Best Free VSTs: Idiophones

Posted October 23, 2021

The internet is a treasure trove of free virtual bells, wine glasses, kalimbas, and tongue drums. Compared to all those other uppity instruments, what with their finicky “legatos” and “articulations,” idiophones have far fewer sampling requirements, and you don’t need a million-dollar luthier to make one.

Seriously, if I never see an idiophone again… it’ll be too soon.

In case of emergency, break glass organ: These libraries offer great generic twinkles to go…

Bright twinkle: pianobook Spring Chimes combines 14 idiophones to create a variety of twinkly patches, including the “Rainfall” and “Blooming” patches with some useful shimmering octave hits. dspresetNKI (account)
Metallic twinkle: 8Dio The New Copperphone could serve as a dupe for tuned gongs, bells, or other metallophones in a pinch. NKI (Shopify)
Gentle twinkle: boscomac Snowflake is basically the only reason I’ve kept Reaktor Player around all these years… it’s pure, synthesized magic! 🥺 ENS

Bars hit with sticks

A tuned series of rectangles or tubes you can hit with a stick.

Carillon

Soni Musicae The Ghent Carillon (use the second mirror link that ends in “.SF2” or you’ll get a sfArk-compressed version) SF2

Daniel Militello’s Laura Spelman Rockefeller Chapel Carillon and Sather Tower Carillon SF2 (attribution @ Daniel Militello)

Celesta

Studiologic Numa Player‘s Celesta preset VSTAU

Pierre Caillet’s Confinement Céleste NKIdspreset (account)

Lullatone Toy Celesta has less mechanical sounds and includes a very nice soft patch in addition to the regular one. NKIALP (Bandcamp)

Dulcitone

Christian Henson’s Warty Dulcitone NKIdspreset (account)

Hand chimes

VCSL‘s Hand Chimes patch (SFZ mapping and samples) SFZ (Github)

Lithophone (stone “xylophone”)

Legatone Lithophone Free Demo is functional with a limited range. NKI (account + LEGATONE)

Legatone Sanukite – 讃岐岩 Free Demo is a lithophone made from sanukite rocks — uniquely Japanese! It’s functional with a limited range. NKI (account + LEGATONE)

Triangle

See Drums: Triangle

Tubular bells

VCSL‘s Tubular Bells patches (SFZ mapping version 1 and version 2, samples version 1 and version 2) SFZ (Github)

Vibraphone

VCSL‘s Vibraphone patch (SFZ mapping and samples) has bowed and mallet articulations. SFZ (Github)

AS Free Collection‘s “Viby” UFS (OpenCart)

EdgeSounds Vibraphone 24-Bit SF2 SF2 (EdgeSounds)

Bowed vibraphone: Riverwood Air RAW Power Metallic Percussion‘s “Bowed Vibraphone + Cymbals” patch. NKI (account)

Glockenspiels

Vibraphone’s high-pitched and twinkly cousin.

Alto glockenspiel: Cinematique Instruments Alto Glockenspiel (with activation key) vstpreset (Steinberg)
Bowed glockenspiel: Hawpri’s Rosinspiel NKI (account)
Keyed glockenspiel: Spitfire LABS Keyed Glock NKI
Soprano glockenspiel: VSCO2 Glockenspiel VSTAU; Jonathan’s Glockenspiel offers some nice realism when you turn up the low end, but has a more limited range (C5-G6) than the VSCO2. NKI; Dan Keen’s Frozen Glock is not a purist glock library, but if you need a mysterious, icy sound, this one’s your pal. NKIdspreset (account); decent|SAMPLES Resonator Glockenspiel has resonators built in that give it a longer release than a traditional glockenspiel. NKISFZdspreset (newsletter)
Tubular glockenspiel: VCSL‘s Tubular Glockenspiel patch (SFZ mapping and samples) SFZ (Github)
Toy glockenspiel: Rob’s Simple Toy Glock dspreset (account)

Marimbas

An idiophone made of wooden bars.

