Here we look at the best vst plugins - both paid and free - that will help craft better beats. In fact, many of the early ones were developed to copy expensive analogue equipment again, just like virtual synths. You insert them on your instrument or audio tracks and open them up in the same way as a synth and like those virtual recreations of classic gear, plug-in effects can also emulate old gear. VST plugins have become the glue that binds many processes in music making together and have gradually become essential to everything, from mixing to creative composition.