Where To Get Free Vst Plugins

  1. Finding some decent Virtual Studio Technology (VST) plugins can be a tricky beast especially when there are tons of lists to choose from. But fret not for your dilemmas have come to an end! We dug deep into the Internet maze to handpick the best free VST plugins on the market right now.
  2. If you want to get this free suite of plugins you need to go to Native Instruments website and register an account, then download the Native Access license manager. Link: Komplete Start. FRONTIER – Free Limiter VST Plugin. Frontier is a free self-adaptive versatile limiter VST, AU plugin for Windows and MAC. Frontier is a great audio tool for.
  1. Where To Get Free Vst Plug-ins
  2. Free Vst Plugins For Windows 10

Free VST Plugin Websites 1. VST Planet – This site offers VST instruments synthesizers, drums, piano, bass synths, and organ.

Article Content

It’s the end of the month, and your bank account is empty…

…again.

Oops.

And as much as you might feel like buying that new Waves plugin…

(You’ve had your eye on it for months, right?)

It’s probably not a good idea.

But if you’re still looking to expand your plugin library, don’t worry.

Sometimes, the best things in life are free…

Where To Get Free Vst Plugins

Here are 7 of my favorite free plugins. Each of them offers something new and unique (no boring EQs or compressors). Download them all to extend your sonic palette and ultimately, craft better-sounding tracks.

And if you’re looking to dive deeper, I also put together a list of five plugins I use on every mix. If you’re wondering which plugins I recommend, download the list below to make sure you’ve got my top tools for the job.

1. iZotope Neutrino

Neutrino is the baby brother of Neutron—iZotope’s newest channel-strip plugin. While Neutron has a number of innovative features, Neutrino spins off the best of them.

Neutrino tames undesirable resonances caused by poor room acoustics, cheap gear, and heavy-handed processing. iZotope calls the effect “spectral shaping,” and it can sound similar to gentle, low-ratio multiband compression. This can make tracks sound smoother and more polished—like sanding the rough edges off a freshly cut piece of wood. I find Neutrino particularly useful on electric guitar tracks, which often have lots of harsh resonances.

2. Voxengo SPAN

People say “don’t mix with your eyes.”

Meh.

Plug-ins

The truth?

Tools that provide visual feedback, when used properly, can help you make better mixing decisions.

A spectrum analyzer is one of these tools. It plots the frequencies of sounds out on a graph, which allows you to “see” what tracks are comprised of.

SPAN is my favorite spectrum analyzer. You can control the ballistics and response of its graph, which makes it flexible enough for a wide variety of tasks. You can even route multiple tracks into SPAN and compare their frequency content.

(P.S. Voxengo has a few other free VST plugins. They’re worth checking out too, but SPAN is my favorite.)

3. Brainworx bx_solo

Bx_solo is a no-frills, stereo-imaging plugin. While it’s the least sexy of this bunch, it can still be pretty useful.

I like to add bx_solo to my mix bus. While I rarely push the stereo width past 100%, collapsing it to zero is an easy way to check for mono compatibility. The mid and side solo buttons are also useful. It’s great to have this one around—you never know when you might need it!

4. HOFA 4U Project Time

Mixing is a race against time.

The more time you spend on a mix, the more attached you become to what it sounds like. This makes it progressively harder to make good mixing decisions. Given enough time, even the worst mix will start to sound decent.

This is one reason I recommend mixing quickly and impulsively. You’ll get to the finish line faster, retain more objectivity, and ultimately, craft better mixes.

The first step towards more efficient mixing is to track how much time you spend doing it. Without this information, it’s easy to get lost in a black hole of endless tweaking.

Project Time makes this easy. Add it to a track, and it will start counting. The timer automatically stops when you close the session, and starts when you open it up again.

Keep an eye on Project Time, and you’ll train yourself to mix faster and more efficiently. It’s also an invaluable tool if you bill by the hour!

5. MeldaProduction MFreeFXBundle

MeldaProduction makes some great plugins. They’ve earned the praise of many notable engineers, including mastering guru Ian Shepard.

The MFreeFXBundle contains 30 free VST plugins. They range from workhorse tools like a compressor and EQ, to less common effects like a ring modulator, flanger, and oscilloscope.

If you’re looking to fill some holes in your plugin library, this is a great place to start.

6. Flux BitterSweet

BitterSweet is among the best transient shapers out there. It can produce results on par with studio mainstays like SPL’s Transient Designer and Waves’ Trans-X.

This simple plugin can achieve a wide variety of effects. Turn the knob to the right to add punch to drums, enhance the pluck of an acoustic guitar, or boost the consonants in a vocal performance. Turn the knob to the left to soften tracks and push them back in the soundstage.

7. iZotope Vinyl

Where To Get Free Vst Plug-ins

Sometimes a little crackle is a good thing.

