The best way to update your music production setup with exciting new virtual instruments and effects is with free VST plugins. There are many available free VST plugins, but which ones are really worthwhile? We selected the most acceptable 13 totally free music-making tools.
Of course, we prefer Output VSTs. But when creating music, it’s crucial to use a wide range of tools. Additionally, there is a tonne of excellent free VST downloads available.
Continue reading if you wish to avoid guesswork and relieve financial pressure. We’ve chosen this list of the top free VST plugins for your studio, which combines old and new. Free is, after all, always the finest offer.
ARCADE by Output
Which free VST tool is our favorite? ARCADE! ARCADE is a sample-based VST that features a vast collection of professionally produced and royalty-free loops and one-hit sounds that you can use immediately. The next time you feel uninspired in the studio, it will spark it.
There are numerous sounds to choose from, including hip-hop, orchestral, rock, EDM, lo-fi, and others. Using the plugin’s built-in sliders and macros, you can flip, chop, and modulate a cool sound after you’ve found it.
Even better, every sample is instantly matched to the key of the track you’re working on. Your brain is freed up to let the creative juices flow and create fascinating things quickly since ARCADE handles a lot of the tedious labor.
Every creation you generate with ARCADE during the 30-day free trial period is yours to keep, even if you decide not to renew.
OTT by Xfer
OTT is an abbreviation for “Over The Top.” It is a multiband compressor that can significantly enhance your mix by bringing out subtle dynamic and transient shifts (when used correctly).
Users of Ableton Live are already familiar with the virtues of OTT because it is a stock plugin.
This plugin was developed by Steve Duda to give the general public a taste of the magic ingredient used by artists ranging from Skrillex to David Guetta.
Wider by Polyverse
For musicians, Infected Mushroom offers a wide range of intriguing instruments. Wider was developed by the psytrance band as an innovative way to improve the stereo field.
This VST’s genius is in the way it skillfully improves any audio stream, whether it be mono or stereo. And it accomplishes this without changing the phase. The sound quality holds up even when the volume is turned up to 200 percent.
CamelCrusher by Camel Audio
If you generate experimental music, utilizing the power of randomization is critical to the creative process.
With just one button, Camel Audio’s CamelCrusher VST lets you combine two distinct distortion sounds to create a broad variety of timbral possibilities.
This plugin is fantastic for adding thickness to an electric guitar. Use it to give a little color to a plain guitar or to crank up the distortion all the way.
Fracture by Glitchmachines
Glitchmachines makes some really cool futuristic tools. With the Fracture VST, you can access a buffer effect with an unusually user-friendly UI to produce unpredictable outcomes and abstract textures.
A bonus glitch-delay processor that produces really strange signal mutations and is well worth exploring is the Glitchmachines Hysteresis VST plugin.
FreqEcho by Valhalla DSP
We like the subtle to strong effects that the FreqEcho delay plugin may produce. Change the pitch of delays or totally detune them.
This frequency shifter/analog echo emulator is described as “skull-melting madness” by Valhalla DSP. That seems reasonable.
Audio Treasure by Max for Cats
A joyful accident is the best thing ever, but it’s also the worst thing if you don’t remember how you made it happen. We became enamored with Max for Cats’ Audio Treasure after producer P. Morris played it during a studio session at Output.
Running on your master track, Audio Treasure continuously records audio into a two-minute buffer. To avoid those wrinkles brought on by tension, save it to disc and import it again into Ableton Live.
Saturation Knob by Softube
In order to give your sounds and kicks more body, Softube’s Saturation Knob dials in well-placed harmonics as an output distortion model. A simple and elegant single-knob interface lets you plug it in and experiment with the parameters to hear what occurs.
This free Softube VST plugin provides a little bit more color than the built-in saturation feature of your typical DAW.
Vocal Doubler by iZotope
iZotope offers a number of free VST plugins. Vocal Doubler, another top-notch freeware from the plugin maker, features iZotope’s amazing and stunning interactive UI.
An easy-to-use tool called Vocal Doubler makes it possible to produce a doubled vocal effect that sounds natural.
It may also be used as an effect on non-vocal sounds and is designed to give vocals a new degree of richness and depth.
Vinyl by iZotope
The Vinyl iZotope VST is an effective lo-fi instrument that recreates the warmth and classic appeal of vintage LPs.
Whether you’re creating little or huge areas of your arrangement, hisses, crackles, and saturation options make it simple to give them a whole different vibe.
