Marimba VSTs: 5 Great-Sounding Plugins (Free and Paid)

Vital Series: Mallets: Overview

I’ve already mentioned Mallets in a previous post (xylophone VSTs), but it happens to fit perfectly with marimba VSTs.

Vital Series: Mallets is an excellent pitched-percussion plugin from Big Fish Audio, the creators of Electri6ity, Mojo 2, and Apollo: Cinematic Guitars.

The plugin includes patches for marimba, xylophone, bells, chimes, vibraphone, and others.

The sample quality is incredible — when I listened back to my studio monitors, I felt like I was listening to real performers.

Vital Series: Mallets comes with multiple mallet types allowing for more flexibility and better dynamic emulation.

Marimbaphonic: Overview

For all the composers and producers looking for a free option — rejoice. Marimbaphone is a surprisingly decent-sounding free marimba plugin.

The instrument contains 122 samples from the University of Iowa Electronic Music Studios public domain library.

The most disappointing flaw in this marimba VST is the limiting two velocity layers (hey, what can you expect, it’s free?).

Grand Marimba: Overview

I have a hard time distinguishing between Grand Marimba and Vital Series: Mallets’ marimba. They both sound so unbelievably realistic.

Grand Marimba is a fantastic marimba VST that features a 5-octave Yamaha 6100, designed with the legendary Keiko Abe.

The 6100 is a flagship instrument with precision tuning, Honduran Rosewood bars, and welded resonators (rattle-free).

Grand Marimba is a Kontakt Player instrument, meaning you do not need the full version of Kontakt to use it in your DAW.

Marimba by Frontline Producer: Overview

The significant difference from the others on the list: it includes loops. Frontline Producer includes 343 marimba loops at tempos between 100 and 127 (which can be warped to your liking).

In addition to loops is a software sampler patch, which you can use to create your parts and melodies.

Fine Mallets Bundle: Overview

Fine Mallets is an armory of seven mallet percussion instruments including marimba, vibraphone, metallophone, glockenspiel, kalimba, and more.

The marimba patch sounds much dryer than others I have previously listed in this article.

There is also much less sustain, but I think it still sounds excellent and has commercial production potential.

The articulations included for the marimba patch include hard mallet, felt mallet, and big-soft mallet.

Note: the full version of Kontakt is required to use Fine Mallets.

Marimba by Cinematique Instruments: Overview

The Marimba by Cinematique Instruments presents an impressive range of features, boasting a 5-octave span from C2 to C7. The instrument has been meticulously recorded with close-up condenser microphones, such as the Schoeps MK4, ensuring a rich and defined stereo sound devoid of room ambiance, allowing users to add their desired reverb later.

The developers have implemented 4 round-robin groups alongside up to 4 velocity layers, enhancing the authenticity of the sound.

Marimba by Cinematique Instruments features three distinct articulations. The hard articulation, produced using a hard plastic mallet, delivers a dry, thin sound characterized by a strong percussive attack. In contrast, the typical felt mallet provides a balanced sound, merging percussive attack with a warm richness. The third articulation utilizes a giant soft mallet, resulting in a warm, indirect tone. Notably, an articulation mixer allows users to blend the hard articulation with the medium and soft variations, creating unique sound combinations.

The Marimba also features an 8-step arpeggiator, enabling users to define their note selection for each step, along with additional effects such as an octaver and drive. The tremolo engine is user-friendly, facilitating easy tremolo playback upon key release. Additionally, the instrument includes six types of reverb, including a unique 'infinite' reverb, enhancing its immersive qualities.

Marimba by Loot Audio: Overview

Marimba by Loot Audio is a virtual instrument designed for use with the full version of Kontakt, requiring version 4.2.2 or higher. This instrument features a comprehensive sampling of a Robert Van Sice Artist Series Marimba, comprising 52 notes and 10,221 samples, with a total size of 6.2 GB (3.2 GB when compressed).

The user interface allows for a flexible blending of five different microphone positions: Center (Neumann TLM 103), Stereo (Neumann KM184 pair), Wide (AKG C414 B-ULS pair), Ribbon (Coles 4038 pair), and Room (Neumann u87 pair). 

Toy Marimba by AudioThing: Overview

The Toy Marimba by AudioThing is a software instrument designed for the full version of the NI Kontakt engine. This virtual instrument captures the essence of a small, handmade marimba constructed from rosewood and rope. Its creation involved restoring a pre-existing toy marimba that was in a distressed condition, which may appeal to users interested in products with a backstory.

In terms of functionality, the Toy Marimba is sampled with both wood and bamboo mallets, offering a nuanced sound palette. It features 3 Round Robin repetitions and 3 velocity layers for the main hits, ensuring a more dynamic and realistic playing experience. Additionally, the inclusion of slides and glissandos—with three speed options—adds further versatility, allowing for creative articulation and movement within compositions.

Hyperion Percussion: Marimba: Overview

The Hyperion Percussion Marimba is a comprehensive virtual marimba library that aims to deliver authentic concert playability. Captured from a full-scale Adams Alpha 5-octave rosewood marimba, the library offers a range of mallet types, including medium soft, medium yarn, and hard yarn mallets, each designed to create distinct tonal characteristics.

The Kontakt interface is equipped with an extensive suite of sound-shaping controls, enabling users to customize aspects such as swell, attack, and release. Advanced features like an adaptable LFO system and a customizable arpeggiator further enhance creative possibilities. Additionally, the FX rack panel, which includes 27 DSP effect modules.

Mallets 2 for ImPerfect: Overview

Mallets 2 for ImPerfect is a digital preset pack that successfully brings the unique tones and textures of mallet instruments to producers and composers. Featuring 60 meticulously crafted presets, it captures the essence of various mallet instruments, from the warm, resonant qualities of marimbas to the bright and clear sounds of vibraphones.

The design of Mallets 2 emphasizes both fidelity to traditional sounds and the creative flexibility synonymous with ImPerfect. Each preset is engineered to emulate authentic mallet sounds, allowing users to create both conventional melodies and innovative, abstract soundscapes.