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For most of my (digital) music career, I have steered clear of "virtual" anything, let alone instruments. As a musician, just the name "Virtual Instrument" implies fake or imitation. It's only been in recent times that I have started to give in a little on this stance. I've found some great virtual pianos, virtual keyboards, even stringed instruments, and the most difficult to simulate
of all (in my opinion) virtual drums. After all, how could a software plug-in possibly simulate all those variations on hits, tones, timing, feel, and other hidden attributes of a live recorded drum kit? Read on and find some of my new favorite virtual instruments, some free, some not.
Acoustica Pianissimo - A virtual grand piano with a unique sound. Acoustica captured even the subtle sounds of the pedals being pressed, and it's adjustable! Not to mention the one of a kind live reverb only included with this vsti. You can play pianissimo as a stand alone
application or use it in your favortie DAW software and midi controller. Pianissimo isn't free, but there's a free trial available, click the link at the start of the paragraph to download it and try for yourself.
Shred Guitar Amp Simulator - Shred comes with six amp heads, ranging from warm and clean, to dirty metal tones. Shred is not really a virtual instrument, but a vst plug-in that you can use live or on a recorded guitar track. It comes with reverb, delay, equalization, tons of cabinet choices and more. Check out this video, the guitar was done 100% using the Shred amp suite. The author also offers a paid version with more features.
Drumagog - Drum replacement software. Drumagog isn't really a virtual instrument in the classic sense of the term, but more of a vst plug-in that has the ability to completely replace drum tracks with other included or your own, sounds. This plugin is awesome for home recording on up to professional studio use and comes in three versions ranging from $89 to $379, and 100% worth every penny! Drumagog for me, has replaced the need to spend hours tweaking gates, equalizers, compression and reverb plug-ins, by simply replacing the played drum sound with a perfect sounding pre-recorded one. There are a few others out there that attempt this but none succeed like Drumagog. See our full write up on Drumagog here.
Stringer - Stringer is an emulation of classic string synths such as Eminent 310, Mellotron, Arp string ensemble, Crumar Performer, Korg Trident. Works nicely and is a great freebie to add to your collection.
NWBass - NWBass is a free classic mono bassline synth that can put out some pretty decent sounds. Used with a midi controller or even step editing, you can emulate bass lines. It's even got a midi learn function.
More to come!
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