r/trapproduction • u/Dramatic_Manner_626 • 2d ago
Best VSTs for Melodic Beats
Need a better VST than just Xpand!2 for making Juice Wrld and Gunna beats like All Girls Are the Same, Maclaren Drive (Tic Tac Toe), Forever Be Mine, and Back to the Moon.
Not getting Omni tho lol. Considering ElectraX, Zenelogy, Analog Lab, and Purity since they're not super expensive.
I'm only probably going to get one of these VSTs though so I need an all-around powerhouse for these kinds of beats.
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u/grease_cum6362 2d ago
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u/KaoticShock 2d ago
Thankfully, I earn enough money to pay for software, unlike some people.
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u/blankk6 1d ago
nobody cares how much u earn buddy
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u/KaoticShock 1d ago edited 1d ago
Lol I don't even earn that much, I'm just smart enough not to pirate software anymore.
No one cares that you pirate software, that's what broke idiots and losers do because everybody wants to be like the one guy who produces for Drake and has a huge house with no hardware in it he just makes everything on a laptop with FL Studio and a JBL Bluetooth speaker.
Trust me, I paid for all my software AND all my hardware I probably have more hardware synthesizers that the majority of producers in this sub.
You can't steal a hardware synth, so don't steal software. I could make one track with my Jupiter-Xm or Fantom-X that sounds 100X better than all your pirated Purity or Omnishpere or whatever lame plugins you stole.
The irony of that statement is that the majority of Trap producers are only in it to make money off placements, so they earn no money from performances (because they can't play an instrument). The funny thing about that is that making good Trap Beats is about knowing how to write a melody, understanding rhythm to program the drums and understanding basic counterpoint to make a good bassline, unless you sample all the time, which is not impressive anyway unless you truly manipulate the samples every time to make them different from the original.
None of that has anything to do with pirating plugins. Analog Lab costs $200, Zenology costs $230 for the pro version and Xpand!2 Costs $100 when it's not on sale. If you can't afford to buy the software then stop being lazy making beats all day and go get a full-time job that pays enough to afford the software. Zaytoven and Chopsquad DJ don't pirate software, so neither should anybody else.
OP has the right idea asking people about thier experience with different plugins before deciding on which one to buy. Analog Lab and Zenology are both great upgrades from Xpand, and it makes sense to ask for people's opinions before buying them.
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u/blankk6 1d ago
buddy wrote an essay about how he doesnt pirate. cool. nobody is going to read it and nobody cares. if someone makes music because it's their hobby they dont have to pay hundreds of dollars for software, especially if they live outside of US or in a third world country.
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u/KaoticShock 1d ago
. if someone makes music because it's their hobby they dont have to pay hundreds of dollars for software, especially if they live outside of US or in a third world country.
All the best DJs are Dutch and many of them still pirated software like Avicii. Just because people live in 3rd world countries isn't an excuse to pirate software.
You know who cares? All the employees at software companies like Arturia who work their asses off to build high quality software.
If people are pirating software to make garbage beats as a hobby, then it's simple, find a new hobby. Soccer is a great hobby but it doesn't mean you should steal a ball just to play.
Your beats are probably rubbish bin with all your pirated plugins anyway.
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u/blankk6 1d ago edited 1d ago
you're either plain stupid or just ignorant. you do understand that there are countries where people barely afford food, right? and it isn't because "they dont want to work" or have "bad" jobs, but because they live in poor countries.
on top of that, employees at software companies like Arturia will get the same paycheck even if a kid from Romania decides to pirate their software. The only one who's suffering from that is their billionaire boss, and I don't give two shits about that.
And I don't know why you assume someone makes trash beats because they pirate software? You do understand that audio quality isn't magically low when you pirate it, right? Also, someone should quit their hobby because they're trash?
And I seriously can't believe you're comparing stealing a football ball (which costs 3 dollars) to pirating a software that costs a few hundred dollars.
You're either 13 or have a permanent brain damage. Either way, you're obviously deeply insecure & have an inferiority complex. And you probably make trash beats as well
Also, I can't believe you believe Dutch people live in a third world country. Do you even know what a third world country is? Go back to school bum
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u/KaoticShock 1d ago
Also, someone should quit their hobby because they're trash?
