Tal-Reverb-2 is a free reverb VST that is designed for long ambient sounds with its super diffuse and fast build-up time. For being free Tal-Reverb-2 sounds incredible and has a nice, clean, and simple GUI. The free Rubber Filter VST plug-in by Christian Budde is a highly versatile 6-384 dB/Oct filter. It features low pass, high pass, band pass, and band reject (notch) filtering, with individual control of left.

Filters have become some of the more familiar tools in the studio these days, due in large part to their ubiquitous use in dance music.

Even if you aren’t especially fond of resonant sweeps and acid basslines however, there are still many good reasons to stockpile a handful of filter plug-ins.

So in this article we’ll take a look at some of the best free filter VST and AU plugins you can use to get your feet wet.

Find more great gear here:

• Filterstep is a modern motion filter plugin which provides a great deal of potential for all kinds of intricate rhythmic movement. It can give you incredibly complex and nuanced results based on various filter effect settings and almost infinite possibilities for sonic exploration and movement randomization.
• Free filter vst plugins for download, bundle of all filter vst effects are supplied in one zip file.

Introduction

About Filters

Filters are actually similar to equalizers, in that they cut or boost certain frequencies of sound. The now-familiar swooshing “wow-wow” sound heard on thousands of dance tracks is typically the result of cranking the resonance and sweeping the cutoff frequency, either by hand, via ADSR envelope control, LFOs, or automation.

There are more utilitarian applications for filters as well. Steep high-cut filters can tighten up the low-end of a mix by eliminating sub-bass frequencies that eat up headroom and cause bottom-end flab. Low-cut filters for their part can reduce harshness in the high-end.

Many producers agree that analog filters produce the warmest, most vibrant, and most satisfying sounds. But filter plug-ins have come a long way since the advent of the earliest software effects. Some of them can even replicate analog circuitry to an astoundingly accurate degree.

As you will see from these free filter plug-ins, you can get those wonderful swirling and wooshy sounds right on your computer.

Best of all, you can do so without having to cough up the cash for an expensive analog device.

Free Filter Plugins

The List

Plugin Roundup

Stillwell Audio’s Oligarc Filter is a midi-controllable plug-in emulation of the ladder filter design found in classic Moog analog synthesizers.

The same filter utilized in the company’s own Olga virtual analog synthesizer and Oligarc effects suite, the standalone Oligarc Filter has pretty much all the tonal and response qualities of vintage designs.

Like classic analog filters, the Oligarc Filter is non-linear in its response and performance, which lends a bit of desirable instability and loads of character.

And like the filter employed in the Minimoog, it gives off more than just a hint of unpredictability and danger in its sound.

Free Trap Vst Plugins

In deference to those with more fragile sensibilities, the Oligarc Filter comes with a soft-clipping limiter that helps keep things from getting too out of control.

Nevertheless, this is one filter for which the word “restraint” doesn’t apply. This is apparent by its readiness to go into self-oscillation with no apparent resonance limit.

TAL’s Filter 2 is a much less rambunctious filter, although it’s perfectly capable of tiptoeing dangerously close to the edge of aural assault. It syncs quite nicely with your host DAW’s tempo, enabling you to produce rhythmic filter effects and wobbling modulations that would be right at home in your next dubstep track.

Those that have used TAL’s excellent NoiseMaker virtual analog synthesizer plug-in will recognize the wide array of filters in the Filter 2. From multiple flavors of low-pass and high-pass to band-pass and notch, they’re all here in all their 4x oversampled glory.

Like all respectable filter plug-ins, the Filter 2 can be pushed into saturation, in this case, by cranking the input control. You can also modulate the panning or volume level of an incoming signal, so this filter can do triple-duty as a tremolo or gate effects device.

Tekit Audio 8kut 2 is an eight-band frequency cutter plug-in that isn’t quite like your typical filter plug-in. Intended specifically for DJs and live performers, it probably isn’t the first plug-in that most would think of when looking for a studio mix tool. Nevertheless, its ability to cut frequencies via eight pads could make for some interesting sonic experiments.

8kut 2 provides control over the bass, mids, high mid, and treble ranges. Although it is a fairly simple plug-in, the assortment of presets that it comes with gives you a good idea of the vast range of sounds possible.

The biggest strength of 8kut 2 is its ability to cut frequency bands via the eight pads, all of which can be mapped to a MIDI controller. Even though you might prefer a more “traditional” filter plug-in for most other tasks, the 8kut 2 could be very useful as an idea generator.

Now in its second version, Brainworx’s bx_cleansweep is a duo of high and low-pass filters that are better suited to subtle tone shaping than dancefloor-friendly filter freak-outs. Designed to filter out excessive low- and high-end, it draws inspiration from the onboard filters found in classic studio mixing consoles.

You could say that the bx_cleansweep is the odd one out in this roundup, which is mainly populated by more resonant and sweep-y filter plug-ins. Nevertheless, its ability to tighten up the bottom end and eliminate top-end brittleness makes it a useful addition to any plug-in collection.

