BEST FREE SAMPLE LIBRARIES & SOFT SYNTHS - CURATED LIST OF REVIEWED & RECOMMENDED INSTRUMENTS

[Lamia6]

Tone2 Firebird. It's 32bit only (and Windows only). Works fine for me on Win10 with CbB, Reason 11 and Samplitude Pro X5.

https://www.tone2.com/download-for-pc-old.html

For Reason owners there are these synths:

Spectra Additive ReSynthesizer - https://www.reasonstudios.com/shop/rack-extension/spectra-additive-resynthesizer/

Nautilus Bass Synthesizer - https://www.reasonstudios.com/shop/rack-extension/nautilus-bass-synthesizer/

kiloHearts kHs ONE RE - https://www.reasonstudios.com/shop/rack-extension/kilohearts-khs-one/

Expansions for Air Hybrid 3:

E LEC TRO WAVES - https://www.airmusictech.com/expansions/hybrid3-electrowaves.html

Fresh Energy - https://www.airmusictech.com/expansions/hybrid3-fresh-energy.html

Tone Color - https://www.airmusictech.com/expansions/hybrid3-tone-color-xp.html

(Electro and Fresh Energy have always been free on Air's site despite plugin retailers trying to sell them, lol)

[alacantec]

@PavlovsCat  Yes, I meant adding dates only going forward from next entries (clueless task adding dates for older ones). Thanks for your work!

[audioschmaudio]

7 hours ago, Lamia6 said:

For Reason owners there are these synths:

[...]

kiloHearts kHs ONE RE - https://www.reasonstudios.com/shop/rack-extension/kilohearts-khs-one/

kHs One is free for everyone

[audioschmaudio]

Has Analog Lab Play been mentioned yet?

[PavlovsCat]

5 hours ago, audioschmaudio said:

Has Analog Lab Play been mentioned yet?

💯.  I have Analog Lab Intro and when Play came out I meant to put in on the list, but I forgot about it! This is one of the many reasons it's important that this is a collaboration. Thanks! This will be the first entry where I use a date. 

[audioschmaudio]

@PavlovsCat yay, new avatar. I like it. 🤩

[PavlovsCat]

On 11/6/2023 at 2:46 AM, alacantec said:

@PavlovsCat  Yes, I meant adding dates only going forward from next entries (clueless task adding dates for older ones). Thanks for your work!

I just added a piano (from Straight Ahead Samples) with uses the free KONTAKT Player. I actually picked it up earlier this year, but I just forgot about it when making the list. The entry has today's date on it, so I am doing my best to make this list as useful as possible for everyone based on feedback, so please everyone, let's keep the feedback and recommendations coming to make this a great resource to the community. 

Edited November 8, 2023 by PavlovsCat

[satya]

Can't find any good flutes are there any sampled  free flute library or should I use the synthesized one

[PavlovsCat]

5 minutes ago, satya said:

Can't find any good flutes are there any sampled  free flute library or should I use the synthesized one

Are you looking for a standard orchestral flute or a more ethnic type flute? And are you looking for a solo flute or an orchestral ensemble section. Also, do you have the full version of KONTAKT,  because I have another list for that and I'm certain that I've come across decent free flute libraries for the free version of KONTAKT. 

Off-hand,  if you're looking for an ensemble section,  there's the free Spitfire BBC Orchestra plugin, and I think there's a flute in Labs. I'm away from PC right now, but I'll be back in a short while. If you can answer those questions,  I bet I can find a flute for you. 

[DamienF]

there are some flutes in Sampletank CS

[PavlovsCat]

39 minutes ago, satya said:

Can't find any good flutes are there any sampled  free flute library or should I use the synthesized one

@satya

Orchestra Tools, a very fine developer, IMO, has two free flute libraries. One is a standard flute and one is aimed at jazz. 

https://www.orchestraltools.com/sinefactory

Sonixima has a free KONTAKT Player flute library, but it's more of a texture instrument than something you'd use for a solo flute part. But you may want style find a use for it n your production along with a solo flute. It is cool in its own way, IMO.  
https://sonixinema.com/products/brute-flute-freebie

If you have the full version of KONTAKT I can provide more suggestions. I hope this helps! 

Edited November 9, 2023 by PavlovsCat

[audioschmaudio]

20 minutes ago, satya said:

Can't find any good flutes are there any sampled  free flute library or should I use the synthesized one

My motto is: if you can't find a good free VST, buy a good non-free VST instead. Unless it's super-expensive.

