The 10 Best FREE VST Synths to Use – Forgive Me Lord, For I Have Synth! When it comes to VST synths, you can decide on whether you want to buy one, or you want to download one for free. Naturally, the best VST synths are really the one that you’re gonna have to buy. Best Free Synth Instrument VST. Welcome to the most popular category of this article. A good synth can make or break a song, and you’d be surprise how far a free synth can go. A great example is Synth1 by Daichi Labs. Artists such as Noisia have confessed to using it extensively and it sounds just amazing. Check for yourself. Size 8 MB Stupider Simpler Sampler from BipTunia Synths is by FAR the easiest to use sampler there is. It’s stupid simple to use. It’s a 64-bit VST, drop-dead simple. The classic Roland JX-8P is emulated by this free synth VST wherein all the parameters are MIDI mappable with MIDI learning. All together, if you seek 80s style analogue pads, bass patches and a marvellous chorus module, the PG-8X is one of the best synth VST plugins on the market. 21) Full Bucket Music FB-3300.

Sometime you just need a plain good old sampler VST plugin for your tracks :
just load a .wav sample, tweak some envelope, maybe adjust pitch, and add some loop points. No more no less.
You don’t need the bells & whistles of Kontakt, nor gigabytes of library => just load some samples and come on !

So here’s a selection of 6 FREEWARE sampler in VST format:

1. TX16Wx VST

download 100% free : http://www.tx16wx.com/

Available for Windows (32 & 64 bit) & Mac (VST & AU 64 bit)
This one is more than a simple sampler for loading & playing audio files!
It’s the more complete & full featured free sampler.
Tons of modulations & envelope, powerful keyboard mapping…
You can choose between 4 sizes for the UI (from 800X600 to 1280X768)
and the plugin can record from its own inputs (DAW inputs).
This is also the more “up to date” plugin.
It can load wav, aiff ogg, flac + sf2 soundfonts and sfz.

2. Grace : Sampler

Grace Sampler

download : http://www.onesmallclue.com/plugin/grace/

Available for Windows in 32 & 64 bit VST format.
I find it more good looking than the TX16Wx!
It’s also very powerful; with keyboard mapping, envelope & modulation.
like the precedent, it can preview sounds, the browser is very nice.
can load wav, aif & snd + sfz bank sounds.
On the website you can also download library with good sounds.

3. ShortCircuit 2

download 4 free ! http://vemberaudio.se/shortcircuit.php

Availbable for Windows , 32 bit VST.
Sadly, Shortcircuit is discontinued.
But if you’re still using 32 bit VST, it’s one the best VST sampler around.
The Keyboard mapping (on a vertical view ! unlike the others), the modulation & evelope options, it’s very complete, and should work without any problems (you can also download older version if you experience some bugs)

can load wav files + AKAI sample file (AKAI S5000/S6000/ Z4 Z8) + sf2 files + Recycle REX files.

4. Paax 2 sampler

Paax 2 VST

direct download : http://www.behringerdownload.de/UCONTROL/p2_app.zip

Available for Windows 32 bit only VST.
Unfortunaly, the paax sampler has vanished from the internet, and is no longer developed.
The paax 3 was free for some time, and the paax 2 was always freeware.
The UI is small, but all the features are here.
Not the fastest workflow, but some like it like that.

5. EZ-Sampler

download : http://sbaudio.org/ez-sampler

Available for Windows, 32 bit VST only.
This one is simple, you can load only one sample, so no keyboard mapping.
Sometimes it’s just what you need ! and with EZ-Sampler, it’s fast and without troubles.
can load wav, aiff, ogg, flac, snd, wma & mp3 (need Lame Encoder).

6. Helios VST !

Tobybear Helios VST

dowload : http://www.tobybear.de/files.html

Available for Windows, 32 bit VST only.
From the Tobybear “insbag” VST collection. This one is old school !
ADSR on volume + filter + delay + LFO + loop. Just load a wav file and let’s go!
drop some LFO on the loop start : instant funkyness!

We covered the best free synthesizer plugins in a recent article. But what are the best free retro synthesizers? Find out in the list below and return to free VST plugins for more software.

