Best Free VSTs: Orchestral Strings
No virtual instrument collection is complete without a symphonic string section crammed onto your hard drive. Do the free offerings measure up to expensive, feature-packed commercial string libraries? Let’s find out…
Buongiorno! Survive the excessive Italian in this post with my VST articulation guide.
Some instruments may offer more articulations than what’s listed here, but their version isn’t the best free available option (IMO).
String section
- Ensemble legatos/staccatos/pizzicatos/tremolos
- SCC Expressive Strings SFZ
- Ensemble sustains
- Marco Ianello’s NFO Alternative Chamber Strings NKIdspreset (account)
- Ensemble swells
- Dan Keen’s NFO: Orchestral Swells NKIdspreset (account)
- decent|SAMPLES Box Violin Swells & Sustain is suited for icy, soft string ambience. The library is based on a violin, but ranges from C2-C7 and makes a passable cello at the lower frequencies. NKISFZALPEXSdspreset (newsletter)
- WMD Strings VSTAU
- Dark Reaven’s Orchestral Evo Pad dspreset (account)
- Ensemble bartok pizz
- Spitfire LABS Strings 2 has just such a patch. VSTAUAAX (Spitfire)
- Ensemble sul ponticello + sustains
- KLANG Bodega Strings for Kontakt or Ableton NKIALP (account or none)
Violins
The golden retriever of string instruments.
- Solo normale/sordino + legatos/sustains/staccatos/tremelos
- Embertone Arcane has a demo of their first violin library, the Friedlander Violin, in the “Individual Patches” folder. The demo ranges from G3-G5 and has shapeable vibrato with speed/depth controls. NICNT (Cartloom)
- Solo sustains
- decent|SAMPLES Lewis E. Pyle Violin (Lite) has rebowed sustains with tasteful vibrato and a decent range. Set the High EQ knob to 0 after you load it up. NKISFZALP (newsletter)
- Nice Strings PlusOrchestra includes the allegedly public domain “All Around Violin” (listed as “Violin 1 (all around)”). It has three velocity layers with very strong vibrato. SF2
- Solo pizzicatos
- Virharmonic Soul Capture Violin Freebie is a non-Kontakt option which also includes pre-recorded spicatto rhythms. UFS
- Alpine Project has two violins to choose from. NKI (newsletter)
- Solo flautandos
- Jacob Maloney’s Scary Flautando Violin NKI (account)
- Solo glissandos (up)
- Fernando Canedo’s Violin Gliss NKIdspreset (account)
- Solo col legnos/bartok pizz/pizz glissandos/pizz tremelos
- Philharmonia’s Strings MP3
- Solo body percussion
- Tiago Cunha’s Intimate Percussion kit SFZ
- Ensemble sustains/tremelos/spiccatos/pizzacatos
- VSCO2 Violin Section VSTAU
- Ensemble sustains/staccatos/pizzicatos
- Westlund 3 Violin Trio as a Kontakt instrument/SFZ (same download) or plug-in (“Westlund 3 Violins”) NKISFZVSTAU (attribution @ Mattias Westlund and “ldk1609 @ freesound.org”)
- Ensemble sustains
- Jasper Blunk’s Maestoso 18 Violin Ensemble NKI
- Ensemble swells
- Dan Keen’s NFO: Orchestral Swells includes a violin swell patch. NKIdspreset (account)
- Ensemble sordino + sustains
- ProjectSAM The Free Orchestra‘s “Sordino Violins” patch. NICNT (account)
Fiddles & viols
- Erhu
- Kong Audio MiniErHu has sustains, arcs, and wholetone slides. Win VST
- DSK Asian DreamZ is the not-quite-as-good alternative for 64-bit and macOS. VST AU
- Haegeum (Korean fiddle)
- 36Play Samhyeon-Yukgak has a haegeum patch. NKI
- Hurdy-gurdy
- Soundbytes HurdyGurdyLE Win VST
- Morin khuur (Mongolian horsehead fiddle)
- MNTRA Instruments Rasa is a free collection for their MNDALA plugin that features a few raspy morin khuur drone patches. VST AU (newsletter and Wix)
- Rebab (Egyptian fiddle)
- TAQSIM Free includes the somewhat cheesy-sounding “Rababa” patch. NKI (newsletter OR account)
- Stroh violin
- Impact Soundworks The Stroh Violin NKI (Woocommerce)
- Viola organista
- boscomac VIOLA ORGANISTA ENS
Viola
The parsley of string instruments.
