Your first session with the free Fat Berry tools

Start with two original MIDI parts

Download a four-bar bass phrase and a separate chord part, both in 4/4 at 100 BPM. They contain notes rather than audio or plug-in presets. No mailing-list signup is needed for these exercises; the free plug-ins still use your own Fat Berry account.

• Download the monophonic bass MIDI
• Download the polyphonic chord MIDI
• Read the import instructions and reuse terms
• Download the session and settings worksheet

1. Import the files onto separate instrument tracks. Check your host's tempo-import choice.
2. Use a bass patch for the bass line and a polyphonic patch for the chords. Adjust the note range if the patch needs it.
3. Balance the two parts, save the session, then add one effect for a named job.

These are original, sample-free exercises you can edit and use in commercial music under the included CC0 terms. They are not a DAW compatibility or performance test.

Hear and inspect the tools in this guide

Loop the same phrase, change one control at a time and compare at similar playback loudness. The linked walkthroughs are product demonstrations, not measurement results for this guide.

Pictured: Drum Berry (Instrument) — A sixteen-pad drum instrument: synthesis machines plus a one-shot library.

Watch the Drum Berry video walkthrough →

Watch the FB-60 video walkthrough →

Download the free plug-ins ($0, no card) and follow along →

Install a compatible release

The free collection uses an account and individual licences. Check current formats and system requirements, then download the entitled platform installer. A payment card is not required by the free claim flow.

Use the installer and documented host rescan controls. A missing plug-in is a setup problem to diagnose with the versions and error, not a reason to rename binaries or disable security.

Find the instrument before troubleshooting the notes

Use the current installer for your operating system, architecture and plug-in format. A Windows x64 VST3 installer is not a macOS Audio Unit; Logic uses Audio Units rather than VST3. Download only the release actually listed in your account for the chosen product.

In REAPER, inspect Preferences > Plug-ins > VST and its scan controls. Standard global VST3 locations include C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3 on Windows and /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3 on macOS. Use the official host instructions for your version and the location selected by the installer.

An instrument receives MIDI and produces audio. In Ableton Live, put the instrument on a MIDI track; audio effects go after an instrument or on an audio/return track. Confirm the track input, monitoring and output before blaming a silent MIDI part on the preset.

1. Confirm the installed product version, format and operating-system requirements on its product page.
2. Locate the plug-in in the host browser and insert it on the correct track type.
3. If it is missing, use the host’s documented scan process and record the exact error. Keep the installer and security checks intact.
4. If it loads but stays silent, check the MIDI note range, input/monitoring and audio output. Send those details to support if the problem remains.

Build two parts

Import the supplied bass and chord MIDI onto separate instrument tracks. Choose patches that suit their note ranges and balance the parts. If you want a beat, add Drum Berry on a separate track and choose its own pad notes.

Keep the arrangement small enough to understand. Save the working patch and session before collecting more sounds or effects.

Give effects a job

Use Band Practice for EQ and Copy The Dog for delay/reverb. They are not tape emulations. Compare additional processing at similar playback loudness.

Use current licence and product guidance for activation details. Free alone implies neither universal offline operation, MIDI learn, zero latency nor a guaranteed CPU capacity.

1. Install one compatible release.
2. Build two complementary parts.
3. Save before expanding the chain.

Save a repeatable session, not just a sound

Use the supplied worksheet to record the host version, installer format, instrument patch names, note transposition, track levels and the one effect you chose. Patch names and control ranges depend on the release: write down the actual values shown in your session rather than copying a setting for a different product.

Keep one version with only the two instrument parts. Save a second version after adding the effect, so you can return to the original arrangement and understand what changed. These are original practice resources; they do not claim a completed compatibility test.

1. Set or confirm 100 BPM and import the bass and chord parts on separate instrument tracks.
2. Choose a monophonic bass sound and a polyphonic chord sound that fit the supplied note ranges. Lower playback level before auditioning a new patch.
3. Name one change you need: tonal balance, a repeat in a gap, or a different instrument role. Add only the tool that performs that job.
4. Save the two session versions and complete the worksheet. If a plug-in does not appear, use the host installation guide with the exact OS, format and version.

Share what you made, if you want to

Send a short original example or ask for feedback on your first session. Private feedback is the default. Sharing does not subscribe you to marketing, and praise is never a condition.

Side-by-side comparison of related plug-ins

Compare the Fat Berry DSP plug-ins referenced in this guide by price, category, formats, and primary studio role. Every licence is a perpetual single-user licence (3 machine activations, 14-day full refund policy).

References and comparison method

An explanatory guide based on the linked product specifications and host documentation. Suggested listening steps are a method for your session, not a report of a controlled experiment. Behaviour depends on the release, source and settings.

Use the actual product controls, compare at similar playback loudness and check the result in the arrangement. Settings and behaviour vary by recording and software release.