Top 10 best vst Instruments for music production

Our pick for best synth VSTs in 2023:

  • Spire
  • Native Instruments FM 8
  • U-he Diva
  • Reactor 6
  • Kontakt
  • Omnisphere 2
  • Nexus 4
  • Sylenth1
  • NI Massive
  • Xfer Serum

Spire

Spire possesses lots of great presets, and sounds in stylish and forceful way. It`s an excellent supplementary hybrid synthesizer with only one visible drawback that its display does not have envelope shapes, like in Serum.

Price: $99 (exclude VAT)

Advantages :

excellent presets

great oscillator warping

a variety of features

Disadvantages :

a luck of envelope shapes in a display

Native Instruments FM 8

FM 8 analog synth VST is relatively difficult for rookies, as some time is needed to get the hang of FM synthesis, but it`s an excellent sounding synthesizer, used by many professionals including Skrillex.

Price: $74.50

Advantages :

superb presets

excellent apreggiator

patches can be morphed

Disadvantages :

samples cannot be imported

it`s difficult for rookies

U-he Diva

Price: $192

This synth VSTi is super easy to use even for a novice. It possesses lots of similarities with Minimoog including a quality of sound. U-he Diva is great for making classic synthesizer patches, but it will not be efficient for creating complex dubstep compositions.

Advantages :

convenient interface

great presets

superb analogue quality of sound

Disadvantages :

 high CPU usage

absence of arpeggiator

flexibility is limited

Reactor 6

Price: $99.50

Reactor 6 provides lots of flexibility for those, who enjoy creating patches from the very start. It`s a great VST synthesizer that keeps things clear at the top menu, while having versatile wiring (low) part.

Advantages :

great, pleasant sound

creating unique patches out of Blocks

Disadvantages :

monophonic blocks

high CPU usage

difficult to use for rookies

Kontakt

Price: $99.50

This sampler possesses plenty of high-grade sample collections and is often used in background music compositions. Kontakt provides access to realistically sounding tools, has its free of charge version, and a variety of libraries with free access.

Advantages :

lots of free sample collections

excellent factory library

Disadvantages :

almost all libraries are great in size

high prices, and each library has to be bought separately

size of libraries is gigantic, for instance Hans Zimmer piano library is 450gb

high CPU usage

Omnisphere 2

Price: $499

Considered to be one of the largest Romplers, Omnisphere possesses over 50 gb collection of sample packs, from traditional piano to the most eccentric sounds, and provides access to extraordinary instruments. You can also import own sounds to Omnisphere and turn them into synthesizer patches.

Advantages :

great instruments and patches

new version of wavetable synthesis

ability to add own sound samples

Disadvantages :

the volume is more than 50gb

ES editor is needed to loop imported sound samples

very loud presets

Nexus 4

Price: $200

Nexus is one of essential tools for Electronic dance music production, which was used at Steve Aoki, David Guetta and Marshmello studios. It`s a Rompler that plays sound sample collections from expansion packages you buy. Nexus patches are usable right away and possess superb quality.

Advantages :

great collection of presets and samples

cool integral patches

each patch can be edited

Disadvantages :

big size, more than 10 gigabytes

expansions have to be ordered if you need additional sounds

Sylenth1

Price: $149

Thanks to its warm, pleasent sound, Sylenth1 was chosen by many famous producers, including Flume and Martin Garrix. This synth plugin is excellent for basic samples, however it`s not very helpful when it comes to creating complex sound combinations, since its possibilities are limited. Anyway, it`s used in lots of Electronic dance music hits and because Sylenth 1 is super simple, this synth is an excellent choice for beginners.

Advantages :

easy to use

excellent, pleasant classic sound

superb presets packages

Disadvantages :

the effects could be better

possibilities are limited (FM modulation or wavetable synthesis are absent)

absence of low frequency oscillator customization

NI Massive

Price: $74

Massive can be considered a father of dubstep music. The name of this virtual synthesizer matches its sound, which is really impressive and massive. Massive provides a great combination of robust wavetables, cool effects and more.

Advantages :

convenient, integral wavetables

excellent chorus effect

preset packages are superb

Disadvantages :

relatively difficult for rookies

the absence of automatic volume control

Lots of presets are available here!

Xfer Serum

Without a doubt, Serum is one of the sought-after VST synthesizers nowadays. It`s great combination of stylish user interface with a variety of options for transforming samples into powerful wavetables. 

Price: $189

Advantages :

 simple to learn

 strong wavetable synthesis

a variety of superb effects

Disadvantages :

high CPU usage

unconvincing integral presets

more high-pitched sound