Get the 200 best free VST plugins ever made. From synth VSTs and drum VSTs to VST effects, this huge list has only the best of the best plugins. In this article, we introduce 5 of the best free reverb VST / AU plugins out there and provide an accompanying demo project and free presets. Top 3 plugins for sidechaining In this video, we showcase three plugins that will help you streamline your sidechaining workflow and achieve some intricate sound design. CamelCrusher by Camel Audio is an easy to use VST Plugin described as “free ‘colouring’ multi-effect plugin”. Even though Camel Audio was bought by Apple in the year 2015, which led to them releasing a paid version CamelPhat, you can still get CamelCrusher for free easily. VST plugins are virtual instruments and audio effects for your digital audio workstation. There are literally hundreds of free VST plugins online nowadays, and finding good ones takes time. To help you focus on making music instead of testing audio plugins, we listed the best free.

• Top 10 Free Vst Plugins
• Best Free Vst Effect Plugins

Best free synth VST plugins

If you’re looking to make your audio tracksmore appealing and interesting, then you really need to use the free synth VSTplugins. Synths are offering you a cool way to make your music even better andmore interesting. While analogue synths are expensive, synth plugins are ratheraffordable, and you can find many free of charge.

Zebralette

Zebralette sounds amazing and the best partabout it is that this is just an oscillator set from Zebra2. That being said,it does have a great array of features like oscillator waveform editing withspectroblend, geomorph, geoblend and spectromorph modes. It also includes 24spectral effects, a stereo VCA with volume and pan modulation! All in all, it’san amazing free synth VST plugin and one that works great specifically forelectronic and EDM music in particular. However, you can use it in most genreswith a bit of creativity!

Thump

With Thump you are able to synthesize lowfrequency audio. Either that, or you can add a new set of sounds if you want.This is a great VST plugin if you want to bring in an old school synth drumsound. Plus, you have two independent oscillators, not to mention there arethings like 12+ presets detailed metering and complete control if you want tomix the synthesized sound with the overall source as well.

T-Force Alpha Plus

T-Force Alpha Plus brings in someinteresting features like new synthesis, new Mod Envelopes, revised oscillatorsand so on. It also has 3 free running multiwave oscillators, 1 noise oscillatorand subtractive/FM support. It’s a product that delivers a tremendous value formoney, so we recommend you to give it a try, especially if you need a dedicatedsidechain FX system. We guarantee that you will not be disappointed with it!

Charlatan

Charlatan’s main benefit is that it focuseson ease of use and sound quality. It’s a subtractive and polyphonic analogsynth plugin. It makes it easy for you to learn how to adapt sounds so youdon’t have to rely on presets all the time. It’s great for experimentalnoises, but it also offers a way tocreate classic synth vibes which are a pleasure to use. There’s a stereo noisegenerator here, 2 oscillators that support shape modulation, as well as 2 ADSRenvelope generators and an LFO that has host tempo sync.

Scorpius

Scorpius is a great free synth VST pluginthat offers you some amazing psychedelic sounds. The interface is not the mostintuitive, however it has a vast range of different features for you toexplore. It has a ring modulator, flanger, stereo delay, routing options, 2filters, 3 oscillators and many others. It’s definitely one of the coolest VSTplugins for a different, rewarding sound.

PG-8X

Even if PG-8X is inspired by an old school program,it does have a great analogue synth experience. The bass sounds are veryimpressive, you also have cool pads and string ensembles. Some of the featuresprovided by PG-8X include a 3-stage HP filter, stereo chorus, hard sync, 24 dBresonant LP filter and 12-voice polyphony among others.

Tal-NoiseMaker

Tal-NoiseMaker is quite simple, intuitiveand easy to use. It also has features like a bit chrusher, chorus and reverb.With 256 presets you will get a really good experience, and the reality is thatall these presets are working super nicely. We encourage you to test itespecially if you want to use the great 3 oscillators. It’s a fullycustomizable synth VST plugin with lots of versatility and value.

Podolski

While Podolski is not the most complex VSTplugin, it’s very convenient and CPU efficient. It has an oscillator withvaried symmetry, multiple modes like legato, mono or polyphonic, as well as 4envelope modes, a multimode filter and more than 520 factory presets. That goesto show the great value you can get from it, not to mention there are somedelay effects you can use as needed.

