Looking for good sounding free bass guitar VST instruments, AU plugins and sample libraries? You’ve come to the right pace! Check out our selection here:
On Samara Cycle Audio, you can find a big collection of free VST instruments and effect plugins. One of them is Om Bass 2, a much-improved successor of the original Om Bass. This VST plugin is a fun one.
4Front Bass
Format: VST, AU, RTAS, 32 bit + 64 bit
OS: Windows, Mac
Audio Example:
You’re looking for a simple bass plugin without any need for constant tone tweaking? Then 4Front Bass by George Yohng will be your best bet. I think it’s the first plugin I’ve ever come across that claims so unapologetically “This plugin has no settings”. And truly, it doesn’t need them. 4Front Bass is one of the most popular bass guitar plugins I’ve come across, and it’s simply because of its very useable tone.
Samsara Cycle Audio Om Bass 2
Format: VST, 32 bit
OS: Windows
Audio examples:
On Samara Cycle Audio, you can find a big collection of free VST instruments and effect plugins. One of them is Om Bass 2, a much-improved successor of the original Om Bass. This VST plugin is a fun one: With 128 presets to try and a ton of settings, you can shape your bass tone to your liking.
The bassoffers eight different styles (finger, generic, muted, pick, slap, sub, wah,pop) that differ greatly in tone. The “tone” knob will shift the sound moretowards a more full-bodied bass sound when you turn it to the left or a morebiting sound with present mids when you turn it to the right. You can then useenvelope shaper, EQ, delay, tremolo and distortion to adjust the details.
I found Om Bass 2 more realistic in the more “subby” tones. The more guitar-like tones are more on the synthetic side. Depending on your project, that may or may not be a good thing.
Ample Bass P II Lite
Format: Standalone, VST2, AU, RTAS, AAX (32 bit + 64 bit)
OS: Windows + Mac
Audio examples:
Ample Sound is known for its many guitar and bass sample libraries. What makes their products interesting for many users is that they don’t require Kontakt like many other sample libraries do. Instead, Ample Sound products come with their own player and can be embedded via VST, AU, RTAS and AAX or even played as standalone.
Best Free Bass Vst Plugin
With AmpleBass P Lite II, the company has released a free lite version of its Ample BassP II, a sampled Fender Precision Bass. The free version comes with fewersamples, a reduced sample depth and a lower range of playable notes (instead ofB0 – F4, the lite version can only do D1-F4). What’s also missing arealternative articulations such as legato slides, palm mutes, slap, tap, staccatoand natural harmonic.
But let’stalk about what Ample Bass does haveto offer: 443 samples at 16 bit / 44.1 khZ, sustain, hammer on and pull off andaccent articulations are included in this free bass guitar plugin. It alsocomes with different velocity layers (and separate sample cycles for each one),an auto buzz system, poly legato and a capo feature. For a more realisticsound, you can turn up the fingering noise.
All these features make Ample Bass P Lite II not only one of the most realistic virtual bass instruments on the market, but also a dynamic and interesting instrument.
Get Ample Bass P Lite II on the Ample Sound website.
Free DirectBass 2.0
Format: Kontakt 3 and higher (full version of Kontakt is required!)
Audio examples:
Pettinhouse is a project by Andrea Pettinao. On his site, he not only offers about a dozen guitar, bass and drum sample libraries, he has also released free versions of many of his products. This Free DirectBass 2.0 is taken from his DirectBass 2.0 library and recreates a Yamaha TRB 5 string bass guitar. Like other Pettinhouse libraries, the realism of this free instrument is noteworthy, especially because this library is really simple to use. As this bass guitar was recorded directly (un-amped), it makes sense to process it with an amp simulator (I used Guitar Rig for the audio examples).
Autodafe Acoustic Bass
Format: Kontakt 5 and higher (full version of Kontakt is required!)
Audio examples:
This Acoustic Bass Kontakt library is a little different from other bass guitars on this list because it is, as the name implies, sampled from an acoustic bass (not an electric one). The library contains three instruments: acoustic bass, muted bass and picked bass. With each of these instruments, you have the option to adjust the ADSR envelope. If you’re looking for a more acoustic type of feel, this might be an interesting library to check out.
CoreBass Cherry Slides
Format: Kontakt 4 and higher (full version of Kontakt is required!)
Audio example:
So you’ve found a good bass library, but need some extra sound effects to make it sound more realistic or interesting? Then here’s a free bonus library: CoreBass Cherry Slides. 45 slides, no regrets.
Get Cherry Slides from Orange Tree Samples.