- Solo legatos/sustains/staccatos/pizzicatos/tremelos
- Alpine Project has two violas to choose from. The longs are pretty flat and without vibrato. NKI (newsletter/Alpine)
- Solo harmonics
- Roland Roberts’ Spooky Viola Harmonics NKIdspreset (account)
- Solo trills/bartok pizz/glissandos
- Philharmonia‘s Strings has samples. The trills do not loop. MP3
- Ensemble sustains/tremelos/spiccatos/pizzacatos
- VSCO2 Viola Section VSTAU
- Ensemble swells
- Jon Meyer’s Woven Strings features two violas and a violin in various soft arcs and some decorative licks you can layer in to add realism. NKI (email)
- Dan Keen’s Soft String Spurs NKIEXSSFZdspreset (account)
Cello
The snuggie of string instruments.
- Solo legatos/sustains
- pocketBlakus Cello ranges from C2-A4. NKI
- Embertone Facebook Cello Lite has a smaller range (C2-G3) than the pocketBlakus, but it does have the shapeable vibrato I love so much from their Intimate Strings series. (You can’t get this instrument from liking their Facebook page anymore, but if you use it, it would be nice to give them a like anyway…) NKI (Cartloom)
- Solo sustains
- Ethan Winer’s Cello Solo is a little wet, but overall has a good sound. SF2
- Fitchsounds Claire Fitch Cello has sustains of varying lengths, with the shortest being a kind of tenuto staccato. SF2EXSRFL
- Solo rebowed sustains/staccatos/glissandos (up)/pizzicatos/tremelos
- MSLP Cello Lofberg for Kontakt and Reason is a cello recorded in mono. NKISXT (optional attribution @ MSLP/Erick Kvist & Anders Löfberg)
- Solo spiccatos
- pocketBlakus Cello’s spiccato patch is very good. (Click “Download Now”1 and then “pocketBlakus Spic.”) NKI (account)
- Solo pizzicatos
- Virharmonic Soul Capture Cello Freebie is a non-Kontakt option which also includes pre-recorded spicatto rhythms. UFS
- Solo sul ponticello + sustains
- Wavelet Audio Cold Sul Ponticello will work if you really need the job done for free. NKI (account)
- Solo sul ponticello + pizzicatos
- Matt Constantine’s Pont Pizz — Cello NKIdspreset (account)
- Solo trills/col legnos
- Philharmonia‘s strings has a few samples. The trills do not loop! MP3
- Ensemble sustains/staccatos/pizzicatos/tremelos
- VSCO2 Cello Section VSTAU
- Ensemble swells
- Dan Keen’s NFO: Orchestral Swells includes some celli swells with rebowing. NKIdspreset (account)
- Ensemble tremelos
- Spitfire Amplified Cello Quartet features various patches of cellos played through amps, including a decent tremelo patch. VSTAUAAX (Spitfire)
Double bass
The unapproachable uncle of string instruments.
- Solo sustains/staccatos/pizzicatos
- MSLP Bass Lofberg for Kontakt and Reason is a bass recorded in mono with a very nice slappy pizzicato sound. NKISXT (optional attribution @ MSLP/Erick Kvist & Anders Löfberg)
- Solo sustains/pizzicatos/body percussion
- Karoryfer Samples Meatbass SFZ
- Solo bartok pizz/body percussion
- Phillip Jay Cohen’s Standup Bass NKI
- Solo pizzicatos
- AS Free Collection includes Kontr, a decent upright for jazzy basslines. UFS (OpenCart)
- Past to Future Reverbs Vinyl Fairchild Upright Bass offers a good walking bass sound under 10mb. NKI (email)
- Solo tremelos
- VSCO2 Double Bass VSTAU
- Solo col legnos
- Philharmonia‘s Strings has some samples. MP3
Free virtual instrument series
View the main page or learn more about 📕 plug-in formats. licenses and download requirements.
- 🎹 Pianos, organs, & keyboards
- 🎤 Solo vocals, choirs
- 🎻 Orchestral strings
- 🎸 Guitars, harps, lutes, & zithers
- 🎷 Woodwinds & free reeds
- 🎺 Brass & horns
- 🔔 Idiophones
- 🥁 Drums, percussion
- Synths & drum machines – Coming soon! (❛◡˂̵ ̑̑✧)
- DAWs, samplers, & FX – Coming soon! (❛◡˂̵ ̑̑✧)
Footnotes
- Do not download the main “pocketBlackus Cello” patch from VSTBuzz. Their version (170 KB, last updated 10/23/2020) is broken and will freeze Kontakt on loading. Use the Dropbox mirror under “Solo [cello] legatos/sustains” for the main patch.