"Good" is a little subjective, so I'll just share which flutes I got for free:

• Fluffy Audio Simple Flute
• Orchestral Tools SINEfactory - Lucent and Mistral
• Every now and then Apache - Native American Flute by New Nation is free somewhere
• I believe synful has flutes. Synful used to cost money but has become free recently.
• Vivace Legacy has some woodwinds.
• If you use Ableton Live: Abletunes Foundation Woodwinds has flutes
• If you use Ableton Live Suite: Check the stock instruments that are included, such as the Orchestral Woodwind pack

[PavlovsCat]

28 minutes ago, audioschmaudio said:

My motto is: if you can't find a good free VST, buy a good non-free VST instead. Unless it's super-expensive.

"Good" is a little subjective, so I'll just share which flutes I got for free:

• Fluffy Audio Simple Flute
• Orchestral Tools SINEfactory - Lucent and Mistral
• Every now and then Apache - Native American Flute by New Nation is free somewhere
• I believe synful has flutes. Synful used to cost money but has become free recently.
• Vivace Legacy has some woodwinds.
• If you use Ableton Live: Abletunes Foundation Woodwinds has flutes
• If you use Ableton Live Suite: Check the stock instruments that are included, such as the Orchestral Woodwind pack

I'm glad you just made that list! If he told me that he had full KONTAKT, I was going to recommend Fluffy Audio's full flute,and that's a really sleazy, ill-tempered developer who attacked me on this forum and VI-Control after I shared that he had ignored my 4 customer support requests over a period of 11 months. I later received a PM from one of his contractors sharing that the guy is known to have a really bad temper and behave badly and have since heard from another Fluffy customer who had a bad experience and an influencer who had a bad experience. Even more, only last week, I  found the developer was posting in a developer's group on Facebook posting about me in a pretty insulting manner for sharing my experiences with his non existent support. Two developers responded by saying that my posts seemed very reasonable and he should be trying to resolve the issue instead of attacking a customer. He ignored their responses and then went on to call me names in the forums. Even so, I think his free flute library is pretty good and I like their scripting, but considering my experience with the guy, it's pretty hard to recommend anything from Fluffy Audio. 

Edited November 9, 2023 by PavlovsCat

[audioschmaudio]

@PavlovsCat when something is free, I really don't care about the developer's personality. I'm downloading an instrument, not a friendship.

[PavlovsCat]

21 hours ago, audioschmaudio said:

@PavlovsCat when something is free, I really don't care about the developer's personality. I'm downloading an instrument, not a friendship.

Yeah, I'm just sharing. It is perplexing owning libraries from a developer who privately, then publicly attacked me, lying and defaming me in a series of defamatory character attacks all because he was trying to discredit me for posting that he makes very good libraries but the customer support is non-existent following my putting in 4 customer support requests over 11 months without any response whatsoever and the guy claimed I was lying (his defense was that he only ignored 2 customer support requests from me over slightly more than 3 months; which one would think would be bad enough in and of itself). As a follow-up, foranyone who remembers those threads,  the dev stated that he was going to make a script that allows a viola library in question to be played polyphonically that he said he'd have available in Nov 2022. It was only after I publicly, very politely, posted on VI-Control asking the status on the promised update that he eventually delivered the update, in August 2023 and I politely thanked him. But I've since learned from one of his associates that he's ill-tempered and not good at following up on things, then I was PMed by another Fluffy customer who witnessed the VI-Control thread who shared his bad experience with the dev, and then an influencer I know told me about his own bad experience with the developer. I've provided consulting to 3 dozen devs over two decades, and some of them witnessed me being defamed, and that's a character attack on my reputation. So it's a lot more serious for me than a hobbyist who hasn't done work in this industry. 

I love the dev's vibraphone library -- and I own a bunch of other vibraphone libraries -- but using it reminds me of my terrible experience with the guy. But even so, @satya, if you have the full version of KONTAKT,  it pains me to say this, but my opinion is that free Fluffy Audio flute library is the best quality free flute library I know of. That's easily the most wordy and awkward recommendation of a sample library ever! 

Edited November 10, 2023 by PavlovsCat

[satya]

1 hour ago, PavlovsCat said:

That's easily the most wordy and awkward recommendation of a sample library ever! 

