(Free) Software, Plugins and Virtual Instruments Discussion

C

C!GwiththeArt

Member
This Thread is thought to be a Collection (and Discussion) of good (Free) Software, Plugins and Virtual Instruments or even Hardware you use alot

I for example am a Big Fan of Sknoteaudio.com (especially Marconi, Sdc and StripBus) and Fuse Audio Labs Plugins, the Vqp-154 Eq is on all of my mixes
And Good News is they just came out with a Free Eq today https://fuseaudiolabs.de/#/pages/product?id=300965965

Good Free Stuff i also use is:

Airwindows they got a big collection of simple Userinterface Effects, so no fancy Gui's but the sound is what matters to me
worth to checkout: Desk, Dustbunny, Totape, Busscolors and many more

Shattered Glass Audio's CodeRed Free for one of Beatles Console Pre and Eq

Klanghelm's Mjuc Jr. for Vari-mu compression - super creamy for Vocals and Basses, Ivgi for Saturation and they have some other good stuff i'm sure you can put to use

You are welcome to share your Gems too
 
Yo thank you for this. I've been really wanting to start this thread since we moved here but just kept putting it off.

I wanted to get suggestions for vsts, classic soundfonts, breaks and general samples then organise it with categories and links in the first post. I'm gonna talk to the guys about making this a sticky at the top of the producer forum.

I'm down with everything mentioned except shattered glass audio so that's getting checked for sure. Even if you just mentioned airwindows this would be worth it.

Gonna fully invest in this over the christmas break.
 
North Pole VST.
nothing fancy but I use it a lot.
on vocals as well as samples etc.
just this particular combination effects creating a big range of different sounds.
this is the first time I've looked at this youtube vid too :)



 
Acustica Tan VCA compressor
adhd leveling tool opto compressor
d16 frontier limiter fet style compressor
izotope vinyl
lkjb luftikus eq
Softube saturation knob
TDR kotelnikov mastering compressor
TDR nova dynamic eq
TDR VOS slick eq
vladg limiter no6
vladg Molot compressor
 
As a bit of give back given the tough situation in the world, Reverb has just posted their entire collection of vintage drum machine samples as a Free download (I believe some of these have been available for free previously, but never in one easy to grab pack like this). You just need a free Reverb account to grab these.

I've used a bunch of these in the past, and what I like is a lot of these are pulled from the original vintage hardware, and recorded on really nice pre-amps and hardware. Enjoy if this is your thing.

 

Spitfire Audio

We make virtual instruments and sample libraries for composers, created with pioneers including Hans Zimmer and the world’s finest musicians and studios.
www.spitfireaudio.com www.spitfireaudio.com
bit.ly

BPB Dirty Spring (FREE Spring Reverb Plugin)

Bedroom Producers Blog releases BPB Dirty Spring, a freeware spring reverb effect in VST2, VST3, AU, and AAX plugin formats for digital audio workstations on Windows and macOS. BPB Dirty Spring is a free spring reverb VST plugin with a built-in bitcrusher. It’s a FREE gift for all BPB readers...
bit.ly bit.ly
bit.ly

BABY Audio - Free Plugins - Warp, Magic Dice, Magic Switch, Pitch Drift and Beat Slammer

Download free VST plugins from Baby Audio, including Warp (x Andrew Huang), Beat Slammer, Pitch Drift, Magic Dice and Magic Switch. These small but powerful free mixing plugins are fun and inspiring to use—and completely free forever.
bit.ly bit.ly
 
My top free plugs

visualizer:
bomshankamachin.es

occularScope - Bom Shanka Machines

occularScope is a bar or beat synchronised oscilloscope with side chain input.
bomshankamachin.es bomshankamachin.es

eq:
www.voxengo.com

Voxengo Marvel GEQ - Graphic Equalizer Plugin, 16-Band VST, AU, AAX

Marvel GEQ is a free linear-phase 16-band graphic equalizer plugin that provides a mastering-grade sound quality.
www.voxengo.com www.voxengo.com
www.tokyodawn.net

TDR Nova | Tokyo Dawn Records

A dynamic equalizer in parallel configuration. Precise tone control paired with powerful dynamics processing.
www.tokyodawn.net www.tokyodawn.net

clipper:

