- Free Au Vst Plugins For Mac
- Free Trap Vst Plugins
- Vst Plug-ins For Mac Free
- Vst Free Download Mac
- Vst Plugins For Mac Free Download
Disclosure: When you buy through our links, we may get a commission at zero cost to you.
The Best Free VST Instrument Plugins. Many of the most popular VST instruments, such as Massive or Omnisphere, come with a fairly high price tag.If you’re a music production beginner, you may not be ready to fork out hundreds of dollars on various production effects and plugins just yet, which is completely understandable. If you’re looking for high-quality free VST plugins for Windows and Mac, this page is the right place for you. Most of these plugins run within the digital audio workstation (DAW), providing additional functionality. They have a custom graphical user interface (GUI) with controls copying physical knobs that we find on audio hardware. Home News Software Free Plugins/ iOS Best Free Synthesizer Plugins For PC & Mac (VST/AU) (May 2020) February 20, 2020 SYNTH ANATOMY Free Plugins/ iOS, Software 6 SYNTH ANATOMY uses affiliation & partner programs (big red buttons) to finance a part of the activity. You may also be interested in trying out some Free Bass Amp VST Plugins which should help you achieve a better sounding mix! VSCO2 – Chamber Orchestra 2 (Windows, Mac) The Community Edition, which is the free edition of these samples, comes with a total of 19 instruments, ranging from Woodwinds to Brass, Keys, Mallets, Strings and Percussion. 7 Best Free Virtual Instruments – VST/AU Plugins for Mac & PC Virtual instruments are software emulations of traditional instruments or hardware electronic musical instruments. There is a staggering range of virtual instruments available nowadays, covering multi-timbral rompler modules to dedicated emulations of guitars, basses, drums.
I guess you would have to agree with me that the best way to polish your vocal recording or a vocal sample is to sprinkle some effects, just like the way you would sprinkle a reasonable amount of ingredients on your food. If done right, it sounds delicious right, yum yum 😉
Vocal effects are no exception to the ingredient perspective, you need to add a reasonable amount of effects to make them sound lively, and enjoyable to the listeners.
Don’t get me wrong, I ain’t saying you should stack effects upon effects on your vocal samples, too much of everything is bad. That said, let us look at the best free awesome VST effects plugin in the music production scene.
Let’s ride on…
Page Contents
- 5.) g200kg – KeroVee
- 10.) MGF – TimeWarp
1.) AegeanMusic – PitchProof
If you haven’t heard of PitchProof, then, you are definitely missing out, this is like the secret tool I use on Vocals but it wasn’t even developed for Vocal, it was actually designed to work on monophonic signals such as guitar solos, but I’ll give you a tip on how I have been using it:
You don’t want to apply it in realtime, what you should do instead is to first select the key of the harmony, then you turn the Blend knob all the way to the right; wet e.g:
Export the vocal result, add whatever effects plugins you gat on your toolbox (vocal, flangers, etc) to spice up the pitched vocal, and then stack it on top of the original vocal. Boom, you have something unique!
Note: You don’t have to always push it all through the wet side as this might cause artifacts, just experiment and stick with what works for you.
You can even export more vocal, and maybe this time, you can try by reducing the detune knob, anyways, experiment until you get your preferred test.
That said, let’s look at some of the features of PitchProof:
The Blend control knob would let you adjust the level of pitch shift, while the Pitch drop-down menu lets you select pitches like +7 or -7, or harmonies which are intelligent pitch-shift effects.
Moreover, there are also some options at the bottom of the PitchProof plugin which give you the option to switch between stereo and mono; mono could save your CPU, while the stereo option could cause a resource hog if used on multiple inserts.
Transient Fix can be switch on or off to spice things up a little!
Harmony | Info |
2nd | Dissonant harmonies |
3rd | The Typical Major/minor Chord Harmony |
4th | The same as the +5 semitones setting except a few notes are flat. |
5th | The Same as The +7 Semitones Setting Except the Last Note of The Major Scale Is Flat Making It “diminished”. |
6th | A nice-sounding alternative to typical harmony intervals. |
7th | Dissonant 7th Chord Sounds. |
2.) Auburn Sounds – Graillon
This is an autotune VST plugins designed and developed by Auburnsounds. This plugin is superb in the way it handles pitch correction.
