Jump to content

Freeware Instruments Thread


Recommended Posts

9 hours ago, Starship Krupa said:

As for taste in Rhodesalikes, my current fave is A|A|S Lounge Lizard Session, which is on sale for $24. Before that, it was the freeware Dead Duck EPiano. I must have bark and growl when I lay into it. I used to own a Stage 73, so I know what the real deal sounds like and how it responds, how the tines "bark" when you hit harder, and I have to have some of that in an emulation. Both Lounge Lizard and EPiano are hybrid modeled/sampled, which seems to work best for my playing style.

Not quite free, but still quite cheap at $14.99, AIR Velvet 2 is another option for Rhodes, Wurly, and Hohner:

Five Legendary Electric Pianos

Velvet is a virtual electronic piano that combines five legendary electric pianos from the 60s and 70s into one versatile instrument. Based on the Fender Rhodes Suitcase, Fender Rhodes MK I and MK II Stage Pianos, Wurlitzer 200A and Hohner Pianet-T, Velvet accurately emulates the sound quality, response, and nuances of each original instrument to bring your piano tracks to life. Additionally, Velvet features a pallet of onboard effects and allows you to control every aspect of the sound for unparalleled realism: turn up the tube drive controls in the preamp section to warm up your tone; adjust the timbre, dynamic response, and velocity curve to customize the playing feel; and mix in the sound of pedal and other keyboard mechanical noises to recreate an authentic electric piano track.

https://www.pluginboutique.com/product/1-Instruments/64-Virtual-Instrument/1559-Velvet-2

Until Sept 3rd this time, but AIR does almost always have something on sale... https://www.pluginboutique.com/deals/show?sale_id=6396

Edited by abacab
Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, John Kalabric said:

 A lot of the freeware instruments you can find in the thread, would probably not publish their bank & patch info back into Cakewalk, meaning that sounds are selected by unidentifiable numbers, and the "Patch Browser" feature with its search, also does not work.¬¬ I have added a feature request to enable users to create their own patch map for a VSTi, which would be REALLY helpful with a lot of these VSTis. To keep it in the sights of the feature planners of Cakewalk, like and maybe post on the thread: 

 

I've brought this issue up to both the VST developers and CbB. Both claim they do it right to allow the patch names to appear, but they don't.

Edited by Terry Kelley
Link to comment
Share on other sites

58 minutes ago, Terry Kelley said:

I've brought this issue up to both the VST developers and CbB. Both claim they do it right to allow the patch names to appear, but they don't.

And hence I have made the request that we can "fix it" by using a custom instrument map. Thats one of the big drivers of the feature request, but not the only one.

OT: On a side, there are multiple interface API's for doing the same one thing in VST. The soft synth developer supports one interface and says they are doing it right, while the host software expects the other interface, and they assert they are doing it right; and never the twains will meet as they are both right, in their own ways. With the above BaseMIDIVsti I posted, it had an issue with the sample rate between CW and the VST (sample played back at wrong rate, and hence it was out of tune), but only in Cakewalk; in other hosts it worked perfectly as the dev showed to prove he was doing it right. The VSTi responded to sample rate changes, but was a step behind in CW. I think the dev added an extra call to explicitly ask the host what the sample rate currently is (i.e. using the other interface as well, instead of simply waiting to be triggered/told by a sample rate change message from the host), and now they are in synch. By supporting both interfaces (not needed in other hosts), the VSTi now works perfectly. At least in a test build the dev sent me, I dont know if he has released his new build to the general public.

