Virtual instruments are software emulations of traditional instruments or hardware electronic musical instruments.
There is a staggering range of virtual instruments available nowadays, covering multi-timbral rompler modules to dedicated emulations of guitars, basses, drums, keyboards, and more.
You need some kind of 'Virtual MIDI cable' to connect two MIDI apps with each other. MacOS / OS X doesn't come preconfigured with such a connection, but it is pretty easy to set one up. Just follow these steps: Launch the 'Audio MIDI Setup' of macOS; Open the 'Window' menu and click on 'Show MIDI Studio' Double-click on the IAC Driver icon. Download Virtual MIDI Piano Keyboard for free. Virtual MIDI controller for Linux, Windows and OSX. VMPK is a virtual MIDI piano keyboard for Linux, Windows and OSX. Based on Qt and Drumstick the program is a MIDI event generator using the computer's alphanumeric keyboard and the mouse. A Free Virtual MIDI Driver. LoopBe1 is an internal MIDI device for transferring MIDI data between computer programs. Basically LoopBe1 is an 'invisible cable' to connect a MIDI outport of an application to any other application´s MIDI inport. All MIDI data sent to the program´s output is channeled to the receiving applications in realtime.
Some of these VSTi plugins (as they’re also called) are free. So in this article we’ll take a look at some of the best free virtual instruments you can download today. Many of which are pro worthy.
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Intro: About Virtual Instruments
The benefits of virtual instruments are fairly obvious. They take up much less space than their hardware equivalents, they don’t overheat, and many of them have virtually unlimited polyphony. They are also much easier to edit and they almost never break down.
Here we run down some of the most intriguing virtual instruments currently available. Although some purists may scoff at the idea of these replacing their well-loved guitars or keyboards, there is no denying that they provide a surprising range of great sounds at a price that even professional musicians will appreciate.
Best Free VSTi Plugins
The List
The Roundup
Native Instruments’ Kontakt Player is arguably the Don of all free virtual instrument plug-ins. Based on the company’s own hugely successful Kontakt sampler, Kontakt Player effectively hosts all sample-based instruments developed for its more fully-featured big brother.
The compatibility goes the other way as well. All free instruments developed specifically for Kontakt Player will load up and play in the full version of Kontakt. Between the two, there is a staggering assortment of free and paid instruments, all boasting of the trademark Native Instrument quality.
To get budget-savvy musicians and producers started, NI offers a free Kontakt Factory Selection consisting of 50 premium instruments. Some of these are slightly cut-down versions of the instruments developed for Kontakt, while some are full versions developed specifically for Kontakt Player.
While Kontakt Player focuses mainly on standard instrument libraries, Native Instruments’ Reaktor Player is geared more towards the synthesis side of things.
Demonstration
Reaktor is of course the full-blown modular synthesis environment that gives users unparalleled and unlimited opportunity to design virtually any type of synthesizer, sequencer, or signal processor they could think of from scratch. With Reaktor Player, users are able to play back a wide variety of instruments and effects developed in and for Reaktor, with a more modest set of editing capabilities.
As with Kontakt Player, there is a huge range of ready-made instruments available for use in Reaktor Player. NI even offers two free devices to get you started: the Blocks Wired pre-patched modular synth and the Mikro Prism synthesizer.
Reaktor Player obviously doesn’t come close to providing the depth of power and customizability offered by the full version of Reaktor. Nevertheless, it is a good introduction to modular synthesis. Furthermore, the availability of hundreds of Reaktor instruments cover a board range of sound-crafting options.
Ample Guitar M Lite is the free version of Ample Sounds’ popular AGM guitar simulator. Emulating the warm, rich tones of the Martin D-41 acoustic guitar, Ample Guitar M Lite is now on its second version.
For the price of a free download, you get an enhanced set of features that now match the capabilities of the full version. The note range now spans E1 – C5, and the plug-in now works as a standalone instrument. Even if you do opt to use the instrument in your DAW, multiple instances will take up much less resources than before, and they will load up faster as well.
Demonstration
As you may have guessed from the name, Ample Bass P Lite is Ample Sound’s free bass guitar sample player plug-in. A cut-down version of the full Ample Bass P II component of the company’s Bass Series product line, this plug-in has fewer samples and fewer round robin variations than the full version. It also has a smaller note range than the paid product, covering D1 to F4. Nevertheless, the Ample Bass P Lite does a good job of cranking out the distinctive tones of the Fender Precision Bass, which it models.
Manda Audio’s MT Power Drum Kit is a free drum sampler that has a fairly wide selection of acoustic drum kit sounds. Great care has been taken to record and process the original samples, giving users a range of high-quality drum sounds perfectly suited for pop, rock, and even metal.
Those who wish to process their drum sounds with their own plug-ins might not appreciate the fact that the MT Power Drum’s sounds are already processed. Nevertheless, EQ and compression were applied quite tastefully, and the sounds should fit in well in most mixes.
Demonstration
Togu Audio Line has garnered quite a bit of acclaim for its excellent line of synthesizers and effects processors, a number of which are free. NoiseMaker is one of these, and it compares favorably to the company’s own paid emulation of the Roland Juno 106 analog synth, the TAL-U-NO-LX.