It not only supports pitch correction but supports the generation of throat sounds, making octave sounds, enriching, and enhancing vocal expressiveness.
Also, there is a pitch shift parameter that transposes vocals up and down in octaves and semitones.
Features:
- Pitch Shifter cleanly transposes a voice up and down and has been optimized for voice.
- Pitch Correction module brings an immediate robotic sound, while the Bitcrusher addition softly adds sparkles to the mix.
- Freemium
System Requirements
- Available as VST, VST2, AAX, and Audio Unit plugin for macOS and Windows platform.
Download Graillion Auto-Tune Plugin
3.) JHudStudio – Vocal King
Vocal King helps glue the vocal in a mix, and it comes preloaded cool parameters, that could help in customizing the audio signal of a vocal track.
The Pres Compressor knob helps in bringing out the clarity of a vocal, so, by turning up the gain of the Pres Comp brings out the presence in the vocal along with giving it a smooth compression. On the other hand, the Low cut, Tighten, and the Bass knob compliment the Pres Comp in taking out muddy frequencies without the vocal sounding too thin.
I also love playing with the Crispy knob as it sprinkles some sparkles to the audio signal.
Features:
- Help vocals to stand out in a mix by giving them amazing presence, clarity, and compression. Can easily work on any other content.
- Acts like are preamp giving the signal a strong boost.
- Easy to use interface for fast results.
- Easy to read meters
- Very CPU efficient compared to other types of plugins.
- It can be used on many other audio sources as well.
System Requirements
- Vocal King supports MAC/Windows/32bit/64bit/VST2/VST3/AU. Supports MAC OS X 10.7 / Windows 7 and higher. Older systems may not work.
4.) Sonic Anomaly – Vola
Vola is a Voice Optimized Leveling Amplifier made for broadcast voice dynamics processing, it also works with different kinds of audio material, like drums, percussive instrument, and synth pads.
This fantastic tool is solely for cleaning up sound files but can be used for extreme compression effects as well.
Features
Free Au Vst Plugins For Mac
- Real-time Visual Metering for changes in dynamics
- Upwards & downwards compression, each separately adjustable.
- Stats Display and more compression settings
Download Vola Vst (Windows)
Download Vola Jsfx (Windows and Mac)
5.) g200kg – KeroVee
This is a pitch correction VST plugin tool and has strengthened to support natural pitch correction.
This tool is handy and can perform different and various types of voice effects, for example, a conversion of the male voice to a female voice and vice versa.
KeroVee comes bundled with useful parameters for the effectiveness of the auto-tuning process, Parameter includes:
- Scale Button: This is for specifying the scale you want to tune. Setting a wrong scale would result in an awful result, in a simple sentence, Know your scale before you go into this one
- TuneSpeed: This will allow you to set the speed of correcting the pitch.
- Nuance: This is one of the best and lovely parameters, you can use this to set a fine vibrato of the original sound, use this to create all sorts of weird effects.
- Amount: Set to zero (0) if you want no correction, setting to 100 will result in full correction of the pitch
- and many more parameters like Transpose option, master volume, etc.
System Requirements
- A compatible host program that supports the VST formats
6.) Martin Eastwood – Duet
Have you heard those natural double effects in some tracks! Do you wonder how those are created? I guess yes 😉
Let me introduce to you – Duet, a double-tracking effect designed to enhance your audio sample be it vocal or even instruments, Duet is well capable of sparkling them up. The way Duet work is by pitch-shifting both the left and right inputs individually using a novel synchronous overlap and add technique, allowing pitch to be manipulated in real-time while still maintaining the time duration of the audio.
One thing I love about Duet is the way it can accurately create the illusion of multi-voices and adds varied texture to the mix. Experiment with Duet to see how it works.
Note: This is only available for Window
7.) MaxSynths – DSP-2
DSP-2 is designed with an intelligent Dynamic Processor, a 4-band equalizer fixed on vocal key frequencies, a saturator, and a room emulator based on the Schroeder reverberator. DSP is super simple to use and can serve basically all your vocal processing needs, again, experiment and keep experimenting to get the best settings that would soothe your need.
