Bigcat Instruments is a project run by Joe Stevens that develops free digital musical instruments, primarily in the form of Kontakt sample libraries, SFZ instruments, and standalone VST instruments built with tools like the Maize Sampler. The project focuses on converting and packaging publicly available and Creative Commons sample material into playable instruments, with most releases distributed as freeware under CC0 or similar permissive licenses so they can be used in personal and commercial productions.

The catalog spans a wide range of sources, including orchestral and chamber instruments (such as the Sketching Chamber Orchestra built around Versilian Studios' VSCO), acoustic and electric pianos, organs, basses, guitars like the Cute Emily Guitar, choirs and vocal instruments, wind and reed instruments, and folk instruments from around the world such as the Colombian tiple and the Korean kayageum. Libraries are typically light on disk footprint, leaning on Kontakt's lossless compression and simple scripted interfaces rather than deep multi-sampling.

Bigcat Instruments is distributed primarily through its long-running Blogspot site and companion VST blog, with downloads hosted on file-sharing services. It has built a following in the budget and hobbyist producer community as a go-to source for free sampled instruments, and its releases are regularly covered by sites like Bedroom Producers Blog, Rekkerd, and KVR Audio.

Bigcat Instruments has 1 product cataloged on Equipboard, including Synth Plugins.