Wisemans BIG list of FREE Stuff

I have collected links and tried out software and plugins that are free as a hobby for years, and now I thought it was time to share some of the most useful ones with the world! Well, the few people around here at this forum at least. Maybe none.

Now Brace Yourselves.

I have tried most, but not all, of these plugins and programs. However, there is no bullshit on the list. I know there are a gazillion lists and blogs about free stuff out there already. Nevertheless, the stuff that is on this list is the good stuff, in one way or the other (especially considering it’s all free). And approved by Me!

Some VST plugins will require you to download the developer’s gateway app (like Native Instruments). This is kind of annoying, but the way things are. Some of the VST plugins might need iLok (a 3rd party software) to register your free license. iLok is the worst copy protection software ever and should go to hell. Sadly, some of the developers use it, even for free VST plugins.

Almost everything on this list is free/royalty-free. However, some of the samples (bottom of post) at certain websites use Creative Commons. This list is focused on music production but it also includes links to other free software at the end of the list (like video editing, graphics, game making, etc). Most of this software is open source. There are also a few links to different websites that could be of interest when creativity hits (or when it’s missing).

Anything written in “italics” (almost all “information” text about the products) is not my own words but the creators.

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- - - VST PLUGINS - - -

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—- SAMPLE MANAGERS/BROWSERS —-


ADSR - Sample Manager
(Win & Mac)

“The most effective way to access all your samples at once, ADSR Sample Manager keeps your project in the flow. Work in standalone or keep all the action right in your DAW with the plugin. Search all your local samples or your purchased ADSR samples in the cloud by type, genre, bpm or key.”

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—- INSTRUMENTS & SYNTHS —-


Spitfire Audio - Labs
(AU, VST2, VST3 & AAX)

“An infinite series of FREE software instruments, made by musicians, for musicians — for anyone, anywhere. Presented in our dedicated, award-winning plugin, it’s easy to use and compatible with any DAW.”

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Spitfire Audio - BBC Symphony Orchestra Discover
(AU, VST2, VST3 & AAX)

“BBC Symphony Orchestra Discover is an inspiring gateway into orchestral composition. 33 instruments brought to life inside our free, easy-to-use plugin, compatible with any major music creation software and designed to make orchestral scoring accessible to music creators of every level – from those just starting out, to professional composers.”

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Orchestral Tools - Layers
(AU & VST)

“Layers is a free orchestral VST instrument and an easy way to add orchestral sounds to your compositions and productions. Draw from the finest recordings of strings, woodwinds, and brass. Generate full chords with one-touch simplicity. And seamlessly blend layers of tonal colors and dynamics with your MIDI controller.”

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Matt Tytel (Vital Audio) - Vital
(Win, Mac & Linux)

“Vital is a spectral warping wavetable visual synthesizer. See what’s happening behind the scenes with animated controls, filter responses, waveforms, smooth LFOs, oscilloscopes, spectrograms, and more.”

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Matt Tytel - Helm
(Win, Mac & Linux)

“A polyphonic semi-modular synthesizer with a flexible modulation system.”

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Newfangled Audio (Eventide) - Pendulate
(AU, VST2, VST3 & AAX)

“Pendulate is a chaotic mono-synth that uses a brand new double-pendulum oscillator to create previously unheard sounds — biting basses, searing leads, and gritty textures. It can smoothly fade from a sine wave to total chaos, with an expanse of territory to explore in between.”

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The Wave Warden - Odin II
(Win, Mac & Linux)

“The sound of this 24-voice polyphonic beast will take you from your studio right to Valhalla. Earth shattering basses, exquisite leads or outer-worldly FX, Odin’s got them all! Use the classic sound of analog waveforms - or draw your own. High quality emulations of legendary analog filters like the Moog-ladder or the Korg-35 further shape your signal. Round your sound off with five onboard FX, or get crazy with modulation. ”

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Klevgrand - Syndtsphere
(AU, VST, AAX & iPhone/iPad)

“With a minimalistic approach, Syndtsphere features a unique experience of ”surfing” between presets. All parameters are morphed according to the proximity of the different presets. By rotating a sphere that consists of more than 70 professionally created states, anyone can dial in the perfect sound without having to deal with specific parameters. In addition to the sphere, a ping-pong delay and a few more global settings are available.”

