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.

• Sep 10, 2019  Finding the best synth VST plugins can be painstakingly difficult since they are strewn all over the internet. Whilst premium VSTs are generally considered good, many free VSTs are worth their weight in gold, too.
• 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. 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.

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Want to make high-quality music productions for nothing? We’ve created a comprehensive guide to the best free VST plugins 2018, best free VSTs for 2019 and 2020. I’ve included every effect you could ever need from vintage style EQ, Compressors, Classic Synths, Amp Simulators, Delays, Drum Kit, Reverbs, Autotune alternatives, Limiters, Bit Crushers, Nexus VST, Lo-fi FX and a ton more.

There are hundreds of free VST effects or music producers in this list, so take your time, you are going to need a large mug of coffee to after receiving a large volume of these beauties!

For ease, I’ve split up the list of free VST Plugins into categories in the following order: Classic Synths, VSTInstrument Bundles, EQ & Compressors, Channel Strips, Amp Simulators, Reverb, Delay and finally FX.

To get you started.

What Is A VST Plugin?

Virtual Studio Technology VST Plugins for short. It allows the person using a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) to install software from 3rd party companies. VSTs give you various audio FX (effects) and virtual instruments as plugins inside your DAW. This was first developed and introduced to the market by Steinberg with their DAW Cubase in 1996, it was a game changer for sure and gave huge flexibility and opportunity for software development and huge benefits to the music creators.

So without further ado, let’s get to it!

Classic Synth Sounds

For me having a new synth or plugin inspires me to create new music. I’m constantly looking for new synths and FX to use in my own music productions. So, I’ve done the hard work for you to bring together, in my opinion, the best VST plugins available right now.

This compiled list is the best of the best and features everything from classic synth sounds to vintage compressors, fantastic delays and guitar amp simulators. I think if you downloaded all of these you could produce most genres of music to a pretty high standard.

Dexed FM Synth

The Dexed FM Synth is closely modelled on the sound quality of the classic Yamaha DX7. The DX7 was used on countless recordings in the ’80s. Everyone from Prince, Phil Collins, Whitney Houston to Brian Eno have used sounds from the DX7 in their chart-topping hits.

Many artists used the default presets the rom synthesizer had to offer at the time as it was very complicated to use. You can make use of the cartridge manager to load some of these iconic patches/sounds, thanks to Black Winny from KRV Audio, oh and check out spitfire audio as well!

Download the Dexed Synthhere (Mac / PC) – Check what is the best computer for music production.

MiniMogue VA

This is an emulation of the classic Minimoog with a couple of extra features thrown in for good measure including a very nice user friendly audio interface.

This is a classic sound which you should ensure you have in your plugin folder. For me, some of my favourite artists and producers have used the Minimoog’s classic sounds in their audio productions.

From the bass lines of Parliament-Funkadelic to Dr Dre using the synth for lead lines on The Chronic album to J Dilla using the Minimoog Voyager on his legendary album cut, Donuts.

Download MiniMogue VA

TAL – Noisemaker

TAL-Noisemaker is arguably one of the best free VST plugins for logic pro x you can download. The synth includes a small effect section with a reverb, chorus and a simple bit crusher effect. TAL-NoiseMaker includes new filter types as the self resonating 6dB low pass and a notch filter. Its improved amplitude ADSR is very suitable for slow pads as for really fast envelopes.

Download TAL-Noisemaker

TAL U No 62

TAL-Noisemaker is arguably one of the best free VST plugins you can download. The synth includes a small effect section with a reverb, chorus and a simple bit crusher effect. TAL-NoiseMaker includes new filter types as the self resonating 6dB low pass and a notch filter. Its improved amplitude ADSR is very suitable for slow pads as for really fast envelopes.

