Last updated on December 31st, 2023 at 08:44 pm
Finding Sitar plugins is already pretty hard, but finding good-sounding ones is even harder, especially if they are free!
In this post I’ll list the handful I could find that are worth using!
Let’s get started!
Free Sitar VST Plugins
Indian DreamZ by DSK (Windows Only)
DSK is well known for creating loads of free and pretty cool-sounding plugins.
Indian Dreamz is no different…
It features a couple different typical Indian instruments which work pretty damn well!
These instruments are; Sitar, Sarod, veena, Tar, tampura & Tabla.
All in all, it’s a great plugin, absolutely give it a shot!
Features
- 6 Indian Instruments: Sitar, Sarod, veena, Tar, tampura & Tabla.
- Velocity response.
- Amp. envelope and micro-detuner.
- HP/LP Filter.
- Midi automation.
You can download it here.
Related: Here’s a list of the best free Piano VST Plugins.
Syntar by Syntar (Windows only)
Syntar is a VST instrument designed
to fulfill your every sitar sound requirement.
For best results play with droning continuous bass notes and a higher melody
line.
Built in soft distortion, delay and flanger effects make it easy to tweak the Syntar to fit your style of music perfectly.
You can download it here.
Related: I wrote a list about the best Indian Instruments VSTs out there. (Some of the ones on this list are on there as well, but check it out!)
Real Sitar Player by RDGAudio (Windows, Mac)
Real Sitar is a sample-based Instrument.
It has been sampled from Asian and many types of real Sitar Instruments.
Sampled with 4 Mic Position, it is velocity sensitive instrument with built in Round Robin Presets.
It comes with Win 32-64 bit VST, VST3, AU and Mac VST plugins.
Real Sitar is free but you can purchase the expansion pack for about $50.
You can download it here.
Free Sitar Samples and Loops
One way of getting cool sitar sounds is by directly downloading the samples/loops that other people recorded.
You can find some pretty cool-sounding ones on Looperman as well as SampleFocus.
Check those websites out and see what awesome samples you can find!
Now, if you truly want great sounding Sitar plugins, then check out the next ones…
Premium Sitar VST Plugins
Bizarre Sitar by Soundiron (Windows, Mac)
Note: Bizarre Sitar only works with the full version of Kontakt 5.5 or later.
Bizarre Sitar may not seem so strange at first glance.
It has most of the elements found on any other sitar, with its traditional gourd body, both main playable strings and sympathetic resonating strings, parda, kunti, dandi, ghoraj, all complete with orange hand-painted accents.
It’s barely half the size of a regular sitar, that’s where the name comes from; not because it being smaller is bizarre, but it’s bizarre that the tone is as full as the one of a normal sized sitar.
The Bizarre Sitar includes chromatic plucks as well as strumming articulations. Two main strumming tunings include a fifth and octave/unison.
Features
- Bowed (staccato, tremolo and sustains)
- Plucked (10x rr, 5-6 velocities)
- Strummed (10x rr, 4-8 velocities)
- FX (includes mutes, scrapes and other special effects)
- Ambiences created from the source material
Find out more about Bizarre Sitar here.
Classical Indian Sitar by Indian Loops (Windows, Mac)
This is not a VST plugin, but rather a collection of royalty-free sitar samples that you can use in your own commercial projects.
It features over 500MB of genuine Sitar melodic lines and phrases, with loops spanning over a range of keys, tempos and playing styles to guarantee you’ve got the sounds you need.
Additionally, an array of glissandos have been included to help add interest to your transitions and breakdowns.
Find out more about the Classical Indian Sitar here.
You’ll need a MIDI Controller
In order to be able to use these plugins properly, you will need some sort of MIDI Controller.
While you can use your mouse to map the MIDI in your DAW, it’s a lot faster and easier to do it with a keyboard/controller.
My recommendation here is for you to get something like the M-Audio Oxygen 25 MK IV MIDI Controller which you can find at Amazon at a very affordable price, plus it comes with some extra software like Pro Tools First.
Conclusion
I know this is a very short list, especially when compared to all the other articles I wrote about VST plugins, but there simply aren’t as many good Sitar plugins out there.
Start with the free ones and see how you like them, if you don’t then simply move on to a premium one.
I hope this information was useful.
Have a wonderful day!
