BEST VST Plugins 2023
There are many VST Plugins on the market, which make it a challenge indicate the most powerful. So the best method is going for categories.
Which are the BEST VST Plugins for Music Production in 2023? Which Instruments and Effects?
In this article we gonna talk about DRUMS, BASS, ORCHESTRA, ROM SAMPLER, SYNTHESIZERS, PIANO, GUITAR, SAMPLER, RETRO SYNTHS and Effects Plugins.
- Starting with DRUMS, the three best VST Instruments, imho, are:
XLN AUDIO ADDICTIVE DRUMS
TOONTRACK SUPERIOR DRUMMER
FXPANSION BFD3
- For BASS sounds, SPECTRASONICS TRILIAN remain the most completed and rich of sounds on the market. It contains synth bass, synth mono bass, acoustic bass, electro bass, arp and rhythm sounds.
- For ORCHESTRAL sounds, the best series also for 2023 are the packs of EASTWEST, in particular Symphonic Orchestra. So valuable are also HANS ZIMMER STRINGS and VIENNA SYMPHONIC.
- The ROM SAMPLER in the last years have characterized the market because they put on your disposition quality and sounds ready to use. The best for price and quality is LETHAL from LETHAL AUDIO. With an investment down of 200$, it’s possible to buy LETHAL, the core library and 24 expansion packs for every genre of music: Hip Hop, EDM, Trance, Ambience and Cinematic, Commercial, Tech, etc. etc.
Another top ROM SAMPLER is REFX NEXUS: amazing, massive, top quality. For Hip Hop and Trap, a good vst is INITIAL SLICE.
And the SYNTHS? For synthesizers must distinguish between emulation of real synths and soft synth.
- ARTURIA is the best software-house for the analog emulation and retro-synth. In her collection you can found the reproductions of memorable synths like ARP2600, MOOG MODULAR, JUPITER-8, MINI MOOG, PROPHET 5, CS80 and many more. Some sounds of all these synths have been inserted in the software instrument Arturia ANALOG LAB.
The best soft-synths, in my honest opinion, are: SYLENTH1, SPIRE, SERUM, THORN, RAPID, DUNE, OMNISPHERE.
For PIANO vst, the best are: SYNTHOGY IVORY GRAND, PIANOTEQ STUDIO BUNDLE, TRUEPIANO and electric piano LOUNGE LIZARD EP.
The best GUITARS: MusicLab REAL GUITAR and Vir2 ELECTRI6ITY.
After talking about vst instruments, it’s the moment to see the plugins effects. For this category to indicate the best it’s more difficult because often the choice is personal; besides the software-house aim on bundle with many plugins. So for a better exposure the speech will be divided in two parts: for example bundle plugins and single plugin.
The best BUNDLE PLUGIN EFFECTS for price and capability, for me is FAB FILTER because contains all the effects for music production, mixing and mastering. For example the de-esser is optimal for the voices; or the fab filter saturn is optimal for saturate the signal; and so going, fab filter pro-q, fab filter pro-c, fab filter pro limiter, etc. etc.
Another big bundle is the SSL Solid State Logic native plugins.
At the end, among single plugins the best are: IZOTOPE OZONE (for mastering, single or bundle); VOXENGO plugins; NUGEN AUDIO plugins; ANTARES AUTOTUNE; MELODYNE; NICKY ROMERO KICKSTART (for sidechain); SAUSAGE FATTENER; TORAVERB (a massive reverb); VALHALLA reverbs; ALTIVERB (convolution reverb); OVERLOUD BREVERB; PSP VINTAGE WARMER; SOUNDTOYS ECHOBOY.
Obviously the choice of these paid plugins classified as the best, is the result of tests and comparisons with all the others, for example FAB FILTER PRO C wins against WAVES C1, imho; or SSL BUNDLE wins against similar WAVES plugins.
To not forget that all the DAW as FL STUDIO cover all the needs of each producer making every effect available. FL Studio has some excellent plugins, for example fruity compressor, fruity limiter and many more, for every genre of music: House, Techno, Trance, Dubstep, Hardstyle, Hardcore, etc. etc.
To all of you a good 2023 full of inspiration and a lot of ideas for music production.
*Audio examples: CLICK HERE
