THE 8 BEST
FREE EFFECTS PLUGINS / VSTs
There’s no shortage of free VSTs and effects plugins out there, but as you probably know, they are not all created equally. The quality of these plugins varies quite a bit, with the vast majority being average to bad.
Have you ever gone on a free VST downloading spree and suddenly your plugin list is crammed with junk that you use once and never again? No one wants that, which is exactly why we put together this list of our Top 8 Free VST Effects Plugins.
All of these plugins are so good, we would have paid money for them!
There is no ‘filler’ here - only the BEST free effects VSTs made this list.
They are not ranked in any particular order, as they all serve different purposes.
Youlean Loudness Meter
The Youlean Loudness Meter is a “must have” for all producers, especially since they’ve got a free version. Put this at the end of EVERY master channel effects chain and make sure you’re hitting industry-standard loudness targets.
For most beats, we’d recommend staying between -10 LUFS and -14 LUFS integrated loudness. We’d also recommend that your True Peak Max doesn’t exceed -0.3 dB.
Temper By Creative Intent
Temper (by Creative Intent) is a free digital distortion plugin. We find this plugin useful for adding midrange harmonics to 808 bass that isn’t standing out enough on devices with low bass response (eg. laptops, mobile devices).
It does okay adding distortion to guitars, but in our opinion, tube distortion is the better route for this.
A word of caution - it can be easy to ‘overdo it’ with this plugin. The ‘curve’ knob is very sensitive. You don’t need to add too much distortion to 808s - just enough that you can hear them on laptops, earpods, etc.
You can download Temper here.
ORILRIVER REVERB
OrilRiver is a versatile stereo reverb that rivals many of its paid counterparts. Simply put, we have yet to encounter a better free reverb than this one.
If you don’t have the money for a paid plugin like Valhalla VintageVerb, OrilRiver is a great alternative.
iZotope Vinyl
iZotope Vinyl is a character-adding effect that is meant to recreate an old ‘vinyl’ sound from years past. The best functions in this plugin are the ‘Warp Depth’ slider (sweet spot is around 20-30) and the “Year” knob, which is an EQ curve meant to mimick the frequency response of most recordings/speakers from that decade.
For some reason, this plugin is NOT handle automation in FL Studio well at all. If you need to automate any of the parameters on this plug, expect errors and glitches.
iZotope requires you to sign up for an account to get the free plugin.
VladG Limiter No6
VladG Limiter No6 has 5 different modules and is a great limiter for mastering purposes. The presets in this plugin seem to be geared toward live recordings (eg. recording a 4-piece rock band) so it may take some tweaking to get things right for music created with VST instruments in a DAW.
Voxengo SPAN
Voxengo SPAN is a free spectrum analyzer plugin. This a great tool for analyzing both individual instruments and your master channel.
Spectrum analysis is only a tool and shouldn’t be used as a substitute for your ears. In the screenshot above, I see a buildup around 600-650 Hz that would consider doing a subtractive EQ notch/cut on, or lowering the instrument(s) that are contributing to the peak we see. But, if it didn’t sound good after making these adjustments, I would revert the changes and keep the mix as-is.
Use SPAN to find potential problem frequencies, but trust you ears to make the final judgement call.
TAL Reverb 2
TAL Reverb 2 is a free plate reverb with some great presets. We’re particularly fond of the Big Wet Plate (no EQ) preset - with a little tweaking of the low and high bands it can sound incredible. If you’ve got a vocal piece that calls for an ambient, reverberated sound, TAL Reverb 2 will definitely get the job done.
Valhalla Super Massive
Valhalla Super Massive is a reverb/delay combo plugin that’s great for creating massive spaces, sonic textures and space sounds.
We’ve found that this plugin can be ‘a bit much’ for natural instruments like pianos or strings. Using this effect on synths and arps is where it really shines.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON FREE VST EFFECTS PLUGINS
Having fancy ‘paid’ plugins is great and can make your job as a producer easier, but as we’ve proven with this list, paid plugins are NOT a necessity to create great music. The free plugins above can go head-to-head with their paid counterparts and your average listener would never notice a difference.
This is admittedly not a comprehensive list of the best free VST effects. There are tens of thousands of free VSTs out there and we’ve only downloaded/tested so many. If you have an effects VST you think should be added to this list, reach out to us via email and we’ll test it out!