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Cherry Audio - Surrealistic MG-1 Plus
(AU, VST2, VST3, & AAX)

“The Fat and Funky Sound of the Electronics Super Store Legend! The fun and funky Surrealistic MG-1 Plus Synthesizer is a super authentic recreation of the Realistic MG-1 synthesizer sold in Radio Shack stores in the 80’s. The Surrealistic MG-1 Plus delivers fat analog tone in spades, along with a unique polyphonic oscillator section, “bell tone” ring modulation, glide, auto repeat note triggering, oscillator sync, and a number of improvements that tremendously expand its capabilities.”

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Cherry Audio - Voltage Modular Nucleus
(AU, VST2, VST3, & AAX)

“This collection of 22 modules and over 130 presets is the ideal novice’s introduction to modular synthesis. This package includes all of the fundamentals of subtractive analog synthesis, including oscillators, filters, envelope generators, amplifiers, and mixers, plus a sequencer, arpeggiator, and a full suite of useful utility modules and powerful effects modules. With Voltage Modular Nucleus, you can discover the thrill of patching modules together in new and endlessly creative ways, and explore all of the capabilities of Voltage Modular, absolutely free.”

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Surge XT
(AU,VST & CLAP)

“Surge is back, XTended and Open Source! Featuring many synthesis techniques, a great selection of filters, a flexible modulation engine, a smorgasbord of effects, and modern features like MPE and microtuning.”

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KV331 Audio - SynthMaster 2 Player
(AU, VST & AAX)

“SynthMaster 2 Player is a simplified version of SynthMaster 2 with limited editing capabilities. It is targeted toward users who prefer to use presets rather than designing their own sounds. The FREE version of SynthMaster 2 Player comes with 550 factory presets. Users can freely use that free version in their music productions!”

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Amplesound - Ample Guitar M Lite II AND Ample Bass P Lite
(Win & Mac)

“14 Strum notes + 28 ways to play for every chord. Strum Legato - legato articulations can be played while strumming. 4 humanization settings.”

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Quiet MusicClassic.Gtr Lite
(AU, VST2 & VST3)

“Classic.Gtr Lite is a free multi-sampled classical Spanish guitar plugin for Windows and Mac available in VST/VST3/AU formats. The original samples were recorded from a basic guitar at 24 bit 96khz, processed with various effects and later converted to Flac 24bit 44khz, each preset contains 43 samples. In this free version you have 7 presets selected from the full Classic.GTr version, which contains 38 presets [1634 samples].”

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Quiet Music - LOVE-FI 2 Lite
(AU, VST2 & VST3)

“Love-Fi 2 is a free instrument specially designed for composition and production of Lo-Fi beats, ChillWave, Chillhop or Lo-Fi Ambient among others. LOVE-FI 2 Lite contains 21 fully functional presets, selected from the modules: Midnight, Things & Rhythm all available in the full version.”

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ZAK Sound - Infinite Space Piano 2
(AU & VST3)

“Infinite Space Piano 2 is a piano plugin combined with ambient textures to fill the space. The new version contains seven different acoustic and electronic piano presets, which are combined with three ambient textures.”

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Native Instruments - KOMPLETE Start
(Win & Mac)

“Step into music production with KOMPLETE START – a curated selection of studio-quality instruments, effects, utilities, loops, and samples for the low price of nothing at all. Play over 2,000 customizable sounds – drums and percussion, bass, acoustic instruments, synths, pads and atmospheres, effects, and more.”

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—- DRUMS —-


Steven Slate - Steven Slate Drums 5.5 FREE
(AU, VST & AAX)

“Get the fully-functioning, never-expiring SSD 5.5 demo with one incredible Deluxe 2 Kit, as well as a Classic “mix-ready” processed Slate snare, and three unique kit presets including “Deluxe 2 Free”, “Hugo”, & “Dry n’ Tight” for FREE.”

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—- EQs —-


Tokyo Dawn Records - NOVA
(AU, VST2, VST3 & AAX)

“NOVA is a parallel dynamic equalizer. Appearing in the familiar layout of a parametric equalizer, each band also includes a full featured dynamics section allowing the processor to cover an impressively wide range of applications. Be it a master lacking density, the drum bus asking for more crispiness, or a sibilance problem in your perfect take: NOVA has an elegant answer.”

