The Best Plugins Money Can't Buy

Lately I’ve converted to using Ableton Live as my SOLE source of audio playback, recording, and creation. That’s right. No Reason, No Protools.. only Ableton Live. There’s some things I don’t have from Pro Tools, some sounds I don’t have from Reason… but I’m not missing them. My workflow is refined, my sounds are improved, and they are all generated from Live.

Even though I use Ableton Live for everything now, it’s nice from time to time to venture into other areas, and new sounds. It helps keep you on the cutting edge of technology and keeps you grounded. (Still use your software of choice and create a kicking workflow-but don’t forget there’s more sounds and software out there!)

One way to explore sounds is through the use of Plugins. Plugins are generally in 3 formats, VST, AU, and RTAS. We can use both VST’s and AU’s in Ableton Live, so there’s no need to mention RTAS in this article.

Here’s a few of my favorite plugins that money CAN’T buy. That’s right these are completely free, and they are great!

Tal Elek7ro

It’s hard to describe the fun you can have with this synth. The bass lines and leads are killer. It can function both as a mono and poly synth, but leave it in mono mode and crank out some nasty leads and bass lines.. Too much fun!

Tal U_NO_60

This plugin is almost as fun as actually playing my Juno 60. The basses are super thick and the strings and pads lead to great areas of 80′s epicness! you’ll have tons of fun.

TAL U-NO-62

The Juno 60′s big brother (though some still swear the 60 is warmer sounding). It’s just as fun as the 60 to mess with.

TAL-Bass Line

Need phat bass lines? Look no further!

Live Cut

LIve cut is a plugin that functions similarly to Live’s Beat Repeat. It seems to take beat repeat and glichted beats to a whole new level. One of my favorite things to do is drop it on a drum track, then route that audio to a new track, and let it run for a few minutes. Record the results then go back and find your favorite glitches and build a beat around them.

What are your favorite free plugins? Let us know by leaving a comment below!