VST plugins are the backbone of working in Digital Audio Workstations. Every DAW comes with some packaged in, such as samplers, synthesizers, effects, and more. But as skills develop, you may find yourself wanting more out of your DAW than just the basics. While most built-in plugins can still make great music, it is always a good idea to expand your options.
For those with very little budget, that may not seem like an option. However, there are plenty of free effect plugins that I use quite often in my music that compete with even the paid, more professional products. In this guide, I will share a few of them, explaining the use cases for each, and providing links on where to get them.
BPB Saturator
Saturation is a form of distortion that adds warm harmonics to your sound as it gets louder. It can be used on kick drums or basses to give them a bit of grit, or other similar applications. BPB Saturator is a free saturation plugin that grants access to two types of saturation to use on your instruments.
Available for Windows and Mac. Get it here:
TDR Nova
Equilization and compression are the bread and butter of mixing and mastering. In this unique EQ plugin, every EQ band doubles as a compression band, allowing you to lower the volume of certain frequencies when they get a bit too loud. This is quite useful when working with a sample library that has a sample or two with a bit of loud ringing you want to remove, without altering the sound of all the other samples
Available for Windows and Mac. Get it here:
OTT
OTT (or Over The Top) is a multi-band compressor, which essentially means that it can compress different frequencies in different ways. OTT cranks this up to 11, making any sound punch harder. Great for things like dubstep.
Available for Windows and Mac. Get it here:
Fresh Air
This plugin boosts the high end frequencies of any sound without introducing harsh tones. The plugin is very simple to use, consisting of two knobs to dial in the sound you want. It is great for female vocals, claps, or other similar sounds.
Just as a warning, this plugin may not be free in the future, as it says it is free for a limited time. That being said, I got this plugin many years ago, and it is still free, so the "limited time offer" may not be so limited.
Available for Windows and Mac. Get it here:
Wider 2.0
Stereo imaging is always a pain when it comes to mixing and mastering. If everything is in mono, it sounds very fake. But if the mix is too wide, it can introduce phasing issues. While I wouldn't say Wider fixes those issues, it is certainly helpful. Wider allows you to take a track and enhance its stereo imaging, while still keeping the original signal mostly in tact. I use it very gently on certain instruments that need a bit of oomph.
Available for Windows and Mac. Get it here:
Place It
Ever wish an instrument just sounded a little... worse? Like someone is in the room next to you with a cheap bluetooth speaker, blasting it at max volume? Place It does exactly that. It can emulate certain speakers and locations, allowing you to give your sound more creative character.
Available for Windows and Mac. Get it here:
Fracture
This plugin allows you to add glitchy artifacts to your sound, creating a new sound that's nearly unrecognisable from the original. This can be used to create weird sci-fi textures, or it can be used to add some strange-ness to your instruments. I used this often in Luck be a Landlord's soundtrack.
Available for Windows and Mac. Get it here:
Valhalla Freq Echo
This is another one I used often on Luck be a Landlord's soundtrack. Echo and delay plugins are pretty universal in usage. However, this one allows the user to pitch shift each echo, allowing you to create trippy feedback loops.
Available for Windows and Mac. Get it here:
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