The Free Plugin Thread

[Alex Kenivel]

Drop your favorite free plugins here and let's make some music!

Let's keep it to plugins you've personally used.

Please mention any registration requirements (email/account creation/etc) or host applications associated with your plugins.

 

[Alex Kenivel]

Before I shelled out money for a drum VST I would use MT Power Drum Kit, and it looks like they have a version 2, which I haven't tried:

MT Power Drum Kit AU VST Drums Sampler Plugin Instrument FREE

www.powerdrumkit.com

 

[holoholo]

 

[Sascha Franck]

I was just about to start such a thread when I noticed this one.

May I ask for some things?

- While funny, it might be a good idea to change the thread title for something more serious, so interested folks not into internet lingo may still look and not be confused by the thread title. But hey, maybe it's just fine.

- I think it'd be a great idea to only recommend things that you've already tried yourself. There's tons freebies like literally anywhere, so finding the good ones is an incredibly tough effort (the signal-to-noise-ratio isn't too strong and I'm sure nobody really needs 38 incarnations of an LA2A clone plugin).
Just some information about why the plugin is great to have.

- Along the last point, it'd be great if the registration requirements would be included. Some plugins require no action but downloading and installing, but by now the majority requires *some* action (at least like handing out a mail adress), some others even require installing a (sometimes pretty large) installation manager for the very company (for instance IK, Waves, NI, UVI, etc.).

 

[Sascha Franck]

Ok, I'll start with this:
Sixth Sample Deelay.

Deelay | Free Versatile Delay Plugin

Deelay packs loads of features in a simple, minimalistic interface. Explore five distinct delay modes, and 100 factory presets.

sixthsample.com

Looks like nothing special, but it's got some nice algorthms under the hood (reverse, chaos, etc.), various saturation modes effecting the feedback, a ducking option and a diffusion option to make things sound more reverb-ish. The combination of all of that makes it an incredibly flexible and fun tool.

Download was a one-click-affair until recently, now you need to enter your name and a valid mail adress (very obviously it's a clever idea to have a dedicated adress for these purposes).

 

[Sascha Franck]

Another one for now, already started a dedicated thread, but this should be here as well:

Waves Free Plugin Pack

Pardon Our Interruption

There's quite some good stuff in there, for myself most notably their Flow Motion FM Synth. Just don't even touch their GTR amp sims, they suck (at least IMO). They also try to drag you into their ecosystem by providing the "Studio Verse" thingies, basically something to allow you combining multiple Waves FX under one hood - but obviously pretty much all presets require you to purchase additional plugins, so I wouldn't even open that thing.

To get it, you need an account at Waves and download their managing software Waves Central.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Another bundle that you may want to grab is Native Instruments' Komplete Start.

https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/bundles/komplete-start/

There's quite a whole lot of things in there, an good alround set of sampled instruments, some really cool to have Kontakt based things such as Ethereal Earth, Analog Dreams and Hypha, the really great "Raum" reverb, and even the Player version of Guitar Rig gets you some nice sounds.
Add to this some mixing essentials such as the iZotope EQ, the Supercharger compressor, etc.

Also, for many free sample libraries, you will need the included Kontakt Player anyway, so this is kinda like a must-have in case you're into such things.
And yes, this is coming from someone not exactly speaking in favour of the company. This bundle and the Kontakt Player are defenitely worth it, though.

Requires a Native Instruments account and installing their Native Access software.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Found this 2 days ago, only fooled around with it a bit more during the last hour, instantly made it into my "Top Favorites" folder.
If you like filters and going mad with them, look no further than at:

Bacon Paul's Two Filters

Release Nightly · baconpaul/two-filters

This is the nightly build of Two Filters, a paired filter plugin using the surge filter library. Download the file for your os and run the installer (mac) or install the files (lin/win) included. H...

github.com

Two filters (of pretty much any kind, I've never seen such a comprehensive collection), can be routed serially or parallely, along with some step sequencing modulator you can use to modulate pretty much anything for wild rhythmic stuff.
Can also be used for pretty simple things such as panning and tremolo.

For a start it might work best on something pad-ish, but in case your source sound isn't that, I recommend setting up a reverb (or cloud-ish) delay on a bus and slap this bad boy behind so the boring tails will get a well deserved treatment.

No registration, just a straight download and install.

The manual can be found here (the plugin will link to it as well):

two-filters/doc/manual.md at main · baconpaul/two-filters

Two Filters. Download the plugin here: https://github.com/baconpaul/two-filters/releases/tag/Nightly - baconpaul/two-filters

github.com

 

[maddnotez]

The Sword - FREE EQ Boost Pedal Plugin (AAX, AU, CLAP, VST2, VST3)

The Sword is a FREE analog modeled EQ Boost pedal. Available as AAX, AU, CLAP, VST2, VST3 plugin.

www.audiority.com

 

[AlbertA]

Teletronix LA-2A Tube Compressor from UA is currently free until September 30​

Teletronix LA-2A Tube Compressor

Add the warm sound of the most famous tube compressor ever made. Add analog richness with the most famous tube compressor ever made Get warm optical compression textures for vocals, bass, drums, and synths Enjoy radio-ready results quickly, with professionally-crafted presets Use with any DAW —...

www.uaudio.com

 

[FuzzyAce]

Free



"We just need your email, birthdate, social security # and current address. Then we will send you a verification code to unlock this FREE plugin!!"