Download TAL-Noisemaker

TAL U No 62

This one is a great free VST synth. TAL used a Roland Juno 60 as a reference for the oscillators and filters. The classic Roland Juno 60 synth has been considered by many to be one of the most important synths in popular music. Artists such as Mac Demarco, Tiesto, Disclosure and many more are fans of this classic.

Download Tal U No 62

Crystal Synth

Crystal is a great free VST and it’s been around for a while. Nonetheless, it is still capable of generating some great sounds. It was created by Glen Olander who later went on to create Spectrasonics Omnisphere.

Download Crystal Synth

Synth 1

Synth 1 is an emulation of the classic Clavia Nord Lead 2 (Red Synth). The plugin has a huge range of useable sounds. I’ve seen so many session players that still use Nord Lead for live performances and in the recording studio. It’s another must-have addition to your plugin folder.

Download Synth 1

Modulair Synth

It is a synth capable of a wide variety of sounds from great bass tones to pads and lead synth.

Download Modulair Synth

Another synth we’d love to add to this list is the Xfer Serum VST plugin. You can read our in-depth guide about Xfer Serum!

VSTInstrument Bundles

Next up I have put together a number of fantastic bundles to download, which include a huge array of sounds and all the best free VST instruments 2018 has brought us.

Native Instruments Komplete Players

This is an incredible set of free VST instrument plugins and sounds from our friends based out of Berlin, Germany. This bundle is available totally for free. It includes three virtual instruments with over 500 sounds to choose from. Komplete Players features everything from free piano, vintage Rhodes, Organ, Strings and some awesome inspiring sounds from Reaktor 6.

A version of Guitar Rig is also included which has a great AMP model and some really nice effects, delays, reverbs and modulation. Many engineers use guitar effects on a bus channel for vocals or drums. If you had to download one bundle, this would be the one I would recommend.

Download Komplete Start Players Bundle

Sampletank Custom Shop

Sampletank is another awesome bundle of high quality sounds for you to use entirely free. It includes 30 instruments from a free VST Piano, Violins, Flutes, Saxophones, Choirs, Acoustic Guitar and Electric Guitar, Bass Guitar, Drums and more.

Download Sampletankhere

Syntronik Free (Sampletank)

This is another great VST that is a must-have. They have sampled 38 of the most desirable synths. This version includes 50 presets which all use different sample sets. The sounds of this analogue style synth are incredible from great Minimoog to Jupiter sounds.

The possibilities are endless with this Synth as you can layer up to 4 presets on top of each other to create a new sound and then alter the sound with a huge range of effects inside the instrument.

Download Syntronik Freehere

Steven Slate Drums SSD5 Free

This is, in my opinion, one of the best free live drum VST plugins you can get. Steven Slate has created a name for himself producing some of the best live kits with world-class engineers like Chris Lord Alge. You only get one kit but you can tune it differently and use all the features of the SSD5.

Download Steve Slate Drums SSD5 Freehere

VST Instrument Bundles (Paid options)

If you have a few dollars/pounds to spare a month or you are working on a specific project for a brief I’ve decided to include some great paid monthly services that I think you should check out:

This would be a great option if you are working onmusic for a film score or TV series. The quality of the recordings in these sample libraries is simply fantastic and has been used by many top composers.

East West Composer Cloud

This service includes over 40,000 audio recordings, which includes everything from orchestral music to world music instruments and rock sounds. The subscription cost is $19.99 per month (around £16 in the UK & Europe)

Roland Cloud

Over the years, Roland has created some of the greatest synths and drum machines known to mankind. They have influenced modern music culture and inspired so many top artists and producers, especially in early Hip Hop. So it’s no surprise that their cloud service is very popular, they have made available their most iconic synths and drum machines on a digital platform, meaning you can now gain access to them all for around £18.95 a month.

This is pretty good value if you can’t afford to buy a vintage original 808 drum machine, for example. I believe that Roland also has some of the top VST plugins for FL Studio all in all.

