We all love free stuff, especially when it can enhance and refine our music production skills. Most of you will likely be very aware of the big hitters like Serum, Massive and others which are renowned for their sound design elements but there are some very useful, free options. In our latest list, we have kindly collated the top nine must-have free plugins to add to your DAW armoury to make your tracks and mixes sound bigger, better and incredibly polished. Below find a variety of plugins to create nerve-shredding distortion, dreamy EQ’d vocals, slick dynamic compression, stylish effects and much, much more.
If you’re interested in learning more about how VST instruments work, as well as the likes of Ableton, Logic Pro and more, you can register to study with us at Point Blank both online and at one of our global locations. we also offer a number of our own freebies here at Point Blank which can be found here.
EQ
The SonEQ is a three-band equalizer which draws the best parts from vintage gear and combines them into one excellent interface. The plugin encompasses the standard bass, middle and treble dials in addition to it two musical high-pass/low-pass filters, preamp stage with bass booster and more. SonEQ is available for Mac and Windows with the pro version offering all of the above and more. SonEQ is up for grabs here.
Distortion
If you’re looking for something to beef up your bass, drums and, well, pretty much everything else, Camelaudio’s Camelcrusher is the tool for the job. Camelcrusher comes equipped with two different distortions which can be combined to create much wider tones. As well as being easy to use to fatten up your sounds it comes with a randomize feature for inspiration and a number of handy presets which are great to get started with. Download this one here.
Synths
You may recognise the name Uhe as the developers behind the popular Diva synth plugin. In addition to their paid products they also offer a number of freebies including their “compact, sporty synth” TyrellN6 and their Zebralette.
The TyrellN6 was based on concept ideas for a hardware synth and includes noise and ring modulator oscillators, an audio source mixer with authentic overdrive and filter feedback, over 580 factory presets and more. Grab your free download of this cool Juno-style synth via Amazona.
The Zebralette is a version of Hans Zimmer’s self-confessed favourite synth, Zebra, and features 16 voice polyphonic, monophonic and legato modes and 3 built-in effects including chorus/phaser, EQ and delay. As well as the ability to create your own sounds on this excellent synth it also comes loaded with 300 presets to play around with. Download Zebralette and see its full list of specs here.
808 and 909 kick drums have been a staple in electronic music since the creation of the popular, and highly sought after, Roland drum machines. This freeware from Synsonic is available for both Mac and Windows users and will emulate those classic sounds which still remain relevant today. Throw some distortion on these and you’ll have a beefy kick to lay the foundations of your next track. Download now for free here.
For those authentic, organic sounds, Ample Sound’s Cloudrum can emulate a steel tongue drum to a remarkable level. The interface is clean, simple and easy to use and features an open, Mute, Opened Release and Muted Release articulations. This one’s great for those tropical sounding cuts. Get it free here.
Effects
Blue Cat Audio Freeware Plug-ins Pack II
The kind people over at Blue Cat Audio have not offered up just one free plugin but an entire pack of them. Their Freeware Plugins Pack II is crammed with useful effect tools to tighten up your mixes including a wide range of premium modulation effects, a single and dual-channel equalizer, a unique midi-controllable gain suite, as well as a professional spectrum analyzer. Grab the full bundle here.
Despite its playfully cheesy looking exterior, this powerful effect from ohmforce is most certainly not a toy. The aptly named Frohmage will become a staple in your rack thanks to its excellent delivery of warmth, dirt and much more at a professional audio quality. Download the Frohmage for free here.
Dynamics
Helmed at the “compressor with character” vladg/sound‘s Molot is perfect for colouring sound. It has the ability to use minimal CPU power and boasts a multitude of modes and configurations. Get your copy of the Molot here and for more info on the VST, check out our DIY Mastering tutorial video (the Molot comes in around the 28:10 mark). Molot is available here.
All of the above are just a fraction of freebies the web has to offer. To see our full list of top freeware, keep scrolling.
Best of The Rest
EQ
Distortion
Klanghelm IVGI
LePou Amp SIms Pack
Camelaudio Camelcrusher
VoxengoTubeamp
Mix Tools
Voxengo MSED
Voxengo Stereo Touch
Voxengo Span
Synths
Uhe Tyrell 60
Uhe Zebralette
BD 808 & BD 909
Cloudrum
TAL Noisemaker
Effects
Blue Cats Collection
Ambience
OhmForce Fromage
Dynamics
Klanghelm DC1A
Molot compressor and Limiter No6 Limiter
TDR Feedback Compressor
Flux BitterSweet
Learning to use these bits of software can sometimes be tricky to do alone. That’s why we offer a range of different courses which can teach you the ins and outs of Music Production and Sound Design.
Register to Access Free Courses, Plugins, Projects, Samples & More
When you register with Point Blank, you access an array of free sounds, plugins, online course samples and much more! Simply register below and visit our Free Stuff page to get your hands on a range of exclusive music-making tools and tutorials provided by the team. Fill your boots.
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** Editors note: Things have moved on significantly since this article was published 🙂 Please head to our blog homepage for the very latest updates from Point Blank.