :
Yamaha DX7, Prophet VS, PPG Wave, Ensoniq SQ80
The usual techno/trance suspects are here too :
Roland TB303, Alpha Juno, Juno 60, JP-8000, Korg Mono / Poly, Clavia Nord Lead 2
We did not forgot the Jazzy/Funky/Rock famous instruments :
Fender Rhodes electric piano, Hammond B3 organ, Farfisa combo organ, Hohner Clavinet, Wurlitzer E-piano, Mellotron & Arp Solina.
And even the antic Theremin + some funky toys : Speak and Spell & Stylophone.
This is work in progress, i’ll add free VSTi plugin if we find some new free recreation of well known synthesizers.
All the VSTi in this list are freeware.
Here we go :
1. Minimoog
2. ARP 2600
3. ARP Odyssey
4. VCS3 Synthi AKS
5. Oberheim OB-X / OB-Xa / OB-8
6. Roland TB 303
7. Roland Alpha Juno
8. Roland JP-8000
9. Roland Juno 60 / Juno 106 / Juno 6
10. Korg Mono / Poly
http://www.fullbucket.de/music/monofury.html
11. Yamaha DX7
12. Prophet VS
13. Ensoniq SQ80
14. Waldorf PPG Wave
15. Rhodes MK2 electric piano
16. Wurlitzer electric piano
17. Hammond B3 tonewheel organ
18. Farfisa electric combo organ
19. Clavinet D6
20. Mellotron
21. ARP Solina string ensemble
22. Theremin
The 60 Best Free Vst Plug-ins Ever Made
23. Speak and Spell toy
24. Dubreq Stylophone
25. Linndrum LM-1
26. Electronic Dream Plant (EDP) Wasp
27. Clavia Nord Lead 2
http://www.geocities.jp/daichi1969/softsynth/ + check my preset banks for Synth1 !