Best Paid Vst Plugins 2017
Disclosure: When you buy through our links, we may get a commission at zero cost to you.
- We share a HUGE list of VST plugins that are worth owning in every single possible audio plugin category. A must-read for any music producer. The Best VST Plugins Of All Time (Free & Paid) Home » Best VST Plugins.
- Toontrack Superior Drummer 3. First up on our list of the best drum VSTs is Toontrack’s Superior.
Best VST Plugins - Vocal Production Melodyne by Celemony 99-849 USD, Price varies depending on version Melodyne is the one of the industry standards for vocal tuning, but Melodyne’s algorithms allow you to make anything from the subtlest to the most far-reaching enhancements to your audio material regarding pitch, timing and tempo, with.
Imagine creating music with no reverberation whatsoever, you hear the audio directly with no simulation of the sound of space (a room, hall, or a sound-reflective space), this would give you a dry signal, which is unnatural to the human ear, and this is because we are used to getting the illusion of the simulation of a real space in a mix.
Reverb is one of the tools and effects used by music producer/engineer to extract selective clarity, size, richness, wideness, etc. from the various elements of a multitrack production.
It can be used to create all sorts of effects, and can greatly make your music or mix stand out if used properly, but it can easily be misused too, typically, reverb effects can be used to…
- Create depth in a mix; pushing elements further back in a mix
- Multitrack projects are often crowded with 24, 36, and often more tracks filling the arrangement simultaneously (fighting to be heard), adding long reverb times can make certain element uncluttered in the mix
- It can be used to bring coloration to a sound
- You can use it to create drama in a track, for example, the intro can bring in a lush sound, and when the first verse begins, you can automate or dial back the lushness aggressively, making it sound not only dramatic but also pleasing to the ear.
- To create a reverse reverb, the original sound is reversed in time (flipping back), and you then add a duplication of the original track to the next bar, which when played together snap back to its original place in time, using this can be used to create suspense in a track, super useful
A before and after of a simple melody I just created, one with no reverb, and the other with a classic reverb:
You see how the reverb added more clarity and depth to the melody, wish I could show more example, I’ll leave that in your hands.
Since we know the importance of using reverb, I would be recommending some of the best reverb effects plugins in the music production scene right now.
Let’s get going…
1.) MangledVerb by Eventide
MangledVerb combines reverb and distortion to give you a stunning effect, it sends a stereo reverb into distortion, and when that is done, you get a plugin that is capable of creating lush reverbs, ripping distortion leads and sound-sculpting musical chaos.
This plugin is especially great if you are a guitarist, and if you are performing live, you’ll enjoy the RIBBON, you can program two settings for any combination of the controls and seamlessly transition between them.
The way the RIBBON work is you click on the white dot at the tip of any knob and drag it to the desired setting for the left-hand side of the Ribbon. This will program the knob and draw a blue arc from the initial knob position to the new, programmed knob position.
►Key Features:
- Create out-of-this-world soundscapes by increasing the Size and Overdrive.
- Use it as Mono-In/Mono-Out, Mono-In/Stereo-Out or Stereo-In/Stereo-Out for ultimate flexibility.
- Smoothly move from Softclip distortion to Overdrive for ripping transitions.
- Use the Wobble control to create spooky detuning effects.
- Use The Ribbon control to easily manipulate multiple parameters in a live situation.
- Program the HotSwitch to instantly change multiple parameters at once.
- Optimized for live use with MIDI control of The Ribbon and Tap Tempo for quick meta-control on the fly.
- Use Mix Lock to scroll through presets while keeping the wet-dry mix constant.
►System Requirements:
- Windows 7 or higher // 32-64bit
- macOS 10.7 or higher // 64-bit only
- 64-bit only
- AAX, VST2 & VST3 Formats for Windows, and
- AAX, AU & VST2 Formats for mac
2.) MorphVerb by United Plugins
MorphVerb is a multipurpose reverb plugin, whether you need a chamber, hall, algorithms for spring, ambience place, and a plethora of reverb effects.
