13 VSTs With Modern Sounding Plucks

Choosing or buying the right VST plugin is always a battle,

Especially for a beginner that is just getting into production,

trying to figure out their way around software and VST.

If you’re looking for high quality modern sounding plucks I recommend the Omnishpere Vst plugin as a starting point.

with that said, finding good sounding original plucks to use for your own production can be quite the challenge.

So, what is a pluck?

A pluck, usually used in electronic dance music, is a melodic sound that has percussive sound properties.

It is used by most EDM producers

like Calvin Harris, Major Lazer and DJ Snake.

Plucks are not only restricted to EDM,

these days you can hear them in most modern pop music.

To have all the bases covered let me introduce you to some VSTs I consider when I’m looking for modern sounding plucks.

1. Serum

when it’s comes to electronic music production this plugin is definitely worth a mention.

you’ll find alot of sounds in this plugin that you can use in your music,

but I’d advise you to also scout the internet for edm presets and edm sound sets in order to have variety.

otherwise this is a really good plugin and it can take care of all your pluck needs.

Serum also makes for easy sound design so you’re definitely in for a treat,

it has sounds that can inspire EDM, Future Bass and Dubstep.

therefore if the music you make falls under any of these categories, you’re pretty much covered.

2. Ecliptiq Dawn

this plugin is developed by a fairly new company that has is focused on creating Kontakt libraries.

it is known for its plucks, keys and synths.

most of the sound sources in ecliptic Dawn are more pluck based with one shot synths.

I love this plugin because it has a beautiful interface design.

plus it has a great variety of sounds and sound sources, which are of high quality.

this is what you would typically go for in a plugin.

therefore if your looking for an edm based plugin that can provide you with great plucks,

you might want to check this one out

3. Massive

I’ve been using this plugin for years and it’s quite brilliant.

developed by Native Instruments,

massive offers an accessible interface and does not put much of a strain on your processor.

this plugin and Serum are complete playgrounds for sound designers.

offering the best tools that are easy to use.

it provides great leads, plucks, digital pads and textures that you can implement in your music production work.

it is an all round good plugin that works for a variety of music genres.

you’ll also find all sorts of presets available online that you can use in the plugin.

my particular favourite preset pack for plucks is called Hy2rogen

and another one called EDM massive presets.

Massive is definitely worth checking out.

4. Omnisphere 2

what truly separates omnishpere from other plugins is its vast library of sounds (boasting over 14,000) sounds.

it has a wide variety of sound sources that will have you sorted for a very long time.

every producer likes fresh sounds, and we can all agree that 14,000 sounds is a lot of sounds to go through.

it offers some good plucks but you’re better off scouting for EDM patches online or simply designing your own inside the plugin.

Omnisphere covers both soft and hard synths which you can fully utilize to your own liking.

it is pretty expensive but it well worth the money in my opinion.

so check it out and see if it would be worth it to you.

5. Lethal from lethal audio

this is yet another plugin that has made quiet a name in the edm space.

lethal is primarily a modern dance rompler and a sample based synthesizer.

it has a sound library that consists of over 2000 sounds that deliver both laid back atmospheric sounds and aggressive sounds.

most of these sounds can heard in most modern dance music.

one cool thing I love about this plugin is definitely because it has an easy to scan library,

with everything well presented in various categories.

it comes with various expansion packs and I’d advise you check out the XO2 EDM Expansion because it comes with a lot of plucks to choose from.

an overall great plugin if you ask me.

6. Spire

this is yet another plugin that has made a name for itself in the producer community.

once I listened to its demo sounds on YouTube,

i immediately bought it because it has top notch samples.

this plugin takes the word analogue to a whole new level.

it is a great source for original sounding plucks ,

you might also want to spend an extra 20 bucks on the Essential Pluck Presets for Reveal Sound spire preset pack to have the ultimate experience.

this plugin in my opinion is the only plugin that would probably go toe to toe with Omnisphere.

comparisons aside, spire is one of the best plugins out there.

7. Sylenth 1

Not to be confused with synth 1.

sylenth is a great plugin specifically outfitted for electronic dance music.

this is one of the oldest plugins on the market, but it is still worth mentioning on this list.

it has great sounding plucks that are usable in edm and future bass.

one of the things that you’ll enjoy with sylenth is the wide variety of 3rd party presets that are available.

I am currently sitting on over 100 banks of presets, that I have purchased over the years.

this is definitely one of my favourite plugins ever.

you should definitely check it out.

8. Synth 1

I’m fairly new to this plugin, i recently bought as research for the purposes of writing this post.

one thing i appreciate about Synth 1 is the quality of its sounds,

they are clean and pretty neat as far as an analog digital synth goes.

you should definitely consider this when looking for a pluck vst.

it has a large database of sounds combined with an easy to use interface which makes it a great plugin choice for a complete beginner.

definitely worth including on this list and definitely worth checking out.

lastly, this plugin has minimal system requirements so that is yet another advantage.

9. Circle 2

the first release Circle 2 was given poor ratings by most users,

so they made a second installment of the plugin.

which is fairly good and can be a great source for plucks.

it is a great plugin for edm music and has a lot of high quality sounds.

a lot of great sound design capabilities have been brought into circle 2,

that is why I recommend it,

it would be very unfair if I left it off this list.

the 129 bucks I spent on it is pretty worth it if you ask me,

check out a demo preview of the plugin and see if it suits your style before you buy it.

10. Sunrizer

I consider this vst to be a very creative synth,

with about 400 presets and an easy to browse library of sounds.

it has a search bar which lets you search for any sound that you’re looking for.

it has fairly good plucks,

the fact that you can select more than one category also really makes it useful.

it also comes fully equipped with an arpeggiator which makes it pretty easy for you to come up with melodies and it also has midi velocity settings for each filter.

this plugin is definitely worth checking out.

it is a fairly good option if you’re shopping for pluck vsts.

11. Nexus 3

Nexus 3 is the newest version of the REFX plugin Nexus,

I’ve used Nexus 2 for a long time and it is a great plugin that also has a lot of pluck presets.

Nexus 3 on the other hand has latest additions to it that make it a great library of sounds.

it has over 2700 presets spread over 22 categories,

in which you’ll find all pluck presets that are being used in modern pop and edm.

granted it is quiet expensive but it is definitely worth it,

plus if you find that the inbuilt presets that come with the plugin are not well suited for you,

there are various nexus expansion packs that you can purchase to add to your library.

12. Zeta +

Zeta has been around for a long time and it is one of my favourite go to plugins when I’m producing pop.

it has a wide range of pluck presets to choose from and it is widely known as a soft synth.

one of the features that stands out for me with this plugin is its 6 wavetable oscillator , with different wave forms.

you could come up with amazing sounds if you’re into sound design and you can also edit sounds to make them suit your particular needs.

this plugin has great sounds and it is definitely worth checking out.

13. Hive

for anyone shopping for plucks, Hive is good one to check out.

it is a very workflow efficient vst plugin.

it has a great easy to use interface with a variety of sounds and also has an arpeggiator and effects page where you can cook up different melodies.

hive comes with 3 synthesis engines; normal, dirty and clean.

these engines allow you to change any preset and tweak it.

therefore you can do limitless sound design.

check out a demo preview of the plugin before you purchase it