Furthermore, Brainworx’s Anti-Crush technology gives it a very musically pleasing sound that will find a welcome place in your productions.

Top Pick

For the familiar filter sweeps and resonant effects that have become indelible parts of the dance music lexicon, the Oligarc Filter is the one to beat. Thick, chunky, and satisfying, it still isn’t quite a Moog filter…but it does come close.

The TAL Filter 2 is no slouch either. With the ability to modulate the filter cutoff, the volume, and the pan, it definitely has a bit of an advantage in the rhythmic department.

As for the 8kut 2, you could very well use this as an idea generator, even if you have no plans of playing out. And if you need a quick and simple mix-assist tool that sounds great and is easy to use, you could do a lot worse than the bx_cleansweep.

Gear/Software

2015 is already looking promising for the VST world, if some of the best plugins from last year are any indication. There were some excellent updates to modern classics and all sorts of new faces that popped up along the way.

This short list is a mixed bag of premium and freeware plugins – if you have any holiday money left over I recommend that you consider investing in one of the premium ones, because they pack some serious power.

You should definitely check all of them out, though, as they could all be stellar additions to your sonic arsenal! Free sample slicer vst reddit.

This freeware softsynth is an emulator of the Yamaha DX7 synthesizer, which was released in 1983. But don’t be misled: not all of its sounds are 80s-tastic. It actually comes with some beautiful pads and plenty of other useful presets to keep you busy for quite a while. And, of course, if you do want some new-wave-sounding textures, this would be a good place to find them.

Also, if you’re a proud owner of an original Yamaha DX7 – which I doubt many of you are – you can use this emulator as a means to create new patches for your synthesizer, by tweaking them on your computer and then sending them to the synth for immediate use. Maybe not one of the best features of this VST considering how few people probably own the hardware, but still a fundamental aspect.

It’s hard to go wrong with this one; it’s versatile, it’s efficient, and it’s free!

Is it game-changing? No. Is it innovative? No.

Is it versatile, easy to use, and free? Yes!

Free Vst Filters

BrainStormer was a nice surprise from last year: it’s pretty standard when it comes to softsynths, but it has a well-designed interface and doesn’t have an intimidating amount of features and parameters to tweak. The sound quality is good and it’s a great introduction to the world of softsynths for novices.

Once you get used to how it works, you’ll be crafting your own synth sounds in no time – and it’s always good to have a free way of doing that.

With over 4,000 presets categorized by musical genre, strumming simulation for its “chord mode,” an efficient arpeggiator and all sorts of other features, Predator has been one of the best VSTs around for years. If you’ve been interested in VSTs for a while then you’ve surely heard of this one by now.

There is a demo available for download, however it only works for 30 minutes at a time, you won’t be able to save your presets, and it will only work for 30 days, after which it will add noise to the playback, rendering it relatively useless. It costs $179 for the full version, but at least with the demo you’ll have plenty of time to get a feel for how it works and what you can create with it.

This second generation of the Zebra softsynth is more powerful than its predecessor in pretty much every aspect. It has a huge bank of original sounds and contains many of the usual suspects when it comes to methods of modifying textures, but it also has a very useful Wave Editor page that lets you generate your own sounds, for all you sound designers out there who like to make your own noise. There’s also a Synthesis page where you can tweak your sounds in even more interesting ways and save your own patches. There are also plenty of free patches you can find online.

A useful feature of the Zebra2 is its clever way of organizing the sound library: you can mark certain sounds you don’t like as “junk,” which will then be hidden from you, and you can mark others as favorites which will be given a yellow star next to their names. This way you don’t have to repeatedly cycle through the sounds you know you’re never going to use.

This one isn’t free either at $199, but there is a demo version available – although, after 2 minutes, it’ll start playing random notes along with what you’ve created.

A legendary standalone program and VST plugin coming from one of the most innovative music creation companies in the industry, Absynth has long been in a category all its own. It’s known for not only being a great tool for electronic music producers looking for more leftfield textures to work with, but also for being beneficial to sound designers, since it offers so much in the way of modifying sounds.

Absynth 5 comes with 200 new synth sounds and some interesting additions to its already solid repertoire, including a much easier way to search for sounds through descriptive keywords and a new effect called the Aetherizer that lets you make textures that range from metallic to liquid to just plain otherworldly. It has 2 new filters and a new Mutate feature that randomizes the parameters for any patch you want to use.

Its price is steep at $199, but this is a plugin you’ll be putting uncountable hours into.

This list should be enough to get you started on your search for new digital gadgets to tinker with. Here’s to making 2015 a productive year for all you producers out there!

Free Vst Plugins

Honorable mentions:

Nexus 2 – An extremely powerful softsynth with excellent quality and all sorts of incredible sounds to choose from. It’s expensive at $250, but if producers like David Guetta and Swedish House Mafia can be trusted regarding plugins to get excited about, then you should get excited about the nexus vst.

MT Power DrumKit 2 – Powerful. Countless hours of fun. NOW FREE!

TuneFish 4 – Another great freebie with plenty of great features, and it’s only 10KB in size!

Best Vst Filter Plugin 2015 Full

Advertisement