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Tokyo Dawn Records & Variety of Sound - SlickEQ
(AU, VST2, VST3 & AAX)

“TDR VOS SlickEQ is a mixing/mastering equalizer designed for ease of use, musical flexibility and impeccable sound. Three (and a half) filter-bands arranged in a classic Low/Mid/High semi-parametric layout offer fast and intuitive access to four distinct EQ modes, each representing a set of distinct EQ curves and behaviors. An elaborate auto gain option automatically compensates for changes of perceived loudness during EQ operation.”

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—- COMPRESSORS & LIMITERS —-


Xfer - OTT
(Win & Mac)

“Xfer Records OTT is a free re-creation of a popular aggressive multiband upwards/downwards compressor set-up used by many electronic producers.”

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Tokyo Dawn Records - VladG Limiter N6
(AU & VST2)

“5 modules: RMS compressor, peak limiter, high-frequency limiter, clipper, true peak limiter. High-quality signal processing to use for mastering purposes. Brickwall and soft limiting with different timing settings, M/S and multiband modes, and optional 4x oversampling.”

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Klanghelm - DC1A
(AU, VST2, VST3 & AAX)

“DC1A looks like a one-trick pony. But don’t get fooled by the lack of additional controls. You may be surprised at how many different materials this little thing works. DC1A has a few tricks up its sleeve: negative (over) compression, parallel (New York style) compression, the option to compress left and right channel independently (via the DUAL MONO switch), peak and RMS compression (RELAXED switch on) and DEEP activates a high pass filter to reduce pumping on bass-heavy material.”

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—- DELAYS —-


BABY Audio - Magic Dice
(Win & Mac)

“Magic Dice gives you lush delay/reverb/modulation textures at the click of a button. Each new click will generate a new effect configuration and you will never hear the same result twice. Click to generate new FX chains - then use the mix slider to dial them to taste.”

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BABY Audio - Baby Comeback
(Win & Mac)

“Baby Comeback is a free delay plugin developed in collaboration between BABY Audio and Computer Music Magazine. It gives you an on-board ducker for cleaning up your delays when a dry signal is playing - as well as four flavor modes: Wide, Analog, Saucey & Cheap.”

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Valhalla - Freq Echo
(AU, VST2, VST3 & AAX)

“Not necessarily stoned, but beautiful. Freq Echo is perfect for dub, Dr. Who, and all of your psychedelic needs. Bode-Style Frequency Shifter + Analog Echo Emulation create surprising sonic effects. Subtle chorusing and double tracking to barber pole phasing and flanging to endless glissandos and runaway echos.”

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—- REVERB —-

Valhalla - Super Massive
(AU, VST2, VST3 & AAX)

“ValhallaSupermassive has been designed from the ground up for MASSIVE delays and reverbs. Get ready for luscious clouds of reverb, otherworldly delays, and swelling waves of feedback unlike any you’ve heard before. Supermassive has 18 out-of-this-world reverb/delay modes.”

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Denis Tihanov - OrilRiver
(VST2 & VST3)

“OrilRiver is a free algorithmic stereo reverb that can rival the quality of commercial reverbs. With this plugin, it is possible to simulate the reverberation of a small room and a great hall. OrilRiver has an intuitive interface thanks to which the user can quickly adjust the desired reverb sound.”

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TAL - TAL-Reverb-4
(AU, VST2, VST3, CLAP & AAX)

“TAL-Reverb-4 is a high-quality plate reverb with a vintage 80’s character.”

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—- FLANGERS —-

Valhalla - Space Modulator
(AU, VST2, VST3 & AAX)

“Eleven algorithms allow you to get through-zero flanging, barber-pole flanging, detuning, doubling, strange echoes, reverbs, and all sorts of effects that defy description.”

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—- SATURATION —-

Softube - Saturation Knob
(AU, VST2, VST3 & AAX)

“The free plug-in Saturation Knob is a modeled output distortion that can be used anywhere you need some grit. Use it to fatten up bass lines, add some harmonics and shimmer to vocals, or simply destroy your drum loop.”

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—- LO-FI —-

iZotope - Vinyl
(AU, VST2, VST3 & AAX)

“Vinyl simulates the dust, scratches, warp, and mechanical noise reminiscent of yesteryear. Add it to your tracks for some lo-fi flavor.”