The beauty of this plugin is the fact that it supports multiple reverb types, it features a lush algorithm for Spring, Ambience, Echoes, Room, Chamber, or Plate. It also features great spaces like Hall or Cathedral and your reverb can even be Infinite.
Another interesting feature of this plugin is that you can blend smoothly between any two neighboring reverb types. So you can get 20% Chamber and 80% Hall. MorphVerb fills the gaps between reverb styles and gives almost infinite possibilities.
►System Requirements:
Mac
- macOS 10.10 and newer
- 64-bit only
- Intel/AMD processor with SSE2 support
- VST2, VST3, AAX, or AU compatible host
Windows
- Windows 8-10
- 32-bit or 64-bit
- Intel/AMD processor with SSE2 support
- VST2, VST3 or AAX compatible host
3.) XenoVerb by Audiority
XenoVerb is a superb Multi-Algorithm Reverb plugin with a sleek and intuitive GUI, I really love the interface of this plugin but it doesn’t only thrive in that aspect. It also features both classic and creative reverb algorithms delivering a wide range of reverbs with a clean and simple interface.
►Key Features:
- 10 Reverb Algorithms:
- Room, Hall, Plate 1, Plate 2, Springy, Glass, Flow, Shimmer, Bode, Formant
- Over 250 presets
- Pre Delay
- Diffusion
- Modulation
- Tone Control
- Reverb Freeze
- Soft Limiter
►System Requirements:
Chinese flute vst plugin. PC
- Windows XP SP3 or later
- Intel i3 or higher
- 2GB RAM
- Screen resolution: 1024×768
- VST2, AAX 32-bit or 64-bit host
MAC
- OSX 10.7.5 or later
- Intel i3 or higher
- 2GB RAM
- Screen resolution: 1024×768
- VST2, AU, and AAX 32-bit or 64-bit host
4.) Perfect Room by denise
Perfect room plugin is a re-implementation of the classic algorithmicreverb, denise ditched the method of using a combination of short feedbacking delays to create the illusion of reverberation, they instead created TXVerb™ technology.
This technology doesn’t use delays for the tail and will enhance the character and coloration of any audio you run through it in an extremely natural way, whether you are using it for drums, vocals, and any other instrument, you’ll absolutely enjoy the mechanism and sound quality of this plugin.
►System Requirements:
Best Paid Vst Plugins 2017 Download
Mac:
- OSX 10.7 to macOS 10.14 (64-bit only)
- VST, VST3, AU, AAX
Windows:
- Windows 7 or newer (64-bit only)
- VST, VST3, AAX
5.) GrainSpace by Audiority
GrainSpace is a granular processor by Audiority that focuses on real-time granularization and reverberation of the incoming audio signal.
GrainSpace provides dynamic grain generation (up to 32 per channel), 7-grain parameters, 4-grain modulators (including two 11 waveforms LFO), smearing, chord resonator, and reverb to create crazy sound effects, rich textures, and much more.
System Requirements:
- Windows XP SP3 or later // OSX 10.7 or later
- Intel i3 or higher
- 2GB RAM
- Screen resolution: 1024×768
- VST2, AAX 32-bit or 64-bit host
6.) Spring by Eventide
Eventide Spring is an easy reverb that models the sound and character of the popular artificial reverb found in guitar amplifiers, with an additional tube amp style tremolo.
It doesn’t only model the sound and the character, but also allows you to make a further tweak to physical parameter controls not readily available in the real unit.
One thing that struck me with this plugin is the intuitiveness and play-ability. You can easily adjust the knobs or specifically, you can use the RIBBON to program two settings for any combination of the controls and seamlessly morph to any sound between them.
► Key Features:
- Artist presets by Matt Lange, Nick Hook, and Nu-Trix.
