As beginners set foot on the path of music production, they eagerly explore the world of free plugins, with each new find bringing them closer to creating their own distinct sound. On the other hand, experienced experts, driven by an unquenchable thirst for sonic innovation, meticulously sift through a wide range of tools to enhance their extensive music collection. The pursuit of fresh sounds is an ongoing adventure, an endless exploration that captivates both newcomers and professionals.
To kickstart your musical journey, here are the top 10 free plugins you must have:
1. Origins by Cymatics - https://cymatics.fm/products/origin-vintage-plugin
- Origin is a vintage/lofi plugin created to make your samples sound like they’re straight from an old tape machine.
- The main knob is a resampler/bit crusher with two special filters to make your samples sound “underwater” (this effect can often be heard in Drake songs)
- The other four knobs are Tape Saturation, Noise, Movement, and Chorus. Using these 5 powerful controls you can instantly give your samples a vintage vibe.
2. Fresh Air by Slate Digital - https://slatedigital.com/fresh-air/
- Add the smoothest high-end you’ve ever heard without even a hint of harshness. Fresh Air is a dynamic high-frequency processor that breathes new life into your mix with just two knobs.
- Fresh Air combines serious audio processing behind a gorgeous facade. Based on vintage exciter circuits and advanced dynamics processing, Fresh Air lets you add just the right amount of brilliance & shine to your mix in the simple interface you can start using right away. Put it on individual tracks or your entire mix bus— whatever you choose, the results will blow you away.
3. Tal Free Plugins Bundle - https://tal-software.com/products
- The U-NO-60 vst plugin is a polyphonic virtual analog synth with a unique filter sound. An original JUNO 60 is used as a reference for the oscillators and filters.
- Like the original, the plugin is capable of self-resonance and thus could be used to some degree as a tone generator.
- The filter section also features controls for envelope amount and polarity, LFO modulation, and keyboard tracking. In addition, a non-resonant highpass filter is provided to thin out lower frequencies.
Note that: I'm talking about just the Tal U-NO-60 VST instrument because the bundle list is really very long!
4. Supermassive by Valhalla - https://valhalladsp.com/shop/reverb/valhalla-supermassive/
- Valhalla DSP today released ValhallaSupermassive 3.0.0, a major update to the free audio effect that adds two new reverb/delay modes, Leo And Virgo.
- Leo is the biggest, lushest, densest mode in Supermassive, while Virgo is the smallest, grainiest, most spare reverb mode in the plugin.
“I’ve loved working on Supermassive over the past few years,” says developer Sean Costello. “Since Supermassive is a free plugin, I don’t feel the pressure to make things perfect that I do with the paid plugins. With less pressure, I’m able to experiment with new things and try out ideas that might be too weird otherwise. All that being said, the last few rounds of Supermassive research have resulted in algorithms that refine some of the original concepts, and just make them better.”
5. Pitch Drift by Baby Audio - https://babyaud.io/freebies
- Pitch Drift introduces pitch fluctuations to make your tracks feel more organic and natural.
- The effect ranges from subtle instabilities that make your instruments sound less sterile – to intense pitch drifting that will make your tracks clearly out of tune.
- Controls: Pitch Drift lets you control the depth and speed of the fluctuations in a simple interface (hover over the screen to control the speed). It is powered by the "Drift" algorithm in our Super VHS plugin and offers the same natural and pleasing fluctuation effect.
6. Labs by Spitfire Piano - https://labs.spitfireaudio.com/
- Spitfire Audio has launched LABS, a new product lineup that will feature free sample-based instrument libraries in VST and AU plug-in formats. The company has also released Soft Piano and Strings, two free instrument patches for LABS.
- LABS is a new project by Spitfire Audio, described as “an infinite series of software instruments, free and easy to use”. In practice, LABS is a virtual router instrument that loads free sample libraries released by Spitfire Audio for this particular platform. It’s completely free to download and use, as long as you register for a Spitfire Audio user account (also free). The LABS plugin features a streamlined control scheme consisting of volume, pan, and pitch parameters, as well as a built-in reverb unit.
Watch a video with audio demos:
7. Alter Ego by Plogue - https://www.plogue.com/products/alter-ego.html
- It is specially tailored for musical needs – simply type in your lyrics, and then play on your MIDI keyboard. It’s a true synthesizer, the sound can be extensively modified for easy and expressive performances.
- Voice banks come in various styles and licenses. Daisy is the first free bank available.
8. Vital - https://vital.audio/
- Vital is a virtual synthesizer that allows you to create complex sounds using a variety of modulation sources and techniques. It is intended to give a flexible workflow and a large variety of acoustic possibilities.
- The synthesizer comes with a vast library of high-quality wavetables, and you may also design your own unique waveforms from the start or by importing audio files. This powerful tool includes also a variety of modulation sources that can be assigned to nearly any parameters within the synth, such as envelopes, LFOs, step sequencers, and more.
9. Cheese Machine 2 by 2gether Audio - https://www.2getheraudio.com/instruments/cheeze-machine-2/
- Back by popular demand comes a remastered version of the extremely popular Cheeze Machine virtual instrument by Big Tick Audio. Cheeze Machine 2, from 2getheraudio, brings you an extra cheesy, extra saucy string box in the style of the original vintage string machines.
- Over 60 patches of synth string ensembles, pads, leads, brass, basses, effects, and more.
- Cheeze Machine 2 includes an expanded oscillator section, convolution reverb, a vintage ensemble chorus, and 64-bit compatibility for VST, AU, AAX, and Standalone applications.
- Also included, are bonus preview presets for Cheeze Machine Pro, an upcoming release with additional filters, pitch envelopes, and performance controls.
10. Magic Switch by Baby Audio - https://babyaud.io/freebies
- “Magic Switch is a free micro-plugin developed by BABY Audio. It is based on the “Magic” feature from their Super VHS plugin."
- Magic Switch offers a lush one-button chorus effect loosely inspired by classic 1980s Japanese designs, but developed with modern-day users in mind:
- “We wanted to create a one-button chorus effect as gratifying and magical as the Juno chorus. But since there are already a thousand emulations of the Juno chorus, it made little sense to release #1001. Instead, we wanted Magic Switch to be its own thing, with its own sound.”
- “Magic Switch is designed for the software age, where the source material is cleaner, louder, and often begs for a more radical transformation. Super VHS is all about adding that bit of ‘otherness’ to a clean sound — and Magic Switch may be its most distinctive effect. So we’re excited to give it away as a free stand-alone plugin.”
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