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WavesFactory - Cassette Transport
(Win & Mac)

“Effect that simulates the sound of tape speeding up and slowing down. It also includes noises from the physical buttons and rotor of a real Cassette unit.”

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—- STEREO & PANNING —-

Polyverse (Infected Mushroom) - Wider
(Win, Mac & iPhone/iPad)

“Polyverse Wider gives any mono signal the illusion of an expanded stereo image with an awe-inspiring amount of width. It’s a unique stereo widener plug-in that is completely “mono-compatible” — any signal that has been widened will always remain in phase with itself, even when it is summed back into mono.”

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Cableguys - PanCake 2
(Win & Mac)

“PanCake is a free plugin for most flexible panning modulations. You can construct your own modulation curves. They can be easily drawn using soft or hard control points, thus producing gentle transitions or sharp bends in the waveform. PanCake’s LFO can be beat-synced to your DAW, from a fast 1/128 note modulation up to 32 bars. It can also be set free-running from 0.02 Hz to 5.24 kHz, and can be triggered via MIDI.”

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Klevgrand - Svep
(AU, VST & AAX)

“Svep is a stereo modulation filter effect suitable for any sound. All parameters are easily editable in one screen and the clean and responsive user interface encourages creativity. Tweak it to produce anything from old-school phasers to subtle choruses.”

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Flux - Stereo Tool
(AU,VST,VS3 & AAX)

“Stereo Tool offers ultra-precise control of input gain and individual pan for left and right channels, accurate visual feedback reflecting the signal content with; a vector scope, PPM meters for inputs/outputs, phase correlation meter permanently monitoring the signal and individual left and right polarity reversal.”

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—- GUITAR AMPS/FX —-

Audio Singularity - Neurontube: debut
(AU & VST3)

“Cutting edge amp simulation: artificial intelligence for tone perfection.”

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IK Multimedia - AmpliTube 5 (Custom Shop)
(AU,VST & AAX)

“The free version of AmpliTube comes packed with 42 staple pieces of guitar and bass gear, including 10 stomp FX, 5 amps, 6 cabinets (with 4 selectable speakers), 3 movable mics, 6 rooms, and 6 rack FX (more models can be added à la carte using “gear credits” or regular currency).”

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Native Instruments - Guitar Rig 6 Player
(AU, VST2, VST3 & AAX)

“GUITAR RIG 6 PLAYER is a free effects processor – great for building effects chains to warm up a signal, and of course for recording guitar. The included FACTORY SELECTION provides a British-style tube amp and matched cabinet, plus 13 effects and tools.”

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ML Soundlab - Amped Roots Free
(AU, VST3 & AAX)

“Amped Roots Free is our first amp sim release and it comes with a free amp. We want everyone to experience our amp modeling quality and plug’n’play design. Just like with real amps you will not spend a lot of time tweaking.”

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Mercuriall
(AU, VST & AAX)

“Several different free guitar plugins.”

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—- VOCAL PLUGINS —-

Techivation - T-De-Esser Plus
(Win & Mac)

“A simplified and easy-to-use De-Esser that smoothes out high frequencies while maintaining a natural and musical sound. Brightening up audio has never been easier. T-De-Esser Plus is an enhanced version of the original T-De-Esser and contains extra Pro features you can enable via an upgrade activation. T-De-Esser Plus has one of the Pro features enabled for free, the ‘Audition’ (Delta-listening).”

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iZotope - Vocal Doubler
(AU, VST2, VST3 & AAX)

“Vocal Doubler is designed to enhance your vocal with a natural doubling effect, adding richness and depth.”

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Auburn Sounds - Graillon 2 (Live Voice Changer)
(AU, VST, LV2 & AAX)

“Graillon is a Vocal Live Changer that brings a world of possibilities right into your DAW, with carefully designed features. The Pitch-Tracking Modulation, unique to Graillon, changes the type of speakers, generates throat sounds, creates choruses, make octaver sounds, enriches a voice to make it more masculine. The Pitch Shifter cleanly transposes a voice up and down and has been optimized for voice. The Pitch Correction module brings an immediate robotic sound, while the Bitcrusher addition softly adds sparkles to the mix.”

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—- MASTERING & MIXING PLUGINS —-

Kilohearts - Essentials
(AU, VST2, VST3 & AAX)

“Kilohearts Essentials is a free collection of (32) extremely useful effects which can be used as regular plugins in your DAW.”

