Free VSTs

I love VST (Virtual Studio Technology) plugins. For every good plugin I can find, that's one piece of expensive outboard gear I don't need to buy (since I can't afford it anyway). I'm sure most plugins can't match the audio quality of a good, expensive piece of outboard gear...but I'm OK with pretty good, free plugins.

So, I thought I'd share some plugins I recently found that I really enjoy--and that have helped me record some cool stuff. In fact, although I'm not going to go through all my settings or how exactly I use the plugins (nothing out of the ordinary), I thought I'd share a recording I did and the free plugins I used (except for the drums) to make it happen.

I played a $150 ESP LTD M-50 electric guitar (which I think they don't sell anymore) through a $70 ART Tube MP Project Series preamp (just to get a nice, clean guitar tone into my Cubase software).

The drums were the only not-for-free VST I used. I used Native Instruments' Battery. Other than that, the rest are free. Here is generally how I used the plugins:

Compressor for drums, bass, and a little on guitar tracks.

C3 Multiband Compressor

Reverb for drums and guitars.

Ambience

I really like the Ambience reverb plugin. It has so many great presets, too. It's donationware, so you can use as much as you want and then donate when you feel like it. The bad news is that this plugin really sucks up CPU power, so if I run this on a handful of tracks, my computer starts whimpering and wheezing.

Tube-preamp to fatten up the drums and the bass.

Tal-Tube

Guitar effects obviously to create the guitar tones.

SimulAnalog Guitar Suite (specifically, Tube Screamer, Univox Univibe, and Marshall JCM900)

These are really the star of the audio sample. I recorded the guitar direct, without any effects, then used only these plugins (with some compression and reverb) to get my tones. If you have ever been interested in trying out guitar amp simulation for free, these are some great plugins to try!