The NoiseMaker incorporates some of TAL’s more popular effects processors on board. There is the Juno-derived chorus with two modes for starters, along with a reverb, a delay, and a bitcrusher, all of which exist as free standalone plug-ins.
DistroCore’s DC Bazz::Murda is a bass and kick synthesizer that is capable of a surprisingly wide array of sounds. Although aggressive and distorted industrial sounds are its forte, it can be dialed back for more subdued tones as well. Even so, this is one plug-in that was obviously designed to get as loud and nasty as possible. For some users, that could be a good thing!
Top Pick
Native Instruments’ Kontakt Player and Reaktor Player are a couple of the best free virtual instruments that you can get, without a doubt. They provide a superb one-two punch that simply can’t be beat.
Between the two, you pretty much have all your bases covered, whether you need bread-and-butter rompler sounds, exotic World Music libraries, or synthetic sounds ranging from vintage to cutting-edge.
Given the wide range of sounds they cover and the trademark NI quality, these two are neck-and-neck as our top picks for best virtual instrument plug-ins.
Audio MIDI Setup User Guide
If you use MIDI devices or a MIDI interface connected to your Mac, you can use Audio MIDI Setup to describe the configuration of your MIDI devices. There’s a default configuration already created, but you can set up your own.
You can use this configuration information for apps that work with MIDI, such as sequencers, to control your MIDI devices.
Note: Make sure your MIDI devices are connected to your Mac. If you’re using an interface device, connect any other MIDI devices you’re using to the interface. Also check that any software provided by the manufacturer of the MIDI devices has been installed. For more information, see the documentation that came with your devices.
View a MIDI configuration
In the Audio MIDI Setup app on your Mac, choose Window > Show MIDI Studio.
In the MIDI Studio window, click the Choose MIDI Configuration pop-up menu (it may show Default), then choose the configuration you want to view.
In the toolbar, click the following buttons to change how the configuration is shown:
Hierarchical View : Devices in the configuration are shown as icons. If a device isn’t connected, its icon is dimmed. To view information about a device, such as channel properties and ports, and to add or remove ports, double-click the device’s icon.
List View : Devices in the configuration are shown in a list, organized by type (such as Interface or External Device). If a device isn’t connected, it’s dimmed. To filter which devices are shown, click the Show pop-up menu, then choose an option (such as Online or Connected). To view information about a device, double-click the device. To view its ports, or to connect or disconnect devices, click the device’s disclosure triangle.
Create a MIDI configuration
Virtual Midi Bus Mac
In the Audio MIDI Setup app on your Mac, choose Window > Show MIDI Studio.
In the MIDI Studio window, click the Choose MIDI Configuration pop-up menu (it may show Default), then choose New Configuration.
Enter a name for the new configuration, then click OK.
To add a new external MIDI device, click the Add button in the MIDI Studio toolbar.
To set properties and add or remove ports for the MIDI device, double-click the device, or select it, then click the Device Info button in the toolbar.
In the Properties window, do any of the following:
Describe the device: Enter a name for the MIDI device; the name appears in apps you use with the device. If you know the manufacturer and model, you can enter those.
Change the device icon: Click the MIDI device’s icon to open the Icon Browser, select a different icon to represent the device, then click the new icon to close the Icon Browser.
Change the device color: Click the color well, select a different color to use for the MIDI device, then close the Colors window.
Set the device channels and other properties: Click Properties, then click the channels to use for transmitting and receiving audio. To deselect a channel, click it again. Also select whether to use the MIDI Beat Clock, the MIDI Time Code, or both, then select other features.
Add or remove ports: Click Ports, click the Add button below the list of ports, then specify the MIDI In and MIDI Out connectors for the port. To delete a port, select it in the list, then click the Remove button .
Select MIDI-CI profiles for interface devices: If an interface device supports MIDI-CI, click MIDI-CI to see the profiles available on each channel. To turn a profile on or off, select or deselect its checkbox.
Click Apply.
Repeat steps 4 through 7 for each MIDI device you want to include in the configuration.
In the MIDI Studio window, specify the connection between MIDI devices:
In Hierarchical View , drag the In or Out connectors at the top of a device icon to the corresponding connector on another device icon.
In List View , click a device’s disclosure triangle, click the Port disclosure triangle, click the Add Connection icon, then use the pop-up menus to specify the connections.
Virtual Midi Port For Mac
If you have a MIDI interface connected to the USB port on your Mac, it should appear in the MIDI Studio window. If it doesn’t, see If a connected MIDI device isn’t shown.
You can’t specify a “MIDI thru” connection between two MIDI devices. To indicate a MIDI thru connection, connect the two MIDI devices to the same port of the MIDI interface device.
Edit a MIDI configuration
Virtual Midi Cable
In the Audio MIDI Setup app on your Mac, choose Window > Show MIDI Studio.
In the MIDI Studio window, click the Choose MIDI Configuration pop-up menu (it may show Default), then choose Edit Configurations.
Select a configuration, then click Duplicate, Rename, or Delete.
When you’re finished making changes, click Done.
Midi Mac Download