Best Steel Guitar Strum VST Plugins
How to choose the best steel guitar VST plugin for strumming which is most suitable for your taste? In this article, I am guiding you to choose it by analyzing the characteristics of them. It is difficult to find better plugins for strumming because most of VST companies are developed plugins for solo guitars. Fortunately, there are few plugins available almost close to real strumming sound. Here is the best steel guitar strum VST plugin list which I ranked according to their main characters. I will try my best to update this article every month when the arrival of competitive new products.
- 1. Session Guitarist - Strummed Acoustic 2 Library
- 2. Session Guitarist - Strummed Acoustic 1 Library
- 3. Indiginus StrumMaker IV Acoustic Guitar
- 4. Steinberg Virtual Guitarist 2
- 5. Indiginus StrumMaker 3 Acoustic Guitar
- 6. Ilya Efimov Acoustic Strum & Nylon Strum
- 7. 8Dio Steel String Strummer
- 8. AAS Strum GS-2 v2.3.1
- 9. Prominy Hummingbird Acoustic Guitar
Please refer to the following table which contains important things that we should consider a steel guitar strum VST plugin. I explained each character one by one after the table. I am a sound engineer and please note that all of these rankings, scoring, and reviewing are done according to my own 10 year working experiences in the music composing field.
| Rank | Name | Sustain quality (%) | Sound quality (%) | Fingering quality (%) | Sound Naturality (%) | Blend/Mix Quality (%) | File Size | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Session Guitarist - Strummed Acoustic 2 Library | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 9.6 GB compressed | $99 |
| 2 | Session Guitarist - Strummed Acoustic 1 Library | 100 | 100 | 98 | 100 | 100 | 8.5 GB | $99 |
| 3 | Indiginus StrumMaker IV Acoustic Guitar | 96 | 95 | Not available | 92 | 94 | 1.03 GB | $59 |
| 4 | Steinberg Virtual Guitarist 2 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 86 | 82 | 7.8 GB | - |
| 5 | Indiginus StrumMaker 3 Acoustic Guitar | 88 | 92 | Not available | 89 | 91 | 292 MB | $40 |
| 6 | Ilya Efimov Acoustic Strum & Nylon Strum | 86 | 85 | 86 | 93 | 82 | 2.2 GB & 1.83 GB | €99 & €99 |
| 7 | 8Dio Steel String Strummer | 84 | 80 | 77 | 82 | 74 | 6.1 GB | $198 |
| 8 | AAS Strum GS-2 v2.3.1 | 80 | 78 | Not available | 80 | 77 | 77.9 MB | $99 |
| 9 | Prominy Hummingbird Acoustic Guitar | 100 | 100 | 98 | 100 | 97 | 80 GB | $224.25 |
what is Sustain quality of steel Strumming guitar?
Sustain quality holds the feeling of steel guitar sound. It is a reverb effect of a guitar. In a real box steel guitar, sustain depends on the size, quality, and the shape of the box. It is hard to control in guitar strumming because more than one note is playing at a time. In this case, it is better to depend on the default sustain level which comes from the VST plugin.
what is Sound quality of steel Strumming guitar?
In this character, I measure how much clear that the listener can hear the sound. Sound quality means, clear level of the sound. Here, especially we need to consider the sound of the chords and chord changes (the sound that we can hear when it changes from one chord to another). In a good steel guitar strum VST plugin, both of these sounds should be able to listen clearly and separately without any clash sounds.
what is Fingering Quality of steel Strumming guitar?
Fingering is a very popular style in steel guitar playing. Few of the following mentioned strum plugins include fingering patterns. I mentioned the fingering availability in the table. There should be no clash or disturb sounds in notes when playing continuously. It should be able to hear clearly and separately. Furthermore, if the guitar is playing in the background (like a song), each note should be able to hear clearly and separately.
what is Sound naturality of steel Strumming guitar?
In this character, I measure how much steel guitar strum VST plugin can come close to a real sound of strumming. This can measure by comparing the VST strumming sound with real strumming sound. There are a lot of things that we need to consider to measure the sound naturality of a steel guitar such as pick sound, slides, and fret noises.
what is Blend / Mix quality of steel Strumming guitar?
By looking at this measurement, you can choose the best steel guitar plugin which can blend with other instruments. It means that how much the steel guitar sound can hear separately and clearly when it playing with other instruments especially in songs. This is a very important character because mix quality is a major factor that affects the quality of a music track.
Let's take the best steel guitar Strum VST plugins one by one in to action ...
1. Session Guitarist - Strummed Acoustic 2 Library
This is rank number one which brings the sound of vintage acoustic guitars. This is the best steel guitar strum VST plugin which I found at the moment when I am writing this article. This plugin has two sound categories which are six-string acoustic guitar and twelve-string acoustic guitar. Also, it has 163 dynamic patterns organized in 34 songs. The specialty is this plugin has an option to play custom bass lines or add extra notes to chords with the new separate bass patterns, and spice up your playing for the country, bluegrass, folk, and more. This VST plugin has a remarkable sound quality and sound naturality which is almost close to a real steel guitar. The downloadable file size is 9.6 GB. Here I add an official soundtrack of Sessions Guitarist from Soundcloud by Native instruments channel. Take your time to listen to it. You will feel the excellence of it by yourself.
