Here’s something I don’t like to admit: I’m a terrible guitarist. Sure, I know the chords and scales and such, and I strum something out, but it can get messier than a famous drag queen disparaging transgender women. Thus, I was left wondering what a terrible guitarist can do when they want to get their tracks down, but don’t have small fortune to spend on session guitarists.
I scavenged the underworld (aka the Internet) for solutions, focusing on getting a utility for a strumming guitar. Clearly, I wasn’t the only person with this problem as I found an overwhelming amount of options. As is typically the case, the best options were paid VSTs. However there are some free options available.
FREE STRUMMING GUITAR VSTs:
Tag: session guitarist strummed acoustic 2 (kontakt library) Native Instruments Session Guitarist for Windows Free Download Posted on April 30, 2021 by Vstapps.
- Session Guitarist – Strummed Acoustic Library.zip Please consider keeping this site alive and supporting our work by becoming a Premium user on one of our FileHost Partner Websites: Sign up for free and become one of the millions of people around the world who have fallen in love with RagnarLink.com.
- Description: Check out part 2 (Electric Guitar Arp). Click on my profile picture to download the rest of the stems! Mood Swings Loop Pack Out Now (Download For Free) Other stems/parts (Strings, Vocals, Electric Guitar Strum, Pad and Piano Melody) and other exclusive loops, click on my profile picture and download the free sample pack - Mood Swingsl.
Below I include two different types of VST strummers. Some of you are looking for a control engine, some of you are probably looking for a stand alone sampler. The options are below.
Strummer, by Mildon.
I found this option to be a bit difficult to customize the sounds I wanted, but when you’re on a budget, it will do in a pinch. You’re not going to be able to customize this to pluck a single string, but it works well if you’re just fiddling with sounds, and have a VSTi you like. This is one of the least customizable solutions and doesn’t use its own samples.
Strummed Acoustic 2 Vst Free
A nice thing about it compared to other free and paid options is that you can use whatever sample or VSTi you already have. It was fun to experiment with non-guitar samples using this, but I would avoid it if you have a particular sound/pattern in mind as it’s a bit hard to dial it in just right.
Ample Sound Guitar M Lite (AGML).
This is a beautifully sampled instrument. There was a bit of a learning curve on this, but once I figured it out I was amazed at what I could accomplish. This is the light version of the paid product, which takes away a few options, but is still a very capable instrument. There are several free instruments available through Ample, including a bass guitar, all of which have been a huge help to me in creating guitar sounds.
One thing I really appreciate with this instrument is that you can see the strings and frets as you are playing, creating a bit of a “learn more about the guitar” feeling. I put together a track with this and sent it to a talented guitarist friend with the question, “How does this sound?” Her response was, “Who’s playing the guitar?” It convinced her, but we both could tell the guitar was too perfect. There are settings that can help create a more convincing sound, though.
I can’t recommend this enough for the price – free. A comparison chart of the free and paid version is below under the full version of AGM.PAID STRUMMING GUITAR VSTs:
Komplete Native Instruments Session Guitarist, Strummed Acoustic 2. ($99.00 USD)
I’m going to be honest here. I bought this instrument from Komplete Native Instruments and never got to use it. The problem was with the installation process. My studio is in a rural environment with limited internet, and this thing is huge. For most large files, I download them off-sight and take them into the studio on a flash drive to install. Unfortunately, this one requires you download their manager software onto the computer you will use the instrument on, then download the install file. You also have to download Komplete Player.
That’s a lot of downloading when you have poor internet access. I’m including it here because I spent a lot of time before buying it watching videos and it sounds great and seems to work like some of the other options. Plus, their support team was amazing to work with. They provided me with an installation work-around (which was overly complex for my sometimes tech-challenged self. When I couldn’t get that to work, they refunded my money. Kudos to a company for providing that support.
If you do have good internet access, no price limitations, and don’t mind all the extra stuff on your system (or already use Kontakt), you may as well give it a go.
Ample Sound Guitar MII (Not Lite, Paid, &169.00 USD).
See the information above for the AGML version, which is the free version of this instrument. Of all of them I tried, I love the Ample guitars most. The sound is great and I love the simplicity of setting up your patterns for the song (midi piano roll style) and using a midi keyboard to trigger the patterns (and chord changes). You can customize those patterns all the way down to single strings and you can trigger multiple chord voicings. The paid version provides additional features over the free version per the chart below:
I haven’t truly figured out why the chart says you only have a Finger option in the free version. I successfully “strummed” the free version. It’s likely because you can select pick or finger strum, but I stopped trying to decipher the exact meaning of this. Even with only 866 samples, the free version sounded a million times better than the AAS Strum GS-2 (below).
Applied Acoustic AAS Strum GS-2. ($199.00 USD).
If you’re going for a 90’s sampled guitar sound, this is the instrument for you. Really, it sounds like crap. Now, if you spend a lot of time with effects and don’t care that your acoustic guitar sounds more like a synth, you can almost get a real enough sound to fool a few people if your guitar is way back in your mix. Seriously, I hated the sound of this so much I spent exactly 30 seconds on it before concluding it was a big no. I’m hoping someone will correct me and I’ll learn I’m just ignorant and this is a great tool.
Strummed Acoustic 2 Vst Free Download
MusicLab Real Guitar V. ($199.00 USD)
This instrument would be my second choice in the lineup so far. It’s 2nd to Amples AGM/AGML only because of the price. Sound wise, they are very close in realism. Both involve a learning curve, but once you understand one the other comes pretty quickly as they are played similarly. I do like that the Real Guitar combines a Classic and Steel String Guitar (you choose), essentially giving you a second instrument not provided by Ample. If price isn’t a huge factor for you, then MusicLab’s Real Guitar V is a great option.
Orange Tree Samples, Evolution Songwriter ($179.00 USD).
Orange Tree Samples has some of the most beautifully sampled instruments out there, imho, and this instrument is no different. The samples are… well… amazing. The problem is, it’s runs in Kontakt. I generally try to avoid these (like the Native Instruments Session Guitarist). If you use Kontakt Player or instruments or whatever already, then this is a great option for you. It comes with numerous presets to get just the right sound. For me, anything using Kontakt is a no. I’ve got enough crap without having to install all the Kontakt crap on my computer, too. Don’t judge me.
Conclusion.
If you don’t object to Kontakt based samplers, and aren’t particularly budget conscious, you will likely love Orange Tree Samples Evolution Songwriter for your acoustic needs (other guitar samples available including those for the rockers). However, Ample Sounds stole my ears with their careful samples and customizable sound in the AGML – and the free price is a nice touch!
Strummed Acoustic 2 Vst Free Download
Haters are gonna hate though and a lot of folks argue there is no substitute for a good session guitarists. I agree. While I think a some of the higher quality ones on this list can be feed into a mix and released for public consumption, I wouldn’t recommend it if the guitar is upfront in your mix. Sure, you could spend hours and hours fiddling to get the sound just right. However, there are sonic nuances of a real guitar that are truly difficult to duplicate with even the best samples. For me, the sound got a bit tiresome because of the lack of these nuances. Even with small effect and automation changes, I felt it sounded too clean, too good, to be feel real.
My favorite uses for these instruments: (1) creating a mock-up to send to my session guitarists with little love notes like, “Can you do something like this but make it human?” and (2) finding inspiration or hearing what the guitar sounds like over something else when my guitar skills fail me.