- Tempo Sync reverb decay to your DAW
- Craft original sounds by changing the number of springs and damping frequency
- Alter overall resonance by selecting the size of the spring tank
- Tube-amp-style tremolo that can be routed pre- or post-reverb
- Create chorus-like effects by altering Modulation Level
- The Ribbon controller allows for dynamic modification of several knobs at once to easily morph between settings
- Programmable Hotswitch provides the ability to jump instantly to an alternate sound at the push of a button
- Mac/Windows plug-in version works as VST, AU, AAX
► System Requirements:
- Windows 7 or higher
- macOS 10.7 or higher
- 64-bit only
- AAX, VST2 & VST3 Formats for Windows, and
- AAX, AU & VST2 Formats for mac
Note: Eventide tests their plugins in Ableton Live, Cubase, FL Studio, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, and Studio One. However, their plugins should work with any compatible host.
Useful Related posts:
Gear/Software
There are an insane amount of VST plugins out there – so many that it can be very hard to sift through them all to find just a few that truly offer what you’re looking for. You can find plenty of free ones, and some of them will actually turn out to be great (something I’ll cover in a later article), but sometimes you just need the quality and assurance you know you’re going to get with a purchased product; that’s when it’s time to start thinking of looking for premium plugins.
The truth is there are lots of awesome ones to check out, and it’s easy to get confused as to which ones are best suited for you. What you want to do – aside from downloading the demos and giving them a try on your own, of course – is research as much as you can, read plenty of reviews on each plugin that interests you, and go on YouTube to watch videos of the plugins in action, until you figure out exactly what you need.
To narrow it down for you a bit, here’s my top 10 premium plugins you should look into.
10. LFOTool – This one is great for less experienced producers who want an easy-to-use plugin to help them work on bass wobble for dubstep and drumnbass. It shows you how you’re changing the sound waves through a very straightforward interface and will help you get the hang of basic sample-tweaking features like tremolo, noise gate, and side chain compression. You can change the LFO wobble by BPM, and it has a swing feature to give your synths a bangin’ groove. It also comes with lots of presets, so you’ll be able to see the different types of sounds it’s capable of producing, giving you plenty of foundations for you to start from.
9. Robotronic – This is a great vocoder plugin with a stylish, simplistic interface. There are so many good ones out there, but this is the one I’ve used the most; if you’re looking for a straightforward vocoder with great sound quality and plenty of features, this one is worth looking into. Make a track with it in your DAW of choice, record a basic vocal bit straight into it and make it into anything you can imagine. A lot of fun to play with.
8. RayBlaster – This is a great softsynth that facilitates the creation of innovative textures. It comes with over 500 different sounds on its own, and you can also load in your own samples to work with those as well. Many of the sounds it comes with are great, but what makes RayBlaster stand out are the ways it lets you tweak those sounds to come up with some very odd and intriguing creations that will definitely inspire you. It’s lower on the list because there are much better softsynths out there, but the unique sound manipulation RayBlaster offers is undeniably cool.
7. Enzyme – This is a recent discovery for me but I think it’s really interesting. It’s also pretty complicated, but if you’re the type that enjoys pressing all the buttons and tweaking all the knobs to see what kinds of sounds you’re able to generate, this plugin will likely be a lot of fun for you. It’s capable of making some extremely weird sounds, due to the complex ways it allows you to manipulate samples, but that’s the fun of it – you’ll be making noise unlike anything you’ve heard before, and it will really get your creative juices flowing as you imagine what kinds of tracks these sounds would complement best. Definitely worth a look for more experimental producers.
6. Waves – Like Izotope, I’m listing the name of the company because they have so many plugins to check out, and they’re all really useful and renowned. Waves offers a lot of audio cleanup plugins, also like Izotope, but they also have innovative originals like an analog tape simulator (the J37 Tape – recreating the recording quality that legendary bands like the Beatles used) a powerful maximizer, a bass optimizer, and mono-to-stereo emulation, just to name a few. Waves is a company that’s great at what they do, and any plugin you get from them is guaranteed to improve the sound of your mixes.