Edited by John Kalabric
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Juicy SF [SoundFont player]

I dont actually like this VSTi, but am simply posting it because others may. Its a soundfont player.

https://github.com/Birch-san/juicysfplugin

 

It comes as 64b as well as 32b. I did a file-copy-install by opening the install exe using 7Zip, expanding into a single sub, then renaming all of the included DLLs that have an underscore in the  name, to a dash/minus i.e. "-", and it worked. I didnt like the look of how many shared dll's it would be installing to my system folders just so I could try it. I found out about it on this thread:  https://discuss.cakewalk.com/index.php?/topic/18263-what-version-of-sfz-is-this

 

I think it started as a MAC app, and does some weird things. Like in SAVIHost, you cannot resize the SAVIHost window, but if you resize the contained VSTi, the SAVIHost window resizes to match it :o

 

60401921-32af9e00-9b80-11e9-8e3a-6c5717f868d6.png

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On 8/7/2020 at 3:23 PM, John Kalabric said:

Yamaha S-YXG50 Portable VSTi v1.0.0 

https://veg.by/en/projects/syxg50/

Note: there are two versions on the page. The second larger one is called "yamaha_syxg50_vsti_ext.7z " and is further down the page

Its basically a GM & XG synth, but uses Yamaha's AWM2, which makes it sound a little different / special to TTS

lots of docs at: http://www.jososoft.dk/yamaha/docs_specs.htm

It is UI impared.

I also cannot seem to be able to change banks? to get to the patches defined as part of XG, found in the following doc.

http://www.jososoft.dk/yamaha/pdf/xg_spec.pdf

For anyone using this synth, one thing to check:

I have to use the "Enable delay compensation" in "VST Plug-In Properties". UI did not notice it at first because my buffer means a latency of only 3-5ms, which I dont really hear. However, another VST crashed and pushed it out to 40ms+. All of a sudden, my S-YXG50 tracks were out of time. Until I selected the "Enable delay compensation". I am guessing its also there at 3ms normally, but just not easily perceivable.

The really ugly part of the above, is that the above setting appears to be lost when you change projects or shutdown Cakewalk, and is not even saved if you open the same project up again. I have logged a bug here:  https://discuss.cakewalk.com/index.php?/topic/18641-bug-some-vsti-plug-in-properties-need-to-be-re-set-on-new-and-opening-projects/

The other thing I have found, although you can set multiple unique channels to be Drum parts, and select different Drum patches on each, it actually sets ALL the drum channels to be the same Patch/Reverb/Chorus.

=================

EDIT: Read below, it appears to be a bug with all 32b VSTis default config.

Edited by John Kalabric
ref to a clearer bug issue
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, msmcleod said:

This should be on by default for ALL plugins.

If it's not, expect timing issues all over the place.

I am running Win7, and it is off by default for every VSTi, and even when I turn it on, it deselects itself on changing projects or shutting CW off (i.e. it is off 100% of the time for 100% of VSTi's). But this VSTi is the only one where I have noticed Timing issues. However,  I normally run at 3-5ms latency, so even on this synth, I did not perceive it till something happened and my latency was bumped to 40ms without my input.

Is it or could it be a Win7 thing only? as I said in the bug report, the other options are saved and restored.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, John Kalabric said:

I am running Win7, and it is off by default for every VSTi, and even when I turn it on, it deselects itself on changing projects or shutting CW off (i.e. it is off 100% of the time for 100% of VSTi's). But this VSTi is the only one where I have noticed Timing issues. However,  I normally run at 3-5ms latency, so even on this synth, I did not perceive it till something happened and my latency was bumped to 40ms without my input.

Is it or could it be a Win7 thing only? as I said in the bug report, the other options are saved and restored.

I have win7 and did a check.

There's 53 vsti's and nearly all of them has "Enable delay compensation" on.

Only 6 of them hasn't got it on and those where the 32-bit ones.

  • Great Idea 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Kurre said:

I have win7 and did a check.

There's 53 vsti's and nearly all of them has "Enable delay compensation" on.

Only 6 of them hasn't got it on and those where the 32-bit ones.

I think you nailed it! I checked my plugins and all the 64b ones were on , and the 32b ones were all off (at least the handful I checked). Thanks!

4 hours ago, Max Arwood said:

I can’t believe you guys don’t have delay compensation turned on -  on every plugin.  How can you ever get the timing the way it should be?   If your latency is a short trip it would be less noticeable, but still out of sync. 

