The best free VST plugins 2020: must-have freeware synths, drum machines and effects By Si Truss ( Computer Music, Future Music, emusician ) 20 November 2020 Make music for nothing with our pick of the finest free sound makers and processors. Auto-Tune is everywhere and everyone is using it From slight pitch correction to some cool robotic sounds, pitch correction software can be extremely useful. T-Pain made this effect very popular, but it’s also been used by a lot of other artists such as Daft Punk, the Black Eyed Peas, and more. Auto-Tune can be used The 8 Best Free Auto-Tune VST/AU Plugins of 2020! The AIR Instruments Creative Collection is included free with Pro Tools and selected titles are also available to purchase separately in AU/VST formats.

Hi there !

One of the best virtual instruments to ever ship with Pro Tools is Xpand!2. 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. Some years back the AIR team left Avid and started releasing plug-ins in AU and VST format, Xpand!2 is one of the best. The MFreeFXBundle contains 30 free VST plugins. They range from workhorse tools like a compressor and EQ, to less common effects like a ring modulator, flanger, and oscilloscope. If you’re looking to fill. Stay up to date with new content and help me reach 500 subscribers! Click here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBtc-DZgoQaJSflIyloCAhA?sub.

It's been quite a long time since I had the idea to write an article about a burning subject like Is it possible to use VST plugins with Protools ?

The short answer is No.

The complete answer is Yes but you'll have to cheat a little bit Protools to do so. In fact there are plenty of methods available depending on the software you want to use and the budget you have for that.

I am not pretending my method is better than the others, BUT what I say is that this works fine with Protools 8/9/10 so far, it's free and if you use it, you'll be able to import tons ad tons of free VST plugins directly in your favorite Protools software.

Otherwise you can Rewire / route your VST plugins / audio in Protools with a lot of softwares such as :

Bidule / Plogue (95$) works like a charm with plugins & instruments + is very versatile but can be a little complicated for newbies...

See how in the video below.

HostX (free) load your VSTi only

Reaper (free for 30 days) works like a charm with plugins & instruments

SoundFlower (free) Route any audio in your Protools like Logic Audio, Cubase etc... create your audio / midi config & you can play your AU or VST instruments directly in Protools

Ugly VST Interface (free) load your VSTi only

VSTLord (free) load your VSTi fast & easy, just need to create audio / midi configuration and you're good to go

Watch the video below to see how to do it

VST Shell X (free) load your VSTi & your VST plugins but maybe quite outdated.

Free Plugins For Pro Tools

OR

use Jack

Ok then, where should you start ?

The method is simple :

1°) Download Jack Here

2°) Install Jack

3°) Restart your computer

4°) Go to your applications folder & launch JackPilot in your Jack folder

5°) If it’s the first time you’ve run JackPilot, and/or if you’ve not yet saved your Jack

preferences, the Preferences dialog will open automatically, so that you can set up your

Jack environment

6°)

PS : a very exciting project (a VST to AAX wrapper by Sugar BytesTransVST) has been canceled by Avid... sad!

There is a surprising number of free limiter plugins available online in VST and AU formats, and even some in AAX format for Pro Tools.

They come with varying levels of features. Some are brickwall limiters, some are soft limiters, and some add extra clipping and compression features.

Some of the free limiters are exceptional, and have a better reputation than paid commercial gear.

Limiter #6 from vladgsound is one of the most popular free options.

There’s a clone of a Waves L1 limiter that is also quite popular.

Free Vst Downloads

Most DAWs include a limiter plugin as well, but they are can be fairly basic or not as transparent as some of the plugins below.

Best Free Drum Plugins For Pro Tools

Paid limiter plugins can cost upwards of a few hundred dollars each, like Waves’ Limiter plugins. But you can get pretty good results from these free options as well.

Best Free Limiter Plugins

Limiter No6

Limiter #6 is a mastering plugin that includes five modules: RMS compressor, peak limiter, high-frequency limiter, clipper, true peak limiter.

It has brickwall and soft limiting features with different timing settings, M/S and multiband modes, 4x oversampling, and more.

Limiter #6 is available in VST and AU formats for Mac and PC in 32 and 64 bit. There are 3 different GUIs (here’s the page with all three downloads).

LoudMax

LoudMax is a look-ahead brickwall limiter plugin designed to be a clean and transparent loudness maximizer that retains as much of the original sound of the music as possible. It’s a low latency, low CPU usage plugin with an easy to understand interface.

LoudMax is available to download in VST and AU formats in 32 and 64 bit. It works with Windows and Mac OS 10.5 and higher.

George Yohngs W1 Limiter

W1 Limiter is an easy-to-use plugin that was cloned from a Waves L1 limiter and boasts identical output. It also features an approximation of Waves L2 with adaptive release enabled.

W1 Limiter is available in VST, AU, and RTAS formats for windows and Mac (OS X) and it comes in both 32 and 64 bit.

EasyLimiter

EasyLimiter is a free, donationware VST limiter for Windows that features look-ahead peak detection, stereo link, and a number of other features. Its claim to fame is that it uses less CPU than other limiters.

EasyLimiter comes in VST format only and works with Windows 32 and 64 bit systems.

ClipShifter

ClipShifter is a clipping style limiter that can go from transparent compression to hard clipping distortion. It offers controls for clip shaping and harmonics, it has a waveform display, and is low on CPU usage.

There are free and paid versions of ClipShifter. The free version is fully-function; the paid version adds extra features like mid/side processing, oversampling, independent frequency clipping, etc.

ClipShifter is available in AU, VST, VST3, RTAS, and AAX formats for Windows and Mac, both 32 and 64 bit.

Xhip Limiter

According to the website description, Xhip Limiter is designed for maximal sustain and minimal distortion, and aims to be as transparent as possible in terms of timbre.

The Xhip Limiter plugin is available for Windows only, both 32 and 64 bit.

Faraday Limiter

The Faraday Limiter from Goodhertz is described as having colorful dynamics with warm, tape-like saturation. It features advanced stereo linking, variable L/R or M/S linking, adjustable ratios, and a gain reduction history meter.

Goodhertz plugins are only available in AU and AAX formats for 64-bit Macs with OS X 10.7 and up.

L2007 Mastering Limiter

According to the description, the L2007 is a mastering-grade look-ahead brickwall limiter. It’s made by Massey Plugins and is offered free with Massey’s other plugins but the free versions have limited features.

However, this one of the few free limiters that is available in AAX format for Pro Tools. Both Mac and PC are supported.

Maxwell Smart

Best Free Vst Instrument Plugins

Maxwell Smart is simple limiter plugin that claims to be a true transparent peak limiter and loudness maximizer with look-ahead functionality designed to increase loudness while maintaining transients without audible distortion.

The plugin features 3 modes to control the sound: smooth, normal and loud, and the compensated latency is 4ms. It’s available for Windows and is 32 bit only.