Balafon (buzzy gourd marimba)

Bolder Sounds Toy and African Marimbas “Bass-Tenor African-Marimba” patch paired with their Soprano and Baritone African Marimbas “Soprano Marimba” patch will give you a full range of notes (C2-C6) with a very distinctive “buzzing” sound. NKIEXS (Zen Cart)

Les Studios Palace Roots Balafon NKI (Sendowl)

Gyil (Ghanaian balafon)

African GYL II has a limited range, but it gets the job done, and comes with a few loops. NKIWAV (email)

Quilcom Sym-Gyil is a modeled gyil with buzzing gourd sounds. Win VST

Orchestral marimba

David Michael Celia’s Rental Marimba has sustains and sort of tremolo pads with a slow attack and long release. NKI (account)

SampleScience Marimba Renaissance (sound demo here) is more warm and intimate-sounding. The “chromatically playable” notes start around C5, but the overtones in the lower octaves are definitely usable for cues outside of typical orchestral use. VSTAUdspresetNKI

Big Winky Media Free Marimba SoundFont is based on the University of Iowa samples. SF2 (Woocommerce)

Finger-tapped marimba: Samuel Davies’ Tapping Marimba NKI6 (account)
Bowed marimba: Sage Reynolds’ Arco Marimba: Calm/Flux NKI (account)

Toy marimba

Max McGuire’s Mini African Xylophone (MAX) has a decent range but a much shorter, dryer sound than the other marimbas. It includes sustains and some back-and-forth, aleatoric glissandos. NKI6dspreset (account)

Xylophones

An idiophone made of wooden bars… Huh? Wait a minute… You’re just Marimba wearing a mustache! ━Σ(ﾟДﾟ|||)━

Coconut xylophone

Eamon’s Coco Pops NKI (account)

Orchestral xylophone

VCSL‘s Xylophone patch (SFZ mapping and samples) SFZ (Github)

Orchestral xylophone mutes/rolls: MSLP Xylophone for Kontakt and Reason NKIEXS (optional attribution @ MSLP/Erick Kvist)

Toy xylophone

See toy glockenspiel

Round things hit with sticks

A series of tuned objects-that-are-not-bars hit with sticks.

Bianqing (East Asian stone chimes): CATSNU Gugak PyeonGyeong LE NKIEXSALP (attribution @ Gugak VSTi by CATSNU, see notes)
Bianzhong (East Asian chime bells): CATSNU Gugak PyeonJong LE NKIEXSALP (attribution @ Gugak VSTi by CATSNU, see notes)
Cồng chiêng (Vietnamese tuned gong): Bunker Samples Gongster’s Paradise NKI (email)
Crotales: Alan ViSTa’s Crotalinae VSTAU
Hand bells: Spitfire LABS Christmas has a hand bells patch. VSTAUAAX (Spitfire); Lullatone Bells has handbell hits and rolls. NKIALP (Bandcamp)
Hang: FreePats Hang tuned in D minor is limited to its natural range. SFZSF2H2WAV; Dark Arps Hang Drum ditto. NKIWAV
Jaltarang (Indian water bowls): Crypto Cipher Free Sample Pack comes with wooden stick and spoon versions. NKI (Woocommerce)
Kulintang (Indonesian cradled gong set): Mark A. Galang’s Philippinian Percussion has a few one shots. NKIWAV (account)
Rin (Japanese standing bell): Japanese Singing Bowls NKI (account)
Steel tongue drum: Ample Sound Cloudrum VSTAURTAS

Sticks hit on things

…such as the ground, or other sticks. (I hate idiophones.)

Angklung: ArtSonica Angklung as a plug-in or Kontakt instrument VSTAUNKI (Maize or none)
Boomwhackers®: Loops de la Crème 32 percussive Boomwhackers samples has both tonal and percussive Boomwhacker sounds. WAV (email); Bolder Sounds Boom Whackers NKIEXSGIG (Zen Cart)
Tongatong (Filipino bamboo stick): Mark A. Galang’s Philippinian Percussion has 5 tongatong pitches. NKIWAV

Lamellophones

Oh, hey! This one’s a real category!

