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…

Sine Machine is an additive software synthesizer that uses more than 10,000 time-domain oscillators and extensive per-harmonic editing to create sounds entirely from sine waves.… Read More New Synth, Sine Machine, Designed To Make Additive Synthesis FriendlyView the full article

Electronic Music Works (EMW) shared this sneak preview of the VPOLY-6X, a new virtual analog synthesizer module that they say is "designed to deliver inspiring sound with an intuitive workflow."… Read More EMW VPOLY-6X Virtual Analog Synthesizer Sneak PreviewView the full article

The Bob Moog Foundation is expanding its archives with the addition of one of the very first R.A. Moog theremins.… Read More Bob Moog Foundation Expands Archive With Rare Model 351 Tube ThereminView the full article

Rev OCEAN is a software reverb from Arturia that combines an FDN-based reverb engine, multi-stage diffusion, expressive Macro Modes, and modulation to create evolving spatial effects.… Read More Arturia Intros Rev OCEAN Creative Reverb PluginView the full article

Canvas Audio has released Double Dare, a free vocal doubler plugin for macOS and Windows. The freebie marks Canvas Audio’s first anniversary, and Double Dare is available as a free download until September 1st. It normally costs $29. Double Dare is a quick stereo vocal doubler. It can give you anything from subtle thickening to [...] View post: Canvas Audio releases Double Dare, a FREE vocal doubler plugin View the full article

Push and Groove has released GROOVE60, a MIDI timing processor for macOS and Windows. Developer Takahiro Oishi describes GROOVE60 as a MIDI timing simulator inspired by classic drum machine and hardware sequencer timing concepts. So, if you want some of that old-school sequencer groove in your DAW, it’s a fun tool to try. It processes [...] View post: Push and Groove releases GROOVE60 MIDI timing simulator View the full article

Orra Audio is offering BPB readers an exclusive discount on Orra EQ and Orra Press, bringing each plugin down to $39 with the coupon code BPB39. Both plugins normally cost $49, so the code takes $10 off either product. You can use it on Orra EQ, Orra Press, or both if you want the full [...] View post: BPB readers get exclusive $10 OFF Orra EQ and Orra Press View the full article

Developer Audio Damage has rebooted an old classic with the free ShinRonin modular filter/delay plugin. Audio Damage is a name that has been around for a long time, and the Colorado-based developer shows no signs of going away anytime soon. In March of this year, we covered the release of Evil Otto, a free OTT-style [...] View post: Audio Damage reboots the classic FREE ShinRonin modular filter/delay plugin View the full article

Tom Wolfe and Luftrum have released Luftrum x Wolfe, a free preset pack for Spectrasonics Omnisphere 3. The release celebrates five years of Tom Wolfe’s Synth Vault, the free monthly preset club that launched in July 2021. To mark the anniversary, Wolfe teamed up with Luftrum on a small but very focused pack of ten [...] View post: Tom Wolfe and Luftrum release FREE Omnisphere 3 presets for Synth Vault View the full article

Most producers have imagined it at least once: what if I had my own plugin? Something with your name on it. Something that takes a piece of your sound, your taste, your workflow, and turns it into an instrument that other people can use inside their own music. For a long time, that idea felt [...] View post: How HydraTek created his dream plugin with some help from friends View the full article

TerminalVST has released Instant, a free percussion plugin for macOS and Windows. Instant is basically a minimal step sequencer for drums. It lets you pick a category, such as clap, snare, closed hi-hat, or open hi-hat, browse the included samples or load your own, and you have a rhythmic part running without building the pattern [...] View post: TerminalVST releases Instant, a FREE percussion plugin for macOS and Windows View the full article

Developer Marcus Dunn has introduced Acid Drip, a DIY bassline synth and drum machine. … Read More Build An Acid Bassline Synth Using A Raspberry PiView the full article

The DrumComputer Claude Extension lets you generate complete DrumComputer sounds from a single text prompt.… Read More DrumComputer Claude Extension Lets You Make Beats Via Text PromptsView the full article

Filament hosts and controls up to 64 AU/VST3 instruments inside a single DAW track. … Read More Filament Real-Time MIDI Orchestration Plugin Lets You Play An Orchestra LiveView the full article

Developer Morphoice is back with another vintage synth emulation, a free public beta of the new Roland Jupiter-8 emulation. EightyEight. The developer has already tackled iconic synths like the Roland Juno-6 (EightySix) and the Yamaha CS-80 (Unstable). This time around, developer Morphoice is taking on the Roland Jupiter-8 with the EightyEight. Roland’s 1981 Jupiter-8 is [...] View post: Morphoice announces EightyEight, a new Roland Jupiter-8 emulation View the full article

