Here is the SYNTH ANATOMY list of the best free Synthesizer plugins for PC & Mac ranging from virtual analog, FM, percussive to modular synthesis concepts!
Best Free Hip Hop VST Plugins. Look, free hip hop VST synth and drum machines are not always the bad ones. They are not as advanced or flexible, and they sounds are sometimes of lower quality, but that’s about it. The 12 best FREE VST plugins Sweetcase. Acoustica Nightlife. NUSofting Sinnah. Orion Sound Module. Ample Guitar M Lite II. Ample Bass P Lite II. Lord Of The Springs. MT Power DrumKit 2. Here is the SYNTH ANATOMY list of the best free Synthesizer plugins for PC & Mac ranging from virtual analog, FM, percussive to modular synthesis concepts! If you want to produce music, you need a digital audio workstation (DAW) and for some sound options also some good plugins.
If you want to produce music, you need a digital audio workstation (DAW) and for some sound options also some good plugins. Unfortunately, many musicians can’t afford very expensive plugins. For this reason, I would like to briefly present my favourite Synthesizer plugins which are available for free for PC and Mac.
I’m pretty sure there are far more plugins available but I want to consider here both worlds: the PC and the Mac universe.
FREE SYNTHESIZER FOR PC & MAC (UPDATED MAY 2019)
TAL-Noisemaker Synthesizer v.4
It’is an improved version of TAL-Elek7ro and has a completely new synth engine and a lot of improvements in sound and usability. The synth also includes an effect section with a reverb, chorus and a simple bit crusher effect. A display shows the knob and slider values. This allows more control over the synth. A ringmodulator and a syncable triangle are also part of this synth.
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. 128 factory presets included.
Check also my demo video here: TAL Noisemaker Demo
More informations here: TAL-Noisemaker Synthesizer
U-he Tyrell N6 Synthesizer
Tyrell is the name of a project by the German online magazine Amazona.de. A reader survey and follow-on forum posts provided a pool of ideas for a low-cost HARDWARE analogue synth, which Mic ‘Moogulator’ Irmer collected and used to develop quite a powerful concept. Based on a design similar to Roland’s classic Juno 60, a few modules and novel features could be added without making the product too expensive…
However, it soon became obvious that developing the hardware would have taken years, so I (Urs) offered to turn the core design into a freeware softsynth. That was late 2010. Only a few weeks later, TyrellN6 was out for beta testing! After some serious bug-fixing and fine tuning, the final release version became available in April 2011.
More informations here: U-he Tyrell N6 Synthesizer
Dexed – FM Synthesizer Plugin
Dexed is a FM Synthesizer closely modelled on the Yamaha DX7. The goal of this project is to be a tool /companion for the original DX7. Sound engine with ‘float’ value parameters, different waveform à la TX81z would be great but anything that goes beyond the DX7 should and will be a fork of this project. This is to keep the compatibility with the original machine.
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Top 10 Weirdest VST Plugins 2019
Each family as well as each group of friends has that one weird guy doing some rather ubiquitous things which are straight up weird and that’s the case with plugin developers. We all have that one plugin that we load up when we’re in need of something extraordinary or simply crazy. What does it take to be on our list of weird plugins? We either judge the straight-up weirdness of the GUI or the sound shaping capabilities. Let’s just simply jump into the craziness, here is our top 10 list of weird VST plugins in no particular order.
1 Glitch 2 by Illformed
This is technically a step sequencer but what’s unique about it is the fact that it doesn’t trigger sampled sounds. Instead it triggers FX. This is a Swiss army knife for slicing, dicing, screwing, twisting, turning and mangling your sounds. There’s a whole bunch of FXs here such as randomizer, modulator, tape stop, retrigger, reverser, stretcher, LoFi, distortion, gater and delay.
Since Glitch features a multi-lane editor, you can trigger and tweak these effects in real-time. The Mutate function is our favourite because it really randomizes each effect into something completely unexpected. Weirdly enough you can get some really inspiring and awesome results. For 50 EUR you’re getting a lot of fun here.
2 Frohmage by Ohmforce
The name itself sounds cheesy! But aside from the name the UI itself is all cheesy and weird looking. If you disregard all of this you’re getting a really decent resonant filter. It’s designed to be dirty, warm and can add some serious colour to your signal. Frohmage features a low-pass filter, multiple band-pass filter and a distortion stage and it can really transform your tracks.
