Everybody loves a free plugin. From bedroom beatmakers to professional producers, few can resist the allure of a decent freebie, but with so many powerful pieces of free music software being released each month, it's hard to keep up.
That's why here at MusicRadar HQ, we keep a close eye on the music production world, taking note of the latest and greatest free plugins worthy of decorating your channel strips and clogging up your hard drives. Here, we present a round-up of this month's discoveries - scroll further down to check out what we've discovered in previous months.
1. Klevgrand SyndtSphere
Platforms: macOS/Windows | Formats: VST/AU/AAX | Download
Klevgrand’s SyndtSphere isn’t technically new, but this free “spherical polyphonic synthesizer” just relaunched with a fresh interface, so if you didn’t catch it the first time around, it’s certainly worth a look.
SyndtSphere is a relatively simple instrument with an interesting concept at its core: the sphere you’ll find in the centre of the interface can be used to morph between its 70 presets, creating blended versions of its sounds by clicking and dragging on the circular panel.
The sounds in question are a decent collection of VA-style tones with an atmospheric vibe; gritty bass, warbly keys and lush pads are all at your disposal. These can be processed via an onboard ping-pong delay with Time, Mix and Feedback controls, while its Modulation section lets you adjust Pitch-Bend Range and Glide, along with an adjustable Legato Mode.
2. EB-Dione
Platforms: macOS/Windows | Formats: VST/AU/CLAP/LV2 | Download
Whizz-kid developer Ewan Bristow makes regular appearances in this column: we’re big fans of his free break-slicing multi-effects plugin Blasphemy, in particular. Since this past Christmas, he’s developed and released an astonishing three free music-making tools: along with CatNip, which we touch on below, and an FL Studio-inspired multiband delay, Bristow has shared Dione, an experimental sampler that’s capable of producing some pretty unconventional effects.
Inspired by the classic time-stretching tool PaulStretch, Dione utilizes spectral resynthesis to warp, transform and otherwise mangle your audio. Much like PaulStretch, it’s great for transforming small chunks of sound into long, immersive and unrecognizable pads and drones, which can be further tweaked using controls for gating, filtering and spectral shaping. Bristow’s also generously thrown in an onboard tape emulator and OTT compressor.
As is the case with all of Bristow’s plugins, Dione must be run inside Plugdata, a free visual programming environment that can be opened as a plugin in your DAW.
3. EB-CatNip
Platforms: macOS/Windows | Formats: VST/AU/CLAP/LV2 | Download
Another gem from Ewan Bristow, this plugin will be catnip for fans of experimental sound design. It’s a feline-themed, frequency-shifting delay that, like Dione, can be used to generate some wildly unorthodox sounds. With an interface that prominently features Bristow’s cat Fred, the plugin is based on the CWO effect on the Teenage Engineering OP-1, a pitch-shifting delay with a quirky bovine GUI.
Frequency shifters work in a similar fashion to pitch shifters, with a difference: they shift all of the frequencies that constitute a sound up or down by an absolute value. In contrast, a pitch shifter will shift the harmonics of a sound by different values in order to preserve their overall harmonic relationship.
CatNip frequency-shifts its delay effect, giving you control over the amount and direction of the shift via the Freq and Sideband parameters. Delay adjusts the delay time, while Feedback does exactly what you’d expect. There’s also an LFO, three-band EQ and a spectral gate onboard. Pro tip: give Fred’s tail a stroke to trigger some chaotic processing.
4. Morphoice Unstable
Platforms: macOS/Windows | Formats: VST/AU | Download
There are plenty of great software recreations of the Yamaha CS-80 out there, but how many of them can you snag for free? Morphoice takes on the legendary ‘70s synth with a free plugin that it rather ambitiously claims is “probably closer to the real hardware than anything out there”, while confusingly stating that it’s not intended to be an exact emulation.
Unstable’s two synth layers offer pulse, saw and noise waveforms along with variable pulse-width and PWM. You’ve got two filters - a high-pass modelled on the CS-80’s VCF, and a low-pass with a little extra “beef” - a ring modulator, dedicated drive circuit and even a recreation of the CS-80’s ribbon controller at the bottom of the interface, along with a handful of effects. We can confirm that it does an excellent Blade Runner impression.