Features:
- Intelligent Dynamic Processor (IDP).
- 4 different automatic operative modes.
- Selectable compression ratio.
- Saturator with three different operation modes.
- EQ fixed on vocal key frequencies.
- Room emulator based on the Schroeder reverb model.
- Transparent increment of the perceived volume level.
- High precision input/output VU-meter.
- Low CPU usage.
8.) Distorque – Azurite
Azurite is a vocal effect by Distorque which is built for multi-voice chorus with a focus on rich sounds and versatile controls.
According To Distorque:
My goal in designing it was to make as flexible a chorus as possible without losing great tones and ease of use. The result is an effect that will be handy for producers, guitarists, and glitch lovers alike.
One of the great features of this plugin is the way you can create multiple simultaneous voices. Each of these voices can be further customized with their own delay line that is modulated by a separate LFO. Adding multiple voices leads to a thicker, smoother, and less wobbly tone. It also makes vivid stereo spreading possible with a mono signal.
The voice control helps you to choose how many voices you want for the chorus, e.g one, two, four, or eight.
Features:
- Stereo or mono operation.
- Colour control emulates vintage analog choruses.
- 2 band EQ.
- LFO tempo sync.
- Feedback control allows for flanger sounds.
- 27 built-in presets.
- Delay time from 0.2ms to 200ms.
- 7 LFO shapes: Sine, Triangle, Sawtooth, Ramp, Exponential, Inverse Exponential, and Random.
- Spread control for a stereo widening of a mono signal.
- Control randomizer.
- Other controls: Depth, Speed, Wet Mix, Output, Separation, Dry Delay.
Note: This is only available for Window
Download Azurite Win 32 VST / Win 64 VST
9.) TerryWest – EasyVox
EasyVox contains a bunch of tool for vocal processing, such as:
- Dynamic mono vocal compressor/limiter/enhancer
- Three bands equalizer
- Autogain and Pre-Limiter
- Auto Noisegate
- Auto Band-off
- Three EQ models
- Fine EQ option
- EQ activity/bypass LEDs
- Low-Mid-Hicut
- Vocal Doubler effect
- Pre in/Post out gain
- In/out/reduction meters
Donate To The Developer, It helps him to build more exciting plugins
Note: This is only available for Window
10.) MGF – TimeWarp
Last on our list is Timewarp by MGF, which is a vibrato effect with 2 LFOs which can pan the pitch modulation amount for a stereo effect.
Features:
- Sine, Triangle, Saw and random waves with control over the shape and smoothing.
- Optional 4x upsampling and a smooth modulation algorithm ensure clean sound with minimal aliasing. Normal quality
- saves CPU and sounds brighter but less silky.
- 2 different interpolation algorithms are available (ALG).
- Fast modulation settings possible and encouraged
That is it, Good luck and have fun with music!
Useful Related posts:
Last Updated on August 14, 2020 by
Synths are one of the most fun things to use on your tracks.
They sound fantastic, which allows you to create warm chord sounds, ambient chimes, psychedelic and weird sounds, and much more.
The issue with analogue synths is that they are big and expensive…
Here’s where synth plugins come in!
All you need to do is load them up in you DAW ad you’re ready to rock!
What’s that you say?… most plugins are expensive?… I’ve got you covered!
Here’s a list of the best Eighteen Free Synth Plugins available that sound fantastic!
1. Dexed by Digital Sub Urban (Windows, Mac, Linux)
Dexed is a Free multi platform and multi format frequency modulation Synth which is based on, or closely modeled to, the Yamaha DX7.
It isn’t the simplest synth to use… there is definitely a learning curve to it, but I honestly think that it’s well worth it to do the effort and learn it properly.
It is also a MIDI cartridge manager for the DX7 meaning that any of the .syx files in the cartridges will be available from the “Cart” window.
You can access this directory by pressing the “Cart” button and then the “Show Dir” button.
Download it for free here.
Related: Even though all of the plugins on this list are absolutely fantastic, you might also be interested in the best Premium Synth VSTs.
2. Surge by Vember Audio (Windows, Mac, Linux)
Surge is an opensource Synth VST that sound fantastic and is probably the best synthesizer plugin currently available.