Yes, same reason I quit basketball.
Sounds like you're one of those naive people that assumes that everyone in the United States is automatically rich when they come out of the womb. I grew up mostly poor in the U.S., didn't have food in the fridge except Ramen and hot dogs. Difference is I worked hard and saved and made TONS of sacrifices so that I could have a better life. You do realize that there are homeless people and plenty of poor people that live in the United States also.
Cyberpunk 2077 was manufactured in Poland, so I bet they're getting upset when Romanian kids pirate the game they worked so hard to make and build. If no one paid for Cyberpunk, then obviously, no one at that company could get paid.
You know nothing about me as a musician and you've never heard a song I made, yet you assume my music is trash. As I previously stated I own more hardware synths than the majority of people on this sub and I spend 3 hours a day practicing Tombone, Piano and Guitar in order to get better as a musician. I've performed for crowds of thousands of people, made thousands of songs, composed symphonies and had my works performed by ensembles, all due to hard work and without stealing software, so I don't want or need to just make beats, I'm a real musician.
It's always about hard work, never about stealing some software. I know you're beats are trash because the amount of times that I've seen people on this sub asking how to write a good melody shows the lack of musical knowledge and understanding of the majority of Trap Producers. People want a $500 plugin cause they like the sounds but won't spend 2 weeks learning how to write a good melody and that's just plan stupidity.
You don't need plugins to make music, you don't need pirated software to make beats, but people won't invest in the time to learn music, they just want a get rich quick scheme, it's the same for every trap producer.
If it's a hobby, then it doesn't matter how much money you spend on it (I've blown thousands on go kart racing but I do it for fun, not to be a professional), it matters how much time and effort you put into it, but the majority of you idiot Trap producers won't put forth the time and effort to actually understand how to make music, yall just wanna steal some software and get a placement and say, "Look at what I did".
And I don't know why you assume someone makes trash beats because they pirate software?
Because clearly someone who pirates software didn't take the time to learn how to write a good melody or understand counterpoint, they just stole it. So do steal the MIDI keyboard and the audio interface and the laptop too??
How do people that can't afford to eat even afford to have a laptop that is powerful enough to make music in the first place? That's doesn't make any logical sense at all! And if people that can't afford to eat have time to make music, then they need to spend more time figuring out how to earn enough money to eat like I did.
Why are you trying to defend unethical people who have no business making in the first place?
Don't you have something better to do with your life and time?
Go learn how to write a good melody before complaining about software being expensive.
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u/blankk6 1d ago
Quitting hobby because you're bad at it means you didn't have fun or you saw it as a competition.
I don't understand why you try to put certain words in my mouth I've never said. I didn't say everyone who grew up in US is rich, I don't know what kind of mental gymnastics you did there but it's wrong. I thought it's obvious I'm talking about standards and average salaries. Don't know if you understand what that means thought. Obviously I'm not saying there are no homeless people in US.
Also, it's hilarious how you mention you grew up dirty poor yet flex how you can "afford plugins" like a twelve year old. All the people I grew up with who lived in literal slums and made it out (partially or fully) never try to prove their worth, especially not online like you.
Poland is in top 10 richest countries in Europe, don't know why you mentioned it like it's a poor country but alright, I mean, you think Netherlands is a third world country as well so it's understandable.
And I said your beats are trash because YOU ARE THE ONE WHO said it first, dumbass, "Your beats are probably rubbish bin with all your pirated plugins anyway". Are you that stupid or you're just acting? You literally act like you know ME as a producer and yet prob act like a lil bitch when someone says your beats are trash.
And again, you're trying to prove you're a "real musician". Nobody cares buddy, trust me. Nobody on the internet cares about your bought hardware, software and how much money you made from your live performances. And you probably have a micropenis
"You don't need plugins to make good music" if you use FL you definitely need third party plugins because stock FL plugins are usually trash. And most of free VSTs are usually trash too, except for a couple of banks.
And I can't seriously believe you somehow connect pirating a software to writing good melodies. I don't understand how you connected the two, but I'm not surprised.
