Best VST Plugins For Ballad Music
How to choose the best VST plugins and loops which are most suitable for your ballad music track? In this scenario, we need to consider about 2 types of VST plugins. They are loops and instruments. In this article, I am listing some marvelous VST loops and VST drum instruments that can push your ballad music track to the next level. I will try my best to update this article every month when the arrival of competitive new products.
I do not discuss details about VST drum instruments because I already discussed some of them in the article under the best VST instruments category. So, let’s consider the loops. Loops are live recorded instrument parts or arpeggios which can adjust according to the tempo of your music track. By using quality and suitable loops, you can increase the quality of your music track or song up to a professional level.
Please refer to the following table which contains important things that we should consider about ballad VST loops. 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.
| Number | Name | Sound Naturality (%) | Blend/Mix Quality (%) | File Size | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Big Fish Audio Steel & Wood Songwriter Acoustic Sessions | 100 | 99 | 2.8GB | $129.95 |
| 2 | Big Fish Audio Dieguis Productions Ambient Piano | 98 | 99 | 6.2GB | $99.95 |
| 3 | Big Fish Audio Guitar Soundscapes | 97 | 95 | 6.6GB | $129.95 |
| 4 | Big Fish Audio Quiky Guitars Vol.2 | 94 | 95 | 2.9GB | $69.95 |
| 5 | Big Fish Audio Coffeehouse 2 | 85 | 88 | 5.94GB | $129.95 |
| 6 | Toontrack Ballads Ezkeys Midi | 84 | 86 | - | €23 |
what is Sound naturality of Loops?
In this character, I measure how much the instruments of the loops can come close to the real sound of real instruments. This can measure by comparing the loop sounds with real instruments.
what is Blend / Mix quality of Loops?
By looking at this measurement, you can choose the best VST loop which can blend with other instruments. It means that how much the sound of the loop 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 Ballad vST Loops one by one in to action ...
1. Big Fish Audio Steel & Wood Songwriter Acoustic Sessions
This is rank number one which includes 25 songwriter acoustic session construction kits of guitar loops. This plugin holds the first position in the list of best ballad VST loops at the moment when I am writing this article and personally this is my favorite plugin in Big Fish Audio. I highly recommend this library because these loops have an excellent sound quality and sound naturality. You can use this plugin not only for ballad music but also for many others such as country, rock, folk, indie, and pop-country. The file size is 2.8 GB. Here I added the official introduction video of Steel & Wood Songwriter from YouTube by Big Fish Audio channel. Also, I added a song composed by me using some loops of this library. All the ukulele and mandolin parts that you hear in this song are made using this library.
2. Big Fish Audio Dieguis Productions Ambient Piano
This is rank number two which delivers ambient and cinematic piano styles. This is the second-best ballad VST loops library which I found at the moment when I am writing this article. This plugin includes acoustic piano articulations of main, chords, octaves, phrases, singles, and sfx. The file size is 6.2 GB and you need the full version of Kontakt 4.2 or higher to use the KLI version of this product. Here I added an official overview video of Ambient Piano from YouTube by Big Fish Audio channel.
3. Big Fish Audio Guitar Soundscapes
This is rank number three which includes guitar loops of cinematic and ambient guitars. This plugin holds the third position in the list of best ballad VST loops library at the moment when I am writing this article. The file size is 6.6 GB. This plugin includes delay guitar (128 audio files), slide guitar (16 audio files), ebow guitar (24 audio files), pad guitar (80 audio files), reverb guitar (43 audio files), chimney guitar (8 audio files), chordal guitar (8 audio files), rhythmic guitar (16 audio files), grunge guitar (8 audio files), ambient guitar (8 audio files), gated guitar (8 audio files), feedback guitar ( 24 audio files), slide guitar (16 audio files), creepy guitar (16 audio files), trippy guitar (8 audio files), chime guitar (8 audio files), harmony guitar (24 audio files), wah guitar (8 audio files), hammer guitar (8 audio files), slide guitar (16 audio files) and tremolo guitar (16 audio files). You need the full version of Kontakt 4.2 or higher to use the KLI version of this product. Here I added an overview video of Guitar Soundscapes from YouTube by Big Fish Audio channel. Take your time to watch it.
4. Big Fish Audio Quiky Guitars Vol.2
This is rank number four which delivers a collection of quirky melodies, rhythms, and textures. This plugin holds the fourth position in the list of best ballad VST loops library at the moment when I am writing this article. The file size is 2.9 GB. It includes the sounds of acoustic guitars (natural, detuned, and hi-strung), electric guitars (natural and processed), banjo, mandolin, slide guitars, pianos (natural and processed), xylophone, clavinet, music box, toy piano, vibes, organs, and synths. You need the full version of Kontakt 4.2 or higher to use the KLI version of this product. Here I added an official overview video of Quirky Guitars Vol.2 from YouTube by Big Fish Audio channel.
5. Big Fish Audio Coffeehouse 2
This is rank number five which delivers 15 organic construction kits from the coffeehouse music scene. This is the fifth-best ballad VST loops library at the moment when I am writing this article. This plugin includes 1227 files with 711 Kontakt patches. The file size is 5.94 GB, but the size of the KLI version is 6.12 GB. You must have a full version of Kontakt 5.8.0 to use the KLI format of this product. Here I added an official demo video of Coffeehouse 2 from YouTube by Big Fish Audio channel.
6. Toontrack Ballads Ezkeys Midi
This is rank number six which delivers a collection of chord progressions and playing styles for ballad music performed by a professional piano player. This plugin holds the sixth position in the list of best ballad VST loops library at the moment when I am writing this article. This plugin has ballad styles of the 80s leading up to the modern soul, R&B, pop, and country. You need a working installation of an EZkeys sound library to run this plugin. Here I add a walkthrough video of Toontrack Ballads Ezkeys Midi from YouTube by Jochen Reulbach channel.
Let's Look At Some Drum Libraries To Enhance Your Ballad Track...
There are hundreds of VST drum plugins in today’s market. Their sound color, feel and characteristics are different from each other. Due to that, we have to choose the drum library very carefully to our ballad music track because the beat is the major factor to shape the color of your music track. Here I added some VST drum libraries which are specifically designed for ballad music.
| Number | Name | File Size | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | XLN Audio Ballad Grooves | - | $19.95 |
| 2 | XLN Audio Black Velvet | - | $89.95 |
| 3 | FXpansion BFD Imperial Drums | 29GB | £99 |
| 4 | Toontrack Ballads MIDI Library | - | €23 |
| 5 | Toontrack AOR Ballad Grooves Library | - | €23 |
