Music Production Forum

Below is a list of some of the best software synths & virtual pianos (free & paid). Please reply to this post if you recommended any others There are a huge number of plugins available, here are some other lists I've created for products I recommend https://jamesm.blog/music-production/my-hardware-software/ https://jamesm.blog/music-production/my-hardware-software-wishlist/ https://jamesm.blog/music-production/physical-modeling-synths/ Synths (Free) Vendor Plugin Name Key Features Blamsoft VK-1 Viking Synthesizer Moog Voyager emulation, strong basses Digital Suburban Dexed Yamaha DX7 emulation, FM synthesis discoDSP OB-Xd Oberheim OB-X emulation, analog sounds M…

Dezert Audio has released PolyFreq, a free analog modeled synthesizer plugin for macOS and Windows. You may recognize Dezert Audio from Freq-2, the premium Kontakt instrument we covered previously, built from recordings taken from Dez Wright’s personal collection of over 20 analog synths. PolyFreq is a different kind of release. It’s a synthesis engine rather [...] View post: Dezert Audio releases PolyFreq, a free analog modeled synth plugin View the full article

Brainworx and Black Box Analog Design’s HG-2 tube saturation plugin is currently 76% off at Plugin Boutique. The regular price is $125, and the deal brings it down to $30 until May 31. HG-2 is the official emulation of Black Box Analog Design’s hardware tube processor. It’s a unit that retails for around $3,000 (yikes!) [...] View post: Get Plugin Alliance Black Box Analog Design HG-2 for $30 (76% OFF until May 31) View the full article

MousePlugins has released The Trick, a free passive program EQ for Windows and Linux. The “trick” in the name is the old Pultec move. You boost and cut at the same low frequency at the same time, and instead of the two canceling each other out, you get a resonant low-end lift followed by a [...] View post: MousePlugins releases The Trick, a FREE passive EQ plugin for Windows and Linux View the full article

Developer Rob Kor has released ChugMate, a free zero-latency VST3 doubler aimed squarely at tight, heavy rhythm guitars. Broadly speaking, generic doubler plugins tend to get the job done on clean tones but fall apart on palm-muted rhythm tracks. You usually end up with smeared transients, and the result pretty much collapses into a washed-out [...] View post: Rob Kor releases FREE ChugMate VST3 guitar doubler plugin for Windows View the full article

Kojima Audio has released PanBlur, a free mono-to-stereo spatial enhancer for macOS and Windows. The same developer behind the BandMatrix multi-band dynamics plugin we covered in March is back with something quite different (although I highly recommend giving BandMatrix a try!). PanBlur takes dry mono sources and gives them an ASMR-like stereo image while keeping [...] View post: Kojima Audio releases FREE PanBlur mono-to-stereo spatial enhancer View the full article

Just a note: the opportunity to pre-order the new GRP A10 at the introductory price ends in a week. That’s when the GRP A10 will be unveiled for the first… Read More The post GRP A10 pre-order ends / GRP A4 sound-sheet download appeared first on GreatSynthesizers. View the full article

Ewan Bristow has officially hit 10k followers on Twitter/X, and as promised, his UZU frequency domain phaser is now free. The plugin normally sells for $17, and you can grab it from the developer’s website for free. We covered the initiative back in October 2025, when Ewan announced that UZU would be made free for [...] View post: Ewan Bristow’s UZU spectral phaser is FREE for 7 days (regularly $17) View the full article

The Svensson 49 offers expressive sounds, a 4-channel looper, and a minimal mid-century modern style design. … Read More Auxy Intros Mid-Century Modern Styled Svensson 49 Looping Synth KeyboardView the full article

The synth's new Macro Oscillator Mode adds 45 synthesis waveform models from the MI Braids. … Read More Melbourne Instruments Nina v3.0 Adds 45 Synthesis Models From Mutable Instruments BraidsView the full article

Enigma features a new type of user interface, with the sound controlled by the position and movement of metallic objects placed on the instrument's surface.… Read More SOMA Enigma Synthesizer Debuting At Superbooth 2026 (Sneak Preview)View the full article

Erica Synths has announced Bullfrog Drums, a drum machine, sampler, and CV/gate sequencer. They say that it’s optimized for learning drum programming, sampling, working with samples and integrating into various performance setups. Features: 7 sample-based drum voices 7 banks of factory samples by Richie Hawtin and Erica Synths team Up to 16 banks for user… Read More Erica Synths Bullfrog Drums Now Available To Pre-OrderView the full article

Producer & instrument designer Tim Exile has announced Modular, a new modular system, based on Reaktor 6, for Mac & Windows. … Read More Tim Exile Intros New Modular System For Mac & WindowsView the full article

Tuva, the standalone sample and project manager we covered earlier this month, has just been updated to version 1.4. The update is focused on workflow customization, with new left bar views, tab-based navigation, and pinned items. As a quick recap, Tuva is a desktop app that helps you organize, classify, and search audio samples, MIDI [...] View post: Tuva 1.4 adds customizable views, tabs, and pinned items for faster sample browsing View the full article

Minimal Audio is giving away its Hybrid Filter plugin for free for a limited time. Hybrid Filter normally costs $49, and you can claim it by adding it to your cart and completing the checkout on the Minimal Audio website. It’s worth noting that this is the first time Hybrid Filter has been offered as [...] View post: Minimal Audio Hybrid Filter is FREE (regularly €49) for a limited time View the full article