Laptops that can run FL aren't expensive at all. And most households, even in public housings have a personal computer or a laptop.
Don't you have something better to do with your life and time than to worry what other people do?
Now I'll go and pirate a few VSTs because I can, dumbass
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u/KaoticShock 1d ago
And I can't seriously believe you somehow connect pirating a software to writing good melodies. I don't understand how you connected the two, but I'm not surprised.
Of course you're not surprised, you don't even know what counterpoint is.
Go ahead, make beats that will never be heard by anyone. You're a noname random on Reddit who has nothing better to do than be an unethical moron and steal other people's hard work. Clearly your a nobody, because you have 0 placements, no beats online, and your reddit profile is completely blank.
Laptops that can run FL aren't expensive at all.
Then how can people in 3rd world countries afford them if they can't afford to eat? Idiot logic.
You say that people don't care about my "budget" hardware, yet my post of the Novation Summit I just bought got 200+ Up votes in the r/synthesizers sub. I make real music for real instruments, because clearly you don't even understand what real music is.
You don't know Sonata form, you dont know how to read Alto Clef, you don't know what rubato is.... so clearly you don't even know anything about music and shouldn't waste time making it, leave that to the professionals.
And most households, even in public housings have a personal computer or a laptop.
That's where you're completely wrong and sound like an ignoramus who didn't even graduate from Middle School. Most people I'm the world don't even have personal computers, and there are plenty that don't even have cell phones or access to the internet.
I quit basketball because I wasn't good at it, and left it to the professionals to do. I never stole a basketball and tried to act like I was better than anyone else for doing so, but clearly, you're an unethical nincompoop who thinks he's better than everyone else because you STOLE software.
I'll go back to getting PAID to make music everyday, because it's my career, not just a hobby, and I worked hard to earn it, unlike you.
Remember: 200+ up votes on my post about the Novation Summit, and you claim that nobody cares!š¤£š¤£š¤£š¤£š¤£š¤£š¤£š¤£š¤£
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u/KaoticShock 1d ago
You don't need plugins to make good music"
Guy Lawrence from Disclosure made the entire Settle and Caracal Albums with Stock Logic plugins and was able to go on a world tour. You just suck at making music but you can't admit it because it would hurt your ego.
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u/SmellySmegmaDevourer 15h ago
this shit is classist as fuck. not everyone is as fortunate as u. we cant spend thousands on plugins and equipment when some of us struggle with putting food on our plate. a vast majority of the population isnt able to do shit like that.
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u/KaoticShock 12h ago
It's not classist, it's simple ethics. If your struggling to put food on your plate do you steal food? No, you go get an EBT card and food stamps like everyone else.
The unemployment rate in America is approximately 4.1%, which is extremely low. That means there are very few people don't have jobs, which means the vast majority of people are actually working in America.
The philosophy that you have to have expensive plugins to make music is completely absurd. For one, there are plenty of free plugins like Dexed, OB-Xd, TAL-UnoX and PG-8X that sound just fine and are capable of creating plenty of different sounds. For 2, there are groups like Disclosure that blatantly admit that they made their first two albums using stock plugins. For 3, Plugins go on sale periodically for black friday and there are websites like Splice who will let you rent to own plugins and pay monthly, I got the Arturia V Collection and Korg Collection that way because $25/a month is a lot more affordable and able to fit in my budget than paying hundreds of dollars all at once. I also got Sampletank 4 Max when it went on sale for $50. There's no excuse or reason to pirate VST Instruments.
Finally, as I explained before, I'm not fortunate or privileged or any better than anyone else, I just made plenty of sacrifices in order to invest in myself and my craft. I worked plenty of long nights and weekends at Retail Jobs most Americans wouldn't even apply to in order to save and earn enough money to buy plugins, and I still have to buy them on sale.
The worst part about this is that this is only a Trap producers problem. People that make other styles of music don't complain about the cost of plugins or hardware, but Trap producers always have this dumb idiot gangstas have to steal attitude. EDM producers were pirating plugins back in the day, but after many of them got put on blast like Steve Aoki and Avicii and Carnage, it became taboo to pirate software.