Free Clip | Venn Audio

Free Clip 2 is now available! Free Clip has been eclipsed by its zoomable, resizeable and scalable successor, Free Clip 2! Free Clip 2 is part of Free Suite - our completely free, light weight, zero fuss set of cross-platform audio plugins. Get it here! If you need a copy of Free Clip in order
www.vennaudio.com www.vennaudio.com

saturation/drive

Mojo | Airwindows

www.airwindows.com www.airwindows.com

ToTape5 | Airwindows

www.airwindows.com www.airwindows.com

FromTape | Airwindows

www.airwindows.com www.airwindows.com

Tape | Airwindows

www.airwindows.com www.airwindows.com

TUBE | Airwindows

www.airwindows.com www.airwindows.com

Tube2 | Airwindows

www.airwindows.com www.airwindows.com

Chowdhury DSP - Products

chowdsp.com chowdsp.com
 
Good stuff on here.
Valhalla's free plugins are amazing (as are all of their $50 plugins):
valhalladsp.com

Valhalla Freq Echo: Freqency Shifter Plugin | Free Reverb Plugin

Not necessarily stoned, but beautiful. Freq Echo is perfect for dub, Dr. Who, and all of your psychedelic needs. Bode-Style Frequency Shifter + Analog Echo Emulation create surprising sonic effects. Subtle chorusing and double tracking to barberpole phasing and flanging to endless glissandos...
valhalladsp.com valhalladsp.com
valhalladsp.com

Valhalla Space Modulator: Flanger Plugin | Valhalla DSP Plugins

Earth Shattering Kaboom. ValhallaSpaceModulator is our take on flanging. Eleven algorithms allow you to get through-zero flanging, barberpole flanging, detuning, doubling, strange echoes, reverbs, and all sorts of effects that defy description. New in 1.1.6: VST3, signed and notarized...
valhalladsp.com valhalladsp.com
valhalladsp.com

Valhalla Super Massive - Valhalla DSP

Make some space. ValhallaSupermassive has been designed from the ground up for MASSIVE delays and reverbs. Get ready for luscious clouds of reverb, otherworldly delays, and swelling waves of feedback unlike any you’ve heard before. Supermassive has 21 out-of-this-world reverb/delay modes...
valhalladsp.com valhalladsp.com
 
As most great free plugs have been mentioned (Airwindows, Analog Obsession, TAL, Valhalla) here are some i use from time to time:

Melda Production Audio has a decent Free FX Bundle:
www.meldaproduction.com

MFreeFXBundle | MeldaProduction

The biggest and the most powerful FREE plugins pack available MFreeFXBundle contains a set of audio effects, which are completely free. Our commercial plugins offer many more features, …
www.meldaproduction.com

BitCrusher:
freevstplugins.net

ToneBoosters - Timemachine | FREE VST Plugins

Timemachine is vintage sampler simulator.
freevstplugins.net freevstplugins.net
 
been going through a long cycle of downloading then deleting plugins. I'm on ableton 11 lite and most of the time I feel like it has everything I need. there are a lot of awesome free plugins but sometimes just using stock sounds and effects is better for workflow. external plugins sound better and offer more options but stock sounds and effects force you to use your ears more and find creative workarounds. also using push 2 now stock stuff is easier to control unless a plugin only has eight parameters or less. another one is a lot of third party VSTs tax my computer more. Molotok uses more cpu than the stock compressor. the LABS library takes up hard drive space. addictive keys makes the fan on the computer start up. helm synth, Arturia lab and u-he Tyrell make ableton crash. I want to have the free Klanghelm, Tokyo dawn and Valhalla stuff, d16 frontier limiter, LABS drums, electric keys and bass, addictive drums free kit & addictive keys electric grand. I got lounge lizard and it's better than the stock ableton Rhodes. I have all this stuff and it's better than the stock sounds and effects but I kind of don't care. most of the time I would rather have the restrictions and limitations but have the computer run smother. I understand in a studio why opto, fet, vca and vari-mu have different applications but just the stock ableton compressor and saturator can create a lot of character in many situations. ableton limiter isn't good but I don't think a limiter is going make a song better. the loudness wars are over. supermassive is definitely better than ableton reverb but if you take it out of eco mode it's not that bad and reverb isn't what defines my sound. I'm more into compressors and saturation. I've been tweaking the free ableton hybrid recording kit to try to get it somewhere in the ballpark of addictive drums and LABS drums. it's pretty bad but if you filter the kick, tighten up the snare and distort the kit its at least useable. you can do a lot with the drum buss effect racks and many other effect racks in live lite. for me it's about minimalism and focusing on the song. I enjoy dialing in six different compressors on a drum loop and comparing them but it's not always productive. they do sound different but it doesn't always matter. most people are probably using a mix of stock and third party. curious to hear what people think about this topic.
 
MPC Beats is free and has very few limitations. i never have hit one…
It has a bunch of good fx and some basic softsynth.
I feel it‘s maybe everything you ever need for making a beat. I guess you can still use vsts in it.

For Masteing i discovered that the standard Apple
Compressor/Limiter works great for me. But i am not an expert here.
The variety of sound plugins which i used before are only available for windows.
 
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