Virtual Instruments and FX
Hi everyone! I would like to collate another list for our Resources section, this time on virtual instruments, and audio FX plugins that can be added into DAWs.
There are potentially '000s of these so I'd like to focus on free items, as I think this would be most helpful to new members, and items that you have specifically used yourself and would recommend.
But if there is a paid item that you think is essential then that's ok too.
If you'd like to contribute to this thread, please post the name of the plugin/vst/instrument, a brief description of what it is/does, whether it is free/paid, and a link to how to obtain it. So for example:
Piano 1, Emulation of Yamaha C7 Grand Piano, https://neovst.com/piano-one/ free
Some plugins are only available via prerequisite libraries such as Kontakt, so if there is a prerequisite please mention that as well.
And afterwards I'll collate the list and try to put it into useful categories like "Pianos" so people can quickly find something they are looking to use.
Comments
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Sorry for being so late chiming in on what could be a really useful resource. Okay, here goes in no particular order:
MT Drums. https://www.powerdrumkit.com/ A basic but very useable free vsti drum program.
https://www.kvraudio.com/ An excellent site with info about just about everything both free and paid for.
https://freevsts.com/ As the name suggests...free vst's. Another great site, definitely worth a visit.
https://bedroomproducersblog.com/free-vst-plugins/ More of the same.
https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/bundles/komplete-start/ Okay, they're trying to reel you with some cut-down goodies, but definitely worth checking out.
Ample Bass Lite. https://www.pluginboutique.com/product/1-Instruments/64-Virtual-Instrument/4386-Ample-Bass-P-Lite-II Virtual bass guitar. There's other free stuff on the site too.
https://labs.spitfireaudio.com/ Huge library of free stuff...Some paid for too I think.
https://blog.landr.com/best-free-vst-plugins/ Another excellent site for free vst's and instruments.
https://asb2m10.github.io/dexed/ Anyone old enough to remember the legendary Yamaha DX7 Synth will be well pleased with this excellent freebie.
https://stevenslatedrums.com/ssd5/ A cut-down free version of Steven Slate Drums 5.5. Designed to persuade you to buy the full program, but very useful as it is.
Reaper. https://www.reaper.fm/ Okay it isn't a vst, but I had to mention it. It's a huge DAW (digital audio workstation). It's free to use for 60 days and then a full individual licence costs just 60 US Dollars which is amazing value for what you get. If I wasn't a long-time Cubase user I'd have no hesitation. It works on Mac, Windows and will even run on Linux.
A few ideas to be going on with.
Chris😀
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Thanks Chris! Now I have to get off my butt and add mine!! ;)
I've set up a spreadsheet for these, and put a link in a new post in the Resources section.
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@RainyDayMan -- Good thread, Owen. Last year, I purchased a couple of new virtual instruments from Ample Guitar. One is 'Ample Guitar LP' which is an electric guitar VST3. The other is 'Ample Metal Eclipse'. Ample also has some free guitar and electric guitar VST3s.
I am finally experimenting with the 'Ample Guitar LP' in my new song, and I may also use the 'Ample Metal Eclipse' in it for some fills. I'm also considering the powerdrumkit that Chris mentioned in order to produce better drum fills. It takes a long time to program those in Mixcraft Pro Studio 10, so hopefully powerdrumkit speeds up that process a little.
I have also used the freebies from Native Instruments, which Chris also linked to. The bottom line is that there are tons of free virtual instrument VSTs and VST3s out there, but obviously there are better ones for a fee. I'm not endorsing or recommending Ample. There may be virtual guitars (acoustic, electric, metal, and bass) that are better.
Cheers,
Joseph
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@ChrisPrice I love the MT-PowerDrumKit2 you referenced. Thanks for posting that! I downloaded it and I'm using it in my new song with great results! The plugin interface has a very low learning curve, it's intuitive, and it's easy to use in Mixcraft 10 Studio Pro. I wish it offered the option of delaying/applying the fills on the downbeat. I'll ask the developers if they can add that feature. 😁
Cheers,
Joseph
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Joseph, this thread is already serving its purpose if it's helped you find a better tool! Thanks for contributing to it!
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Hi Joseph,
Yes, it's a great free drum vsti. With a bit of perseverance, you might find a way of achieving your desired drum fills within Mixcraft. Does it have any kind of built in drum editor? Sorry, I'm not familiar with that DAW so it may not be possible. Do let us know how you get on.😀
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Its a good list , Well session players all live musicians. no machines . Dinosaur Elvis I guess , like Taylor Swift with out the millions. Which by the way she's the same age as my wife , if you don't think that's funny , you got a problem
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Hi Chris. Yes, Mixcraft 10 Pro Studio does have multiple drum kits and a drum builder/editor, which I've used for years, but the prowerdrumkits VST3 you posted expedites the process for fills, while still allowing me to tweak the hits of each drum section at the note level to ensure the drums match what I have written in my head.
@ElvisNash No doubt the studio session players you have access to are better. You have a great sound. I would love to take all of my demos into a studio with an engineer and record those with real studio musicians. Maybe someday! 😀
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Like Taylor Swift ? and about every major on the planet ? . Well I could use adult supervision on Nashviile follies . I got a virtual assistant. She's 32 and that lecture button won't switch off . Asian wifes . Felix Unger .
virtual assistant conversations
You don't understand me ? cuz your not me
Elvis Nash and Miles Davis : quote and unquote .
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I've managed to lift a near full list of free VSTs off my PC. The ToneBoosters and Valhalla are bundled packs.