Free Trap Vst Plugins
The EVOLVE knob uses multiple pitch-shifting delays for each band of the multi band-pass filters and it creates some out-of-this-world effects. You can even map your MIDI controls to this plugin to control all of the effects in real-time like on a synth. If you’re feeling cheesy, this one’s for you and it’s a freebie by the way.
3 The Orb by Audiothing
This is a formant filter which simulates the characteristics of the human voice. Featuring a set of three band pass filters, The Orb can transform any sound into a vowel-like formant-filtered sound. With the three LFOs you can modulate the Vowel, the Emphasis/Resonance of the formants and the Drift which can shift up or down the frequencies of each formant.
You can also create your own set of vowels by changing the name and frequency for each vowel/formant. Oh and it also looks like a control panel of a submarine or something from the cold war era, so it’s cool to look at as well. It’s 50 EUR so give it a go if you please.
4 Ned Flangers by Killapluggies
Even though this is a straight-up simple flanger, they got us with the name here. Just for the name itself you need to take a look at this one. It’s 32-bit Windows only but has some dirty raw sound which many modern digital flangers don’t have.
The GUI has four simple knobs for control and features Ned Flanders dressed as the Devil. Have we mentioned it is free? Go get it!
Top Vst Synth
5 Delay Lama by AudioNerdz
This is the first VST instrument which features vocal synthesis with a real-time animated 3D interface. What it does is that it enables you to make a Tibetan monk overtone sounds simply by playing one note due to its monophonic structure.
Use the built-in XY pad to adjust the pitch of the sound and go through the vowels. It features a simple stereo delay to add some depth to the sound. This a ridiculously funny instrument in the best way. It’s free, so you don’t have an excuse for not at least trying it.
6 Meow Synth by Meowizer
Here’s something for all of you cat-lovers out there. The sounds of this synth are actually based on a real cat owned by the developer. It’s a freebie and it’s actually nice for creating some weird sounds. It features a single oscillator which is basically a cat meowing and it has an auto filter.
Strangely enough it’s velocity sensitive and it has monophonic and polyphonic modes. Meowizer also features a built-in chorus and tempo-synced vibrato with controlled attack.
7 Physion by Eventide
Best Free Vst Synth Plugins 2018
It was formerly known as Fission, but the guys from Eventide decided to change it for some reason. This is a structural effect that breaks-up a signal source (or a sound) into its basic components and then processes them individually, only to combine them back together again. It separates the transients and tonal elements in order to individually process them.
It features six transient effects and seven tonal effects and it can really alter the sound in unimaginable ways. You can totally change a drum sound by processing the resonant pitch without affecting the transient pitch and it can adjust the impact of a pick on a guitar string. Physion also features reverb, delay, chorus, phaser and tremolo for adding depth so it’s more than just a transient and tonal shaper. Bearing in mind the price tag of $179, it’s a good thing they offer a time-limited test version.
8 Cannabis Vocoder by Bitsonic
We simply had to feature this one! This one covers everything a weird plugin should have. A weirdly looking interface is absolutely matched by the sound shaping capabilities.
Cannabis vocoder is a funny plugin which can completely change the sound of your vocal track. The mono version is an effect plugin and by using the effect on the vocal track the software automatically tracks the tune of the vocal track and calculates the pitch of the changed sound as well. The poly version is a VST instrument application so you can load the vocal track into the software and by playing your midi keyboard you can create a polyphonic vocoder effect. Real cannabis is often not free and it will get you into a lot of trouble with the authorities, but this plugin version won’t. ?
Free Vst Plugins Downloads
9 Backsmack by Freakshow Industries
Okay, so this one REALLY wins on all fronts! It looks like it’s out of this world and sounds like it too. This is how Freakshow Industries describe it:
“A chaotic reverser plugin built to make mom proud. Backsmack uses government approved paradox processing technologies to expose the hidden terrors of music. Uncover the plots of ghosts, aliens and other rogue entities with Freakshow Industries Backsmack”.
This is how we describe it: ABSOLUTELY MENTAL. In the best possible way. This one is our favourite of the bunch. For 20 bucks it’s a no-brainer too.
10 Triple Cheese by U-He
This one is similar to a lot of synth plugins out there but it goes through a lot of short chromatic delays in order to create some rather strange sounds. With a massive set of features in its interface and a giant host of presets, this comb synthesizer should keep you busy for a few hours… or weeks. Depending on your synth addictiveness, it’s a cheesy synth to say the least.