It is a hybrid subtractive synthesizer with a dual synthesis engine.
Each patch contain two ‘scenes’ which are separate instances of the entire synthesis engine that can be used for layering or split patches.
In addition to this, it also features three oscillators per voice, 8 oscillator algorithms (Classic, Sine, Wavetable, Window, FM2, FM3, S/H Noise and Audio input), Two filter units in 8 different configurations, 12 LFO units available, 6 are per voice and 6 are global for the whole scene, 7 deformable LFO waveforms plus a drawable/step sequencer waveform, and more.
As far as effects go, it features Delay, Reverb, Chorus, Phaser, EQ, Distortion, Conditioner (EQ, stereo-image control, and limiter), Rotary speaker, Frequency shifter and Vocoder.
Surge used to be a premium plugin and sold for roughly $99, but now it’s free and opensource.
What’s great about this is that it’s receiving consistent updates, meaning that there will be bug fixes over time and the plugin itself will get better and better.
Download it for free here.
Looking for Premium Synth Plugins? Here’s a post I wrote about the best ones.
3. Tunefish 4 by Brain Control (Windows, Mac, Linux)
There are four versions of Tunefish on their website.
Tunefish 4 was developed as a smaller replacement for Tunefish 3 with about the same power.
It was developed for the intro of “Turles all the way down”. If you want to see the video then here’s a link to YouTube where you can watch it.
One thing that they improved over the previous version is the UI, which will visualize all modulations.
Download it for free here.
Looking for free guitar VST plugins? Here are the 15 best ones.
4. Helix by Audjoo (Windows, Mac)
Helix is a CPU-friendy, highly versatile Synthesizer with a surprisingly high sound quality.
It comes with a lot of presets and built-in effects.
You need to pay $75 to get the license, but the trial version is virtually fully functional.
This means that it’s actually free and you can pay for it if you want to.
Most people tend to underrate free software because they think that if they were better, they would be able to sell them.
However, Helix is an excellent Synth that should be used in every serious music production.
Download it for free here.
Interested in free compression VST plugins? Here’s a post about the 12 best ones.
5. Synth1 by Ichiro Toda
Despite its old age, Synth1 is still extremely relevant today, and this is why I included it in this list, plus it works on both Windows and MacOS on 32bit and 64bit systems.
This is one of those synth plugins that you should always keep in your arsenal since it sounds absolutely fantastic; it’s right up there with Surge and Dexed, at least as far as freeware synths go.
Synth1 is modeled on the Nord Lead 2 Synthesizer and you can download hundreds of presets for it.
It features two oscillators and one sub-oscillarot, FM modulation, ring mod., synchro, 4 types of filters, distortion, two LFO, arpeggiator, and much more.
It’s extremely light on the CPU and works on almost any OS and DAW.
Give it a try!
Download it for free here.
Interested in free reverb VST plugins? Here’s a post about the 15 best ones.
6. TyrellN6 by u-he (Windows, Mac, Linux)
TyrellN6 is a compact synth that is based on concepts and ideas for a hardware synth: a few modules, novel features, analogue sound and low-cost.
It sounds very good, I really like this little plugin, plus it’s free!
The interface has a very “Grungy” look to it and it’s quite intuitive.
To download it you can’t do it through their official website but actually through the Amazona.de website which is in German… quite an issue for anyone who doesn’t speak it.
Download it for free here.
And if you’re interested, here’s a link to their official Website (you can’t download it there).
7. MiniSpillage by AudioSpillage (Mac)
MiniSpillage is a free professional quality drum synthesizer that features a high resolution 64-bit DSP processing engine and a custom set of synthesis algorithms designed for electronic percussion sounds.
MiniSpillage isn’t based on any existing Drum Synth but instead is focused on creating an original electronic percussion sound.
Note: It only works on Mac OS, so for all you Windows users out there, this one won’t work for you.
Download it for free here.
Looking for free Drum VST plugins? Here are the best ones.
8. Tal-Bassline by Tal-Software (Windows, Mac)
Tal-Bassline is a synthesizer especially made for bass which will give you a super beefy bass tone.
It gives you those acid tones and effects that you hear everywhere.
It’s mostly used in Trap, EDM and other kinds of music where the Bass in emphasized.