Its not like WE consciously set it like this, it appears to be a bug (and I have logged it as a bug, I think the link is above) and I will transfer all the above info into that thread. I also have personally only just started using cakewalk again (long time user of Sonar, started with Cakewalk 1.0 for Windows, and have had a break for a few years). However, I must admit, I did notice my snare on one track was a little ahead, pushing the track along. I kinda liked it, may edit the actual timings;)... Also, if ALL your VSTis are 32b, then they are ALL delayed.

I think this bug is a big issue with a lot of free VSTi (and hence this thread) as they are getting long in the tooth, and are commonly 32b and dev is shelved, so it is very relevant to free instruments. However, as I said I will be moving it into my bug post.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, John Kalabric said:

I think this bug is a big issue with a lot of free VSTi (and hence this thread) as they are getting long in the tooth, and are commonly 32b and dev is shelved, so it is very relevant to free instruments.

Yeah, sadly true. Also compounded by the fact that Synthedit, a very popular development tool for freeware plug-in developers, lagged behind and could only build 32-bit until very recently. I remember searching high and low for a freeware 64-bit B3 and there were just none. Lots of really cool, oddball synths and FX, but all 32-bit because of Synthedit, I don't know what the issue was, if it was abandoned for a while or what.

Me, I only ever post 64-bit FX and instruments in this and in the freeware FX thread, things that I have vetted  in CbB. My primary imaginary audience is people who are thin on plug-ins and need to augment Cakewalk by BandLab with the assortment of goodies such as were bundled with SONAR Platinum or come with Studio One or Samplitude or Cubase or whatever.

Secondary audience is us plug-in ho's who love to try anything.?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

SQ8L an ESQ1 emulation

This 32b VSTi sounds pretty nice.It is a "demo" version where the final product never appeared to be completed (SQ8X, there are rumors of the dev having passed ☠️ :() The main limitations (at least for me) are:

1. Limited to 8 voices, so no big single track symphonies.

2. You cannot use Bank/Patch select. You have to use the VSTi itself to select the patch

KVR: https://www.kvraudio.com/product/sq8l_sq8x_by_siegfried_kullmann/details\

Download: https://vst4free.com/plugin/327/

Some Details: http://www.buchty.net/ensoniq/index.html#sq8l

Demo Track: I think even the drums in the demo are from the synth: http://www.buchty.net/ensoniq/files/sq8l/SQ8L-demo1.mp3

SQ8L-v0_91b.jpg.8e676862686c0dfb34a1fd8960ad0aa5.jpg

I have also attached the read-me (with more details) and a zip of the banks I collected when I first found it a few years back. NB: You use the "File" menu on the synth to load the banks, not an FXB.

 

Patches.zip readme.txt

Edited by John Kalabric
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • 4 weeks later...

MAGIX are always full of surprises, a lot of that is probably because while they are supposedly huge in Europe, they don't seem to work the US market as much. Also, they have absorbed so many product lines that things seem to get tucked into the corner.

I just discovered they have their own Halion/Kontakt/Sampletank sampler, called Independence, and you can register and run it in free mode.

https://www.magix.com/us/free-download/independence-free-sampler-software/

Installation notes: At one point the process will stop and show a dialog saying that there are missing files. Just click on the button that says to agree to download them.

Registration is free, but does require that you set up a MAGIX account.

Out of the box it comes with an acoustic piano, after you install all the extra sounds it's over 100 instruments including some nice drum kits, both acoustic and electronic, and a variety of world percussion instruments. Also pianos, a pipe organ, many synths, basses. A worthy download if you want more sampled instruments.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/1/2020 at 10:39 PM, Freyja Grimaude-Valens said:

It has come to my attention that Ilir Bajri, the person responsible for Orchestools One for Sample Tank 3 CS has made stand-alone VSTs and apps based on those same samples, plus a few extras, using HISE.

https://musictop69.wixsite.com/orchestools/download

Excellent! I am an enthusiastic user of the Sampletank version. I see a few different versions for download. My guess is that I would download Orchestools 306 to get all the sounds.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...