Links

Free Plug-ins

Green Oak
*Makers of Crystal, one of the best free VST synths. From pads to leads to basses, Crystal delivers the goods with great sound and an absurd amount of modulation possibilities.

H.G. Fortune
*Unique synths with great sounds. Check out the Protoplasm, the STS-Transition Synth, or the X-Wheel of Fortune II. These synths are ideally suited for ambient, industrial, and atmospheric sounds.

Elogoxa
*Several useful synths, effects, and SynthEdit modules. For a great atmospheric/pad synth, check out the CosmoGirl2; for experimental madness, try the Sun Ra synth; or to add some seriously warm low-end, try the Baxxpander.

Kjaerhus Audio
*Makers of the 'classic' series of VST effects (Classic Phaser/Classic Chorus/Classic Flanger/Classic Reverb). It's always good to have more than one of these standard effects, and these sound great!

Classic Synth Clones
*Recreations of some truly classic synths, including the EMS VCS5 and the Synthi AKS, utilized extensively by Pink Floyd. Check it out!

Freeverb2
*One of the best free reverb plug-ins. Easy to use, and its sound quality rivals plug-ins costing hundereds of dollars. Especially good for ambient/electronic work.

KlangLabs
*Creators of the Weird Noise Machine (WNM-1). For beeps, blips, and other electronic effects.

Interruptor
*Dub head and creator of several good effects. The Echomania delay is extremely powerful, and the Bionic Delay is good for simpler tasks.

Psychic Modulation
*Creators of ph0ne and Pandemonium, two synths that are good for electronic drones and beepy effects.

Mik of Denmark
*Has a multitude of free VST synths created by a synth-enthusiast of over thirty years. The MP-1 has a nice warm sound, but check out the other synths offered as well.

Oli Larkin
*Creator of the Dronebox: an unusual plug-in consisting of several comb filters that can be defined by frequency, note, or MIDI value. This allows you to use any signal to excite the filters. Creates great drones and pad sounds if used creatively.

SimulAnalog
*Free download of the Guitar Suite. Includes simulations of the classic TubeScreamer, the Oberheim PS-1 phaser, the Uni-Vibe, a Marshall JCM 900, and a Fender Twin. Highly recommended (not just for guitarists)!

Krakli
*Makers of several good 'specialty' synths. Favorites include the Vurtbox, Cygnus, and SuperRing.

Ephonic
*Ephonic's Invader synth and RetroDelay come in handy now and again. Unfortunately, E-phonic has stopped development of plug-ins, but the site is still active.

TweakBench
*Great site with many unique VST synths and effects. Check out the Tapeworm synth, a VST recreation of the classic Mellotron sound used by Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, and Tangerine Dream.

xoxos
*Tons of plug-ins! From algorithmic drum machines to physical modeling synths, you're covered with xoxos.

HNM Freeware
*Several good distortion plug-ins, plus the totally unique HNM Wavelet.

Smart Electronix
*Very cool plug-in page with a diverse range of synths and FX made by multiple developers. Check out the stuff by DestroyFX and Antii.

TK Plugins
*A bunch of free plug-ins. The 3-band distortion can dirty up drum parts nicely.

MDA Audio
*Offer a free plugin-in bundle with many standard and some unique effects. While you're there, download the free DX-10 synth, an easy to use FM synthesizer.

SIR Convolution Reverb
*A free convolution Reverb! Only a few factory impulses, but many others are available elsewhere. One thing to note: this plug-in will introduce latency.

Karnage
*A versatile synth capable of everything from pads to bass.

Crusher-X
*Cool granular synth plug-in for sound warping.

The Piz
*The weirdest, wackiest, gnarliest plug-ins around!

Music Generation Software

FractMus 2000
*Free, easy-to-use fractal music generator.

Al and Erwin
*Unique granular synthesis engine...transform your samples! Free.

MuSoft
*Makers of aMusical Generator. This is an algorhythmic composition environment that has many different equations for the generation of MIDI note data. Free 30-day trial.

Nyr Sound
*Makers of Chaosynth. This is a granular synthesis program that uses cellular automata data to generate unique textures and soundscapes. For the true experimentalists! Free download of Version 1.0.

Music related sites

Boycott the RIAA
*A great website dedicated to educating consumers and musicians alike about the perils of the music industry. Tired of the corporate executives setting the rules? Get involved!

Electronic Musician Magazine
*A good magazine for those interested in electronic music. Doesn't offer much in the way of tutorial, but gives you an overview of new products and what's happening in the world of electronic music.

Computer Music Magazine
*Superb magazine from the UK. Each magazine comes with a CD of samples and demo software. Has lots of tutorials as well as product reviews. The website also has some good articles.

Other Links

David Hughes