Helm

Matt Tyrell’s Helm is a polyphonic synththat can also be used as a standalone. It has a 64 and 32 bit version too.Unlike other synth VST plugin options in this list, this one actually has agreat interface and you won’t have a problem identifying and adapting stuff asyou go along. Even if it might seem a bit intimidating in the beginning, itlooks really well and that’s what really makes it worth the effort.

MiniSpillage

MiniSpillage is one of the most interestingdrum synths you can find out there. It brings you a set of synthesis algorithmscreated for electronic percussion and it also has a high resolution 64-bit DSPprocessing engine. The interface is great, it also has ADSR envelopes andcustom algorithms that really make it stand out of the crowd and very powerful.

Lokomotiv

Lokomotiv’s main focus is to create a verygood analog retro synth sound. This sounds really well and it has a simpleinterface too. What we like about Lokomotivis the fact that it has a lot offeatures. It comes with an oscillator, filter, modulator and specificationtools. Since it’s not overwhelming, it will offer you a great experience whilestill making it easy to create impressive sounds very fast and easy.

Digits

If you need a good phase distortion synthplugin, then Digits might be able to help. Its interface is quite unique and itdelivers 100 presets. These have things like brass sounds, realisticinstruments, pads, leads, basses and many others. You even get access to aharmonic bit crush, flanger, realistic instruments and other great tools. It’scertainly worth it so you should give it a try for yourself. It works supernicely and the best part is that the interface is very good especially forbeginners. Changing the audio parameters might make things crack a little. Yetif you get past that, it’s actually a nice plugin.

Crystal Synth

Crystal Synth comes as a semi-modularsoftware synth. It has both frequency modulation as well as subtractivesynthesis. You have more than 90+ parameters to work with, tempo sync,dedicated effects, a band splitter and wave sequencing. Vst plugin bundle. They also integrated granularsynthesis, and multi-stage envelopes with graphic editing. The problem for a lotof people is the interface is not the best, it can become rather overwhelming.But if you get past that, you will find it pretty interesting to use. It justtakes time to get used to the features and the overall interface alignment.

Tal-Bassline

The name clearly shows that this is asynthesizer created for bass and it does a very good job at it. With its helpyou can get effects and acid tones that you can’t get anywhere else. You canuse this for EDM, trap and even dance music where you use bass a lot. It’sactually going to help you a lot with its numerous presets, the MIDIautomation, great panic button, sub-oscillator and bandlimited oscillators.Overall, it’s a great tool to use and you will find it incredibly impressiveand a pleasure to use.

Muon Tau Bassline

This monophonic bassline synth is very similar to the Roland 303 synth, a very popular unit. What they did very well here is the interface. Instead of going the overly complicated route, they did the opposite and that means offering a better experience to customers and the results are incredible because of that. It’s a good tool especially for beginners. But despite the focus on beginners, everyone can use it without issues. There are things like an 18 db lowpass resonant filter, complete MIDI control or the great 64-bit waveform oscillator that really make the difference. You will find it incredibly different when compared to other free synth VST plugins and that’s for the best.

Helix

Helix is very flexible, easy to adapt toyour needs. They have a lot of built-in sounds and presets. You can pay for alicense, but the free trial is fully functional. It has more than 1000 presetsyou can use, 10 different distortion types, 17 filters as well as deepmodulation. It’s very powerful, dependable and you will certainly find it apleasure to use and adapt to your needs. It’s well worth your time, especiallyif you are into creating great music.

Combo Model F

You must use Combo Model F if you want anorgan synth. As you can imagine, it’s very simple but you can adapt it to yourneeds without a problem. One thing to note is that it has a great harmonicrange, a volume pedal, bass voice, a knee lever control and full automation.It’s certainly worth your time and if you check it out this will be a very goodtool to use.

Conclusion

You don’t have to pay a lot of money for synth VST plugins. There are many free options that will work just as well. If you take your time and study the market, you will find that there are free alternatives to just about any synth plugin, so don’t hesitate and give these a try. You will be very impressed with the value and versatility provided by these great VST plugins!

My name is Shane Beat, I’m a record producer, DJ, and songwriter. I’m from Canada, I worked with many biggest rappers from United states and Canada like Smoke purpp, Ski Mask the Slump God, k-os, I’m here to help you to develop your skills with new and best plugins in the world.

The world of free VST plugins is huge and can be a bit overwhelming. You can download and install them all, but which ones are really worth downloading?