2. Session Guitarist - Strummed Acoustic 1 Library
This is rank number two which brings the sound of real acoustic guitars. This is the second-best steel guitar strum VST plugin which I found at the moment when I am writing this article. This plugin is 95% the same to the strummed acoustic 2 libraries by characteristics such as sound naturality and sound quality, but this plugin has only one sound category which is a six-string acoustic guitar. But it includes many numbers of strumming patterns which can use for any kind of song. Like the previous plugin (rank number 1), this VST plugin also has a remarkable sound quality and sound naturality which is almost close to a real steel guitar. The downloadable file size is 8.5 GB. Here I add an official soundtrack of Sessions Guitarist from Soundcloud by Native instruments channel. Take your time to listen to the beauty of it.
3. Indiginus StrumMaker IV Acoustic Guitar
This is rank number three and this is the best customizable steel guitar VST plugin which I found at the moment when I am writing this article. You can use this plugin for any kind of music track without thinking twice because StrumMaker IV allows you to create your strumming patterns using any chords you like, with the ability to create your chords as well. Looking at the customization and controls, this plugin includes options to choose and control patterns, capo level, mutes, slides, and harmonics. The downloadable file size is 1.03 GB. This VST plugin is perfectly customizable and user friendly. Here I add an official soundtrack of StrumMaker IV Acoustic guitar from Soundcloud by Indiginus channel. Take your time to listen to it and measure the quality of this plugin.
4. Steinberg Virtual Guitarist 2
This is the rank number four and according to my knowledge, this is the first successful steel guitar VST plugin which introduced to the world. I have used this plugin a lot when I need 6/8 beat strumming patterns and fingering patterns. Looking at the customization and controls, this plugin includes options to control shuffle, timing, dynamics, stereo width, and doubling. Furthermore, articulations include hammer-ons, pull-offs, bends, mutes, and trills. The downloadable ISO file size is 7.8 GB which you can download from the official website. There are many styles and patterns which you can use for any kind of song. Some people are saying that this plugin is out of the date now. But my idea is that Steinberg Virtual Guitarist 2 is still a competitive plugin to use. Here I add a demo video of Steinberg Virtual Guitarist 2 from YouTube by Levitskiy ZVUK channel. Take your time to watch it.
5. Indiginus StrumMaker 3 Acoustic Guitar
This is rank number five which features the sound of 1955 Martin D-28 guitar. This is the fifth-best steel guitar strum VST plugin which I found at the moment when I am writing this article. You can use this plugin for any kind of music track without thinking twice because StrumMaker III allows you to create your strumming patterns using any chords you like, with the ability to create your chords as well. The downloadable file size just only 292 MB. Looking at the articulations, StrumMaker III has options to control mutes, slides, and harmonics. This VST plugin is perfectly customizable and user friendly. Here I add an official soundtrack of StrumMaker III Acoustic guitar from Soundcloud by Indiginus channel. Take your time to listen and feel the beauty of this plugin.
6. Ilya Efimov Acoustic Strum & Nylon Strum
This is rank number six, and I discuss 2 guitars in the same company which is acoustic strum and nylon strum. Both of these guitars have more than 30 techniques for chord strumming, 250 factory, and 70 custom patterns. Looking at the customization and controls, both of these plugins include options to control reverb, compressor, EQ, delay, double track, FX, and noises. Furthermore, pattern editing and chord editing options are also available in both acoustic and nylon strum. The file size of acoustic strum is 2.2 GB and nylon strum is 1.83 GB. There are many styles and patterns which you can use for any kind of song. Here I add an official soundtrack of Efimov strum from Soundcloud by ilyaefimov channel. Take your time to listen.
7. 8Dio Steel String Strummer
This is rank number seven which contains over 6000 samples spread across 13 different chord types and 12 common rhythm types. According to the standard measurements of characters, this plugin holds the seventh position in the list of best steel guitar strum VST plugins at the moment when I am writing this article. This plugin contains not only the classic chords such as Major, Minor, Maj7, Min7, Dim7, 7 used in traditional songwriting, but also contains more elaborate chords (ex. Maj7B5, 13, Aug, Sus2, Sus4, 11, 7-5). The downloadable file size is 6.1 GB. Talking about the customization and controls, this plugin has options to choose and control delay, amp/screamer emulations, lo-fi (bit-crusher), fuzz, rotator, and two different types of convolution reverbs. Here I add an official soundtrack of Steel-string strummer from Soundcloud by 8Dio productions channel. Take your time to listen and measure.
8. AAS Strum GS-2 v2.3.1
This is rank number eight which contains a collection of acoustic and electric guitars, automatic chord recognition, sophisticated chord voicing, integrated strumming, and picking actions. According to the standard measurements of characters, this plugin holds the eight position in the list of best steel guitar strum VST plugins at the moment when I am writing this article. The downloadable file size is 77.9 MB which is lightweight. Talking about the customization and controls, Strum GS-2 has a compressor and equalizer to control the color of the sound. My opinion is that this plugin provides a good strumming sound even it is lightweight. Here I add the official introduction video of AAS Strum GS-2 V from YouTube by Applied Acoustics Systems channel. Take your time to watch it.
9. Prominy Hummingbird Acoustic Guitar
This is rank number nine which delivers the true sound of Gibson® 1963 Hummingbird guitar. According to the standard measurements of characters, this plugin should be in the second or third position in the ranking list, but I put it in the eight position in the list of best steel guitar strum VST plugins due to its huge library file size. The file size is approximately 40.3 GB which is too large for a single instrument. However, it contains 89000 samples. This VST plugin has a remarkable sound quality and sound naturality which is almost close to a real steel guitar. My opinion is that this plugin provides excellent live strumming sound more than any other plugin. Here I add a demo video of Prominy hummingbird acoustic guitar from YouTube by Prominy channel. Take your time to watch it and feel the excellence of this sound.