5. Full Bucket Music Paralogy
Platforms: macOS/Windows | Formats: VST/VST3/AU/CLAP/AAX | Download
Having already recreated the Sequential DrumTraks, Lambda ES-50 and Korg PE-2000 - among many more - Full Bucket turns its attention to a pair of instruments from the somewhat lesser-known Italian synth-makers Crumar. Full Bucket's Paralogy is an emulation of Crumar's Trilogy and Stratus, two quirky '80s synths that you don't hear all that much about, four decades on.
While "closely simulating" the original hardware, Full Bucket has brought Trilogy and Stratus into the 21st-century with the addition of fully-fledged polyphony, comprehensive MIDI support and a couple of onboard effects. While it's not the most versatile synth plugin you'll come across today, Paralogy is capable of producing an ample variety of pleasantly retro sounds that should pair nicely with the other instruments in Full Bucket's fast-growing collection of free plugins.
DECEMBER 2024
1. Arturia Augmented Mallets Play
Platforms: macOS/Windows | Formats: AU/AAX/VST3/VST | Download
Arturia's Augmented series is a collection of software instruments that each centre on a specific type or family of acoustic instrument, fusing meticulously recorded sample libraries with synthesis and effects to create a versatile hybrid of acoustic and electronic sounds.
The latest addition to the Augmented family focuses on mallet instruments, augmenting the plinky-plonk tones of the marimba, vibraphone and celeste with an array of "cutting-edge" synth sounds to create a varied selection of multi-layered and modulatable presets, generously furnished with built-in effects.
2. Acustica Audio Thing-2
Platforms: macOS/Windows | Formats: AU/AAX/VST3 | Download
Earlier this month, Acustica Audio - primarily a maker of mixing and mastering plugins - announced the release of its first soft synth. Thing is a Jupiter-8 emulation (yes, another one) that the company says delivers "exceptional sound quality and unmatched realism" thanks to its newly-developed Modular Unified Synthesis Technology.
Acustica has slimmed down the Thing to create a free two-voice version, Thing-2, that's still pretty capable for a free synth plugin; though only equipped with a single oscillator (and a sub-oscillator), it boasts six filter modes, a versatile envelope and a fairly comprehensive LFO section, along with an Age control that lets you dial in some of the Jupiter's vintage vibes to taste. It's a thing of beauty.
3. PSP Chamber
Platforms: macOS/Windows | Formats: AU/AAX/VST3/VST | Download
PSP Audioware is a respected plugin developer that's been around for more than two decades, so when it releases a freebie, it's always worth a download. Earlier this month, PSP released a new version of its versatile paid-for reverb plugin called EasyVerb, while also launching a free reverb that utilizes one of EasyVerb's ten reverb algorithms.
Despite being based around a single algorithm that's designed to produce "rapidly developing and dense reverberations with a smooth and natural decay", Chamber can produce a diverse range of ambiences through the manipulation of its size control, decay time and three-band EQ.
4. Newfangled Audio Obliterate
Platforms: macOS/Windows | Formats: AU/AAX/VST3/VST | Download
Obliterate is an idiosyncratic hybrid distortion/filter plugin with a fascinating backstory. Newfangled Audio's Dan Gillespie was designing a filter when a bug in the code caused some unwanted, but unique-sounding, resonant distortion. For many of us, this would present a problem, but for Gillespie, it presented an opportunity: he's now captured the "absurd, over-the-top" distortion he stumbled on accidentally and packaged it in a free plugin.
As its name would suggest, Obliterate is bent on destruction, producing a fierce and violent form of distortion that is anything but subtle. It will confidently pulverize any signal, turning synths into sludge and drum machines into digital detritus. Above the central slider for adjusting its obliteration levels, you're given the choice between setting it to ON or MORE ON - this should tell you everything you need to know.
5. Minimal Audio Squash
Platforms: macOS/Windows | Formats: AU/AAX/VST3/VST | Download
Minimal Audio gave away this brand new, ultra-slick (and really fun to use) OTT compressor last month as part of its Black Friday promotions, and we're into it. Stripping away the complexities of a conventional compressor, Squash's intuitive interface is built around a scaleable X/Y pad, allowing users to quickly try out different compression styles in their mixes without stress. Meaning that we can get a robust and effective sound without wasting time.
Squash has been tailor-made for today’s styles, and allows users to quickly scale different options to find their ideal loudness and spectral balance. Behind the scenes there are four bands of dual compression which range from pristine enhancement to quite full-on, over-the-top compression styles.