Rogue P6 gives the Prophet-6 a full on-screen patch editor, with live two-way MIDI sync, so the app and the hardware stay in agreement while you work.… Read More Sequential Prophet-6 Gets Native Mac Patch Editor & LibrarianView the full article

Developer Gary White let us know that he's updated his free online patch editor for Behringer mini synths to include the new Pro VS Mini. … Read More Free Behringer PRO VS Patch EditorView the full article

Do you swear by a weighted keyboard with a piano-like feel? Then, a hammer action keyboard controller is one of the most important pieces of gear in your studio or live setup. Let’s check out the best ones. Many keyboard players swear by 88-key keyboards with a weighted, piano-like action. And that’s no surprise: as most keyboard players start on piano, this type of action just feels natural. Whether justified or not, many trained pianists look down on synth-style keyboards with a certain degree of disdain. Consequently, 88-key hammer action keyboard controllers are a vital component of many studios—often occupying a central position in the pull-out drawer under the studi…

Tracktion’s Waveform Free has been updated to v14, remaining our best free DAW for macOS, Windows, and Linux. We’ve covered Tracktion’s Waveform Free multiple times, and we like it. So much so that we named it our best free DAW in 2026, despite sme stiff competition from the likes of Cakewalk and GarageBand. The reason [...] View post: Tracktion releases Waveform 14 Free: our best FREE DAW for macOS, Windows, and Linux View the full article

The Crow Hill Company has released its latest addition to the free Vaults collection – Vintage String Synth. The Crow Hill Company’s Vaults collection is an absolute treasure trove of incredible sounds. Although I’m a big fan of cinematic and atmospheric sounds, which is where the Vaults shines most, one of my favorite things about [...] View post: The Crow Hill Company releases FREE Vaults Vintage String Synth View the full article

Writing a good bassline sounds simple until you actually have to do it. I know this problem well. You start with chords, drums, maybe a synth hook or vocal chop, and then the bass becomes the thing you add at the end because the track needs low end. That is how you end up with [...] View post: How Reason’s Bassline Generator Builds Better Basslines (GIVEAWAY) View the full article

Just plug your synth in, and Knob Monster backs everything up to the cloud.… Read More New Site, Knob Monster, Is Like iCloud For Your Vintage Synth PatchesView the full article

The idea behind Grainsmith Field was to make granular approachable, so it sounds great, and you can play it without digging through menus.… Read More New Granular Synthesizer For iPad/iPhone, Grainsmith FieldView the full article

Moloko Instruments has released Luch, a free sample-based instrument for macOS and Windows. I absolutely love the organic sound here. Especially lately, when we are being bombarded with AI and vibe-coded tools that often feel anything but organic or human-made, something like Luch feels like a much-needed breath of fresh air. Luch is based on [...] View post: Moloko Instruments releases Luch, a FREE Soviet-era metallophone plugin View the full article

Unusable Engineering has released Binaural Modulator, a free spatial modulation effect for macOS and Windows. Binaural Modulator is basically an auto-pan plugin on steroids. The thing that makes it pretty cool is that it is built around a small room model, with a fixed listening point in the middle and one or two moving sound-source [...] View post: Unusable Engineering releases Binaural Modulator, a FREE spatial auto-pan plugin View the full article

Grip is a new iOS app that turns your iPhone or iPad into a wireless remote controller for Ableton Live. … Read More New App, Grip, Turns Your iOS Device Intro A Remote For Ableton LiveView the full article

CapybaraSoftware has made CapySynth permanently free after the response to last week’s BPB coverage. We first covered CapySynth last Saturday when it was free for 24 hours. The developer later emailed to say the support from BPB readers was overwhelmingly positive, with over 5,000 downloads, and that it changed his mind about the pricing. So, [...] View post: CapySynth is now FREE forever after 5,000+ BPB reader downloads View the full article

BPB reader Wiseman has released WiseTracker, a free public beta tracker that runs as both a Windows standalone app and a VST3 instrument plugin called WiseTrax. This one has an interesting backstory. Wiseman is not a developer in the traditional sense, but he has used trackers for decades and wanted something that felt like FastTracker [...] View post: WiseTracker is a FREE tracker plugin and standalone app for Windows View the full article

YMCK has released Magical FDS Plug, a free software synthesizer that emulates the sound of the FDS sound chip. This is an absolute blast from the past for me, because YMCK’s Magical 8bit Plug was one of the first plugins I ever installed. I was deep into chiptune music back then, and I was using [...] View post: YMCK releases Magical FDS Plug, a FREE FDS sound chip synth View the full article