Vinyl will make tracks sound like they’re being played on a turntable. You can vary the intensity of the effect by controlling the volume of different types of noise, the degree of wear and tear, and the decade your sound is from. The results range from subtle filtering to Edison phonograph.

This plugin is great for special effects, like filtering down a vocal or making an intro sound tiny.

Moving Beyond Free Plugins: My Favorite Plugins

I hope these 7 free plugins help you craft tracks that sound fresh and unique.

If you’re looking to dive deeper, I also put together a list of 5 plugins I use on every mix. If you’re wondering which plugins I recommend, download the list below to make sure you’ve got my top tools for the job.

Before you go—what’s your favorite free VST plugin? Share your pick in the comment section below.

Bonus: 3 More Free Plugins for Mixing

3 Free Plugins I Use in Every Mix

It’s the end of the month, and your bank account is empty… …again. Oops. And as much as you might feel like buying that new Waves plugin… (You’ve had your eye on it for months, right?) It’s probably not a good idea. But if you're still looking to expand your plugin library, don't worry. Sometimes,

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Get producing music straight away with free VST plug-ins and samples in KOMPLETE START, taken from our leading production suite, KOMPLETE. Get REAKTOR PLAYER, KONTAKT PLAYER, KOMPLETE KONTROL, free effects VST plug-ins, free synth plug-ins, and sampled instruments to use in your own productions, as much as you want.
Download over 2,000 sounds and more than 6 GB of content – drums and percussion, basses, acoustic instruments, synths, pads and atmospheres, and more – plus VST plug-in instruments, effects, and other free resources for music production.
FREE DOWNLOAD

SYNTHS

A selection of VST synths, complete with 500+ professionally-designed presets for any genre.

SAMPLED INSTRUMENTS

Nine pro-grade sample-based VST instruments – vintage synths, acoustic instruments, drums, and more.

EFFECTS

A tube compressor and 13 versatile effects, great for guitars, drums, vocals, synths, or anything you like.

KOMPLETE KONTROL

Find, play, and tweak all your sounds, instruments and effects from one powerful plug-in.

SAMPLES

Almost 1,500 loops and samples from our popular Expansions range, suitable for use in any DAW.

Free Vst Plugins For Windows 10

KONTAKT PLAYER

A sample player that runs all NI KONTAKT instruments, and hundreds of instruments from other companies.

REAKTOR PLAYER

A powerful platform that runs all REAKTOR-based synths and effects from NI and other creators.

HOW TO USE VST PLUGINS

VST plugins are virtual instruments and effects that you can use in productions. They can recreate classic synth designs, or represent completely new ways of making sound. VST plugins are easy to use; download them, install, and your DAW will pick them up and let you use them in the workstation. From classic instruments to experimental indie gems, there’s a huge world of both paid and free VST plugins to choose from. Native has spent decades creating and developing some of the world’s leading VST plugins with REAKTOR, KONTAKT, KOMPLETE KONTROL, and loads more.

HOW TO USE VST PLUGINS FOR SYNTH SOUNDS

VST plugins can be used in a wide variety of ways to create synth sounds for songwriting and production. Almost any instrument can be turned into a VST plugin, and more often than not, when you need a certain kind of sound there’s a VST plugin for it. There are several varieties of VST plugins for synth sounds that are worth noting. Polyphonic VST plugins create more than one note at a time, so are great for building complex melodies, chords, and harmonies, while monophonic VST plugins play one note at a time and are commonly used for basslines. Some VST plugins strictly model themselves on reproducing sounds you would expect from analogue instruments, but others go way beyond that. Wavetable VST plugins like MASSIVE and MASSIVE X tend to focus on helping producers create something unusual and completely different to traditional instruments, and can be more useful for experimental productions than other VST plugins.

HOW TO USE MULTIPLE VST PLUGINS

Trying things out and exploring new territory is hugely important when trying to craft something unique, and using multiple VST plugins will give you a wide range of instruments and sounds to work with. Chaining multiple VST plugins together sis a typical way to start crafting a sound you can call your own. Feeding one VST plugin instrument into a VST plugin effect will alter them even further. This is also common with digital production as lots of recording tools come in VST plugin form – there’s no issue with running multiple VSTs at once – simply load them in and start playing. Native offers over 2,000 free sounds and more than 6 GB of free VST plugin content with KOMPLETE START, so if you’re looking for some inspiration it’s a great way to get started.

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Please see the Native Access system requirements.

ALREADY HAVE AN ACCOUNT?

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INSTALLATION GUIDE FOR NEW CUSTOMERS

1: Create a Native Instruments account using Native Access
2: Your KOMPLETE START products might take a moment to appear – press the refresh button if necessary. Install all included products by clicking ‘Install All’ in the ‘Not Installed’ tab in Native Access.
3: Launch KOMPLETE KONTROL. Important: Run it in standalone mode before using it in your DAW. This allows it to scan and organize all your sounds.