Native Instruments Komplete

I think the updates and the overall quality of sound that Native provide is incredible. Komplete Select offer 7000 sounds and 45G of audio samples, all for the price of around £159. Which, if you work it out over the year you’re paying the same price as theEast West Composer Cloud, but you get to keep all the samples and instruments. Their FL Studio plugin expansion pack is especially neat.

EQ, Compression & Channel Strips

Most DAWs that you will use have amazing built-in digital EQ and compression plugins. These are great tools for cutting out unwanted frequencies in a boxy sounding acoustic guitar track or levelling out the volume of a vocal recording with a high-quality compressor plugin.

I’ve put together a list of my favourite EQ, Compressors and Channel Strips that add character to your mixes and help colour the sound in a specific way. Most of them are emulations or inspired by top mixing consoles or outboard gear you would find in some of the best recording studios from around the world.

Code Red Free – Shattered Glass Audio

This plugin takes inspiration from an early British console from the ’60s. So if you’re looking to give some of your tracks a 60’s over-driven sound this is the plugin for you.

EQ 560 – Red Rock Sound

This EQ is also another take on a classic EQ from 1967 it’s a 10 band graphic precision equaliser. This plugin can be used on anything from heavy drum breaks to soft acoustic guitar tracks. It is also one of the best free VST Plugins for vocals.

T Rack Classic EQ

This is another free product from ikmultimedia, this time in a 6 band EQ from T Racks. Its a nice sounding EQ on most audio material but I think it’s best suited to acoustic guitars and rock vocals. I would say it’s one of the best free vocal VST plugins 2018 brought us.

Ceil – Channel strip (Acustica Audio)

Ceil is based on a heavily modified British channel strip that we sampled at the end of 2017, during one of our official workshops held at a studio near the lake of Como.

This is a free plugin, but only until 14th February 2019. 3utools latest version download for pc. After this, it will be available at a price of $99 (around £79). So if you are reading this in time, sign up for an account to grab this channel strip for free. I’ve downloaded it, had a play and it sounds great on most audio recordings I’ve tried.

Logic Channel (windows only)

Inspired by the famous “nine thousand series” British console, the Logic Channel. Great sounding plugin it includes dynamics, EQ and gate. Sounds great on drums! Smack labs also do two other plugins inspired by the 5000 series British console.

SL532 EQ (windows only)

Compressor SL 543 (windows only)

Levelling tool Compressor – Audio Tools

This is a great sounding compressor taking huge influence from LA 2A compressor. If you are looking to add character and saturation to drum tracks, this compressor will do the trick. You can use this lots of different ways, from really driving the input to get an over-driven sound to using it on a bus for some parallel compression.

Download Levelling Tool Compressor from Audio Tools

Monster Extreme Dynamic Processor

This compressor is one of the most versatile compressors on the list. Again from Slate Digital, I’ve used these compressors in many projects and really like the sound of them. You can use them on drum tracks to get a really aggressive sound or on a vocal track and even on a master bus for a mix.

It can also work as a great free vocal mastering VST plugins. This is a must-have in my opinion. You need to sign up for an Ilok 2 account but its worth it.

Download Monster Extreme Dynamic Processor

Amp Simulation

I have a few bundles I’d like to point you towards.

Guitar Rig 5

The first is Guitar Rig Free which I mentioned earlier. It can be downloaded separately and the full version has been used by top recording bands such as Nine Inch Nails.

Ignite Amps

They are making some fantastic products for guitarists and bassists, from amp simulations to great sounding distortion pedals.

Download Ignite Amps

Amplitube Ik Multimedia

They offer a free version of Amplitube 4 which has 4 amp models and lots of effects.

Download Amplitube

Reverb

Smarteletronicx Ambience Reverb

This is a convolution reverb that can compete with some of the best reverbs in the market. It sounds great on strings and lovely using it on an upright piano that worked really well.

Download Smarteletronicx Ambience Reverb

TAL Reverb-4

This is a great vintage sounding reverb.