6. Baby Audio Warp
Platforms: macOS/Windows | Formats: AU/AAX/VST3/VST | Download
One developer that we can always bank on for a festive giveaway is Baby Audio. This year’s freebie has just arrived in the form of Warp, an audio manipulation plugin lifted from Transit 2, the brand’s recent plugin collaboration with Andrew Huang.
Warp’s Speed dial is designed to speed up and slow down audio, which its creators claim it can do with “unprecedented clarity, free from the typical artifacts.” It also features a Stretch control, which allows users to manipulate the pitch of the audio independently from the time. The plugin's third and final control is a Mix dial that allows users to balance the warped and dry signals.
While this three-element setup is fairly simplistic, Warp has the capacity to be a powerful sound-shaping tool, ideal for creating either subtle tape-style wobbles or more extreme audio-mangling effects.
7. Valhalla Supermassive
Platforms: macOS/Windows | Formats: AU/AAX/VST3/VST | Download
Valhalla Supermassive isn't a new plugin, but it's one of our all-time favourites, and was recently updated with a new reverb/echo algorithm that's made this already-fantastic free reverb even more of a must-have.
First launched in 2020, Supermassive is a reverb/delay plugin that specialises in unusual and unnatural ambiences. The majority of its 21 reverb modes are designed to create extremely long and high-density feedback lines, which can create ethereal washes of ambience and long, swelling delay lines. (Pro tip: feed any sound source into its Planetarium preset to create instant ambient drones.)
Version 4.0 is something of a change of tack, though. Whereas previous versions have specialised in reverb effects that are unnatural sounding by design, the Pleiades algorithm is tailored to more natural-sounding ambient effects. While it’s just one more mode to add alongside 20 others, Pleiades is significant in that it has the potential to further expand Supermassive’s usefulness beyond its remit as a go-to creative effect into more functional mixing territory.
NOVEMBER 2024
1. Soundtoys PhaseMistress
Platforms: macOS/Windows | Formats: VST/VST3/AU/AAX | Download
When we ask producers and artists which plugin effects they use the most (and we do a lot of that) there's one brand that's named more often than any other: Soundtoys. These guys are the best in the business, so when they give away one of their plugins for free, it's an instant download. Don't delay, though, as this one's only available until November 15th.
PhaseMistress is an analogue-modelled phaser plugin that emulates a broad variety of classic hardware phasers from recording history, packing 69 different phasing styles into a single processor. Offering fine-grained control over its modelled phasing circuit, you're able to adjust its resonance, colour and intensity to dial in precisely the sound you're after.
Like most phasers, you're able to control its filter sweep through the use of an LFO, but PhaseMistress lets you draw in customized LFO curves, program in rhythmic phase shifts using the Rhythm mode, or use its envelope follower to shape the effect via an incoming audio signal.
2. Full Bucket Music Broken Mini
Platforms: macOS/Windows | Formats: VST/VST3/AU/CLAP/AAX | Download
Full Bucket Music has been releasing free plugin emulations of classic synths by the bucketload this year, and it looks like the developer has no plans to slow down, as the company shares an emulation of another vintage instrument: but this time, there's a twist.
We've all had a piece of gear break down on us from time to time, and while these kind of malfunctions are inconvenient and costly, they can - if we're lucky - also become a source of inspiration. Sometimes, it's these imperfections and idiosyncrasies that give our instruments the kind of unique character that keeps us coming back for more.
That's the philosophy behind Full Bucket Music's latest plugin, which emulates a broken Minimoog. No, we're not kidding. The synth offers much the same functionality and architecture as the vintage classic it's based on, but with a handful of quirks and flaws baked into its design. The joy of a broken instrument is in its unpredictability, so we'll let you discover those by yourselves...
3. Aaron Anderson Terrain
Platforms: macOS/Windows/Linux | Formats: VST3/AU | Download
Aaron Anderson's Terrain is an innovative synth plugin that makes use of an unconventional synthesis method known as wave terrain synthesis, wherein waveforms are generated by a 2D trajectory scanning over a modelled 3D surface; the motion of the trajectory over the surface, or terrain, creates evolving timbres, and the resulting timbre depends on both the shape and size of the trajectory as well as the shape of the terrain being scanned. Watch the video above for a thorough explanation.