If you’re looking for a synth to enhance your song’s low end, Tal-Bassline might be the one for you.
Download it for free here.
Related: Here’s a list of the best free auto-tune plugins which you might find useful!
9. Crystal Synth by Green Oak (Windows, Mac)
Crystal is a semi-modular software synthesizer featuring both subtractive synthesis and frequency modulation (FM) synthesis.
It offers over 90 parameters which may be modulated.
Multi-stage envelopes with graphical editors.
Extensive tempo sync of envelopes/lforates/delay times.
Built-in effects for chorus/flanging/comb filtering/echoes, and a band splitter for effects processing by frequency band.
It also offers wave sequencing, as well as granular synthesis, MIDI Learn, and more.
The interface isn’t the easiest to use, but it definitely sounds amazing.
Download it for free here.
10. Lokomotiv by Archetype Instruments (Windows, Mac)
Lokomotiv is an analog retro synth which sounds absolutely phenomenal as well as being extremely easy to use.
The UI is simple and doesn’t look overwhelming at all which is great for anyone who is new to this kind of software.
The way it sounds reminds me of some Prince songs, which is something I love.
Download it for free from the VST4Free website.
11. Digits by Extent of the Jam (Windows, Mac, Linux)
Digits is a phase distortion synthesizer plugin which was inspired by the Casio CZ line.
It comes with over 100 presets which include; basses, leads, pads, pseudo-realistic instruments, brass sounds and more.
It provides some effects like an analog chorus, flanger, harmonic bit crush, asymmetric pitch-bend and more.
This plugin is fairly easy to use and actually sounds great.
The interface is also pretty simple which is great for beginners.
The only issue is that when you change some parameters the audio can sometimes click a bit, but other than that it’s an amazing plugin.
Download it for free here.
12. Tal-NoiseMaker by Tal-Software (Windows, Mac)
Tal-NoiseMaker is based on the Tal-Elek7ro but with a new synth engine and some sound and usability improvements.
It features some effects like reverb, chorus and a simple bit crusher.
The number of presets you get is huge: 256… and they also sound fantastic.
This free plugin is definitely one that you should try since it sounds great right from the get-go and the interface is really clean and easy to use.
Download it for free here.
13. Thump by Metric Halo (Windows, Mac)
Metric Halo is primarily designed to synthesize low frequency audio to add low-end to a track or to generate another sound completely.
It looks at the pitch and the dynamics of its audio input and adjusts the oscillators accordingly.
It is typically used to add low-end to drums or any other low-end percussive sounds.
It can also be used to recreate the classic synth drum sounds, and more.
Download it for free here.
14. PG-8X by Martin Lüder (Windows, Mac)
The PG-8X is inspired by the Roland JX-8P with the PG-800 programmer.
You can make some amazing analogue style sounds with it, including string ensembles, cool pads, huge bass sounds, which is what I like most about it, and more.
This is one of my top picks in this entire list, and once you try it out, you’ll see why…
Download it for free here.
15. Charlatan by BlauKraut (Windows)
Charlatan is a polyphonic, subtractive virtual analog synthesizer plugin that focuses on sound quality and ease of use.
It’s a fairly simple to use plugin which encourages users to learn how to tweak the sounds instead of only relying on the presets.
Charlatan can create your typical classic synth sounds as well as some interesting experimental noises.
Just like the previous one on this list, the PG-8X, Charlatan is one of my top recommendations, even though it’s only for Windows.
Download it for free here.
16. Helm by Matt Tytel (Windows, Mac, Linux)
Helm is a cross-platform, polyphonic synthesizer which runs both as a standalone synthesizer or as an LV2, VST, VST3 or AU plugin.
It comes in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
This plugin is open source which means that you can modify it and even redistribute your modified versions.
It’s a very visual plugin and at first it can seem a bit intimidating, but it’s far easier to use than what it seems.
Download it for free here.
Looking for free Modulation VSTs? Here’s a post I wrote about the best ones.
Free Trap Vst Plugins
17. Podolski by u-he (Windows, Mac, Linux)
Podolski is a very simple, CPU-efficient virtual analogue synthesizer with one oscillator, one filter, one envelope and two LFOs, it also features a Zebra-style arpeggiator/sequencer plus chorus and delay effects.