Download TAL Reverb 4

Ambient Reverb Stone Voices

This one is fantastic for long reverbs and spacey soundscapes if you’re creating ambient music. It has 100 second reverb time which is mad! Great on long notes/drones.

Download Ambient Reverb Stone Voices

u-He Protoverb

Natural sounding reverb with a variety of different room settings.

Download u-He Protoverb

Voxengo Old Skool Verb

This is another great vintage style reverb, very good on vocals, pads and piano.

Download Voxengo Old Skool Verb

Delays

Voxengo Tempo Delay

Tempo delay is a good delay plugin for adding movement to synth or bass sounds and lines, percussive grooves and vocals. In fact, great when mixing vocals and create harmonies in conjunction with a pitch shifter. It’s one of the free vocal harmony VST plugins I would most recommend.

Download Voxengo Tempo Delay

Wat Kat

If you’re a guitarist you will need to download this. It’s an emulation of the Wem Copy Cat tape Echo used by countless top guitarists. If you’re looking for a great 50’s rock n roll or rockabilly sound, this is a killer piece of software!

Download Wat Kat

Tal Dub Delays & Various FX (Chorus to Vocoders and Filters)

They offer three delay plugins from vintage tap echo to classic delay.

Download Tal Dub

Tal has a great chorus, reverb and distortion fx that is worth adding to your collection.

Download Tal Dub Products

Various FX

Dead Duck 25 Effect Bundle

This includes everything; compressors, delays chorus etc.

Download Dead Duck 25 Effect Bundle

Best Vst Effects Free Download For Mac

Revival

This is an interesting effect. It adds low end or high end to the signal. I know it sounds boring, but trust me it’s not. It warms up the signal as if it were running through an old tube preamp or tape. Great for acoustic guitars and drums!

Download Revival

Izotope Plugins

Vocal Doubler

This is an effect the emulates double tracking.

Download Vocal Doubler

Vinyl

This one is a great effect for adding a lo-fi vibe to your songs. It can make your song sound like it was created in the 1920s! I know that artist Just Blaze has used this plugin before!

Download Vinyl

Mfree FX Bundle

This has everything from autotune, pitch corrects, reverbs, compression eq and analysers. Deadmau5 is a fan of these plugins so you can’t go wrong downloading this bundle.

Download Mfree FX Bundle

Last but not least some plugins from Xfer Records

Download Xfer Records Bundle

OTT Compressor and the Delta Modulator (a bit crusher)

Free Effect Vsts

My Recommendations

Before I finish up here are my favourite plugins from each category:

– For Synths it has to be the Syntronik free, it’s incredible! I have lots of hardware synths in the studio and the guys at ikmultimedia have done a great job recreating classic synths.

– EQ wise it has to be the EQ 560 console emulation. This is very very close to many commercial plugin emulations.

– One of my favourite compressors is the Leveling Tool Compressor. I’ve always liked the sound of LA2A compressor on a drum bus or electric guitars. I believe they used this compressor on many of the red hot chilli peppers guitar tracks.

– In terms of bundled instruments, I’d go with the Komplete Players as it includes the fantastic Guitar Rig and tons of sounds. I’ve been a fan of Native instruments products for years and use everything from Maschine to Traktor in a career. I’ve even used Guitar Rig live in a DJ set and works well.

– In terms of the Reverb, I really like Ambience which I’ve been using for a long time.

– The Wat Kat delay is a great sound for guitarists so for me at the moment that’s the best for me in the list.

– FX wise it would have to be Mfree FX as it has so many tools from autotune to delays and much more besides.

Free DAW Recommendation

If you are looking for free VST effects the chances are you might need a great free DAW (Digital Audio Workstation).

So in this regard, I would point you in the direction of the best free DAW available right now (In my opinion) Cakewalk by Bandlab.