I have used many free plugins over the past years and decided to post my personal favorites. They are in a random order so make sure you check them all.

TDR Nova

TDR Nova: Free EQ VST

TDR Nova is a parallel dynamic equalizer with an easy to use interface. The analyzer shows you exactly what your changes are doing. Besides the 4 bands it also has a low pass filter, a high pass filter and you can apply compression on each band separately or on the total output.

Tokyo Dawn Records also provides a paid version called the Gentleman’s Edition with more bands and more options. The free version already offers a lot and is definitely a must have. Best amp modeling vst plugins.

A1StereoControl

The A1StereoControl plugin allows you to expand or limit the stereo width of your single mixer channels or the master output. The plugin has a clear and clean interface so even starting producers can work with this plugin with ease.

The Safe Bass mode deserves a special notification. In this mode all the bass frequencies below an adjustable frequency are set to mono. This makes it an ideal plugin for mastering tracks that you want to use in clubs.

Brainworx Cleansweep V2

Brainworx Cleansweep v2 Free Filter VST

The Cleansweep V2 of Brainworx is a nice plugin to clean up your mix. Every song needs its filters and the Cleansweep is one of the best free filter plugins out there. It allows you to set the knobs exactly how you want with your mouse wheel or you can just type in the exact value you want.

So, if you are looking for a great and free filter plugin, search no more.

Flux BitterSweet V3

Transient designers are very commonly used plugins for drums. The BitterSweet V3 plugin of Flux is one of the best free transient designers you will find. To amplify the transients amplitude turn the big knob to bitter. If you want to decrease the transients amplitude simply turn it to the sweet side.

The plugin has three different processing modes.

* Main: using a regular stereo signal scheme for the processing.

* Center: processing the Mid channel only, very efficient for snare and kick drums.

* Stereo: processing the Side channel only, very efficient for panned rhythmic/transient instruments.

Sonimus SonEQ

Sonimus Free EQ VST

The Sonimus SonEQ is the second EQ of this list. This one is a three band EQ, low mid and high. And it has a high pass and low pass filter. It also has a pre-amp section with a bass booster.

The input, output and drive knobs give you some nice saturation control. A higher level of the input control provides more saturation while the output control can be used to compensate the output level.

Izotope Vinyl

There are many vinyl type plugins but iZotope’s Vinyl is my favorite. It can give your tracks that vinyl feel you are looking for. Especially useful if you want to create some old school Hip Hop tracks.

Download this free plugin and play with the slides and knobs to see what kind of feel you can create for your track. You will not be disappointed!

Illformed TapeStop

Illformed Tapestop Free VST

Illformed is providing their older plugins as a package for free. This package includes Glitch 1.3, Crusher, Stretch and TapeStop. TapeStop being my favorite one.

This plugin gives you a tape stop effect to apply on a single source or the master output. You can adjust the stopping speed with the slowdown knob and when the trigger knob gets above 0.50 it will trigger the tape stop. A nice plugin to have some fun with and to generate some crazy sounds!

Ohm Force Frohmage

Ohm Force’s Frohmage is not just a lowpass filter. It combines filtering with some other great features like distortion and delay. This way you can make some amazing filter sweeps but also heavily distort the sounds. Applying delay on each band will give you the opportunity to create some unique phaser effects.

Download this plugin at the Ohm Force website to see what it can do for your productions.

Camel Audio CamelCrusher

Camel Audio CamelCrusher Free Filter VST

One of the best free plugins is the Camel Audio CamelCrusher. It provides three easy to use effects that can be blended together to suit your desires. The distortion has two types that can be mixed together. The filter is a warm souding lowpass filter and the compressor lets you phatten your sounds with just one knob.

If you download this plugin there are presets included but you can also adjust the settings yourself or simply hit the randomize button.

Sanford Reverb

Top 10 Free Vst Plugins

Of course the list is not complete without a reverb plugin. And this is easily one of the best free plugins you can find, the Sanford Reverb. It is out there since 2009, but free since 2015.

Best Free Vst Effect Plugins

This plugin comes with great presets but feel free to play with the knobs for some amazing results. When I started using this plugin I especially loved the early reflections and freeze mode. With these two features you can create your own unique reverbs for all kinds of purposes and genres. Definitely check out the website of Leslie Sanford for this plugin.

Note: This reverb plugin is also featured in our list of 5 best free reverb plugins!