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Slate Digital - Fresh Air
(Win & Mac)

“Add the smoothest high-end you’ve ever heard without even a hint of harshness. Fresh Air is a dynamic high-frequency processor that breathes new life into your mix with just two knobs. Fresh Air combines serious audio processing behind a gorgeous facade. Based on vintage exciter circuits and advanced dynamics processing, Fresh Air lets you add just the right amount of brilliance & shine to your mix in the simple interface you can start using right away. Put it on individual tracks or your entire mixbus— whatever you choose, the results will blow you away.”

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Flux - Bittersweet
(AU, VST, VS3 & AAX)

“Bitter Sweet is Flux acclaimed transient processor used by hundreds of thousands of users for audio transient management with the simple turn of a knob – Turning it to the Sweet side reduces the transients, and turning it to the Bitter side magnifies the transients.”

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Youlean - Youlean Loudness Meter 2
(Win & Mac)

“Youlean Loudness Meter helps you find the true perceived loudness of your audio and prepares it for TV or streaming services release. Join the thousands of recording studios that already use it.”

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Voxengo - SPAN
(AU, VST2, VST3 & AAX)

“SPAN is a free real-time “fast Fourier transform” audio spectrum analyzer AAX, AudioUnit, and VST plugin for professional sound and music production applications. SPAN provides you with a very flexible “mode” system which you can use to setup your spectrum analyzer preferences.”

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—- AUDIO —-

Tracktion- Waveform Free (DAW)
(Win, Mac & Linux)

“Fully featured, completely unlimited free DAW for all music creators. A highly efficient audio engine, intuitive recording workflows and rapid mixing capabilities make Waveform Free the perfect choice for multi-track band recordings. 15 new audio FX are on hand for processing and support for VST, VST3 and AU opens the door to a world of 3rd party plugin possibilities.”

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Cakewalk by BandLab (DAW)
(Win)

“Fueled by over 30 years in the relentless pursuit of innovation, Cakewalk by BandLab is the new standard for the modern recording studio.The creative experience only Cakewalk by BandLab offers: advanced technology, effortless workflow, and an interface that amplifies inspiration.”

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Ardour (DAW)
(Win, Mac & Linux)

“Ardour’s core user group: people who want to record, edit, mix, and master audio and MIDI projects. When you need complete control over your tools, when the limitations of other designs get in the way, when you plan to spend hours or days working on a session, Ardour is there to make things work the way you want them to.”

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OpenMPT (Tracker)
(Win)

“OpenMPT is a popular tracker software for Windows. OpenMPT (short hand for Open ModPlug Tracker) is completely free and allows you to create and play back some great music on your computer. Based on the original ModPlug Tracker written by Olivier Lapicque, OpenMPT is free software, can import a wide variety of module formats and offers an intuitive, native GUI as well as advanced features such as VST plugins and ASIO output. In addition to its own song format, OpenMPT can natively edit Impulse Tracker, FastTracker, Scream Tracker and ProTracker module files.”

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Audacity (Audio editor)
(Win, Mac & Linux)

“Audacity is an easy-to-use, open-source multi-track audio editor and recorder.”

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fre:ac (Converter)
(Win, Mac & Linux)

“fre:ac is a free audio converter and CD ripper with support for various popular formats and encoders. It converts freely between MP3, M4A/AAC, FLAC, WMA, Opus, Ogg Vorbis, Speex, Monkey’s Audio (APE), WavPack, WAV and other formats. With fre:ac you easily rip your audio CDs to MP3 or M4A files for use with your hardware player or convert files that do not play with other audio software. You can even convert whole music libraries retaining the folder and filename structure. The integrated CD ripper supports the CDDB/GNUdb online CD database. It will automatically query song information and write it to ID3v2 or other title information tags.”

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—- VIDEO EDITING —-

Black Magic Design - DaVinci Resolve 18
(Win, Mac & Linux)

“DaVinci Resolve is the world’s only solution that combines editing, color correction, visual effects, motion graphics, and audio post-production all in one software tool! Its elegant, modern interface is fast to learn and easy for new users, yet powerful for professionals. DaVinci Resolve lets you work faster and at a higher quality because you don’t have to learn multiple apps or switch software for different tasks. That means you can work with camera original quality images throughout the entire process. It’s like having your own post-production studio in a single app! Best of all, by learning DaVinci Resolve, you’re learning how to use the exact same tools used by Hollywood professionals!”