Beat Gems offers an in-depth look at drum machines and their influence on modern music.… Read More New ‘Bjook’, Beat Gems, Explores Drum Machines in Modern MusicView the full article

The new book offers a personal take on the history of electronic music, from electronic music pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre. … Read More New Book, Machines, Offers Jean-Michel Jarre’s Personal Take On The History Of Electronic MusicView the full article

Plugin Boutique is running a 60% discount on Baby Audio Atoms, bringing the physical modeling synth down from $99 to $39 until May 13. Atoms is Baby Audio’s second virtual instrument, following the analog-flavored BA-1, and it’s a very different animal. Instead of oscillators, Atoms generates sound using a physical model of interconnected masses and [...] View post: Baby Audio Atoms is 60% OFF at Plugin Boutique until May 13 View the full article

Cosmic Suite by Cosmic Audio Lab is a collection of 26 one-knob plugins, available for free in AU and VST3 formats for macOS (11 or later) and Windows (11). Tejumoluwa Olarewaju, the founder of Cosmic Audio Lab, has had a busy start to what is sure to be a long career in the music industry. [...] View post: Cosmic Audio Lab releases Cosmic Suite: a FREE 26-plugin bundle for macOS and Windows View the full article

Indie iOS developer WasabiNoise has released Drop, a recording app that turns your iPhone into a field recorder for your DAW. I love the idea here. You basically tap record on your phone, the audio syncs through iCloud, and a Mac menu bar companion makes the file ready to drag straight into Ableton Live, Logic, [...] View post: WasabiNoise releases Drop, a free iOS app to drag audio from iPhone into your DAW View the full article

It features seamless DAW integration and performance tools, such as the expressive arpeggiator, Pressure Glide, per-note pitch bend, and polyphonic aftertouch.… Read More Expressive E Intros Next Generation Osmose CE MIDI ControllerView the full article

From developer Audio Fusion Bureau comes RoomDiY, a free acoustic room simulation plugin for macOS and Windows. RoomDiY offers advanced real-time acoustic modelling and room analysis. In short, the plugin allows you to design the ideal acoustic space for any given project. We’ve covered many convolution reverb plugins that offer impulse responses of real-world spaces, [...] View post: Audio Fusion Bureau releases RoomDiY, a FREE acoustic room simulation plugin View the full article

Wavelet Audio is no stranger to cinematic instruments and freebies, and now the developer has released The Deer, the Fox, and the Guitar – a free nylon guitar library for Kontakt Player. The developer behind the fantastic Ashen Scoring Cello has given away cinematic freebies before, such as Trailer Ambient Tools and Pulse Box. Now, [...] View post: Wavelet Audio releases a FREE nylon guitar library for Kontakt Player View the full article

Sentinel AV and UK drum-and-bass producer Bladerunner have released Folda, a 4-group morphing distortion plugin. Folda is available as VST3 for Windows and as VST3/AU for macOS (Universal Binary), with an intro price of $67 for the first seven days after launch (until May 2), regular price $99 thereafter. The main idea behind Folda is [...] View post: Sentinel AV and Bladerunner release Folda, a 4-group morphing distortion plugin View the full article

Saint Mike DSP has released PitchCure, a free vocal pitch correction plugin for macOS and Windows. It’s a solid free autotune alternative, and while it doesn’t reinvent the category, it gives you a bit more hands-on control than some of the more minimal free options out there. Honestly, there’s already a decent crop of free [...] View post: Saint Mike DSP releases PitchCure, a FREE vocal pitch correction plugin View the full article

Westwood Instruments has released Tempest Brass, the fourth installment in their Roots series of free Kontakt Player libraries. Tempest Brass is built from a collection of solo brass samples that have been time-stretched and overdriven into something you wouldn’t normally expect from a brass library. I love how they did it, honestly, and I think [...] View post: Westwood Instruments releases Tempest Brass, a FREE cinematic brass library for Kontakt Player View the full article

Claude – the AI assistant and chatbot from Anthropic – can now be directly plugged into Ableton, as well as a raft of other creative platforms, including Blender and Photoshop. The move follows the launch of Claude Design, a new product by Anthropic Labs that lets you collaborate with Claude to create “polished visual work” like designs, one-pagers and more... The post Claude can now be plugged into Ableton to assist with your music projects appeared first on MusicTech. View the full article

The video offers an intro to FM synthesis, an overview of the DX7 and a look at its role in music history. … Read More Vintage Synth Review: The Yamaha DX7View the full article

From @synthandsoftware - It’s been 16 years since Absynth 5 launched. Was it worth the wait? Absynth is the brainchild of Brian Clevinger, a musician and self-taught programmer who started his own company, Rhizomatic Software, and released Absynth version 1 for both the Mac and Windows way back in 2000. It quickly earned attention as one the most […] The post Native Instruments Absynth 6: the Synth and Software Review appeared first on Synth and Software. View the full article

From @synthandsoftware - UJAM introduces symphonic elements CHOOIR: Orchestral Plugin for cinematic choral sounds created from Hans Zimmer’s personal library. PRESS ANNOUNCEMENT UJAM introduces Symphonic Elements CHOOIR, a dedicated choir instrument built using samples from the orchestral library of film composer Hans Zimmer. CHOOIR is now available for preorder ahead of its full release on May 13, 2026. The […] The post Sounds Created from Hans Zimmer’s Personal Library appeared first on Synth and Software. View the full article