VST plugins can add power and flexibility to your digital audio workstation. They can also be very expensive. Here is a collection of over ninety awesome effects plugins that have one thing in common: they're free. Check the details for each plugin to see if it works on your system.

Hello Composers! Mike here, with a quick guide on the Best Sound Design VST Plugins. =)

There are so many ways you can do sound design. Distortion, Modulations, Morphing, Time-Stretching, Pitch-Shifting, Waveshaping etc. I love Sound Design, and I create and shape a lot of my sounds in my cinematic music.

• By Vengeance Sound. Important Note: You must have an eLicencer dongle to use.
• Dead Duck Free Effects Bundle (25 VST audio effect plugins) This is a bundled effect plugin by Dead duck. It contains 25 original VST audio effect plugins covering everything from essential mixing tools such as EQ, compression, and limiting to creative sound-shaping tools such as delays, modulation effects.
• This is our BEST plugin release ever! We updated our technology and personnel to bring you this special VST/AU plugin. The Signature R&B plugin is dedicated to the latest and most cutting-edge sounds for R&B music. Browse R&B sounds from yesterday, today and tomorrow all from one convenient plugin.
• TAL Bassline does boosts your trap and hip hop mixes with some thick and nice sounding warm analog sounds. Effects Plugins: Best Free VST Plugins. 46) TAL Stereo Chorus-LX. A simple yet powerful tool for adding beautiful chorus effects, TAL’s stereo Chorus-LX is inspired by the Roland Juno-60 chorus. Gotta snag this one! 47) U-He Protoverb 1.0.
• 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.
• It has been available in various formats for 20 years! Not sure, but this may make SFX Machine the longest-selling audio effects plug-in in history. SFX Machine RT (VST format) was released in 2003, and SFX Machine Pro (VST.

I use plenty of VST plugins, both instruments and effects, to do my sound design work. And I also have researched a lot of options that you might want to check out. Let’s dive in! =)

VST Plugins for Sound Design

1. Soundtoys Decapitator

2. iZotope Trash

3. Soundtoys FilterFreak

4. Softube Tape

5. Heavyocity Punish

6. Spectrasonics Omnisphere

7. Soundtoys Crystallizer

Hello Composers! =)

My name is Mike, founder of professionalcomposers.com, music composer and sound designer since 1998, old school nerd, and coffee addict. So grab a cup of coffee, and let’s check out some amazing Sound Design VST Plugins! =)

If you want to get lots of Gear Guides on Studio Hardware, Software, Plugins and Sample Libraries: Check out https://musicproductionnerds.com

1. Soundtoys Decapitator

The king of distortion plugins. There is a reason why almost all professional producers are raving about this plugin. A friend of mine said: “It’s like hot sauce for audio, I like to put it on everything”. From gentle analog saturation to mangled beyond crazy distortion. It even has several models of distortion plus an extra button called “punish” when you really like to drive the sound hard.

2. iZotope Trash

Another distortion plugin, but this one has a whole range of creative features. It has a dual-stage multiband waveshaping distortion which gives you the ability to chain pairs of distortions. It even has a customizable waveshaper, and a lo-fi delay unit. iZotope Trash is more than distortion, it is about transforming your sounds! 😉

3. Soundtoys FilterFreak

This plugin is all about adding movement to your sounds. Dynamic filter sweeps, automated crazy motion, or even construct intricate rhythmic filter sequences with the Rhythm Editor. As with all Soundtoys plugins, you get a huge range of presets to start from, but it’s also super fun to create your own! =)

4. Softube Tape

Sometimes you just need that warm vintage analog color in your sounds. And what made that sound in the old days of music production, was partly that they used analog tapes to record to. This is where Tape Emulation plugins comes into play in modern music production. And Softube Tape is one of the kings in this field. Instant analog, warm flavor. Sweet! =)

5. Heavyocity Punish

This is a multiple function plugin that is amazing for beefing up any sound. It includes a compressor with 3 types to choose from, a saturation unit with vintage, modern or tube distortion, a transient shaper and an equalizer. Then it ends with a limiter to make sure you are not clipping after all insane sound mangling. The benefit of having all in one single plugin is that you get quick access, great overview, and easy loading and saving of presets.

6. Spectrasonics Omnisphere

My absolute favorite instrument plugin for all types of sound design. From instruments, to soundscapes, to twisted distorted pulses and rhythms. I have used Omnisphere since the first day it came out (in 2009 I believe), and I have at least one instance in pretty much every music production I made since then. I confess, I am addicted to Omnisphere, haha. 😛

7. Soundtoys Crystallizer

Delay and echo effects are incredibly useful for sound design. And while there are plenty of standard delay plugins, you might also want a creative delay unit, such as the Crystallizer. It uses a combination of pitch-shifting and reverse echo algorithms to create shimmering soundscapes that sounds amazing. It’s dangerously fun to try different presets, so beware, haha. =)

What Plugins will you use for Sound Design?

These are some of the best ones from my personal view, but of course there are 100s, perhaps 1000s of VST plugins you could use for sound design. I recommend you to do some research, based on what kind of shaping, mangling and creative designing you want to do with your sounds.

Have fun with Sound Design for your Music Compositions and Productions! =)

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So you got yourself a DAW, and you have some gear like a pair of studio headphones or speakers, and a laptop and you’re ready to either record your own music or produce your first beat. Great!