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Shortcut
(Win, Mac & Linux)

“Shotcut is a free, open-source, cross-platform video editor. Supports hundreds of audio and video formats and codecs thanks to FFmpeg.”

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OBS Project - Open Broadcaster Software
(Win, Mac & Linux)

“Free and open source software for video/screen recording and live streaming.”

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—- GRAPHICS & ART —-

GIMP
(Win, Mac & Linux)

“GIMP is a cross-platform image editor. Whether you are a graphic designer, photographer, illustrator, or scientist, GIMP provides you with sophisticated tools to get your job done. You can further enhance your productivity with GIMP thanks to many customization options and 3rd party plugins. GIMP is free & open source.”

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Inkscape
(Win, Mac & Linux)

“Inkscape is a Free and open-source vector graphics editor. It offers a rich set of features and is widely used for both artistic and technical illustrations such as cartoons, clip art, logos, typography, diagramming, and flowcharting. It uses vector graphics to allow for sharp printouts and renderings at unlimited resolution and is not bound to a fixed number of pixels like raster graphics.”

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Krita
(Win, Mac & Linux)

“Krita is a free and open-source cross-platform application that offers an end-to-end solution for creating digital art files from scratch. Krita is optimized for frequent, prolonged, and focused use. Explicitly supported fields of painting are illustrations, concept art, matte painting, textures, comics and animations. Developed together with users, Krita is an application that supports their actual needs and workflow. Krita supports open standards and interoperates with other applications.”

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Synfig Studio
(Win, Mac & Linux)

“Synfig Studio is a free and open-source 2D animation software, designed as a powerful industrial-strength solution for creating film-quality animation using vector and bitmap artwork. It eliminates the need to create animation frame-by-frame, allowing you to produce 2D animation of a higher quality with fewer people and resources.”

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Blender
(Win, Mac & Linux)

“Blender is the free and open source 3D creation suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, and even video editing and game creation. Blender is well suited to individuals and small studios who benefit from its unified pipeline and responsive development process.”

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Lively Wallpaper
(Win)

“Animated desktop wallpapers, bring your desktop to life! Lively is a Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) Project”

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—- GAME CREATION —-

GDevelop
(Win, Mac, Linux, iOs, & Android)

“Fast and easy, no-code, open-source, free game-making app (suitable for 2D games). What makes GDevelop unique and so easy to use is the event system. Events are a powerful way to express the logic of your game, without having to learn a programming language. Games created with GDevelop run anywhere and can be exported in a single click. On the web, as a mobile app for iOS and Android, publish on Steam, Epic Games Store, Facebook Gaming, Itch.io, Newgrounds, the Microsoft Store…”

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- - - SAMPLES - - -


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Soundpacks.com

“Soundpacks is a comprehensive site that highlights sample packs, drum kits, loops and presets created and released for free by music producers, beatmakers and sound designers from around the world.”

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Signature Sounds - Square Space

Huge collection of royalty-free samples of all types. No sign-up, just download.

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Music Radar

84,731 free samples to download. Have fun!

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Sonniss - GDC2023

“In celebration of #GDC2023 we are giving away 44GB+ of high-quality sound effects from our amazing vendors here at Sonniss. No attribution is required and you can use them on an unlimited number of projects for the rest of your lifetime. This bundle includes the 2021 and 2022 versions that we unfortunately missed!”

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Samples From Mars - Cool Wav – All Free Products Bundle

“All 47 Free Cool WAV products released from 2021-2022 are now included in one 2GB bundle!”

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Freesound.org

“Freesound aims to create a huge collaborative database of audio snippets, samples, recordings, bleeps etc, released under Creative Commons licenses that allow their reuse. Freesound provides new and interesting ways of accessing these samples.”

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Free To Use Sounds (Foley Samples)

“With over 140,000 free downloads available, we hope to inspire and uplift the creative community. These sounds were personally recorded by us all over the world and are not just any ordinary recordings – they’re the result of our passion for capturing the beautiful sounds of the world around us.”