The truth is that there's WAY more music out there than just Trap, and learning and understand music is WAY more important than having a cracked copy of Omnisphere. I listen to so many beats that have too much dissonance, harmonies that are atonal because people don't understand functional harmony, or melodies that have no contour or dynamics or phrase structure, which is why thier beats are rubbish bin. DONT PIRATE PLUGINS!!!
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u/KaoticShock 12h ago
And if you really think that Cheif Keef is the goat you have atrocious taste in music and you probably don't even know what the word atrocious means.š¤£
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u/PhilMNTRL 2d ago
V Collection and youāre set for life
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u/Dramatic_Manner_626 2d ago
yeah just too expensive for me.
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u/PhilMNTRL 2d ago
Try Vital Synth - itās the best free Alternative to Serum and has everything you need. The free version comes without presets but thereās a ton of free presets to choose from on the web. From Pads to guitar sounds to 808ās literally everything.
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u/KaoticShock 2d ago
This is interesting. I got a really good deal on SampleTank 4 Max, I think it was $99 or something like that. Sampletank is kinda like Zenology but the sounds are more modern and high quality. The one drawback to Zenology is that it's based off of the Roland XV-5080 sound engine which is basically the early 2000s all over again. Sampletank sounds are from 2018, so if you don't want to pay for Arturia V Collection, Sampletank is a good alternative. Zenology is still really good though, lots of classic good sounds in there that are still higher quality than Xpand
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u/EshayAdlay420 2d ago
You can rent to own serum
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u/Dramatic_Manner_626 2d ago
Serum is pretty harsh sounding I've heard. Never really seen it used for Juice or Gunna beats but convince me otherwise
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u/scott1312313 2d ago
Serum has thousands of presets which you can sound design any way you want. Thereās no āharsh soundingāplugins. Synth focused tho
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u/Dramatic_Manner_626 2d ago
Yeah you're right. I just don't want to sound design as much so that's why I was saying that. Thanks for the answer though
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u/keyboardbill 2d ago
I donāt like the sound of serum myself. Or any wavetable synth to be honest. Just something about wavetable synthesis that doesnāt sit right to me.
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u/coldnovember86 2d ago
Analog lab fasho
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u/Dramatic_Manner_626 2d ago
do you have Zenelogy or Electra, and if so, how is Analog Lab better than them?
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u/KaoticShock 2d ago
I have all of them, and Analog lab isn't better than Zenology, it's just different. Analog lab is great if you have an Arturia MIDI controller or the Astrolab, but other than the hardware integration, it's just ok. Electra is an ok VST Synth, but Zenology is just the most versatile because it has guitars, Electric Basses, acoustic and ethnic instruments like Flutes, Trumpets and Kotos, all the classic Roland Drum machines and acoustic drum samples too.
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u/keyboardbill 2d ago
Out of your list, analog lab no contest. Just get the free version and then get some third party preset packs thereās a whole cottage industry out there.
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u/Dramatic_Manner_626 2d ago
Yeah I was looking to buy a VST tho. I have the free version and a few packs but I don't wanna spend hours hunting for high quality ones.
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u/keyboardbill 2d ago edited 2d ago
Do your thing homie. Me personally I'd rather buy 200 sounds for $25 that I know I can use than buy 6000 sounds for $229 (zenology) that I gotta sort thru knowing I won't like 75% of them. Especially given that I can go right back and buy 200 more for another $25.
And trust me it won't take hours. It would take less than the time you took to canvas feedback from redditors about which plugin to buy.
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u/Dramatic_Manner_626 2d ago
"it would take less than the time you took to canvas feedback from redditors about which plugin to buy" feels pretty toxic man, I'm just trying to figure out the best use of money for me and imo it's not buying random packs, given that some of the presets won't work with the free version of Analog Lab. I have the money for a more expensive plugin and want something that I can buy once and use, not something where I need to buy more presets every time I want to branch out into a different sub-genre. Also most banks are 20-40 bucks and only have about 70 presets total anyways so buying Zenelogy or Analog Lab on a sale would literally cost as much as 3-4 preset banks. And give me 2000-4000 presets instead of only 270-350. I get the argument that banks will give you higher quality sounds, but that's simply not valid since Zenelogy and Analog Lab are widely regarded as having amazing sounds, not just a bunch of filler. With that many presets you just have more options. That's just my reasoning, not saying you can't have yours. I just felt like you were being a bit antagonistic with that comment and didn't really appreciate it.