Alternatives
Didn’t findwhat you were looking for? Maybe one of the following bass plugins andlibraries is more to your liking:
Samsara Cycle Audio FabBass (VST / Windows / 32 bit)
Project16 Fingered Bass (VST, AU / Windows + Mac / 32 bit + 64 bit)
SpearGear: Raspier (VST / Windows / 32 bit)
VB-1 (VST / Windows + Mac / 32 bit + 64 bit)
Chronos (Kontakt 5+)
FS Ibanez Electric Bass Guitar (SFZ)
FS Washburn Acoustic Bass Guitar (SFZ)
Over toyou…
Good Free Bass Vst
Do you happento know some other cool bass plugin or library? Let us know in the comments!
There is no doubt in my mind that bass, whilst often overlooked, is fundamentally one of the most important elements in music. The sheer power that comes from a strong low end, combined with the driving rhythm that it offers is why music makes you want to move. For this, you need a good bass VST. I challenge you to find a song that, with the bass completely removed, still comes across as a convincing and energetic piece of music. Seriously, drop a comment below as I’d love to hear it work!Bass is important and is often difficult to replicate in a convincing fashion when it comes to VSTs. Today’s article aims to guide you through a few of the many options that are out there. We will look into price range as well as quality whilst also assessing the various types of sounds you might want to have in your arsenal. For a long time, I stuck with the opinion that bass always had to come from a bass guitar, not a bass VST. Let me tell you, the more options you’ve got when it comes to making music, the better your music will be.The Best Free Bass VST
Before I delve into some of the more pricey and intricate products available, it only seems fair that I offer you my best suggestion for freeware. 4Front Bass is what I believe to be the best free VST for bass available today. A combination of sampling and modelling, this bass VST offers what it says on the box. It might not be the most convincing of sounds and the plugin itself has literally no adjustable parameters. However, getting a relatively convincing bass sound from such a simple plugin is really amazing. If your current setup is lacking a real bass guitar sound, you absolutely want to grab this. At the end of the day, it’ll always be useful as a writing tool even if you move onto something else later on.The Best Synth Bass VST
Now we move onto some of the best bass VST plugins you can get your hands on. I want to start with the synths and look at three different options, each offering something unique. Hopefully, this wide range of choice will appeal to every reader!Dope Kitz Substation
Did somebody say 808 basses? If you’re in need of some speaker shaking 808s to shake things up then look no further than the Dope Kitz Substation. Coming in at a modest $49.99, this simple yet powerful bass VST is going to bring some serious power and rhythm to your music. With a variety of plugin preset tone types, each with adjustable volume, glide and ADSR, this powerhouse bass VST is a one-stop shop for all your 808 bass needs. My favourite thing about this plugin is that it gives you more control. With normal 808 bass samples, you’re pretty much stuck with what you get. Spending too long scrolling through 808 samples is boring and messy. With Substation, you can start with a tone that fits your track and then mould the shape into something that blends perfectly with your track.Native Instruments Monark
So maybe 808s aren’t your thing. Perhaps you’re more interested in a strong, retro analog mono synth sound that you can manipulate to your heart’s content? Enter Monark.Sub Bass Vst Free
This iconic mono synth embodies raw power. Three adjustable oscillators with a dedicated filtering and amplification section, Monark captures the organic sound of analogue synths with ease. Whether you’re making dirty hip-hop, dancefloor filling house music or chart-topping, Daft Punk inspired pop-funk, Monark has you covered. You can seriously tinker with this thing for hours on end, building complex monophonic tones of epic proportions. At only around $115, it’s well worth the purchase.Native Instruments Massive
Hands down one of my favourite synths of all time, Massiveis not only the best bass VST but it’s genuinely one of the best VSTs for anything synth related. This marvellously complex polyphonic synth plugin is crammed with so many controls and variations, you could make a sound a day every year for the rest of your life without repeating your ideas. In fact, Massive is so meticulously designed that it’s actually possible to create evolving synth patches that never repeat themselves. For any of you who like to experiment, you could have some serious fun with this.Used by professional producers and engineers the world over, Massive truly is remarkable. You’re offered so many wave tones, each that can be processed and adjusted through their own oscillator. On top of this, you’ve got various filter types, effects, macro controls, voicing and sequencing controls which can all be used to affect each other. If you’ve ever seen those giant walls of modular synths that look insanely complex, this is basically a compact VST version. At only around $160, this could be the number one thing I recommend anyone invests in.The Best VSTi Bass Libraries
So maybe you’re not a huge fan of synthesisers? Perhaps you want to keep things real and you’re looking for a way to get a true bass guitar tone without needing to learn to play one? This next list of my favourite Bass VSTi libraries will help you out there.