5. Izotope – I’m listing the name of the company itself here because they have a variety of plugins available, all of which are worth looking into. Izotope specializes mostly in plugins that will help you with the mixing and mastering aspect of music production, and they’re absolute masters of this aspect. Whether you need audio analysis, sound quality enhancement or vocal production effects, Izotope’s got you covered. An extremely effective and useful plugin they offer is RX, which will help you clean up recordings with a lot of ambient noise – so if you’re recording vocals or any physical instruments in a room that has some echo or sounds from outside trickling in, RX can help you get rid of that noise. That’s just one of the many plugins Izotope offers, and looking at the rest of their stuff is highly recommended.
4. Alchemy – I haven’t used Alchemy as much as I would like to, but from what I’ve experienced thus far, it’s a great tool for creating innovative tones and textures, and all the samples that come with it are all of excellent quality. There’s everything from more organic instruments to straight up alien-sounding pads that will help you create some incredibly strange and beautiful instrumentation for your beats. Camel Audio has several other plugins you can take a look at, but Alchemy is by far their crowning achievement. They offer 28 different sound libraries you can purchase too, covering a wide range of genres and moods. It’s a bit pricy, but it’s well worth it, you’ll be spending hours on end experimenting with it.
3. Addictive Drums – I don’t know a whole lot about drum plugins, in all honesty, but I do know that this one is held in very high regard within the music production world, and with just cause; Addictive Drums offers some of the cleanest and sharpest drum sounds available. It’s been used in music for TV, video games, and plenty of songs on the radio and in the clubs, because there’s really just nothing else like it. Recently they released version 2 of their amazing software, and it’s absolutely worth every penny. Not only does it have an extremely helpful and easy-to-follow interface, they offer all kinds of sample packs for tons of different styles of music, so you can get just the right drum sound for whatever you’re recording. Electronic music producers love this thing, but also, if you’re a lone guitarist or a band that doesn’t have a drummer, this plugin is so effective that if you use it in your recordings and don’t tell anyone that it’s not a real drummer playing, they would never know. If you’re in the market for the best drum plugin around, look no further than Addictive Drums.
2. Absynth – This is a VERY close runner-up to the #1 spot. Absynth is one of my all-time favorite plugins. Are you tired of the same kinds of samples that every softsynth seems to have? Are you looking for something powerful enough to help you generate all sorts of refreshing and bizarre sounds that will bring your tracks into all-new territory? This is the plugin for you, then; Absynth isn’t just for sequencing synth loops, it’s a tool for very effective and versatile sound design. You can make textures with this plugin that you just can’t get anywhere else. Not only that, but the newest version comes with around 2,100 presets, which is way more than enough for you to get an idea of what it’s capable of. Absynth 5 has a new feature called Sound Mutator which lets you apply specific adjectives in the form of tags from a list in order to transform any sound into exactly what you’re looking for.
Best Professional Vst Plugins
1. Massive – This is just an all-around monster of a plugin. You really can’t go wrong with Massive; it has so many presets, so many parameters you can tweak to make your own unique sounds, great quality, and is overall just a joy to work with. When it comes to softsynths, as far as I’m concerned, this is the top of the line. Anything from fat, warm bass throbs to soaring, sparkling synth leads, you can make it all with Massive. I almost don’t even know where to begin explaining all of the features it has, there are just so many worth mentioning – the most important thing to know is that whether you’re an experienced producer or a beginner, this will be one of the most important digital tools you could possibly add to your arsenal. It comes with so many presets, and producers are coming out with their own preset packs regularly (like this one by Gigi Barocco I reviewed not long ago), so you’ll never stop finding new sounds to work with. Native Instruments really knows what they’re doing when it comes to beat-making, and Massive is a great investment to help you develop your sound and style in completely new ways.
I hope I’ve provided enough information to help you get started, and I hope some of these pique your interest and end up helping you grow as a producer and make some great new tracks.