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…

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 legato/staccatos/pizzicatos/tremolos

SCC Expressive Strings SFZ

Ensemble sustains

Marco Ianello’s NFO Alternative Chamber Strings NKIdspreset (account)

Ensemble swells/bartok pizz

Spitfire LABS Strings 2 VSTAUAAX (Spitfire)

Ensemble swells

Dan Keen’s NFO: Orchestral Swells NKIdspreset (account)

WMD Strings VSTAU

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 + legato/sustains/staccatos/tremolos

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 legatos

Performance Samples Solo Violin Legato NKI (FastSpring + Continuata)

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 tremolos

Philharmonia’s Strings MP3

Solo body percussion

Tiago Cunha’s Intimate Percussion kit SFZ (account)

Solo silent fingering

Ashley Bates’ Tack Pizzicato Violin creates a pizzicato sound by placing a rosined finger on the string and then lifting it. The volume of the release can be reduced to make the sound less musical and more percussive or decorative. NKI (account)

Ensemble sustains/tremolos/spiccatos/pizzicatos

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 glissandos

Vienna Symphonic Library Violin Runs features a 14-player violin ensemble with pre-recorded runs for every Western key and mode. You can go in the Edit tab and turn on the “Stretch” feature to match your host’s tempo. VSTAUAAX (VSL)

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 “appoggiaturas.” Win VST

DSK Asian DreamZ is the not-quite-as-good alternative for 64-bit and macOS. VSTAU

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. VSTAU (newsletter and Wix)

Nepali Sarangi

Eamon’s Nepali Sarangi NKI (account)

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 legato/sustains/portamentos

Cordaro Rodriguez’s Imperfect Viola features fingering/fret noises for realism, multiple velocity layers and dynamics, and simulated bowed/fingered legato. Turn the mod wheel up when you first load it. NKI (account)

Solo staccatos/pizzicatos/tremolos

Alpine Project has two violas to choose from. The sustained notes are pretty flat and without vibrato. NKI (newsletter)

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/tremolos/spiccatos/pizzicatos

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. NKIdspreset (account)

Dan Keen’s Soft String Spurs NKIEXSSFZdspreset (account)

Cello

The snuggie of string instruments.

Solo legato/sustains

pocketBlakus Cello ranges from C2-A4. NKI6

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‘s samples are a little wet but overall have a good timbre. SF2

Claire Fitch’s Cello has sustains of varying lengths, with the shortest being a kind of tenuto-staccato. SF2EXSRFL

Solo rebowed sustains/staccatos/glissandos (up)/pizzicatos/tremolos

MSLP Cello Lofberg for Kontakt and Reason is a cello recorded in mono. NKISXT (optional attribution @ MSLP/Erick Kvist & Anders Löfberg)

Solo pizzicatos

Virharmonic Soul Capture Cello Freebie UFS

Solo sul ponticello + sustains

Wavelet Audio Cold Sul Ponticello 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/tremolos

VSCO2 Cello Section VSTAU

Ensemble swells

Dan Keen’s NFO: Orchestral Swells includes some celli swells with rebowing. NKIdspreset (account)

Ensemble tremolos

Spitfire Labs Amplified Cello Quartet features various patches of cellos played through amps, including a decent tremolo 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 tremolos

VSCO2 Double Bass VSTAU

Solo col legnos

Philharmonia‘s Strings has some samples. MP3

Jazz/upright/walking bass

Solo pizz/stopped pizz/ghost notes/pizz glissandos

Larry Seyer’s Upright Acoustic Bass SFZ (account)

Solo stopped pizz/bartok pizz/body percussion/scrapes

Phillip Jay Cohen’s Standup Bass NKI

Solo pizzicatos

Strezov Sampling Diamond Jazz Trio‘s “Double Bass Freebie” patch is a darker option. NICNT (Strezov)

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