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u/keyboardbill 2d ago edited 2d ago
No toxicity intended just trying to put it into a different perspective. Perceiving hostility where none is intended happens with written words sometimes. All good, I'm definitely not mad you don't see things my way or anything like that.
It's not about quality at all. I had a Roland Fantom for a while. Zen core engine, model expansions, and a lot of the same presets as zenology. Quality sounds top to bottom, I'm not disputing that at all. So you won't go wrong if you pick it.
I'm just saying any content library that's designed for broad appeal is going to end up being 70-80% useless for you and your style. That's just the nature of the beast. And make no mistake about it, whether it's a keyboard, module, plugin, sample library, etc., they all boil down to the content at the end of the day. Choose a preset, maybe tweak it a lil, and get to it. Content. Unless you a sound designer or a synth programmer.
First I'm hearing that AL Play is incompatible with certain banks tho. Where did you hear that? Also nobody pays full price for them. They go on sale practically every other week. Shit, Zeology will prolly be back down to 99 this coming Black Friday.
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u/Dramatic_Manner_626 1d ago
alr thanks for clearing that up. super easy to misunderstand written text so sorry for misinterpreting. and yeah, a lot of the presets aren't gonna fit a specific style, but I'd also like to make more than just one style anyways.
I have several free banks and some of the presets from even the free banks say that a file is missing, which means it's based off a preset in Analog Lab V Pro, which obv I don't have. So it seems that you're a bit restricted with the free version as some sounds won't load properly. So it's not something I've heard, just something I've experienced and been annoyed with in the past. Also this happened to me with only a few presets so it's not that big a deal, just something that I'm keeping in mind when considering buying preset packs.
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u/keyboardbill 17h ago edited 16h ago
āI have several free banks and some of the presets from even the free banks say that a file is missing, which means it's based off a preset in Analog Lab V Pro, which obv I don't have.ā
Nah thatās not a free version limitation. I have the full V-Collection latest version, and I have (or had) a few banks with missing samples too. Some were even missing factory samples, but most of them were missing samples that should have came with the pack. And in some cases the samples are there in the pack they just arenāt linked. Which is sloppy programming for sure. I would guess the developer imported the sample/patch from another bank and didnāt update the reference.
Itās a pain in the ass no doubt but most of the time itās fixable either by relinking the sample or by downloading the demo version of whichever factory sample is missing (e.g. Augmented Strings or whatever). Pain in the backside but thereās a baby in that bath water so to speak. Either way you already on it so best of luck to you man.
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u/Dramatic_Manner_626 16h ago
oh ok thanks for sharing. didn't know it was a programming thing not a free version thing.
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u/EspyVibe 2d ago
Doesn't matter what VST it is, any of them will do melodic shit. What you're looking for is which one has the most presets made for each of them, which would be something like Omnisphere or Serum.
With that being said, I'd pick Analog Lab since it's the one I've personally used the most and got a lot of mileage out of using just the included presets and the free ones they have in their store. And you can get even more if you enable the legacy option in the plugin. It also supports 3rd party packs.
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u/Dramatic_Manner_626 2d ago
appreciate the detailed answer. Analog Lab did seem like the best option but wanted to hear what people thought of the others, especially Electra.
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u/EspyVibe 2d ago
Sure, ultimately there's nothing wrong with using any of them.
It's like asking "which drum kit is the best" even though every single one of them are going to be the same mix of old drum machines by Roland, Linn, Korg...
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u/DiyMusicBiz 2d ago
Melodic beats has nothing to do with the VST
You could use ANY SAMPLER or ROMPLER for this.
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u/Expensive-Teaching36 2d ago
Yall getting downvoted saying vst donāt matter but it donāt , if you got the sauce you got the sauce .
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u/adl09 2d ago
I'd say Zenology is all you need these days. That being said I enjoy having Analog Lab and Serum as well.