The shape, size, position and motion of the trajectory can be controlled via the right-hand control panel, which also lets you dial in trajectory feedback; here, the trajectory's position feeds back on to itself, dramatically modifying its shape and creating some pretty aggressive tones, tamed by the plugin's spatial compressor. You'll also find a conventional ADSR envelope, which can be used to shape both the amplifier and the size of the trajectory, along with a basic filter. Terrain offers us a fantastic opportunity to experiment with a novel type of synthesis without spending a dime.
4. MeldaProduction MDelay
Platforms: macOS/Windows | Formats: VST/VST3/AU/AAX | Download
MeldaProduction's MFreeFXBundle is the biggest collection of free plugins available on the internet, bringing together 38 (yes, 38!) audio effects, mixing tools and utilities in a bundle that's become an essential download for any producers working on a tight budget - or just anyone that likes free stuff. And who doesn't?
The latest addition to the MFreeFXBundle is MDelay, a free delay plugin that looks like one of the best free plugins Melda have ever produced. Equipped with two delay lines, three delay modes and a host of fine-grained controls and extra features - including saturation, tape emulation, adjustable filter routing, mid/side processing and low- and high-pass filters - this is undoubtedly the most powerful free delay we've ever come across. To be honest, we can't quite believe this is free.
5. Solid State Logic X-Orcism II: Voices from the Crypt
Platforms: macOS/Windows | Formats: VST/VST3/AU/AAX | Download
Released just in time for Halloween, SSL X-Orcism II: Voices from the Crypt is a vocal processor and multi-effects plugin aimed at conjuring spooky timbres and haunting soundscapes. Packing a delay, pitch-shifter, reverb and noise generator into a single processor, X-Orcism II can not only be used to transform your voice into "eerie and supernatural tones", but also to lend an unearthly touch to synths, drums, guitars, or frankly any audio source that needs spooking out.
X-Orcism's simple, easy-to-use interface is equipped with eight encoders; at the top-left we have Echoes and Crypt Size, for dialling in diabolical delays, and beneath that the aptly-named Ghoul and Wail controls can be used to control the pitch-shifter. Cranking up the Howl control will "evoke the haunting beauty of desolate landscapes" by activating the plugin's noise generator, while the Tombverb dial floods the signal in an atmospheric reverb fit for Tutankhamun.
6. EB-Blasphemy
Platforms: macOS/Windows | Formats: VST3/AU/CLAP/LV2 | Download
Bristol-based plugin developer Ewan Bristow has been turning out some fantastic free plugins this year, and this is one of his best. EB-Blasphemy is a generative, break-slicing sampler plugin with an array of sound-mangling effects built in, letting you transform drum breaks into glitchy, experimental patterns with a click of your mouse.
At the core of Blasphemy is its sample slicer, which, though Bristow describes it as an "Amen break chopper engine", can be used to slice and dice anything from vocal lines to synth riffs to instrumental loops. This runs through a resonator, spectral gate, bitcrusher, reverser and timestretcher, alongside two buttons that can be used to drop in "Woo!" and "Yeah!" samples lifted from the classic Think Break. Crank up the tempo, and it's instant breakcore.
EB-Blasphemy runs inside the free visual programming environment Plugdata, so you'll have to install that to run it.
7. EB-SpectraVeil
Platforms: macOS/Windows | Formats: VST3/AU/CLAP/LV2 | Download
Yet another excellent free plugin from Ewan Bristow, SpectraVeil is a spectral processor that delivers a unique take on frequency shifting called frequency stretching.
Rather than shift frequencies by a fixed amount, SpectraVeil warps them spectrally, by breaking audio down into thousands of frequency bands through FFT analysis, then reconstructing a warped version of the original signal in accordance with functions plotted on a graph in the plugin's user interface. Random functions can be generated by hitting the Random button, which can be synced to your project tempo to create some gnarly rhythmic effects. SpectraVeil also runs in Plugdata.
OCTOBER 2024
1. Blanketfort Audio Breakshaper
Platforms: macOS/Windows | Formats: VST3/AU | Download
Breakshaper is a multi-effects processor that promises to "get your drums where you want them with a minimum of fuss". Uniting tone-shaping, distortion and dynamics control in a single plugin, Breakshaper is - as its name suggests - well-suited to gifting drum breaks with character, drive and overall oomph, taming wayward transients while injecting samples with a welcome dose of grit and saturation.
