*This article may contain links to affiliate products & services. We have reviewed these services to try and ensure the highest quality recommendations*
Written by Jaron Lewis
DJs are spoilt for choice in this day and age. What with the prodigious amount of vocal samples online from which to choose, as well as the widening range of VST plugins, there have never been so many materials with which to create music. With so many resources out there, it’s hard to know which way to turn. There’s a plethora of sites and plugins competing for our attention. Let’s look at the free acapella download sites most worthy of our time, before moving on to the best VST plugins.
So you want some acapellas. Maybe you want to create a mash-up. Maybe you want to create a re-mix. But how do you find the right voice samples for your songs?Here are two of the best free acapella websites:
This is a free site, which apart from offering free loops, also offers acapellas and raps. It has a large community of members, a large number of tracks from which to choose (over thirteen thousand), and a large variation in quality. Be warned: this is a site that puts an emphasis on new talent. This means you’ll have to wade through a lot of duds before finding a gem. It has a forum section, which helps unite DJs with vocalists, and a simple, easy-to-use interface.
Though not as well-ordered and user-friendly as looperman, this site has the added advantage of offering unsanctioned chart-topping vocal samples. Having said that, sound quality of these unofficial samples will vary.
Now let’s look at VST plugins. The VST (Virtual Studio Technology) plugin, invented by Steinberg in the late nineties, allows for the addition of synthesisers and effects to one’s digital audio workstation. There are two kinds of VST plugins: VST instruments and VST effects.
The former digitized old hardware (synths and samplers); the latter, adds effects (compression, reverb, pitch correction, etc.), which change the way input is processed. Given the wide range of VST plugins, it’s necessary to narrow the scope of our inquiry. Let’s look at four free VST effects plugins for FL (Fruity Loops) Studio, all of which can be found at vstwarehouse.com.
Paradigm Shifter. This is a cool VST effects plugin that mangles sound and shifts beat.
Fletchy Muncher VST plugin. This reduces harshness, common in bedroom recordings, by compressing high end and low end input.
Ambience VST Plugin. This is a free reverb plugin.
Echomania VST plugin. As the name implies, this VST plugin causes delays (i.e., allows the DJ to emulate different acoustic milieu). This also has a so-called “ping-pong” delay effect, which makes the sound bounce.
Well there you have it. There are four VST plugins available for FL Studios. I hope that gives you a sense of what’s out there, and what kind of software is available for free. There are infinitely more VST plugins to choose from, and FL has a number of perfectly good native plugins as well, but you can never have too many plugins if you want to be a master DJ. The search for sonic perfection is long and arduous. I wish you good luck in your search for the perfect sound.
When your song is ready to go, it's time to start promoting it to potential fans! Omari has the best organic promotion services money can buy. With packages for Spotify, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, we will get your music the traffic and attention it deserves! Click below for more information.
Join the No-Nonsense Music Marketing Newsletter to get the most valuable weekly case studies and strategies to grow your music business!