Jew’s harp

Les Productions Zvon Out There includes a jaw harp in “Mystery Jaw Harp” for Kontakt/SFZ, in “Mystery kit” for Battery and NanoStudio 2, as a SoundFont called “Zvon_Mystery,” and for sEGments by Elliott Garage. The download links on the site use “http:” and may be blocked by your browser, so here are the “https:” versions: (direct download) (direct NanoStudio 2 download) (direct sEGments download). SFZNKISF2WAVSLTKITegkit

Mike Heimburger’s Time Warp Mouth Harp‘s “Amateur Mouth Harp Player” patch NKI (account)

Kalimba

FreePats Kalimba SFZSF2WAV

Subaqueous Kalimba – Thumb Piano ALPWAV (email)

SzcZ’s Alimchord lets you select from various sound layers to shape your kalimba sound. NKI

Celeste Kalimba: Sam Ecoff’s Celeste Kalimba NKI (account)

Mbira

VCSL‘s “Mbira Mavembe (Gandanga), Zimbabwe, Low G” patch as a Kontakt instrument (“Plucked Idiophones”) or SFZ (with samples) uses Mavembe/Gadanga tuning. NKISFZ (none or Github)

Array mbira (multi-octave sound box mbira): Sam Ecoff’s Array M’bira NKIEXSdspreset (account)
Mbira dzavadzimu (Shona mbira with soundboard hole): VCSL‘s “Mbira dzaVadzimu Nyamaropa, Zimbabwe, Low B” as a Kontakt instrument (“Plucked Idiophones”) or SFZ (with samples) uses Nyamaropa tuning. NKISFZ (none or Github)

Mbira nyunga nyunga (Mozambican mbira without soundboard hole): VCSL‘s “Nyunga Nyunga, Mozambique, Low F” patch as a Kontakt instrument (“Plucked Idiophones”) or SFZ (with samples) NKISFZ (none or Github)

Music box

Anne Obel’s Breitler Switzerland Music Box also includes windup sounds. NKIALP (account)

Splash Sound Music Box has windup sounds and built-in doubletracking. The higher notes weaker, so you might want to layer it. NKI (FastSpring)

Spitfire LABS Music Box VSTAUAAX (Spitfire)

Gamelan

There are three main free Gamelan ensembles on the market right now:

Gamelan set: Casa da Música Javanese Gamelan (also as a SFZ mapping) NKIALPSFZ; bigcat Instruments The Gamelan NKI; ArtSonica Gamelan Jawa NKI

Here are some specific Gamelan instruments along with the libraries above you can find them in:

Gambang (Balinese gamelan xylophone): Casa da Música Javanese Gamelan
Gangsa (Balinese gamelan metallophone): bigcat Instruments The Gamelan has “Hi Gangsa” (likely a gangsa kantilan) and “Premade Gangsa,” a gangsa pemadé.
Gènder (gamelan metallophone): Casa da Música Javanese Gamelan has a gendèr barung, gendèr panerus, and a gendèr panembung/slenthem.; ArtSonica Gamelan Jawa has a gendèr panembung/slenthem.
Jegogan (Balinese gamelan metallophone): bigcat Instruments The Gamelan’s “Jegogan – Calung” patch
Saron (bronze gamelan metallophone): Casa da Música Javanese Gamelan has a saron barung, saron demung, and saron panerus/peking.; ArtSonica Gamelan Jawa has a saron barung, saron demung, and saron panerus/peking.
Bonang (cradled kettle gong set): Casa da Música Javanese Gamelan has a bonang barung, bonang panerus, kempul, kempyang, and kethuk.; ArtSonica Gamelan Jawa
Gong: Casa da Música Javanese Gamelan has a gong ageng and gong suwukan.; ArtSonica Gamelan Jawa has a gong ageng and gong suwukan.
Kempli (hanging kettle gong): bigcat Instruments The Gamelan
Kempur (medium-sized gong): bigcat Instruments The Gamelan
Kenong (large cradled gong): Casa da Música Javanese Gamelan; bigcat Instruments The Gamelan; ArtSonica Gamelan Jawa
Reyong (row of kettle gongs): bigcat Instruments The Gamelan