Thanks! I was actually just thinking about updating this list. It’s been a while.
I finally got around to updating this after 3 years! Linux and MTS-ESP support are now explicitly marked. I’ve added Airwindows Consolidated, JC-303, the DSP56300 emulations, and RipplerX. A few dead plugins were removed.
Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I’m still taking them. But please keep in mind that modern Windows and macOS support is a hard requirement. And giant bundle installers are not likely to get added ever.
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jc303 is really bad
It’s source code is from the free robin schmidt "acid devil "but they modified something , the accent is just bad
Get the og toolchain and load aciddevil
p.s. , toolchain is awesome , load it as an effect and control a.d. with an instr. alias
http://www.rs-met.com/freebies.html
Either way , Abl 3 is the gold standard for me
It seems to be calibrated differently from ABL3 so it’s hard to A/B them but JC-303 still sounds damn good to my ear. I played with AcidDevil a bit but it didn’t sound notably better to me. I’d be surprised if you can’t get good acid out of JC-303, so calling it “really bad” seems a bit harsh.
Toolchain might be worth adding. Sucks that it’s AU-only on Mac because I disable AU plugins in Renoise but I do like RS-MET’s stuff in general.
That’s a great list. I appreciate, that you listed the MTS-ESP compabilty. My favs might be OB-XD, Dexed and The Rippler-X (a nice and free Physical Modeling synth and a good alternative to Chromaphone).
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https://www.neuralampmodeler.com/ is quite the powerful.
Browse Trending NAM Profiles & IR's · TONE3000 - is full of free speaker/cabinets and amp models.
Greetings 
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Thanks, that looks neat. Reminds me of GuitarML which I still need to try as well. I play guitar myself so it’d be nice having more amp models on my list.
Edit: You weren’t kidding, this is incredible stuff! Added straight to the list.
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All were already on the list but definitely some great ones.
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Hm, how about:
Blaukraut Charlatan Win / Linux VA synthesizer (clean UI) https://www.blaukraut.info/
Nakst Regency Win/Mac/Linux Phase Distortion (like old Casio) Regency Synthesizer.
There are more free ones from Nakst like Apricot,ExtraBold,Fluctus.
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Believe it or not, Charlatan does not have a Mac version. Sad because 2.0 was one of my favorite plugins in my Windows days!
That Nakst stuff looks really clean. Unfortunately it’s only CLAP/AU/FL which is pretty awkward. Non-Mac Renoise users can’t use them, for example.
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I downloaded this Toolchain thingy so i will have a poke around with it.
Charlatan 2 was a great sounding synth , used it all the time
Charlatan 3 takes this to new heights, it’s an amazing freebee
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Surge, SQ8L, OBXD, PG8X , Dexed and a few of the Full Bucket ones are my free faves. Low CPU is a must for my old dinosaur computer. But this bloody thing I built 15 years ago is still chugging along. A bit of a sleeper but eFemme by Synth Science i tend to get some pretty interesting noises out of as well. Albeit not free…i still get a hell of a lot of use out of Waldorf Largo and my Tone 2 stuff after all these years. Again CPU freindly. Henceforth …RENOISE!!!
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Full Bucket is great. I’ve been too lazy to decide which FB plugins should make it on the list… should probably get on that.
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Full Bucket ones that i go back to lately are
Mono/Fury
Whispair
and the “string” machines like…
Tricent, OXID, Stigma and the newer one Paralogy are all good. So much more in that bucket though. i still have some that he discontinued. The folder is HUGE.
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Didn’t realize this thread was a few years old. Silly me. Good list though. Just checked it out . All good stuff.
Analog Obsession and Variety of Sound plug ins have replaced a lot of paid for (or pirated) effects for me. Top notch stuff.
All that free legacy Audio Damage stuff is quite interseting as well.
Albeit i have been trying to streamline my VST collection in the past few years. You know…too much info destroys creativity…lol
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Why tf would you pirate stuff if there is so much good freeware ?
Didn’t realize this thread was a few years old. Silly me.
I’d been meaning to update the list for a while. Perhaps your bumping the thread helped push me to it!
As for the developers you mentioned:
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Analog Obsession: Apparently these have been on my backlog. I’ll move them up the list, thanks.
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Variety of Sound: I’m a fan but it’s all Windows only, I’m afraid.
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Audio Damage: Sadly they don’t support this stuff (other than Rough Rider 3, which is on the list). I’m wary of adding abandoned plugins because I want my list to be as future-proof as possible. (As a Mac user, I have reason to be paranoid about updates breaking my software.) Seems like a great collection though.
When i said “replaced” that is what i meant. I was doing that crap YEARS ago back before there was all this free stuff. So i built up quite a collection of all sorts of stuff. EVERYTHING in my computer now is legit…i did a purge about 8 years ago, actually bought the things i was using regularly. Mostly a handful of plugins that i know in and out , and Renoise is all i use. It is VERY freeing to get rid of the stuff one doesn’t use for creativity sake.
Too bad for the MAC thing…Variety of Sounds stuff is top notch IMHO. As good as or better than a lot of paid.
I bought a MAC about 25 years ago which is not even usable any more. This crappy old PC i put together myself is still chugging along. “As a Mac user, I have reason to be paranoid about updates breaking my software.” Will never return to MAC for just such reasons. That and they are just too damned expensive. Got to budget here in my unemployed retirement phase…lol
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