Download Cakewalk

Bandlab by Cakewalk is essentially Sonar Platinum minus some bundled fx. Sonar was around $600 for the platinum version and now it’s available free.

It includes some excellent FX and a wide range of VST instruments with unlimited audio tracks. I think if I was looking to create music on a budget this DAW, together with the best free VST plugins effects above would give me a dream starting point for a home recording studio and plenty of scope to create great recordings.

Of course, there are plenty of DAW options on the market to choose from, Reaper, FL Studio 12, Cubase, Logic Pro X, Garageband for example, so do your research before you decide what’s best for your set up.

I hope you enjoyed this list and found it helpful, please share this with fellow friends and musicians. Spread the word, as they say. Thanks, Mark

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VST plugins are virtual instruments and effects for a digital audio workstation. These are the best free VST plugins to use in your music production studio.

Scroll down to browse the VST plugins based on their category. Each category page features the best free virtual instruments and effects for a specific music production task. Welcome to the internet’s most up-to-date directory of freeware VST plugins.

Free VST Plugins Directory

Free VST Effects

Freeware effects in VST plugin format:

• Autotune – Free alternatives to Antares Auto-Tune.
• Bitcrusher – An extensive collection of freeware bitcrushers.
• Chorus – A selection of the best free chorus effects.
• Compressor – Dynamic range compressor VST plugins.
• Compressor (Multiband) – A collection of multi-band compressor effects.
• Compressor (Sidechain) – A collection of compressor effects with side-chain input.
• Delay/Echo – Add depth to your mix with these excellent freeware delay effects.
• Distortion – Distort and saturate your audio with these freeware plugins.
• EQ (Graphic) – Free graphic equalizers in VST format.
• EQ (Linear-Phase) – Linear-phase equalizers in the VST plugin format.
• EQ (Parametric) – Standard parametric equalizers for mixing and mastering purposes.
• Filter – A collection of filtering effects.
• Flanger – Free flanger VST effects.
• Gate (Noise Gate) – Freeware VST plugins for removing noise from recordings.
• Granulator – A collection of granular effects to really mess up your audio.
• Guitar Amp – Large collection of virtual guitar amplifier VST plugins.
• Guitar Cab (coming soon)
• Limiter – Free limiter effects for mastering and mixing.
• Phaser – The best free phaser plugins.
• Reverb – Algorithmic reverb VST plugins.
• Reverb (Convolution) – Convolution reverb VST plugins.
• Saturation (Console/Tape/Tube) – Get a warmer sound using free saturation tools.
• Stereo Enhancer – Enhance the stereo separation in your mix with these freeware effects.
• Transient Shaper – Make the drums more prominent in a mix with these free transient shapers.
• Vocoder – Become the next Daft Punk with these vocoder free VST plugins.

Free VST Instruments

A selection of free virtual instruments in VST plugin format:

• Drum Machine/Synth – Instruments for synthesizing and sequencing drum sounds.
• Organ – A collection of free organ instruments in VSTi plugin format.
• Piano (Acoustic) – Free VST plugins that emulate acoustic pianos.
• Piano (Electric) – Virtual instruments that emulate electric keyboards.
• Sampler – The best freeware VST plugins for audio samples.
• Sound Module/Workstation – A round-up of virtual instruments that function as romplers.
• SoundFont Player – If you’re feeling old school, load your old SF2 files with these free plugins.
• String Machine – A collection of string ensemble instruments. Jean Michel Jarre will love these!
• Synthesizer – Best free synthesizer VST plugins.

Free VST Utilities

Other useful freeware VST plugins:

Best Vst Effects free download. software

• Arpeggiator – A collection of freeware arpeggiator VST plugins.
• Oscilloscope – Free oscilloscope tools.
• Spectrum Analyzer – Visualize your mix with these freeware spectrum analyzers.
• Step Sequencer – Sequence your virtual instruments with these freeware step sequencers.
  

