Top 5 FL Studio hardstyle plugins! In this post, you’ll discover the 5 best VSTs for making hardstyle, rawstyle, or hardcore music. They’re all third-party VSTs (Instruments & FX) suitable for FL Studio, Ableton, Logic Pro, Cubase, and more.
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The 5 best FL Studio plugins
If you want to know my top 5 favorite FL Studio plugins, check out my post: 5 Best FL Studio Plugins for EDM. I’m a big advocate of using FL Studio stock plugins. They’re awesome and I use them very often.
Tip: If you’re new to FL Studio, start first with the FL Studio Beginner’s Guide (self-affiliated).
The 5 best hardstyle plugins
For today’s list, keep in mind that these are my personal top 5 hardstyle plugins. Your list might be different. But for each entry, I have some reasons why I like to use that particular VST.
Without further ado, these are my top 5 best third-party plugins for hardstyle, rawstyle, and hardcore, or actually any type of EDM.
5. FabFilter Pro Q (Equalizer/EQ VST)
- It’s easy to use.
- You can EQ sounds based on notes, frequencies, and monitor with analyzers.
- You can shape sounds precisely with the many options available.
My best use: Mixing and layering.
4. Izotope Ozone (Mastering VST)
- It has a flexible design.
- There are many different tools available in a single plugin.
- It’s very diverse for shaping your sound or mix.
My best use: Mastering tracks.
3. Izotope Trash (Distortion VST)
- It’s easy to use.
- There are many different distortion types available.
- You can shape each distortion type in a variety of ways.
My best use: Making distorted kicks and screeches.
2. Massive (Synthesizer VSTi)
- It can produce sick sounds.
- It’s very flexible and has endless possibilities for creative sound design.
- You can automate almost every parameter.
My best use: Making screeches and distorted leads.
Honorable mention: Valhalla (Reverb VST)
- It’s a great sounding high-quality reverb with many rooms to choose from.
1. Sylenth1 (Synthesizer VSTi)
- One of the easiest, lightweight synths to use.
- It has a very clean sound.
- It’s flexible for creative sound design without being overwhelming.
My best use: Making leads, strings, or “trancy” sounds.
What are your favorite hardstyle plugins?
Do you agree with my list? What are your favorite hardstyle plugins? Do you have a different top 5? Let me know and leave a comment below this post.
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Hardstyle plugins shortlist
Quick VST list! The top 5 +1 hardstyle plugins in this post:
- FabFilter Pro Q 2
- iZotope Ozone
- iZotope Trash
- Massive (from Native Instruments)
- ValhallaRoom
- Sylenth1 (from Lennar Digital)

