The saxophone is one of a member of the woodwind family and is usually made of brass.
The prices of a real saxophone can be from 2,000 USD to 10,000 USD depending on the shape and sizes, the good news from a music production perspective is that you don't have to invest in actually buying a real saxophone as there are lots of virtual saxophone instrument which I'll be recommending you to some of the best free ones shortly.
A saxophone instrument can be used across most genres of music from classical music to Jazz to marching bands, and anything you can think of as long as you are creative. I occasionally use it when making afro beats. That said, let's see some of the best free saxophone VST plugins in the music production right now.
Note: Updated and Fixed The Download Links, So, There Shouldn't Be Any Problem Downloading The Plugin No More, Do Report If There is One.
Starting with...
1.) DVS Saxophone
DVS sax was the first free virtual saxophone I ever tried and my first impression was the way you could fiddle intuitively with the parameters and create unimaginable saxophone sounds. The author of this plugin pays careful attention to the way the velocity and the pitch bend effect complement the current key you are holding onto or playing.
Additionally, the DVS saxophone provides built-in reverb effects, an option to change the size of the sax, and lastly the level knob. One feature I can't do without is the auto-vibrato, it's absolutely amazing, give it a try.
System Requirements:
- Windows: Windows 7/8/10.
- VST
2.) DSK Saxophone
This is a free saxophone VST instrument from DSK that provides an option to select a saxophone type such as the Soprano and Tenor. It also features an ADSR envelope control, which describes how the saxophone sound changes over time.
An explanation of how the ADSR(Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release) works:
The Attack controls the time it takes for your sound to go from silent to the loudest levels, Decay time control how long or the time it takes to go from the loudest level to the sustain level, Sustain is the level that the sax maintains when you hold a note, and Release control how long it takes the Sax sound to return the silence after a key is released.
I personally love setting a longer release, that way, it takes some time for the sax sound to fade away, of course, play with the settings yourself.
Additionally, it features a velocity curve selector and an inbuilt reverb fx for simulating the ambiance in a recording room.
System Requirements:
- Available for Windows and Mac (32 and 64 bits)
- VST/AU
3.) IOWA Alto Sax
IOWA Sax VST plugins is a sampled alto saxophone from the University of IOWA Electronic Music Studio, it features an ADSR envelope control that controls how the Alto Sax sound change over time. It also features a gain knob, and pan parameters to control the position.
Download IOWA Alto Sax, experiment, and make great music away!
System Requirements:
Available as a free download for Windows and Mac (VST/AU/AAX).
Download IOWA Alto Sax MAC VST
4.) DSK Saxophonez
This is a newish and rebranded version of the original DSK Sax that features 3 Saxophone types Soprano, Alto, and Tenor. I really dig the features added in this Sax such as the micro-detuner, high-pass/low-pass filter, 2 fx(reverb & chorus) and so many more.
Download and enjoy the beauty of the DSK Saxophonez.
System Requirements:
- Available for Windows only
5.) Naokit 72 Saxi Player
Saxi player is a free saxophone by Naokit and provides 3 types of saxophone sound Soprano, Alto & Tenor Sax. Also, it comes with some handy parameters and effects such as Reverb, Attack/Release control, Tangling control, Expression, Vibrato, and more.
I would be honest with you, I had some issues getting this to work, for example, you can't hold two notes together, probably because it supports only monophonic sound, so, the way to fix this is to play one note at a time or render different notes and stack them on top of each other, feel free to experiment with it, at least, it is free, thus we should appreciate that.
System Requirements:
Only works on Windows (32-bit)
6.) IOWA Soprano Sax
Similar to the IOWA Alto sax, the IOWA soprano sax is also a sample soprano saxophone from the University of IOWA Electronic Music Studio. It also gives you the option to control the sax sound through the ADSR envelope module.
System Requirements:
Available as a free download for Windows and Mac (VST/AU/AAX).
7.) Alpine Project Sax
This is a free Kontakt library Alto Sax instrument, it uses a sample from the University of IOWA MIS.
Enjoy away!