BassGrinderFree AudioAssault Vst 2 Effect
AmTremolo 64 Adam Monroe Music Vst 2 Effect
SoftAmp FM25 AXP Vst 2 Amp
BBC Symphony Orchestra Spitfire Audio Vst 2 Synth
BootEQmkIII Variety Of Sound Vst 2 Effect
Combo Model F Martinic Vst 2 Synth
DSK The Grand DSK Music Vst 2 Synth
Celtic Folk Harp Versilian Studio Vst 2 Synth
EW's Harp II CE Versilian Studio Vst 2 Synth
Face Bender Distorque Vst 2 Effect
GSnap GVST Vst 2 Effect
GTune GVST Vst 2 Effect
Iowa Piano bigcat Vst 2 Synth
MarsJFD_v4a3_rev VTarAmps Vst 2 Effect
MT-PowerDrumKitController MANDA AUDIO Vst 3 http://www.powerdrumkit.com
NastyDLAmkII Variety Of Sound Vst 2 Effect
NickCrow_8505_Lead_v1.02_x64 Nick Crow Lab Vst 2 Unknown
Sonatina Violin bigcat Instrumen Vst 2 Synth
ThrillseekerXTCmkII Variety Of Sound Vst 2 Effect
TSE X50 v1.0.2 TSE AUDIO Vst 2 Effect
BassDeluxe1 Lostin70s Vst 3 Fx|Distortion www.lostin70s.com
DC1A3 Klanghelm Vst 3 Fx|Dynamics www.klanghelm.com
Efektor Silencer Kuassa Vst 2 Effect
Ignite - Emissary Controller STL Tones Vst 3 www.stltones.com
IVGI2 Klanghelm Vst 3 Fx|Distortion www.klanghelm.com
NA 808 Nembrini Audio Vst 3 Fx|Distortion www.nembriniaudio.com
NA Clon Minotaur Nembrini Audio Vst 3 Fx|Distortion www.nembriniaudio.com
Ignite - NadIR Controller STL Tones Vst 3 www.stltones.com
TDR Kotelnikov Tokyo Dawn Labs Vst 3 Fx|Mastering https://www.tokyodawn.net/tokyo-dawn-labs/
Tube Saturator Vintage Wave Arts Vst 3 Fx www.wavearts.com
Acon Digital DeVerberate 3 Acon Digital Vst 3 Fx|Restoration https://acondigital.com
iZOzoneImager2 iZotope, Inc. Vst Unknown
Ozone Imager 2 Controller iZotope Vst 3 Fx|Spatial http://www.izotope.com
OrilRiver Denis Tihanov Vst 2 RoomFx
OrilRiverControllers Denis Tihanov Vst 3 http://www.kvraudio.com
ValhallaDelay Valhalla DSP, LLC Vst 3 Fx www.valhalladsp.com
ValhallaFreqEcho Valhalla DSP, LLC Vst 3 Fx|Delay www.valhalladsp.com
ValhallaPlate Valhalla DSP, LLC Vst 3 Fx www.valhalladsp.com
ValhallaRoom Valhalla DSP, LLC Vst 3 Fx|Reverb www.valhalladsp.com
ValhallaShimmer Valhalla DSP, LLC Vst 3 Fx|Reverb www.valhalladsp.com
ValhallaSpaceModulator Valhalla DSP, LLC Vst 3 Fx|Modulation www.valhalladsp.com
ValhallaSupermassive Valhalla DSP, LLC Vst 3 Fx www.valhalladsp.com
ValhallaUberMod Valhalla DSP, LLC Vst 3 Fx www.valhalladsp.com
ValhallaVintageVerb Valhalla DSP, LLC Vst 3 Fx www.valhalladsp.com
TB_Barricade_v3 ToneBoosters Vst 2 Effect
TB_BusCompressor_v3 ToneBoosters Vst 2 Effect
TB_Dither_v3 ToneBoosters Vst 2 Effect
TB_EBUCompact_v3 ToneBoosters Vst 2 Effect
TB_EBULoudness_v3 ToneBoosters Vst 2 Effect
TB_Evoke_v3 ToneBoosters Vst 2 Effect
TB_FlX4_v3 ToneBoosters Vst 2 Effect
TB_FlX_v3 ToneBoosters Vst 2 Effect
TB_Isone_v3 ToneBoosters Vst 2 Effect
TB_ReelBus_v3 ToneBoosters Vst 2 Effect
TB_Sibalance_v3 ToneBoosters Vst 2 Effect
TB_VoicePitcher_v3 ToneBoosters Vst 2 Effect
TB_Broadcast_v3 ToneBoosters Vst 2 Effect
TB_EZQ_v3 ToneBoosters Vst 2 Effect
TB_MidSideTransformer_v3 ToneBoosters Vst 2 Effect
TB_Compressor_v3 ToneBoosters Vst 2 Effect
TB_DeEsser_v3 ToneBoosters Vst 2 Effect
TB_Equalizer_v3 ToneBoosters Vst 2 Effect
TB_Ferox_v3 ToneBoosters Vst 2 Effect
TB_Gate_v3 ToneBoosters Vst 2 Effect
TB_Module_v3 ToneBoosters Vst 2 Effect
TB_Reverb_v3 ToneBoosters Vst 2 Effect
TB_TimeMachine_v3 ToneBoosters Vst 2 Effect
BBC Symphony Orchestra Spitfire Audio Vst 3 Instrument|Synth
BUSTERse AnalogObsession Vst 3 Fx|Dynamics http://www.analogobsession.com
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Thanks for that @Billy_Lunch_Money . That is quite a list!
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Maybe I should have made a spreadsheet like yours, as that list of mine's a bit messy? But it has given an idea for an additional feature for the VST managers app I wrote a few years back.
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@Billy_Lunch_Money Wow! Sorry, I only just spotted this. Indeed that's some list! Thanks, I'll be checking it out.
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