The 9 Best Synth Bass VST Plugins
Where would we be without bass? Gone are the days when the members of a band would wait in line for their turn to give the bassist a wedgie. Nowadays, a big low-end and hard-hitting drums are what it's all about. And nothing gives you a better low-end than synth bass. Those synthesizers sure know how to pack a punch! But don’t listen to the gear snobs that tell you you absolutely need vintage gear and analog oscillators to get a bass sound that makes your face melt. Plugins are just what the doctor ordered. Am I making any sense at all? It’s hard to tell anymore. Nonetheless, here is a list of the best synth bass VSTs on the market. Read it and weep.
Trillian | Spectrasonics
From the makers of Omnisphere, this bass plugin is nothing if not exhaustive. It’s sampled from hundreds of sound sources, and it covers pretty much all the synth bass sounds you might be looking for, as well as electric and acoustic bass guitars and hybrid instruments.
Yet, Trillian pretty simple to use. Much like Omnisphere, it doesn’t have the most beautiful interface, but it doesn’t matter when the presets sound this good - and are this easy to tweak.
Definitely a contender for the title of the best bass instrument in the world. You could use it for the rest of your life and barely scratch the surface of its possibilities.
This might go without saying, but I think the thing I like the most about it is how powerful and well-defined the low-end of this plugin is. Often, when I’m looking for the sound I want, I end up bookmarking a bunch of other presets because they’re really impressive and I want to use them all.
When you find an instrument that gives you that much inspiration, you know you’ve found something special.
Bloom Bass Impulse | Excite Audio
The most recent bass synth plugin on this list, Bloom Bass Impulse is another quality product from Excite Audio, and the third installment of their new instrument line.
Similar to Output’s Arcade, Bass Impulse lets you cycle through different sequences and phrases to get you out of your comfort zone and create something that you might not have come up with otherwise.
You can also get under the hood and tweak the sounds even further and get experimental with it.
Bloom Impulse Bass is a joy to use, especially with that beautiful interface. I’d recommend it to anyone who makes electronic music and EDM.
Miniverse | Cherry Audio
There are so many Minimoog emulations out there… It’s hard to pick a favorite. The thing is, though, you can’t really write a blog post about bass without mentioning one of the most ubiquitous bass machines out there.
My favorite Minimoog plugin is probably Miniverse. Here’s why: it’s cheap, it’s made by Cherry Audio, and it’s the best way to capture that raw synth sound you get from plugging analog hardware straight into your audio interface.
That’s right, all the Cherry Audio synths I’ve tried so far have this weird analog character that other companies don’t capture as well usually. That’s in my very personal opinion. I don’t know, there’s just something magical about Miniverse.
It tells you what… Try it out and tell me I’m crazy.
Repro | u-he
Much like Miniverse is perhaps the Minimoog VST with the most character, I think Repro is the soft synth that gets the closest to capturing the Prophet 5’s je-ne-sais-quoi.
Sparkling chords, pointy leads, lush pads… Yeah, of course, it’s all in there. But the basses… My god, the basses.
From trap to lofi, to EDM, if you want groovy basslines with a ton of delicious low-end, Repro is the synth for you. I must also praise the presets that take these classic instruments in all sorts of directions.
Even if you owned a mint-condition Prophet 5 autographed by the late Dave Smith himself, this would still be a no-brainer of a purchase.
SubLab XL | Future Audio Workshop
If you’re tired of the same old plugins that aim to recreate synths of the past, why not try something a little different. Something - dare I say - modern…
SubLab XL is exactly that. Everything about it screams: “This isn’t your grandma’s synth bass!!” from its flashy color scheme to its inspiring presets. There’s also a musical blob, in case you were in the market for that.
This might be better suited for the trap or the hip hop producer, since its presets tend to cater to the type of sounds you’d find in modern chart-topping productions. Yet, it’s engine that lets you combine a wide variety of samples and a powerful synth engine are easy to tweak to make any genre you want.
I also like how purchasing the XL version of the VST gives you a lifetime access to all the future preset packs that will be released. And recent packs have been branching out in interesting territories!
If you’re adventurous and you’re tired of turning fake knobs and tweaking fake sliders on vintage synth emulations… If you’re feeling adventurous, or you think you’ve heard it all, SubLab XL might be the instrument for you.
Analog Lab Pro | Arturia
It’s hard not to mention this one when you recommend soft synths. Opening Analog Lab Pro is like being teleported in a room where all your dream synths are having a casual dance party. Oh, and you can recall pretty much any patch from the history of music at the click of a button.
That’s right, with this powerhouse, Arturia gives you almost infinite possibilities. So whether you’re looking for a Minimoog reese bass, a TB-303 squelchy lead or a funky Prophet thump, you’ll find it in there.
I’m a big fan of Arturia, although sometimes I wish their presets sounded a little dirtier, or less polished.
You sometimes need to do a little bit of tweaking to get that analog character. But that’s a very minor complaint about what’s probably the most exciting synth VST in the world. Friends don’t let friends make music without it.
Monoment Bass | Softube
You have to hand it to Softube, they make a good VST. Monoment Bass is one of the company’s original instruments, and I do love how they made something unique that’s not just a reproduction of a popular vintage synth.
Monoment Bass works with sounds sampled from a collection of hardware to achieve a modern and edgy sound. It’s made with modern production in mind, so it sounds great out of the box, and you don’t have to waste a bunch of time mixing it and suppressing its flaws.
Great architecture, great filter… Great everything! I hope Softube has more of these interesting instruments up their sleeve.
FEM-BASO | Meat Beats
A dark horse has entered the chat.
Chances are that if you don’t make left-field dance music you might not have heard of Meat Beats, the boutique company between a few very interesting ROMpler-style plugins.
FEM-BASO is their creation, a multi-sampled FM bass machine that comes loaded with instantly-useable sounds plucked from FM hardware old and new. FM used to sound dated, but it’s coming back in style baby, and its quirky tones are feeling more modern than ever.
Whatever kind of music you make, FEM-BASO is a great entry point into club-ready FM basslines.
Kee Bass | Martinic Audio
Once in a while, a free plugin comes around and makes you wonder: “Why exactly did I spend thousands of dollars on expensive VSTs?”
Kee Bass is one of those plugins. Modeled after a rare string bass, it can produce surprisingly deep and snappy sounds that would benefit any track, from funk to lofi. Sometimes, having too many sound sources and presets is just like having none at all. Less is more.
Martinic is really making a name for itself with this wonderful little beast of an instrument. Get Kee Bass and make music with it. It’s free, so what do you have to lose?