VST Host Applications

A selection of free audio editors, digital audio workstations, and other applications that host VST plugins:

Best Vst Effects free. download full

• Audio Editing Software – Audio editing programs that can host VST plugins.
• Digital Audio Workstations – The best free DAW software.
• Free Mastering Software – Freely downloadable VST plugins for mastering.
• Free Music Production Software – The best free music-making tools for beginners.
• Free Video Editing Software – Edit your music videos for free.
• VST Host Applications – Directory of VST plugin hosts for music production and live performance.

Free VST Plugins From Each Year

For quick access to the best VST plugins from each year, check out the articles listed below:

Best Vst Effects Plug-ins

Find more music production tools in the Free Software Archive. The archive includes VST plugins, mobile apps, DAW software, audio editing software, and more. Browse our articles all the way back to 2009 when BPB was launched.

Developer Archives

An archive of free VST plugins that are not supported anymore. These freeware plugins are hosted on BPB with the permission of their developers.

If you’re a software developer interested in hosting your VST plugins on Bedroom Producers Blog’s servers, feel free to get in touch!

What Is A VST Plugin?

In case you’ve never used free VST plugins before, here’s a brief introduction. The acronym VST stands for Virtual Studio Technology. The technology allows music producers to load third-party audio effects and virtual instruments in their digital audio workstation. Virtual Studio Technology was introduced by Steinberg in 1996 and has made a massive impact on the way we produce music today.

A VST plugin is a software effect or a virtual instrument intended for use in a host program that supports Virtual Studio Technology. VST plugins are used to expand a digital music studio, in the same way hardware effects and instruments are utilized in a real studio. There are literally thousands of VST plugins available for free download on the internet. As a result, we have created this free VST directory to help music producers find the right tools.

Using VST Plugins

Choosing the right audio software and learning to use it properly will ensure an efficient workflow when producing music. Therefore, make sure to familiarize yourself with the software available in your VST plugin folder. No one wants to use a complex plugin for the first time during a critical mixing session.

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Step 1: The DAW

First of all, you need to choose the right digital audio workstation. The decision to use freeware or commercial music production software is up to you and your budget. The first thing to keep in mind when choosing your DAW is the workflow. Is the interface intuitive? Does the control layout seem logical to you? Does the application provide all the recording and mixing features you’ll require? And most importantly, can it host VST plugins?

The best free digital audio workstations right now are Tracktion 7 and Cakewalk by BandLab. Both applications can load VST plugins.

Step 2: Downloading Free VST plugins

Now that you’ve picked your DAW, you’re all set to start building your collection of free VST plugins. Remember to always go for quality instead of quantity. The biggest mistake people make when discovering Virtual Studio Technology and the world of free VST plugins is to download hundreds of freebies and to hoard them on the hard drive. This is bad for your workflow and productivity. Imagine all the clutter and chaos in a real-world studio stacked with hundreds of hardware instruments and effects that no one will ever use. You don’t want such a mess in your virtual studio, either.

Stay organized when choosing your virtual instruments and effects. This page is a great place to start because we’ve listed only the best freeware VST plugins in each category.

What you need is a small but mighty collection of audio software that will cover all of your music production needs. Take the time to examine the plugins on offer and keep only the ones that you really need. Keep your mixing toolbox lightweight and efficient. Limit yourself to no more than three virtual compressors, equalizers, synthesizers, etc. Install only the tools that best suit your workflow and learn how to use them. Read the manuals, watch the video tutorials, and spend some time experimenting with your free VST plugins.

Step 3: Staying up to date

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Finally, keep your plugins up to date. Developers often release updated versions of their freeware plugins, which include essential bug fixes and additional features. Keep an eye on our news section to stay informed about the latest updates of popular VST plugins. Also, consider subscribing to our email newsletter to receive the latest freeware news straight to your email inbox.

If you’re looking for even more freeware plugins for your DAW, check out the huge database over at KVR Audio.

Updated on February 21st, 2020.