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#496759 10/19/18 11:49 AM
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Hi, there was a recent post (may not have been on this forum) with a link to some well priced VSTi,s.
If anyone recalls this perhaps you could remind me where to find the post. Sorry I don’t remember anymore info on them.
Many thanks.


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win 10 64 bit 16gb,i7 chip, ssd 500gb, m-audio air, ,Roland BK-7M, 1000,shure sm7b,sonar,acid,mixcraft, variety of plugins.Sample tank 3,Kontakt. TC Helicon Voicelive 3 2 .
https://beatmaster1.bandcamp.com/releases

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There are many good free or cheap VSTs. Reaper have heaps in their bundle.

Melda have a good collection free (these are tops) see https://www.meldaproduction.com/MFreeFXBundle

Tokyo Dawn have some really good stuff free https://www.tokyodawn.net/tokyo-dawn-labs/

Voxengo have a heap of really good cheap and free VSTs. https://www.voxengo.com/group/free-vst-plugin-download/

Youlean has a great free LUFS meter.
https://youlean.co/youlean-loudness-meter/

This is just a start but if you got these you’d have most of what you need and will keep you busy for some time.

Tony



Last edited by Teunis; 10/19/18 12:24 PM.

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I like that LUFS meter. If you're not familiar with the 'new' way of measuring loudness in mixes, check into this.


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Thanks guys


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Your post says "VSTi" which are instruments. The ones I use very often are.
Studio Instruments that come free with a free download of Cakewalk by BandLab. I got them by buying Music Creator 7 but now you can get them for free. Drums, Bass, Electric Piano and Strings.
Not sure if it still comes with the TTS-1 midi synth but I often use that as a quick reference for things like trying BIAB midi styles or midi files I download from the internet. I rarely keep any of it in a final mix.
Bitsonic Keyzone Classic free piano sound really good to me.
SampleTank3 (ST3). This has a whole lot of great instruments. I don't know the current price. I got it for free when they had a deal to buy one of their midi controllers and get ST3 for free.


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In 20 years of home recording, I have paid for exactly one VSTi, EZ Drummer. I have never paid for a single VST. I have no pirated plugins. There are so many excellent freeware plugins as well as those that are bundled with hardware or DAW or Electronic Musician cover DVDs, that I've never had a lack of inspiring tones and processing to pick from.

I've never had a single listener say upon listening: Wow, you must be using freeware or mag-ware.

In fact, I've had quite the opposite comments.

What this has afforded me:

1. Money to buy a top-shelf acoustic guitar (Larrivée)
2. Money to purchase a couple different bass guitars, one really cheap, and one not-so cheap
3. Money to purchase excellent amp simulator/multi-fx units for both my electric guitars and both of my basses.
4. Money to upgrade my controller keyboard to have drawbar controls for the VB3 VSTi plugin I won in one of KVRAudio's songwriting contest.
5. Money to have a small selection of condenser and dynamic mics.
6. Money to eventually break-down and buy EZ Drummer and some additional loops.

I had to learn to play bass along the way. I tried for years to get midi bass to sound decent, and I finally heard a plugin/sampler package that was up to the task - Spectrasonics Trilian. It still costs $299. That would have cost me more than the first bass and bass amp simulator. And I would have to learn the nuances of how to try to fake electric bass parts on it; or learn how to play bass in a believable way. I chose the latter and I'm very glad that I did.

I have tried to take the same path with drums. I even sort of had lessons by taking my son to his lessons each week and learning snare rudiments, practiced on a pad. I could not make it past lesson 3 rudiments. No matter how hard I tried. I got by mostly with loops from Computer Music DVDs. Finally bought EZ Drummer earlier this year (very happy with that purchase).

My suggestion: Go to www.kvraudio.com search the plugin database for freeware and most popular search filters. Grab the top five synth and top 5 effect plugins. Make sure to check the 'free' choice for pricing, and order the results by 'user rating'.

https://www.kvraudio.com/q.php

Learn them. Study how they work. Learn signal processing fundamentals through Berklee's free Music Production course.

You will have years of enjoyment with just those 10 plugins.

I have probably a couple hundred plugins I've collected over the years, but I use only 10-20 regularly because I know them deeply.

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Cheers, thanks for that.


BIAB 2022 UltraPAK
Xtra packs 1,2,3,4,5,6,13
2019 and 2018 49pak
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