In this guide, we will outline the 15 best VST plugins in this category, ranging from multi-sampled instruments, synth basses, and futuristic bass solutions. A Few Considerations Before we get into the technical details, there are a few terms you need to get familiar with to fully understand the information below. Download Free Tube bass preamp plug-in: Slap Passion by Ronald Passion Download Free Bass overdrive plug-in: TSE B.O.D by TSE The Nadir and Mercuriall Cab are Impulse Response cab emulators to be used with the heads.

Leads are great. They are the sugary surface of any good track. They get you in the door and perk you up.

But we all know what that one special ingredient is… The most important part of arranging and writing songs. It’s the soul of any good track:

The BASS.

But there’s thousands of free VSTs out there. Which ones are good for bass? No sweat. We found all the best ones so you don’t have to dig.

Here’s our 10 favourite free bass VST plugins that will give you bigger, better bass.

Steinberg – Model E

The Model E is a useful 3 oscillator bass station capable of pumping out some nice lines.

The super simple controls make all your options easy to see and tweak. Plus the lower CPU usage means easy breezy basslines in no time.

TAL – Elek7ro

When it comes to free VSTs no one beats TAL. All their free plugins work great and are super useful. I’m a huge fan of their plugins and you should be too.

The Elek7ro is no exception to their history of producing high quality tools. This synth-plug is good for pretty much everything. Including making some nice full basses for your tracks.

It even comes with a super helpful user guide for getting the most out of Elek7ro.

Plogue – Sforzando TableWarp2

The TableWarp2 is part of Plogue’s Sforzando bundle. It’s a versatile synth that gives you tons of classic sounds…

Including some superb mid-low range basses perfect for beefing up your tracks.

NUsofting – Sinnah

The Sinnah is great. It can create cool noisy tones with its 3 channel delay matrix and feedback sculpting.

It also has a pretty solid onboard EQ which really helps bring out the magic in each tone. So you can get tons of control over the bass sounds you create.

TAL – Bassline

I’ve already talked about the TAL-Bassline in an older Free Plugins article. But I had to put it on this list because it’s so good. The Bassline is basically built for better bass.

This plug has a warm analog sound and ‘robust core‘ for all your bass and acid needs. Plus, the TAL Bassline user guide will have your walls rattling in no time.

u-he – TyrellN6

U-he is another major source for some very superb free plugins. The TyrellN6 is a powerful overall plugin that will give you all varieties of nice analog synth sounds.

That means wicked basses too. It also has some nice triggering features that are super fun to play around with and a nice, clean interface for easy tweakage.

The download page is in german. So if you don’t speak German just scroll down to find the download link!

Ample Sound – Ample Bass P Lite II

The Ample Bass P Lite II is a nice electric bass plug perfect for some groovier and more rock-centric bass sounds.

Ample Bass also comes with some nice ‘articulations’ including palm mute, slap and legato slide for those little accents that makes bass pop.

LinPlug – FreeAlpha

This plugin is the free version of LinPlug’s Alpha. But just because it’s the free version doesn’t mean it’s not good. In fact, it’s great!

FreeAlpha‘s 2 oscillators are perfect for all sorts of nice basses and the built-in presets are superb starting points for all types of bass and more.

Bruce Sutherland – JUCEoplvsti

If you ever dreamed of making all those incredible sounds that lived on old DOS games then this plugin is your hot ticket.

JuceOPLVSTI is modelled on the Yamaha OPL sound chip found in some old PC computers.

Juce’s interface is a lot like a video game and is super easy to use to get some superb basses, leads and pretty much any other sound you need from an FM synth.

Synister – Synister

Synister is one of the best looking and easiest to use synth plugins I’ve ever seen. This 3 oscillator synth is perfect for making all types of basslines.

The interface is simple, organized and easy to follow. The effects, envelopes, oscillators, LFOs and filters all have their own drop down menus for an easy workflow. And it even has a built in step sequencer!

The bassline bottomline

A good bassline can make or break a track. Finding the best one for your track can be tricky.

These bass VSTs will give you everything you need to find the right one (Hot tip: Turn your monitors way up while you’re experimenting if you wanna meet the neighbours).

Put these in your DAW, start experimenting and take a trip to the international bass station.

If you’re already set for bass check out our other Free VST Plugin Favourites:

Here’s a roundup of three of the best free bass plugins to use for DI recording, jamming live, or for practicing.

Lately I’ve been learning to play the bass guitar mostly for recording purposes because when you like playing metal and hard rock like I do, fake bass just doesn’t cut it in the mix, not unless you want to spend a fortune on bass modeling software and then spend countless hours learning how to use it.

There’s no substitute for the real thing, and with the free plugins below you can make your bass sound like a beast.

It’s amazing how easy it is to get even a cheap bass guitar to sound great with these plugins.

So far my favorite is Ignite Amp’s SHB-1. You can get a good range of tones with it, and it’s easy on CPU usage. But the TSE B.O.D sounds good too.

Bass Preamp Vst Free Trial

I haven’t had a chance to test out the free Solid State Bass Preamp that comes with AmpliTube Custom Shop, but it’s another good free option. IK’s Ampeg SVX is one of the more popular paid bass amp sim plugins.

If you know of any other good free bass amp sim plugins, please share them in the comments section.

Best Free Bass Amp Sim Plugins

The GK Amplification 2 from Audiffex is a free bass amp sim modeled after a Gallien Krueger bass amp and it also comes with a MB 150 cabinet and an Audix D6 mic. It works as a plugin in VST, AU, and AAX formats and it’s also a standalone program.

The SHB-1 is modeled after the real SHB-1 bass tube amp, which was custom built by Ignite Amps for Federico Fulceri, the bass player for the Italian thrash/death metal band Subhuman. The plugin is available for PC and Mac in AU and VST formats, with support for 64 and 32 bit.

The AmpliTube Custom Shop comes with some free gear to get users started, which includes a Solid State Bass Preamp, along with a few free effects, cabinets, stomp boxes, and three other amps.

The good thing about AmpliTube verses the other two free plugins is it’s a standalone program so it doesn’t require the use of separate DAW software. But it’s also available as a plugin for VST, AU, and AAX formats, with support for 64 bit only.

Bass Preamp Vst Free

The TSE B.O.D. is a digital replica of the SansAmp Bass Driver DI pedal, a popular bass preamp DI box with distortion, presence, and EQ controls. The free plugin is available in VST, AU, and AAX formats, with support for 64 and 32 bit.

Bass Preamp Vst Free Downloads

TSE also offers a really good free tube screamer pedal called the TSE 808 that’s worth checking out. It’s based on the famous Ibanez tube screamer pedal.