The best free brass VST plugins provide you with a range of brass sounds to choose from and are a worthy addition to your collection. So in this article, we’ll show you the best options available on the market.
Best Free Brass VST Plugins
- Fanan Team Brassinematic
- DSK Brass
- Sax for Live for Ableton Live
- Dream Vortex Studio DVS Saxophone
- Spitfire Audio Trumpet Fields
- bigcat Instruments VSCO2 Trumpet
- bigcat Instruments Sonatina Trumpet
- bigcat Instruments VSCO2 Trombone
- bigcat Instruments Sonatina Horn
- bigcat Instruments Iowa Tuba
Fanan Team Brassinematic
Pros
- Cinematic
- User-friendly
- Good-sounding
Cons
- 64-bit only
Fanan Team Brassinematic is a brass synthesizer that can generate four different brass instruments, either separately or simultaneously.
Best features and specs
Brassinematic is a cinematic brass machine that is powered by 4 32-bit excellent quality waveform oscillators that produce baritone saxophone, trombone, trumpet, and French horn.
User impressions
Users say that Brassinematic sound is not that realistic but still cool and a bit funky. Users experienced some issues with exporting all the notes, and the plugin sometimes doesn’t want to load.
What we think
Brassinematic is a pretty thorough and capable synthesizer, but if you are looking for a realistic brass sound, you should search elsewhere.
Bottomline
Fanan Team Brassinematic is a great choice for someone who is looking for an impressive brass synth with extensive capabilities.
DSK Brass
Pros
- Nice-sounding
- Good-looking
- Top quality
Cons
- No selectable articulations
DSK Brass is a collection of rather realistic brass sounds with an extensive amount of various instruments.
Best features and specs
DSK Brass offers 23 waveforms, 2 layers, a micro-detuner, octave select, and assignable automation capability. Also, it includes such effects as flanger and delay.
User impressions
Users like DSK Brass because it sounds really nice, has a simplified yet stylish GUI, and is easy to use.
What we think
DSK Brass could be absolutely the best only if they added separate articulation controls or just different articulations, for that matter.
Bottomline
DSK Brass is a great choice for someone who is looking for a very extensive VST library of realistic brass instruments.
Sax for Live for Ableton Live
Pros
- Top-quality
- Realistic
- Easily controllable
Cons
- Only one instrument
Sax for Live for Ableton Live is a very realistic and highly controllable saxophone VST instrument that works exclusively in Ableton Live.
Best features and specs
Sax for Live is a meticulously designed sampled-based saxophone of the highest quality that is packed with various presets to unleash your imagination.
User impressions
Users say that the Sax for Live is a really fun plugin to play with as it provides a lot of presets that fit any musical idea.
What we think
Sax for Live could easily overshadow some paid competitors. We sincerely hope that Ableton will extend this range of instruments.
Bottomline
Sax for Live for Ableton Live is a great choice for someone who is looking for an extremely realistic saxophone VST instrument.
Dream Vortex Studio DVS Saxophone
Pros
- Natural-sounding
- Easy to use
- Very realistic
Cons
- 32-bit only
Dream Vortex Studio DVS Saxophone is a very realistic and lively VST instrument with built-in reverb and very simple controls.
Best features and specs
DVS Saxophone is made specifically for expressive playing and features a very alive and natural-sounding saxophone.
User impressions
Users agree that DVS Saxophone is a top-quality saxophone that sounds really majestic and intuitive to use. Users add that they have been using this plugin for years.
What we think
DVS Saxophone is good if you have a velocity-sensitive MIDI keyboard, otherwise, there’s going to be a lot of editing.
Bottomline
Dream Vortex Studio DVS Saxophone is a great choice for someone who is looking for a simple yet realistic saxophone VST instrument.
Spitfire Audio Trumpet Fields
Pros
- Atmospheric
- Top-quality
- Minimalistic
Cons
- Not a conventional instrument
Spitfire Audio Labs is a collection of very cinematic and experimental playable textures and ambiances.
Best features and specs
Spitfire Audio Trumpet Fields is a set of long and soft trumpet notes accompanied by a range of granular elements. Also, it has 5 reverbs that help you with creating atmospheric melodies.
User impressions
Users agree that Trumpet Fields is really intuitive to use and offers a meticulously made set of sounds that inspire creating new atmospheric soundscapes.