 

[Sascha Franck]

Free



"We just need your email, birthdate, social security # and current address. Then we will send you a verification code to unlock this FREE plugin!!"

It's really not that bad with UA. They're a pretty serious company and by now I've gotten some incredibly nice things from them for free (such as the Polymax Synth, which, even if it's quite limited in terms of options, has made it into my main Logic template).
Apart from that, nobody's forcing you to give them your real data details.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

I've used a TON of free stuff over the years, and for the most part the only free stuff I still use are from companies that generally make commercial products. The ones who only do freebies tend to be more flaky on support/updates and are more prone to crashes or weirdness. A lot are unfortunately junk IMO. And given how ridiculously competitive the plugin market is these days, there are millions of commercial offerings that end up costing next to nothing, so even free can be a tough sell. These are the free plugins that I think are amazing and use lots though:

Fuse Audio Labs | Audio Plugins and Mobile Audio Apps

Fuse Audio Labs - Audio Plugins for Recording, Mixing and Mastering

fuseaudiolabs.com

TDR Nova | Tokyo Dawn Records

A dynamic equalizer in parallel configuration. Precise tone control paired with powerful dynamics processing.

www.tokyodawn.net

TDR Kotelnikov | Tokyo Dawn Records

A state of the art wideband dynamic range controller. Perfectly suited for stereo bus compression and other critical applications.

www.tokyodawn.net

TDR Prism | Tokyo Dawn Records

A modern spectrum analyzer with a focus on human audio perception, easy to use and configurable.

www.tokyodawn.net

Freeware Plug-Ins | Klanghelm Audio Plugins

Freeware Plug-Ins | Klanghelm Audio Plugins

klanghelm.com

Bertom Audio - Denoiser Classic

Denoiser Classic is a zero-latency noise reduction plugin for music, post-production and live use.

bertomaudio.com

Valhalla Space Modulator: Flanger Plugin | Valhalla DSP Plugins

Earth Shattering Kaboom. ValhallaSpaceModulator is our take on flanging. Eleven algorithms allow you to get through-zero flanging, barberpole flanging, detuning, doubling, strange echoes, reverbs, and all sorts of effects that defy description. New in 1.1.6: VST3, signed and notarized...

valhalladsp.com

Valhalla Super Massive - Valhalla DSP

Make some space. ValhallaSupermassive has been designed from the ground up for MASSIVE delays and reverbs. Get ready for luscious clouds of reverb, otherworldly delays, and swelling waves of feedback unlike any you’ve heard before. Supermassive has 21 out-of-this-world reverb/delay modes...

valhalladsp.com

Saturation Knob - Free Saturation Plugin

A free saturation plugin that can be used anywhere you need some grit. This free Softube plugin is a modeled output distortion plug-in that adds a taste of warm, analog saturation to your mixes. If you're looking for saturation plugins to give extra body and presence to your sound, this is the...

www.softube.com

So many companies do limited period free offers that are worth grabbing - I've picked up so many that way over the years.

 

[FuzzyAce]

Apart from that, nobody's forcing you to give them your real data details.

I'll just use yours then, Sascha.

 

[Sascha Franck]

I'll just use yours then, Sascha.

Go ahead!

 

[FuzzyAce]

Go ahead!

 

[Alex Kenivel]

I was just about to start such a thread when I noticed this one.

May I ask for some things?

- While funny, it might be a good idea to change the thread title for something more serious, so interested folks not into internet lingo may still look and not be confused by the thread title. But hey, maybe it's just fine.

- I think it'd be a great idea to only recommend things that you've already tried yourself. There's tons freebies like literally anywhere, so finding the good ones is an incredibly tough effort (the signal-to-noise-ratio isn't too strong and I'm sure nobody really needs 38 incarnations of an LA2A clone plugin).
Just some information about why the plugin is great to have.

- Along the last point, it'd be great if the registration requirements would be included. Some plugins require no action but downloading and installing, but by now the majority requires *some* action (at least like handing out a mail adress), some others even require installing a (sometimes pretty large) installation manager for the very company (for instance IK, Waves, NI, UVI, etc.).

You inspired me to create the thread in the first place! Now I have a central place to find your plugin referrals, they've always been interesting to read about.

I've changed the title to reflect my age, and agreed on the registration requirements. Things like that will make/break it for me!

 

[Sascha Franck]

I've changed the title to reflect my age,

Haha - if it was that, you better shouldn't have. I mean, we all like to come across a bit not-so-old-fart-ish here and there, don't we?

 

[Mikael Dez]

You inspired me to create the thread in the first place! Now I have a central place to find your plugin referrals, they've always been interesting to read about.

I've changed the title to reflect my age, and agreed on the registration requirements. Things like that will make/break it for me!

Using “teh” I’d probably guess you were in high school in the 00s?

 

[Sascha Franck]

Ok, I gotta admit that I'm pretty much a mixing dummy. Or rather: I have very little interest in all these fine details and what not.
Having said that, I still sometimes like to add a bit more of pressure/impact to, say, drums.
If you are like me and don't want to deal with anything more nerdy, grab yourself Loudmax and throw it on your drum bus, then just drag the upper slider to the left until things are fine. I'm using this since a long time already and it never gets old for me. Obviously works on some other things as well.
Completely free, no registration required, just download and install.

LoudMax

loudmax.blogspot.com