Looking for good sounding free bass guitar VST instruments, AU plugins and sample libraries? You’ve come to the right pace! Check out our selection here:

4Front Bass

Format: VST, AU, RTAS, 32 bit + 64 bit
OS: Windows, Mac

Audio Example:

Finding free bass amp VST’s is already hard, but finding good ones is REALLY hard. The two I liked the most are GK Amplification 2 LE and Ignite Amps SHB-1 simply because of their overall sound quality. Adding the NadIR free cabinet to the chain can also do wonders for your tone. In this video, I compare some of the best free and paid bass amp vst options.Help support this channel by leaving a small tip https://onlinebassguitar.com/ti.

You’re looking for a simple bass plugin without any need for constant tone tweaking? Then 4Front Bass by George Yohng will be your best bet. I think it’s the first plugin I’ve ever come across that claims so unapologetically “This plugin has no settings”. And truly, it doesn’t need them. 4Front Bass is one of the most popular bass guitar plugins I’ve come across, and it’s simply because of its very useable tone.

Samsara Cycle Audio Om Bass 2

Format: VST, 32 bit
OS: Windows

Audio examples:

On Samara Cycle Audio, you can find a big collection of free VST instruments and effect plugins. One of them is Om Bass 2, a much-improved successor of the original Om Bass. This VST plugin is a fun one: With 128 presets to try and a ton of settings, you can shape your bass tone to your liking.

The bassoffers eight different styles (finger, generic, muted, pick, slap, sub, wah,pop) that differ greatly in tone. The “tone” knob will shift the sound moretowards a more full-bodied bass sound when you turn it to the left or a morebiting sound with present mids when you turn it to the right. You can then useenvelope shaper, EQ, delay, tremolo and distortion to adjust the details.

I found Om Bass 2 more realistic in the more “subby” tones. The more guitar-like tones are more on the synthetic side. Depending on your project, that may or may not be a good thing.

Ample Bass P II Lite

Format: Standalone, VST2, AU, RTAS, AAX (32 bit + 64 bit)
OS: Windows + Mac

Audio examples:

Ample Sound is known for its many guitar and bass sample libraries. What makes their products interesting for many users is that they don’t require Kontakt like many other sample libraries do. Instead, Ample Sound products come with their own player and can be embedded via VST, AU, RTAS and AAX or even played as standalone.

With AmpleBass P Lite II, the company has released a free lite version of its Ample BassP II, a sampled Fender Precision Bass. The free version comes with fewersamples, a reduced sample depth and a lower range of playable notes (instead ofB0 – F4, the lite version can only do D1-F4). What’s also missing arealternative articulations such as legato slides, palm mutes, slap, tap, staccatoand natural harmonic.

But let’stalk about what Ample Bass does haveto offer: 443 samples at 16 bit / 44.1 khZ, sustain, hammer on and pull off andaccent articulations are included in this free bass guitar plugin. It alsocomes with different velocity layers (and separate sample cycles for each one),an auto buzz system, poly legato and a capo feature. For a more realisticsound, you can turn up the fingering noise.

All these features make Ample Bass P Lite II not only one of the most realistic virtual bass instruments on the market, but also a dynamic and interesting instrument.

Get Ample Bass P Lite II on the Ample Sound website.

Free DirectBass 2.0

Format: Kontakt 3 and higher (full version of Kontakt is required!)

Audio examples:

Pettinhouse is a project by Andrea Pettinao. On his site, he not only offers about a dozen guitar, bass and drum sample libraries, he has also released free versions of many of his products. This Free DirectBass 2.0 is taken from his DirectBass 2.0 library and recreates a Yamaha TRB 5 string bass guitar. Like other Pettinhouse libraries, the realism of this free instrument is noteworthy, especially because this library is really simple to use. As this bass guitar was recorded directly (un-amped), it makes sense to process it with an amp simulator (I used Guitar Rig for the audio examples).

Autodafe Acoustic Bass

Format: Kontakt 5 and higher (full version of Kontakt is required!)

Audio examples:

This Acoustic Bass Kontakt library is a little different from other bass guitars on this list because it is, as the name implies, sampled from an acoustic bass (not an electric one). The library contains three instruments: acoustic bass, muted bass and picked bass. With each of these instruments, you have the option to adjust the ADSR envelope. If you’re looking for a more acoustic type of feel, this might be an interesting library to check out.

CoreBass Cherry Slides

Format: Kontakt 4 and higher (full version of Kontakt is required!)

Audio example:

So you’ve found a good bass library, but need some extra sound effects to make it sound more realistic or interesting? Then here’s a free bonus library: CoreBass Cherry Slides. 45 slides, no regrets.

Get Cherry Slides from Orange Tree Samples.

Alternatives

Didn’t findwhat you were looking for? Maybe one of the following bass plugins andlibraries is more to your liking:

Samsara Cycle Audio FabBass (VST / Windows / 32 bit)
Project16 Fingered Bass (VST, AU / Windows + Mac / 32 bit + 64 bit)
SpearGear: Raspier (VST / Windows / 32 bit)
VB-1 (VST / Windows + Mac / 32 bit + 64 bit)
Chronos (Kontakt 5+)
FS Ibanez Electric Bass Guitar (SFZ)
FS Washburn Acoustic Bass Guitar (SFZ)

Over toyou…

Do you happento know some other cool bass plugin or library? Let us know in the comments!

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.

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.

Free Bass Guitar Amp Vst

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.

Free Bass Guitar Amp Vst Plugin

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