What can make the best sounds, effects and be free? That will be the best vst plugins.

What are the best VST plugins that are free?

VST, VSTi whatever you want to call them, these plug-ins are such an important part of your sound system. Plug-ins can either be effects, or software- such as synths and samplers.

Revolutionary is not a word used lightly, but with VSTs I would call them the next stage in music making. Why?

1 Well, they are cheap (with repect to the big hardware keyboards and sound modules), or free.

2 They allow completley endless possibilites to sound generation, and editing,

3 the best vst plugins bring expensive studio type effects and systems to the homebased musician,

4 allow you to gig with just your laptop,

5 the best vst plugins allows the homebased musician to compete musicially/ professionally with studio based musicians- bringing the whole system down to a level playing field.

6 Many manufacturers are converting old style hardware synths into software synths (soft synths). So you can pick up the TB303 for free (as shown in the best techno making equipment page) instead of paying $600+ for one. Or the old Korg machines- having 3 korgs in one software app is crazily great- the space and cash saving is great- and re-living some of those great sounds is cool.

There are many, many plug-ins available to the homebased musician and on a daily basis there are hundreds of new ones being released, so it is very hard to keep up with the pack. That is why this page only deals with the best VST plugins that you can get or where they can be found- that are free.

What I have noted though is that people are not willing to experiment with free items and consider only the vastly expensive plug-ins to be of any use. This is not right. The expensive soft-synths out there are very good at what they do and in one package you have all the bells and whistles, however I do not have $300+ to spend at every softsynth that comes along. When you sit back and study each and every one you realise that you can make up the similar type of sound by using 3-4 of the best VST plugins working in combination with one another.

This highlights one main plus point with VSTs and it is why you should really rely on the free plug-ins and only have one or two, max, of the money ones. VSTs make your sounds unique- they can mangle your sound into possibilities that you never thought of. This is the main point why VSTs are so important to your set-up. One tweak on a button or a turn on a virtual knob can alter your sound radically that you sound completely different. Case-in-point?

Pendulum, a top drum and bass act, only use softsynths in their set-up. They have had great success (big kudos, an album, singles being released), and all because of the sounds that they use- original sound creations from...VSTs!

Many (though not all) VSTs though need some sort of hosting program. A program that reads and shows you what you are playing round with. This is the sticky part. Most people use Cubase or some other $200+ program. But that need not be. The best one that I have been using (and is the basis of free techno making) is Madtracker, and the guide to its use and to download it can be found here.

Anyway, onto the best VST plugins out there at the moment.

Best VST plugins - Synths

• Korg iMS-20. Korgs awesome iPad synth
• Grainz. VSTi Granular Synth
• Tri-Force. Nintendo Sound Maker
• MonoMate. A mono synth for those retro bases
• Padawan. Cool name, and a hybrid synth for atmos and pad sounds
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• VOPM. FM Synth
• STS-26 . Some kickin' pads and textures
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• RubberDuck. 303 style acid box
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• Ritual. Analog bass synth
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• Crystal. A very cool free VST synth.
• Analog Warfare
A cool bass synth capable of some pretty good sounds. Its free, so have some fun with the 64 factory presets

You have seen some of the free VST synths. Check out here the best paid VSTs and some of their free VST synths equivalents that are available on the net.

Click here to find out the best free piano VSTs.

Best VST plugins - Drum machine/ makers

• Drum Station. A beat maker
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• MisterBuster. Load in WAV files- mix and mangle them.
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• GrassHopper. Beat maker
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• Breakage . An intelligent drum machine
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• Frequatic . An FM drum machine.

• Drumanzon










Rolands TR909 might have been buried long ago. However the demand for its sounds are very high. So, with some nips and tucks, a few tweaks and turns, Drumazon faithfully emulates this genius of a drum box. For 129 Euros it is not bad, and considerably cheaper than the original. It also sounds better than the 909. Click here for a playable demo of Drumazon.

• Addictive Drums










An acoustic drum machine that has a 3GB sample library. It has a lovely interface, and the software features built in effects and is quite easy to use. Expensive, but worth it. Click here for a playable demo of Addictive Drums.

Best VST plugins - Effects

Mda-Vst .They house only one real download that is worth checking out (found under the AU & VST Effects). It is a zip file that had about 10-12 plug-ins that range from overdrive, rezfilter, subsynth and other obscure ones. These have become the basis of all my sample manipulations- even better that they are free!

Do You Know A Cool VST That We Should Know About?

There are many cool, free VSTs on the Internet. Most go unrecognised (Rez and Texture)...until today!

So tell us about your best FREE VST for everyone to see.

What Other Visitors Have Said

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...

The best VST plugins, housed within a cool sequencer has got to be the Madtracker's VSTs. It is quite scary that they are free as they floor most of the competition. Enjoy them.