But then you open up your DAW and you notice that to get practically anything done, you need to utilize some plug-in software.

You come across the term “VST” and you’re not entirely sure what these things are, what they do, and why you need them.

So inn this post we’ll talk about what VST plugins are, which will help to give you some light as to how they work and why you actually need them.

Other helpful posts:

What Are VST Plugins?

VST stands for Virtual Studio Technology. It was created by the people at Steinberg to emulate what used to be hardware equipment used in a studio.

Back in the day, if you needed to place an effect on a track, such as reverb, or compression, you would actually have to buy a physical unit, and like hardware reverb, install it on your studio rack, and plug it in your studio console, which is your mixing desk, or workstation.

As everything became more digitized, and from then, moving toward computer-based music production, the trend led away from clunky hardware that filled a studio, to emulating and simulating the same effects and instruments used to create music using software tools instead.

Nowadays, VST plug-ins are good enough to even replicate analog effects and instruments. Being software, they are cheaper and more versatile. What would once require tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment sitting in several square feet worth of space, you can carry around with you on your laptop wherever you go.

Read: Best Plugins for Music Production

Different Types of VST Plugins

There are many different types of VST plugins on the market. But we’ll just cover four of the most common types:

• VSTi
• Effects
• Metering
• MIDI

What Are VSTi Plugins?

A VSTi is exactly the same as a VST, except that instead of emulating effects plugins like reverbs and echoes, they emulate actual instruments. You don’t need to buy an instrument, then, if you plan on creating music on your DAW, you simply need to get yourself a VSTi of that instrument, install it on your computer, and record your music with it.

These are generally synthesizers, samplers, and drum machines. There are VSTis for literally any instrument you can think of. From your standard piano, to exotic percussion instruments, all you need to do is do a google search for your desired instrument + VSTi and you’ll find it.

There are some that exist that are free, and some premium ones that are as good as the real thing (examples are Keyscape by Spectrasonics).

Here are some standard VSTi plugins types that you should have if you plan on making music in your DAW (other than record it into your DAW from a mic or lead):

• At least one synthesizer – these instruments generate sounds electrically.
• A sampler – these take pre-recorded sound samples which you can play back by triggering them with the MIDI notes you write in (with your mouse) or play in (with you MIDI controller) in your DAW.
• A drum machine – as the name suggests, this creates beats and grooves for your music.

What are Effects Plugins?

These are just about as popular as the VSTi plugins that we discussed above. Maybe even more. Mixing engineers are familiar with these plugins, but so should anyone making music on a DAW.

As the name suggests, these are responsible for creating effects by manipulating the sounds generated or inputted into your digital audio workstation. Some examples of these “effects” are reverb, echoes (or “delays”), EQing, limiting and compression.

There are virtually limitless varieties of effects that can be created, and therefore a limitless variety of plugins in existence. From your run of the mill compressors to harmonic exciters. But the ones you should be most concerned with having are the essentials.

Essential Effects Plugins

• Reverb – adds “space” to your sounds by emulating the sound of various types and sizes of rooms and recording environments
• Delay – literally creates delayed signals of your sound over time to give an echo effect
• EQ – used to control the frequencies on a track or mix, such as bass, treble, and midrange
• Limiter and Compressor – often used to change the perceived loudness of audio

What are Metering Plugins?

Metering plugins are used mostly by mastering and mixing engineers. Their purpose is to, as the name suggests, monitor the audio signal either coming into your DAW or being produced by the audio within it.

There are several types of audio signals to monitor. The spectrum analyzer, perceived loudness meter, the phase correction, and VU meter are just a few to name. Once you begin working on your music, you’ll come across the need to see what sort of levels your music is producing. As you become more advanced, you will know what sort of levels to look out for, and therefor find the plugins that will show you that information.

What are MIDI Plugins?

Lastly, there are the MIDI plugins. These plugins can be very useful for composers and arrangers. They often provide shortcuts for writing, creating, and manipulating notes in your DAW, tasks which, depending upon how many notes you’re dealing with, can otherwise become tedious with time.

For example, a chorder” plugin will play chords for you when you play or write a single note into you DAW. Useful if you’re stuck trying to figure out or coming up with chord progressions.

The arpeggiator takes chords and plays each note sequentially or in a pattern for interesting musical effects at various speeds.

The note repeater is similar in concept to the arpeggiator by creating patterns from notes. You even have MIDI plugins that assist you in making new melodies on the fly from entering a few notes.

You even have MIDI plugins that assist you in making new melodies on the fly from entering a few notes.

Where Do I Get VST Plugins?

Chances are that the essentials that we’ve mentioned already exists within your DAW.

Modern digital audio workstations come with all the basics, plus more. So it’s suggested to stick with getting familiar with the ones in your DAW, learning your way around them, how they are used, when they are appropriate to be used, and so on.

Once you’ve gotten the hang of these, which will oftentimes be basic, you can find other professional plugins to buy or download some fun ones for free online.

There are countless amounts of plugins out there, as well as plugin resources, so it is easy to get lost when trying to find the one that’s right for what you want.

Final Thoughts

VST plugins are an essential part of music production. There would literally be no music produced if it weren’t for software plugins. As a digital audio workstation is simply a virtual desk where you can organize, arrange, and create your music, you can think of it as essentially your blank slate.

Best Free Vst Plugins

Whatever it is you want to do with it, whether it is editing a sound, or creating some effects, would require software to produce that for you.