Good recommendation comes with pain

[PavlovsCat]

What if I challenged you to put together a quick demo using all free sample libraries that play in free players and no more than one paid/commercial sample library? I've worked with developers and put together demo contests, but no one makes demos for free sample libraries from multiple developers, so why not us?  I started with me tonight. I put together a quick approx. 1 minute demo based on a very simple piano progression. Everything was an improvised first take with mistakes included. If anyone wants to join me, I can create a thread in the song section and we can post links to there with each song we share. Any takers? Just like me, you can spend 15-20 minutes to come up with something really simple that lets people hear these libraries in action. 

Quick Honest FREE Library Demo Challenge 
Create a demo from these sample libraries that play in free players.  using free sample libraries that play in free players with a maximum of one commercial/paid sample library.  

OBJECTIVE:
Create a short demo to highlight free instruments that play in free players. 

RULES:
- Improvise what you play. Try to use first takes. Play whatever comes to mind. 
- Any length demo. 
-  Use as many always free instruments that play in free players as you like, with no more than more than one paid instrument. 
- Any external effects used must be freely available.  
- List all instruments snf effects used. 

DEMO NAME: 
Motive  

DESCRIPTION: 
- 10 tracks. Every track was completely improvised on the fly on the first take. No MIDI editing, a little quantitzing, but otherwise, warts and all [I didn't even write down the chords I played, for the various parts).

FREE INSTRUMENTS IN FREE PLAYERS USED: 
SoundPaint 1928 Scoring Piano (2 instances)
SoundPaint Free Angels 
IK MODO DRUM
IK MODO BASS 
Cinematic Strings Tongue Drum
KONTAKT Play Twenty Five 
Heavyocity Foundationds Nylon Guitar 
Sine Player Layers
HALion Cinematique Sonic Guitar Essentials 
Spitfire Labs Micah's Choir

PAID INSTRUMENT USED: 
Orange Tree Samples: Evolution Strawberry 

FREE EFFECTS USED: 
Sonible - Focustire Balanace  (EQ)
Rob Papen: Pan
 

 

[audioschmaudio]

@PavlovsCat nice idea. I think it deserves its own thread.

The KVR Forum has a monthly contest, called the One Synth Challenge, where they name one free synth (a different one each month) and participants are only allowed to use that synth. So that's somewhat similar. You can also win prices in those challenges.

You find it in their instruments section: https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=1

They're way more restrictive though. Even drums and percussion have to be created with the synth.

Edited November 17, 2023 by audioschmaudio

[PavlovsCat]

28 minutes ago, audioschmaudio said:

@PavlovsCat nice idea. I think it deserves its own thread.

The KVR Forum has a monthly contest, called the One Synth Challenge, where they name one free synth (a different one each month) and participants are only allowed to use that synth. So that's somewhat similar. You can also win prices in those challenges.

You find it in their instruments section: https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=1

They're way more restrictive though. Even drums and percussion have to be created with the synth.

Wait, you gave me an idea. 

I was just really just playing around with free sample libraries when I thought, why not just record myself playing a super simple chord progression so that people can hear these free sample libraries in action together.  

I actually was probably one of the first people doing song contests at KVR going back around 15 years with Orange Tree Samples and later Kirk Hunter. The guy who won one of OTS's contest later became a friend and we still keep in touch to this day  (his daughter just had a birthday today). So yeah, you've given me an idea and I'd love to hear people's thoughts. 

We could do regular demo song contests using free instruments and I can get developer friends to give the winners free libraries or certificates. Also, that way I won't have to suffer the constant indignity of losing every month, because I can say that I am disqualified! We've got to do this.  If people want to chime in with their thoughts I'd love to hear back from folks. I suppose we should make it 100% free libraries that play in free players and that way there's no barriers to entry and maybe people who might be short on cash but long on talent can have a serious chance at winning. I can make this happen. Thanks so much, @audioschmaudio. 

Edited November 17, 2023 by PavlovsCat

[Tianzii]

On 12/2/2022 at 2:27 PM, PavlovsCat said:

Sterzov The Felt Seiler   ⭐
A very nice felted piano library. 
FORMAT: FREE KONTAKT PLAYER 
https://www.strezov-sampling.com/products/view/the-felt-seiler-free-edition.html

This one! I love free kontakt player instruments that can be downloaded through Native Access.

You don't have to worry about finding the downloadables next time you setup your computer.

Thanks!