The top 10 best VST instruments for Tech House, Deep House and House Music
With all the VST plugins currently available to everyone, it’s really easy to get stuck when choosing the right instrument for the job.
That’s precisely why we compiled this list of the best 10 VST instruments and synthesizers for producing house music and melodic techno.
So if you want to produce tracks like Fisher, Chris Lake, Green Velvet, Tale Of Us, Artbat and want to find out where they get their sounds from, this is the list for you.
1 – U-he DIVA | $199
Diva is a legit monster of a synthesizer that sounds absolutely great, and also offers an incredible variety of vintage synth emulations without switching to a different instrument, and what’s even better, is that you can combine all the different flavors and create something truly unique.
Do you want a Moog filter but a Juno style OSC? Moog oscillator but MS20 filter? No matter what you want to combine, Diva has you covered.
The instrument is perfect for deep housey basses, pads, and analog leads, and the sound will blow your mind.
The only downside is that it can be very heavy on the CPU, and in-depth programming is not the most straightforward experience.
Diva is not the only synth from u-he we are gonna find in this list, the developers seem to be on a crazy roll lately, and everything they put out gets better and better.
Link: Buy U-He Diva
2 – Xfer SERUM | $189
No “best synthesizer” list is complete without Xfer Serum.
And while it might sound like an obvious choice, we can’t deny the fact that Serum is still one of the best VST out there to create any genre period.
Many factors make this instrument so unique:
Serum sounds excellent, it’s incredibly easy to use, and the amount of control you have to shape the sound it’s just insane.
But maybe, the best thing of them all when it comes to Serum is the number of great sounds and presets available, and this is GOLD when all you want to do is produce music and flip through inspiring presets without having to worry about programming.
On that note, we have the best house presets for Serum on the market, FISHBIRD1 & FISHBIURD2, used by artists such as Calvin Harris, David Guetta, Tiesto, and many more.
3 – SYLENTH1 | $160
Yep, good old Sylenth still makes it to one of the top synthesizers for house music.
There is something about this VST that somehow no other software managed to get right, the fatness of the sounds, the way it cuts through the mix, Sylenth it’s still one of my favorite and most used synths of all times.
Great for basses and even better on big detuned leads, I also use it a lot for uplifters and downlifters fx, I don’t think I’ve ever made a song that didn’t have at least one instance of Sylenth somewhere in the project ever since I bought it.
Another great aspect is that, like it is for Serum, there are a billion great presets for Sylenth out there.
So many that would probably last you for two lifetimes, and that’s a lot of inspiration.
Link: Buy Sylenth1
4 -MONARK | $99
This synth is so underrated it makes me mad!
Native Instruments did an outstanding job with this instrument, Monark is an emulation of the classic Moog Model D, and when it comes to house music, this is something that HAS to be in your plugin arsenal.
What I love about this VST is how rich and warm the sound is, I usually use Monark for very simple sounds, but there is something about the filter, and drive that make all these simple presets sound awesome and just right!
5 GETLOW | $97
My pride and joy, Standalone-Music, and I designed this instrument to be THE perfect house and dance music weapon.
The fact that it uses samples allowed us to record some of the craziest analog gears ever created. Not just that, we were also able to run each and every sample through different hardware preamps, compressors, and other effects chains.
The result is that every presets sounds AWESOME right out of the box and requires very little programming.
Last but not least, we developed several GETLOW expansions designed explicitly for house music, making it one of the best weapons for the genre.
Link: Checkout GETLOW!
6 Phoscyon 2 | $119
You can’t talk about house music without talking about the infamous Roland 303, which along with the 808 and 909, truly shaped house music and the rave scene.
There are a few emulations on the market, still to me, Phoscyon is the best one, it offers a little bit more control over parameters, and there is something about the filter + resonance + distortion combination that just sounds perfect!
Phoscyon comes with a lot of ready to use patterns, that are fun to play with and sometimes can be very helpful when starting something new.
Link: Buy Phoscyon
7 REPRO | $149
My pride and joy, Standalone-Music, and I designed this instrument to be THE perfect house and dance music weapon.
The fact that it uses samples allowed us to record some of the craziest analog gears ever created. Not just that, we were also able to run each and every sample through different hardware preamps, compressors, and other effects chains.
The result is that every presets sounds AWESOME right out of the box and requires very little programming.
Last but not least, we developed several GETLOW expansions designed explicitly for house music, making it one of the best weapons for the genre.
Link:Checkout GETLOW!
8 – BATTERY 4 | $199
Although not technically a synthesizer, this plugin by Native Instruments it’s still by far a MUST HAVE when it comes to house music production.
I love how quickly you can load any drum sample, tweak it, and then lay down a beat within seconds.
I’ll be honest, I haven’t used this plugin a lot when it comes to actual tracks; however, it’s still my go-to whenever I make house loops for sample packs.
But then, again, I do use these loops in my tracks, so in a way, you could say that it’s still essential for house music productions.
9 – ROLAND JUNO 106 | $19.99 a month
I will be honest, I’m not a fan of Roland Cloud at all (which is so far the only way to access the Roland Juno VST), but this synth alone makes it somehow worth the price and the hassle.
The Roland Juno 60 is such an iconic synthesizer and has been used in countless tracks since its release in 1982; it is also massively used in the soundtrack for blade runner and the main theme of stranger things; the sound of the Juno screams 80s, and I love what Roland has done with this VST.
This plugin is perfect if you produce house music, and it’s even better for melodic techno and deep house.
I use this synth primarily for arpeggiated plucks (the arp is so much fun), simple analog leads, and especially pads.
The Juno has a fantastic built-in chorus that makes everything you ran through it sound incredibly wide, full and warm, try it with a pad, and thank me later.
10 – KORG M1 | $99.99
Keeping the best for last on this list of best vst instruments for tech house.
I don’t think there is a synthesizer that contributed to shaping the sound of house music as much as the Korg M1.
Piano 16 and Organ 2 are possibly the most used presets ever in the history of house music, and what’s funny is that they are still massively used to this date by house producers like Chris Lake, MK, and many more.
The M1 VST comes with 2700 presets (yes, you read that right) and thousands of waveforms; you can stack sounds on up to 8 layers and individually control envelopes, filters, LFOs, FXs and more.
The Korg M1 is a monster of an instrument; it’s always fun and inspiring to play with, and browsing through presets not only brings up fun memories but somehow always puts me in the mood to produce some feel-good house music.
Link: Get KORG M1
CONCLUSION
These are some of my favorite and most used tech house vst instruments.
I love how, in this digital age, we have the opportunity to use emulations of vintage synthesizers with amazing results and at an accessible price.
Have you discovered something new on this list?
Do you have some hidden house music VST gem?
Follow us on Instagram (@standalone_music) and let us know in the comments!
