If you’ve been producing hip hop beats for some time you probably already own an extensive VST library, but you can never have too many, isn’t it?
However, when you’re just starting out in the world of beatmaking, chances are you’ll want to try new sounds until you find one that fits your particular tastes, and you probably don’t have the resources to invest in paid VSTs.
That’s why we at VILARCORP we have created this list of what we consider to be the best free VSTs for producing hip hop in 2022.
TAL-NoiseMaker
TAL-NoiseMaker is a VST resulting from the evolution of TAL-Elek7ro, but with an improved integrated synth engine. It has all kinds of effects we might need for a synthesizer to create hip hop beats.
The TAL-NoiseMaker comes with a 6dB low pass filter, dubbed as “self resonant” and a notch filter.
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Thanks to its wide ADSR it allows you to create very slow pads or fast envelopes.
It has 128 high-quality presets in its arsenal, 80 of which were created by Frank “Xenox” Neumann.
The user interface is divided into four alternating panels, which only allows the display of 2 of them in unison, although if you could see all 4 at the same time it would be fantastic.
TAL-NoiseMaker has an oscillator and FM mode that manages to generate convincing and well achieved sounds despite being free, worthy of any paid plugin.
In its tabs it has a multi-point envelope and a variety of effects.
If your thing is to download and try VST in search of those unique sounds for your beats, I definitely recommend you to try this one.
U-he Zebralette
Zebralette is a VST developed by U-he, if you have time in the world of beatmaking is likely that this company is familiar to you, as they are the creators of successful plugins such as Diva, Hive 2, Repro, ACE and Bazille.
It stands out for its very successful design, which allows an easy interpretation of its panel and options.
It comes integrated with 46 high quality presets that will undoubtedly help you create great sounding hip hop beats.
Zebralette was developed to offer a demo version of the powerful oscillators of the Zebra2 plugin (a more powerful paid plugin from the same company) concentrated in a single oscillator.
It is very easy to use for beginners while retaining the quality and power that characterizes U-he plugins.
One of the features that I liked about this plugin is its compatibility with Zebra2 as expected, because if you get the taste for this VST and want to move to the full version, you can take your presets with you and use them with full compatibility with Zebra2.
Don’t be fooled, Zebralette may be a free version but it is still very powerful and capable of great things. It has a spectral oscillator that allows you to configure the modulation to your liking, as well as add from its 24 spectral effects.
Zebralette is capable of producing a beautiful polyphony of up to 16 contiguous voices and 2 surround voices, more than enough to produce beautiful and complex sonorities for your hip hop beats.
U-he Tyrell N6
The Tyrell N6 free vst trap is another synthesizer from the German company U-he, and at VILARCORP we love their products, especially the free ones.
This VST is popular in the world of low-cost beatmaking, due to its great audio quality and lots of presets that will allow you to create beats with characteristic sounds of current trap and hip hop beats.
Despite being a very compact VST it is packed with great features that will help any producer create great beats regardless of their budget.
It comes armed with a virtual analog synth, 2 oscillators, 2 LFOs with 8 different waveforms, ring modulator, noise generator, audio source mixer with true overdrive, dual filter, analog ADSR envelopes, full user interface configuration and over 580 high quality presets.
Tunefish 4
The Tunefish v4 is a lightweight virtual analog synthesizer, being a lighter version of its big brother, the Tunefish v3 version, however it manages to retain most of the qualities and power.
Despite having a 10kb code, it manages to produce an outstanding audio quality, worthy of a paid plugin.
It has pads, plucks, leads, etc.
It allows the manipulation of sounds through its knobs for delay, distortion, reverberation, etc.
With its improved user interface you will be able to have a better visualization of the modulations more easily.
It has an additive synthesis waveform generator.
It has a very complete noise generator.
It comes integrated with band pass, high pass, low pass and notch filters.
It has 2 LFOs and 2 ADSRs compatible with any knob through a modulation matrix.
It has a wide variety of effects that can be stacked up to 10 effects simultaneously, from distortion, reverb, EQ, formant, delay, chorus and flanger.
This plugin is recommended especially if you want to create relaxing atmospheres for lofi beats, chill out, hip hop, among others.
It was created for the intro of 64k Turtles all the way down by Brain Control and can be downloaded for free as VST/AU.
This plugin is recommended especially if you want to create relaxing atmospheres for lofi beats, chill out, hip hop, among others.
It was created for the intro of 64k Turtles all the way down by Brain Control and can be downloaded for free as VST/AU.
Arminator Synth
The Arminator Synth is a VST developed by Krakli Plugins, which emulates the sounds of the classic 1976 Yamaha CS-80 synthesizer.
The Arminator has the oscillators identical to the original version, as well as its two synthesis layers, modulation, with low-pass and high-pass filters and amplifier.
The Arminator is available for Windows and you can download it completely free, so why not give it a try and give your beats an old-timey vibe with this free VST.
MiniSpillage
MiniSpillage is a free VST for producing high quality drum sounds developed by AudioSpillage for Mac Os users (Not available for Windows).
It is built with 64-bit DSP processing engine, designed with synthesis algorithms for percussion sounds.
Unlike other VSTs on this list, MiniSpillage is a VST for creating percussion bases, and is not based on any existing drum kit, as it is intended for creating unique electronic percussion sounds.
It’s a pity that it only works for the Mac operating system, so if you are a Windows user, this plugin is not for you.
Dexed
Dexed is a synthesizer developed by Digital Suburban and is based on the 80s synthesizer, the Yamaha DX7.
One of its main advantages is that it is cross-platform, since you can use it in OS X, Windows or Linux environments, as well as being multi-format, because it can be used as VST, AU or LV2.
The VST is compatible with the Sysex input and output messages of the Yamaha DX7.
Despite being a somewhat advanced plugin and requiring some expertise, it compensates very well with its high potential and synthesis manipulation capabilities, certainly a highly recommended VST for hip hop production in general.
Tal-Bassline
Tal-Bassline is a VST from the same company as NoiseMaker, but focused on the creation of vigorous bass in a very simple way.
It has a consolidated engine and multiple parameters similar to those of a real analog synthesizer, allowing you to generate acidic and very pronounced bass sounds, perfect for beatmaking.
It comes with a built-in -18dB low pass filter and multiple knobs to manipulate its non-linear envelopes.
Another must-have VST in a hip hop producer’s arsenal.
Lokomotiv
Lokomotiv is a VST developed by Archetype Instruments compatible with Windows and Mac, characterized by its simple and sober interface, but with an integrated engine powerful enough to produce great sounds and a variety of options to manipulate sounds.
With the Lokomotiv you can create amazing, plump and tight bass lines, perfect for your hip hop beats.
It features a high-definition oscillator, a smooth 9 X detuned sawtooth wave, a multi-mode MG ladder-modeled filter with zero-delay feedback support, routable drive filter, natural curve ADSR envelope generator modulator, and an LFO oneshot.
Charlatan
Charlatan is a VST developed by BlauKraut with polyphonic subtractive synthesizer qualities characterized by easy interface handling, delivering incredible audio quality.
This VST is highly recommended for novice beatmakers who want to experiment with new plugins different from the ones that come standard with your DAW.
It features 2 oscillators with shape modulation, 2 ADSR envelope generators, oscillator hard sync, stereo noise generator, ring modulation, unison mode with up to 7 voices and stereo spread, LFO with host tempo sync, 3 modeled filter types, low pass and high paos filter, monophonic, monophonic Legato and 8-voice Polyphonic.
Charlatan is only available for Windows.