The plugin's state-variable filter can be used to reign in low-end rumble, while the harmonics control will bring some high-frequency sheen to your hi-hats and cymbals, before the final result is glued together with a basic but effective compression module.
2. Modalics Plugin Buddy
Platforms: macOS/Windows | Formats: VST3/AU/AAX/Standalone | Download
Plugin Buddy is a plugin host and utility that does a lot of useful things. As a standalone app, it can host VST3 plugins, so you can use it to open up and play with instrument, effects and MIDI plugins outside of your DAW.
But, as Plugin Buddy is also available in AU and AAX formats - and hosts VST3 plugins - you can also use it to circumvent compatibility issues by opening up VST3 plugins in DAWs that don't support them, such as Pro Tools.
That's not all; Plugin Buddy is also equipped with some useful MIDI utilities, a two-oscillator synthesizer and two effects: a clipper and a low-pass filter.
3. Venus Theory auras:polyscape
Platforms: macOS/Windows | Formats: VST/VST3/AU/AAX/Standalone | Download
This month, YouTuber and musician Venus Theory announced the launch of a new series of free sample instruments built to run in the free Decent Sampler plugin, kicking off with a free library of samples of the Arturia Polybrute 12.
This collection of "deep and cinematic" sounds were sourced from Cameron's custom-built patches and recorded through analogue tube preamps to "capture the glorious and imperfect nature of analogue synthesis". This is a great opportunity to capture the sound of a $4k analogue synthesizer in your productions without spending a penny.
4. Wavea Flite
Platforms: macOS/Windows | Formats: VST3/AU | Download
Flite is a new synth and sampler plugin with free and paid-for tiers; the free version features an extensive sound library based on 2.5GB of samples from a long list of rare and classic synths from Yamaha, Roland, Oberheim, Sequential, Korg and more.
Flite's entire preset library can be accessed for free as part the plugin's free tier, while the plugin's paid-for tier will give you access to additional functionality such as in-depth parameter editing, preset saving, and sample importing.
5. UFX Reverb
Platforms: macOS/Windows | Formats: VST/VST3/AU/AAX | Download
Available for free until the end of October, UFX Reverb is a versatile reverb plugin with a full-featured spec sheet. The plugin's 10 reverb modes would be more than enough for a freebie, offering conventional Spring, Plate, Room and Hall options alongside reversed and gated reverbs, but in addition to this we have a wide array of tools for sound design that makes UFX far more than just a bread-and-butter 'verb.
The plugin's filter section offers a rather generous selection of 26 filter types, with presets that incorporate distortion, modulation and lo-fi effects, while the Finisher dial opens up an even more impressive smorgasbord of additional effects with glitchy rhythmic processors that slice, dice and mangle your reverbs into exciting new patterns.
6. Full Bucket Music DrumTraqs
Platforms: macOS/Windows | Formats: VST/VST3/CLAP/AU/AAX | Download
Full Bucket Music has been delivering free plugin emulations of rare and classic synths by the bucketload this year, and it looks like the developer has no plans to slow down, as it unveils an emulation of the Sequential Circuits DrumTraks drum machine.
Full Bucket's recreation features the original factory samples found in DrumTraks, alongside some extra ROM samples. The plugin simulates the original Z80 chip found in the original drum machine, and - despite its lack of sequencer - recreates its endearingly clunky song and pattern-based workflow.
Tuning and levels for each of DrumTraq's fourteen sounds can also be adjusted individually, while each of its six channels can also be tweaked in volume or panned to create stereo drum patterns. It's also got MIDI CC support, along with SysEx and MIDI import and export, in case you want to load in patterns and patches from the original hardware.
7. Nebuphonic Nebudestru Destruction Unit
Platforms: macOS/Windows | Formats: VST3/AU | Download
If you like distortion (and who doesn't, really?) then Nebuphonic's Nebudestru Destruction Unit (try saying that five times in a row) is the free plugin for you, delivering a comprehensive selection of destructive processors alongside a variety of tone-shaping controls to tailor its sonic degradation to suit any mix or application.
Nebudestru offers up seven distortion types, including emulations of the distortion introduced by tape machines and tube amplifiers, alongside bitcrushing and saturation. You'll also find an EQ with 5 clarity-degrading preset curves, a vinyl-style noise generator, low and high-pass filters and not one or two, but three LFOs for modulating the plugin's parameters. All in all, a remarkably healthy set of options for a free plugin.
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