What we think
It’s hard to imagine that you will use Trumpet Fields as a conventional instrument since it was designed as a cinematic tool for background texturing.
Bottomline
Spitfire Audio Trumpet Fields is a great choice for someone who is looking for a very modern and experimental cinematic brass library.
bigcat Instruments VSCO2 Trumpet
Pros
- Good-sounding
- Intuitive
- Realistic
Cons
- None
bigcat Instruments VSCO2 Trumpet is a VST instrument with a realistic sound and lots of articulations.
Best features and specs
VSCO2 Trumpet offers 7 groups of sampled trumpet sounds, which includes sustain, sustain f and p, mute 1 and 2, staccato, and vibrato.
User impressions
Users say that VSCO2 Trumpet adds a really nice detail to the tracks, though it doesn’t sound that real and is more like a flute, rather than a trumpet.
What we think
The strong side of VSCO2 Trumpet is definitely the amount of included articulations. The sound, on the other hand, is something that has room for improvement.
Bottomline
bigcat Instruments VSCO2 Trumpet is a great choice for someone who is looking for a highly articulate brass VST instrument.
bigcat Instruments Sonatina Trumpet
Pros
- Unique-sounding
- Easy to use
- Highly tweakable
Cons
- Not particularly stable
bigcat Instruments Sonatina Trumpet is an extension of the famous Sonatina Symphonic Orchestra sample library.
Best features and specs
bigcat Instruments Sonatina Trumpet is another version of sampled trumpet that offers 4 groups of sounds such as trumpets sustain 1 and 2, trumpets staccato, and solo trumpet.
User impressions
Users like Sonatina Trumpet because it sounds unique and has a really straightforward GUI. Though, some say that they were disappointed in the way it sounds.
What we think
Sonatina Trumpet is a formidable tool, but it most definitely lacks in some departments.
Bottomline
Sonatina Trumpet is a great choice for someone who is looking for a simple yet versatile brass VST instrument.
bigcat Instruments VSCO2 Trombone
Pros
- Retro
- Good-sounding
- Intuitive
Cons
- None
VSCO2 is, without a doubt, one of the best free orchestral sample libraries available on the market today. And this instrument is proof of that.
Best features and specs
VSCO2 Trombone offers 5 groups of sampled trombone sounds, which include sustain, sustain f and p, staccato, and vibrato.
User impressions
Users agree that VSCO2 Trombone sounds good, has a vintage-looking GUI, and is easy to tweak.
What we think
bigcat Instruments VSCO2 Trombone has a bit less articulation than one of the previous entries on this list, but still is a very capable instrument.
Bottomline
bigcat Instruments VSCO2 Trombone is a great choice for someone who is looking for a very capable brass VST instrument.
bigcat Instruments Sonatina Horn
Pros
- Straightforward
- Tweakable
- Good-quality
Cons
- Not very stable
bigcat Instruments Sonatina Horn is another part of the Sonatina Symphonic sample library. It shares the same features and sound quality.
Best features and specs
Sonatina Horn offers 4 groups of realistic sampled horn sounds, which include horns sustain 1 and 2, horns staccato, and solo horn.
User impressions
Users like Sonatina Horn because it sounds realistic, has a straightforward GUI, and is fun to play with.
What we think
Sonatina Horn is not an ideal library in every way, but it is most definitely worth some attention.
Bottomline
bigcat Instruments Sonatina Horn is a great choice for someone who is looking for a capable and fairly simple brass VST instrument.
bigcat Instruments Iowa Tuba
Pros
- Straightforward
- Tweakable
- Good-quality
Cons
- Not a lot of control
bigcat Instruments Iowa Tuba was born at the dawn of digital sampling and has persisted ever since.
Best features and specs
bigcat Instruments Iowa Tuba is a sampled tuba plugin that has a straightforward design.
User impressions
Users say Iowa Tuba doesn’t sound that natural and requires a lot of work to get something more musically acceptable.
What we think
Iowa Tuba could sound rather artificial, but with a bit of patience, you can give it a somewhat authentic sound.
Bottomline
bigcat Instruments Iowa Tuba is a great choice for someone who is looking for a fairly simple yet reliable brass VST instrument.