Features
Vst Plug-ins For Mac Free
- Oscillator with variable symmetry (sawtooth to triangle, PWM) and glide
- Polyphonic (up to 16 voices), mono, legato and arpeggiator modes
- 4 envelope modes: ADSR or HDSR, linear or exponential. Sustain has Fall/Rise control
Download it for free here.
18. Scorpius by Meesha (Windows)
Scorpius is a 3 Oscillator analog Polysynth which is great for creating some psychedelic sounds.
It sounds pretty good, but the interface isn’t the most intuitive one…
This is because it was designed to be used with two Behringer BCR 2000 units. That’s why the layout is the way it is.
It will take you some time to get used to it.
Download it for free here.
19. T-Force Alpha Plus by Master Code Music (Windows)
T-Force Alpha Plus is the advanced or improved version of the T-Force Alpha TS.
It provides all the same features plus some additional ones and some updated functions; new synthesis (subtractive and FM synth), revised oscillators, new Mod Envelopes and a new integrated sidechain FX.
While not the best plugin on this list, it’s still completely free, so why not give it a shot?
Download it for free here.
20. Zebralette by u-he (Windows, Mac, Linux)
Zebralette is a very powerful synth which sounds fantastic.
It is just one of Zebra2’s oscillators packed into a simple, easy-to-learn framework, but you have everything you need to make some pretty amazing sounds.
It’s a great starting point, especially since you can later upgrade to Zebra2, which will make it easier for you to understand it.
It is a fantastic plugin for EDM and electronic music, but it can be used to create all kinds of sounds.
Download it for free here.
Honorable Mention
This one didn’t make the list because it’s not strictly a synth, but it sounds awesome and it’s completely free which is why I included it.
LABS by Spitfire Audio
Spitfire Audio released a series of instrument plugins which they called LABS.
These aren’t synths but rather sampled instruments, but they sound awesome…
Spitfire Audio is known for making extremely good sounding sample libraries and these ones are no exception to this rule.
Here you will have a huge variety to choose from, from scary strings, to modular piano, cool sounding choirs, synth pads, drums and more.
They offer a huge number of options so here’s the link to the official website where you can check all of them out.
Spitfire Audio LABS official Website.
My top recommendations
It’s definitely hard to choose only three plugins out of the eighteen on this list, but my top choices would have to be;
- Charlatan by BlauKraut
- PG-8X by Martin Lüder
- Dexed by Digital Sub Urban
- Surgeby Vember Audio
And last but not least…
How can you learn to use a Synth the right way?
If you really want to learn as much as possible about synthesizers without wasting too much time, then I’d recommend enrolling in an online course like Beginner’s Guide to Synthesis.
This course covers all the basics and all the essential knowledge you need about synthesizers in order to produce modern music.
You’ll need a MIDI Controller
In order to be able to use these plugins properly, you will need some sort of MIDI Controller.
While you can use your mouse to map the MIDI in your DAW, it’s a lot faster and easier to do it with a keyboard/controller.
My recommendation here is for you to get something like the M-Audio Oxygen 25 MK IV MIDI Controller which you can find at Amazon at a very affordable price, plus it comes with some extra software like Pro Tools First.
Conclusion
Since all of these synth plugins are completely free, I’d recommend that you try as many as possible, especially since each one might be a bit better at doing something in particular.
I hope this list was useful to you!
Have a great day!
Special Deals at Pluginboutique!
Get up to 99% off of Premium Plugins!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a VST synth?
Vst Free Download Mac
VST Stands for Virtual Studio Technology and it is an audio plug-in software interface that integrates software synthesizer and effects in digital audio workstations. VST and similar technologies use digital signal processing to simulate traditional recording studio hardware in software
What is a VST effect?
Vst Plugins For Mac Free Download
VST stands for Virtual Studio Technology and there are three different types of VSTs;VST instruments: These plug-ins generate audio and are either virtual synthesizers or samplers that emulate how the original hardware sounds.
VST effects: Effects process audio instead of generating it. These effects are; Reverb, Relay, etc.
VST MIDI effects: MIDI plug-ins process MIDI messages and send MIDI data to other VST instruments and hardware.