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Pianobook

“Pianobook is a global collective of sound nerds who hear music in everything. Sharing sample packs, stories, music, advice and support for free. Begin your sonic adventures here. It is a community of composers, producers, and music makers connected together through a shared love of music creation. Founded by Christian Henson (co-founder of Spitfire Audio) in 2018, the site has now grown to over a 1000 free virtual instruments- offering a huge catalogue of inspirational sounds to get your creative juices flowing! Every instrument on the site tells a story- whether it’s a rusty gate that makes an interesting tone, or a centuries old upright that is bursting with character at the end of its life. There is certainly something unique for all musical genres.”

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Sample Focus

“Sample Focus is the web’s premiere community uploaded and curated sample library. Our aim is to supercharge your creative potential. Thousands of audio samples have already been uploaded to Sample Focus and new sounds are added daily! You may remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.”

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- - - ONLINE RESOURCES - - -


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—- SAMPLING —-

Citizen DJ
(Online)

“Make music using the free-to-use audio and video materials from the Library of Congress. Explore free-to-use sounds, remix and combine with beats right in your browser, or Download and use sounds with your favorite software.”

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Archive.org - Prelinger Archive

“Rick Prelinger and The Internet Archive hereby offer public domain films from Prelinger Archives to all for free downloading and reuse. You are warmly encouraged to download, use and reproduce these films in whole or in part, in any medium or market throughout the world. You are also warmly encouraged to share, exchange, redistribute, transfer and copy these films, and especially encouraged to do so for free. Any derivative works that you produce using these films are yours to perform, publish, reproduce, sell, or distribute in any way you wish without any limitations.”

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The Public Domain Review

“Founded in 2011, The Public Domain Review is an online journal and not-for-profit project dedicated to the exploration of curious and compelling works from the history of art, literature, and ideas. As our name suggests, the focus is on works now fallen into the public domain, that vast commons of out-of-copyright material that everyone is free to enjoy, share, and build upon without restriction. Our aim is to promote and celebrate the public domain in all its abundance and diversity, and help our readers explore its rich terrain – like a small exhibition gallery at the entrance to an immense network of archives and storage rooms that lie beyond.”

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Moby Gratis

“This site is a resource for independent and non-profit filmmakers, film students, and anyone in need of free music for their independent, non-profit film, video, or short. I’ve made a selection of over 200 tracks, some unreleased, some from my back catalogue and new releases, available to licence for free via a simple online application system. To begin just browse the catalog. Once you have found the right piece just click the download icon and fill in a simple application telling us a bit about yourself and the way you are using the music. You will receive a high quality AIFF download via email instantly to use in your edit, along with a copy of the mobygratis Non Commercial Licence Agreement.”

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—- MUSIC THEORY —-

Mindfull Harmony
(Online)

“Interactive Circle of Fifths: Master Beautiful Harmony With This Free App. FREE interactive circle of fifths web app. Use the circle of fifths as a basis for your compositions. Make deliberate, purposeful modulations. Easily make chord progressions in major, minor, and modal scales. Experiment with harmony and expand your musical vocabulary.”

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—- MUSIC VIDEO CREATION —-

Vizzy
(Online)

“Visualize your sound! Create a professional music video in our free powerful Online Editor. Attract more listeners and enforce your brand. Dancing visuals, animated text and fun editing right here in your browser. Start from scratch or get started quickly by using someone else’s template! Up to 4K, 60fps & NO WATERMARKS!”

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Mixkit

“Free assets for your next video project. There’s no catch. Download unlimited assets for free, with no attribution or sign-up required. The perfect fit for any level of video creator. Unique videos made by some of the world’s most talented creators are added every week, exclusively for Mixkit. Assets under the Mixkit Free License can be used in both commercial and non-commercial projects. Read the simple licenses for each item type.”

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—- MASTERING —-

BandLab Mastering
(Online)

“Instantly master your tracks with the world’s leading online mastering service. Hear the difference mastering can make with the fastest, best sounding, and free artist-driven Mastering tool.”

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Jackpot!
This is a post I will be revisiting quite often :)
Well formatted and detailed, and it’s all free?
Heck yeah!

Thank you so much for this, Wiseman :)

Kind regards,
Apoxode

Great post! Thank you for taking the time to share this.
Coincidentally, I just a couple days ago downloaded OBS. I thought it might be interesting to screen record a remix session from start (collecting samples) to finish. But I couldn’t get it to record sound. Do you have any personal experience with it and if so - got any tips?

Awesome List! Can’t wait to try some of these out.