It's highly likely that if you are going to be using the free version of Studio One, Studio One Prime, that you are going to be wanting to lay down some guitars. The great news is that Studio One Prime comes with some great free plug-ins that can help you get a huge variety of guitar tones.
Wavesfactory, makers of the amazing TrackSpacer plug-in and Kontakt libraries, have a very cool sub-kick plug-in called SK10, better still it is free. You may not be aware but Native Instruments, makers of cool hardware and software, have a free range of some of their flagship plugins.
AIR Music Technology used to be part of Avid and was the team responsible for creating the instruments and effects that shipped with Pro Tools. In this week's free Plug-in , we feature U-he Protoverb. This is a free plug-in which was originally conceived as a method for U-he to data-mine their user's ears.
Reverbs are simulated by combining the output of multiple delay lines, there is no mathematical formula that makes such a structure sound "just right". As with all delay based reverbs, it's down to trial and error, and maybe a lot of luck with random values. Protoverb presents you with delay lines of random lengths and a random assembly of networking and feedback strategies. Non-Lethal Applications, makers of Video Slave 3 , has announced Snapshot, a simple free Mac plug-in that allows the user to take pictures of their hardware settings and store them as a memory aid within the Studio One session.
Conceived by Expert site founder Russ Hughes, in what he says was a conversation in a pub with some of the PreSonus team, Snapshot aims to give hardware users an easy way to store all the info for a session. It also gives Studio One users notes on tracks. HoRNet CompExp is a compressor-expander based on the design of a commander chip designed for telephone lines and used in many electronic devices to reduce the noise.
This a cool little find by the team at Pro Tools Expert. The best way to think about Syntronik Free is a tasting menu of the full version, sporting 50 presets, 38 effects, parts, layers and arpeggiators that you can play and edit with sounds taken from the massive Syntronik library that can be used as a plug-in or standalone virtual instrument.
Bark of Dog is a bass resonance filter that lets you increase your low end without turning up the flab. I like to think of it as a way to boost the low end while still keeping it under control. While the controls are super simple, the effect that this has on controlling the low end in a mix is pretty exciting.
TH3 does it all. There's not much info on this other than it's a transient shaping tool, but one things for certain, the price is right Check out this cool find from our sister site Pro Tools Expert.
Free Logic Pro Plug-ins. Free Stuff On Reverb. Free Phaser Plugin by Native Instruments. Free Guitar Amp Plugins for Mac. Free Midside Matrix Plugin by Goodhertz. Free Software Instrument - Digits 2. Using System you can combine patchable plug-in elements to create your own bespoke plug-ins. On their website they say; "The lush sound of plate reverb. The free version includes 7 presets with various effects and tone-shaping controls. You can change the attack, decay, sustain and release of any sample with the ADSR envelope generator.
If you want to modulate the tone you can map the Mod-rate or Mod depth to any of the four predefined parameters. The interface is user-friendly without a learning curve.
If you want a simple yet beautiful nylon string fingerpicking sound, make sure to grab this freebie. Spicy Guitars differs from the other free guitar VSTs on this list. Think of it more as a synthesizer rather than a sampled guitar. One of the coolest things about Spicy Guitars is the chord detection system, which kicks in when you play three or more notes on your MIDI keyboard.
The piano chords are automatically detected and converted into a full guitar chord that has this realistic strumming sound that you hear from a real acoustic guitar.
You can switch between 9 different guitars and 2 different string types. The user interface features multiple controls that let you tweak the sound in real-time. When you switch on the sustain, the notes will last longer which is preferred when the chord detection system is turned off and you play arpeggios. You can also switch between legato and sustain, adjust palm mutes, harmonics, and vibrato. The instrument is created using samples from a Fender Telecaster, fed through a 15w vintage tweed amp.
Peel Guitar is extremely user-friendly with a simple three control interface. The sound design and customization capabilities are rather limited, although you can do some customization with the volume, velocity, reverb, and tightness controls. Think of it as a tweaked-out sound ready to go, offering a classic fender sound straight out of the box. You can get some interesting drone sounds by hitting the low keys. Choose between three predefined presets that have been tweaked differently.
This free virtual instrument offers a clean tone, suitable for jazz and blues music. The user interface is simple with ADSR, volume, and pan controls. The texture of the low notes in particular is great. The high notes feel a bit plonky and piano-like but I managed to give them more depth with some additional external effects. Cute Emily Guitar combined with a guitar amp simulator completely skyrockets the value of this free VST. It just brings the dry signal to life and makes the instrument more playable.
Overall, I feel like this guitar plugin can add a lot of value to your production if you have some additional tools at your disposal. You can download Cute Emily Guitar here. Shreddage 3 Stratus Free by Impact Soundworks is built upon ultra-realistic sounds from a sampled Fender Stratocaster. There are tons of options available in the UI and a lot of different parameters you can tweak.
Thanks to its distorted sound, Shreddage 3 is best suited when producing rock music. Every fret has deep sampling, meaning that every note you play consists of up to 24 dynamic layers of samples. The tone-shaping capabilities let you customize the sound as you like, and you can switch between different Picking Modes and Fretting Modes. You can even deemphasize the picking sound while playing arpeggios or sweeps, to make it even more realistic.
Shreddage 3 Stratus is one of the best and most versatile guitar VSTs on the market. You can download Shreddage 3 Stratus Free here. There are no compromises in sound quality, just fewer options of cabinets and pedals. The free version includes a British-style tube preamp and 13 modular components. The user interface is simple and you add new effects to the effect chain with seamless drag and drop.
Guitar Rig Player 6 is a great option for beginners exploring the world of amp simulators and digital guitar effects. However, I found the selection of presets rather limited compared to other free guitar amp VST plugins. Amplitube is one of the most popular software for recording guitar and bass. Then you can solely buy that amp without having to purchase the entire bundle of effects. This guitar VST comes with 4 amps for guitars and 1 amp for bass, with matching cabinets and microphone combinations.
Guitar amp VSTs can have a steep learning curve for beginners, having to scratch their heads to be able to dial in the desired tone. However, all amps and effects featured in Amplitube 5 CS are super user-friendly and a great starting point for customization. You can download Amplitube 5 CS here. Compared to Amplitube 5 CS and Guitar Rig 6 player, this plugin is more focused on metal guitar sounds rather than pure rock.
The user interface is not overly complicated and it features basic controls such as Gain, Low, Mid High, Presence, and Volume. Another cool feature is the built-in impulse response loader. This means that you can upload your impulse responses from other recordings and retain your preferred tone down to the details. Pretty dope for a free guitar VST amp simulator if you ask me!
You can download Amped Roots Free here. A plugin is a separate piece of software that allows you to access different effects and sounds. A guitar VST is specifically designed to emulate guitar sounds without having to use a guitar or amplifier.
There are two kinds of guitar VST plugins:. There are four types of plugin formats and depending on what DAW you use, you should choose one over the other.
