Free Audio Plugins & Softwares for Windows

Squeaky Chair

Squeaky Chair virtual instrument is a free sound bank for Halion and Kontakt and Exs24 and Garage Band, by Tangent Edge Instruments.

Halloween 2016 freebie: the Squeaky Chair.

The Squeaky Chair is a rare musical instrument and that’s a good thing. It’s really hard to play and it never sounds good, although my student Gabriel Calis did a great job performing for this sample library.

This particular Squeaky Chair is a rotating stool type and the screw thread hasn’t been greased in its whole life. It only has one pitch, the highest A in the virtual version. I mapped it over 5 octaves.

It’s definitely one of the most ugly sounds you will have in your computer and it’s unpredictable like the real thing. I hope you find some use for it.

It works in Kontakt 4 or higher, GarageBand, Logic and free SFZ players like Sforzando.

http://www.tangentedgeinstruments.com

Squidpipes

Squidpipes virtual instrument is a free bagpipes sound bank for Sforzando, by Karoryfer.

Squidpipes contains three different instruments made from the same set of samples:

Squidpipes – work like bagpipes, with melody notes and an underlying keyswitchable drone.

Squidotron – polyphonic instrument that works like a mellotron.

Squynth – a simple subtractive synthesizer.

Requires Plogue Sforzando 1.933 or newer.

{See video at top of page}

http://www.karoryfer.com/karoryfer-samples

Square Distortion

Square Distortion is a free overdrive VST plugin developed by JELSTUDIO. Compatible OS(s): Windows.

JELSTUDIO’s VST2 plugin “Square Distortion”

For electric guitars (or other things) that need some no-nonsense beefy grit, with no questions asked and no cookies served.

It is simple to use; just put it on your track and it will process your signal and output it at -18 dB FS.

It has 1 user-control; left mouse-button (Click to toggle between STEREO (which is stereo-from-mono) and MONO (Which is actually a pass-through of whatever configuration the channel may be in when it enters the plugin-input, so either stereo or mono. It is called MONO since electric guitar tracks are commonly mono, but it will pass a stereo track if that is what you feed it)

Features:

32-bit and 64-bit VST2 plugin.

Can create mono-compatible* stereo-image from mono-image (Left-click mouse-button to toggle between stereo and mono), *(will have phaser-effect however, which may not be desirable).

Output-level: -18 dB FS.

Freeware.

For Windows 7, 8, 10.

Zip with .dll (no .exe installation).

No DRM.

http://jelstudio.dk/JELSTUDIO_software.html

SqakAttack

SqakAttack is a free sampler VST plugin developed by Shuriken. Compatible OS(s): Windows, macOS.

SqakAttack is a MIDI controlled buffer synth with a duck on the GUI.

http://www.shuriken.se/

SQ8L / SQ8X

SQ8L / SQ8X is a free software synthesizer developed by Siegfried Kullmann. Available format(s): VST for Windows.

SQ8L is a software model of Ensoniq’s classic 1980s synth SQ80. The SQ80 features 3 digital wavetable oscillators for each of its 8 voices which are fed through analog 4-pole lowpass filters (-24dB gain) with resonance. Sound parameters can be modulated by 4 envelopes, 3 LFOs and several MIDI sources. The SQ80 also has a predecessor, the ESQ1, which can do most of the same stuff.

Although the technology may seem obsolete, these synths can produce a wide variety of interesting and extremely usable sounds. Thanks to the lo-fi oscillators and the analog components it can sound very digital and dirty, but also very analog and warm. Which is a good thing because modern synths often tend to sound rather clean.

The SQ8L (“L” stands for “Light”) is the free demo version of the forthcoming SQ8X (“X” for “eXtended”). Besides any bugs that will be fixed in the full version and planned features that won’t find their way into the light version, there are only a few limitations:

Polyphony limited to 8 voices.

Program change messages ignored.

Common MIDI controllers (Master Volume, Pan,…) by default have no effect and must be programmed as modulators.

When used with a sequencer, the only sound the host can save within the song file is the one in the edit buffer. The full version will store the entire library (which makes sense when program change messages are used).

LFO humanization not implemented.

No Split/Layer to combine several sounds.

No internal sequencer (and there will never be one).

The full version SQ8X will have the following additional features:

Combinations of up to 4 single sounds.

Adjustable polyphony (far more than 8 voices).

New Filter algorithms with different modes (lowpass, bandpass, highpass).

2nd Filter and different routing modes for the filters: serial, parallel, split.

Improved GUI.

http://www.buchty.net/ensoniq/

Spring Reverb

Spring Reverb is a free reverb VST, Audio Unit plugin developed by Hotto Engineering. Compatible OS(s): Windows, macOS.

Spring Reverb emulates the physical behavior of the reverberation springs by solving the underlying partial differential equations on basis of the finite elements algorithm. A combination of three springs assures a reverb dispersion which is comparable with the real thing. One of the top free audio plugin you can find !

Adjustable Parameters:

Dry/Wet [%]: Mix between direct and reverb signal.

Spring Selection: The program allows the individual selection and combination of up to three reverb springs.

Reverb Time [%]: Defines the T60 reverberation time.

Gain [dB]: Sets the gain level for the output signal.

Technical Specification:

Supported Sample Rates: 44.1kHz up to 192kHz.

Computing Precision: 64Bit internal / 32Bit Plug-In.

Audio Channels: Mono (uses the left channel of stereo tracks.

http://www.hotto.de/vstplugins.html

Sprike

Sprike is a free software synthesizer developed by Cognitone. Available format(s): VST, Audio Unit for Windows, macOS.

Sprike is an extended variant of Tunefish4, the virtual analog synth originally created by Brain Control.

We made Sprike cooperate more nicely in a MIDI-controlled environment (MIDI sequencers). Following MIDI standards, it responds to bank and program selection messages, master volume and pan controllers. Presets are stored in compliance with operating system conventions. We also added four new MOD sources and enhanced it with an on-screen keyboard. The user interface was enhanced with master volume/pan controls and a level meter. Delay times can be set in terms of note lengths.

Sprike is very lightweight, so you can add 10 or more instances to your project without much impact on CPU load. It has the same expressive and crisp sound as Tunefish and comes with a new bank of factory presets.

Sprike is free open source software. You will find its source code on GitHub.

http://www.cognitone.com

Spook Keys

Spook Keys is a free rompler VST plugin developed by Simple-Media. Compatible OS(s): Windows.

Spook Keys is designed to re-create the sound of a ‘Theremin’ and can be controlled using either a MIDI keyboard or a mouse to drag the glowing spot across the ‘chart’ for more authentic ‘Theremin’ style play.

Spook Keys also includes the following features:

Sine, sawtooth, triangle and pulse waves.

Variable key in and out response.

Variable LFO for vibrato and tremolo.

Pan, chorus (detuning), stereo spread and glide controls.

Filtered, ping-pong, stereo delay.

http://www.simple-media.co.uk/vsti.htm

Spook Organ

Spook Organ is a free software synthesizer developed by JC. Available format(s): VST for Windows.

Features:

Two banks each of seven oscillators.

Each bank can be set to use a different waveform. (Sine, Saw, Ramp, Triangle, Pulse, White Noise & Pink Noise) This makes it possible to additively create some very organ like, or very grungy sounds, especially when combined with the modulation section, which is basically a chorus.

http://clift.xs4all.nl/codex/terra/html/index.php

Splitter

Splitter is a free filter VST plugin developed by mda. Compatible OS(s): Windows, macOS.

Frequency and Level crossover for setting up dynamic processing. Good for a modular VST environment like AudioMulch or a grid system like TC’s.

http://www.mda-vst.com/