The retro 80s sound is more popular than ever. Genres like synthwave and chillwave are the perfect soundtrack for working from home while daydreaming about night rides on open highways.

But you don’t have to be a retro synth geek to love the sound of vintage synthesizers. One can hear the emulated sounds of retro polysynths in the chart-topping hits from mainstream artists like Dua Lipa and The Weeknd.

If you’re into making synthwave music, chances are you’ll need a good virtual analog synthesizer for your digital audio workstation. Help yourself to our Top 10 list of free retro synth VST plugins.

Free Retro Synthesizers: Top 10

These are the best free vintage synthesizer emulation VST plugins:

PG-8X (Roland JX-8P)
OB-Xd (Oberheim OB-Xa)
Mono/Fury (Korg Mono/Poly)
Fury-800 (Korg Poly-800)
TAL-U-No-62 (Roland Juno-60)
Tyrell N6 (Roland Juno-60)
Dexed (Yamaha DX7)
Viking (Moog Voyager)
Synth1 (Nord Lead 2)
Nils K1v (Kawai K1)

Read more about each instrument below and scroll to the bottom of the page to see the Honorable Mentions.

PG-8X

PG-8X emulates Roland’s legendary JX-8P analog synthesizer. The original JX-8P sounded huge, but it lacked in the hands-on control department. Users had to dive through menus to program new sounds.

That’s why Roland released the PG-800 controller. It was an external hardware device that made programming the Roland JX-8P and Super JX synthesizers a far more user-friendly affair.

The free PG-8X synthesizer by Martin Lüders gives the best of both worlds. You’re getting a detailed emulation of JX-8P’s analog synthesis engine and the control layout borrowed from the PG-800 controller.

PG-8X truly shines as a synthwave instrument. It’s one of those rare virtual instruments that sound analog-like almost effortlessly.

Create eye-watering lush pads and earth-shattering analog basslines in the blink of an eye. Turn on the Unison mode for instant fat leads. Also, the included chorus module applies an immediate retro-boost to any sound.

More info:PG-8X

OB-Xd

OB-Xd takes inspiration from the Oberheim OB-X analog synthesizer. The original was the analog weapon of choice for brass sounds, pads, and punchy bass.

Thankfully, this freeware plugin from discoDSP nails that classic Oberheim sound. It also comes with an extensive collection of presets that serve as an instant source of legendary analog sounds.

Even better, OB-Xd is easy to program thanks to its user-friendly interface. Beginners and sound design experts alike shouldn’t have any issues with building custom synth patches from scratch.

2Dat originally developed the OB-Xd. He later provided the source code to discoDSP, who are now handling the development and support.

You can use OB-Xd for free. The developers are accepting an optional $49 donation from users who want to support their work.

More info:OB-Xd

Mono/Fury

Full Bucket Music’s website is a treasure trove of emulated analog synthesizers. Even better, all of their vintage-inspired virtual instruments are free. We had a hard time selecting just two Full Bucket Music plugins for this article.

That said, be sure to check out everything else this talented developer has to offer. And be sure to support their work with a donation if possible.

Our first Full Bucket Music pick is the Mono/Fury plugin, which models the Mono/Poly analog synthesizer by Korg. Mono/Fury emulates all the original instrument’s quirks and peculiarities, including the unique polyphony mode. Each voice triggers a different oscillator, resulting in some complex multi-layered timbres when playing chords and melodies.

At the same time, Mono/Fury comes will all the handy features of a modern-day audio plugin. It has a preset manager, supports MIDI learn and automation, and features a state-of-the-art zero-delay feedback low-pass filter with self-oscillation.

Mono/Fury operates as a VST and Audio Unit plugin in all compatible digital audio workstations on PC and Mac.

More info:Mono/Fury

Fury-800

Ah, another Full Bucket Music plugin and another Fury. This one is a personal favorite of mine as it models the Korg Poly-800, a cheap analog hybrid synthesizer that I owned back in the day. It featured digitally controlled oscillators

Free Vst Sampler Synth