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- Surge XT by Vember Audio. Surge XT is an impressive free and open-source hybrid synthesizer by Vember Audio. With its massive library of 2,800 patches and over 700 wavetables, it serves as an extensive tool for music producers and sound designers alike.
- Zebralette by U-he. Zebralette is a free synthesizer by U-he designed as a friendly introduction to the powerful oscillators of Zebra2. Despite being a simplified version of Zebra2, Zebralette is far from basic.
- Pendulate by Newfangled Audio. Pendulate by Newfangled Audio is an innovative and intriguing free synthesizer that breaks the mold with its unique sound generation capabilities.
- OB-Xd by discoDSP. discoDSP’s OB-Xd is a synthesizer VST plugin that draws its inspiration from the iconic Oberheim OB-X. Released in the late 1970s & early 1980s, the OB-X was a revolutionary synthesizer that was used by some of the most influential artists of the time, including Madonna, Queen, and Prince.
- Vital. In late 2020, Tytel released Vital, a freeware spectral warping wavetable synthesizer with a staggering list of features and on-board controls.
- Dexed. This free plugin is probably the closest you’ll ever get to owning a Yamaha DX7 without spending a penny! Dexed is a highly versatile synthesizer that acts as an incredibly accurate emulation of the iconic hardware synth Yamaha DX7.
- Monique Bass Synth. Monique is a monophonic subtractive VST synthesizer with an impressive range of on-board effects and modulation options. It is designed primarily for creating deep basslines and rumbling 808s.
- u-he Tyrell N6. Tyrell N6 is a gorgeous, highly intuitive subtractive free VST synth with a lot of tricks up its sleeve. The plugin was developed by u-he, a legendary audio development company well-known for creating award-winning, dynamic VST instruments and effects, such as Diva and Hive 2.
- Si Truss
- DiscoDSP OB-Xd. PC/Mac | Standalone/VST/AU. OB-Xd isn’t the flashiest synth is this round-up, nor is it the newest, despite being updated to version 2 in recent months.
- VCV Rack. PC/Mac/Linux | Standalone only. It’s debatable whether VCV Rack should be counted as a virtual synthesizer or a DAW in its own right. While it is, essentially, a digital recreation of a full, customisable modular synth, it can also host plugins of its own, mix and export multiple audio channels and be used to create full track arrangements.
- Vital Audio Vital. PC/Mac/Linux | VST/AU/LV2. Vital is the newest and one of the most advanced synths in this roundup. This is a ‘spectral warping’ wavetable synth that uses morphable sampled sounds as its oscillators, setting it apart from the virtual analogues that make up the bulk of this list.
- Newfangled Audio Pendulate. PC/Mac | VST/AU/AAX. Pendulate is described by its creators as a ‘chaotic monosynth’, which provides a decent primer for the sort of sounds you can expect from it; think weird bleeps and FX rather than classic analogue leads.
- Surge by Vember Audio
- OB-Xd by Discodsp
- Pendulate by Newfangled Audio
- Helm by Matt Tytel
- Dexed
- FB-3300 by Full Bucket Music
- TAL-NoiseMaker by Tal Software
- TyrellN6 by U-He
- Zebralette: Mini Zebra by U-He
- Exakt Lite by Sonicbits
The award-winning Surge is incredibly popular, and some even call it the best free VST synth available. This open-source hybrid subtractive digital synthesizer comes with 2,116 patches (with two scenes) and 614 wavetables, which is quite stunning already. It has a quick-category patch browser too. In addition, you get three oscillators per scene, t...
OB-Xd by discoDSP is an enduring and popular free synth based on the Oberheim OB-X, the first of Oberheim’s OB-series polyphonic analog subtractive synthesizers. Although OB-Xd emulates the Oberheim OB-X, it improves on some of its limitations. But authenticity was clearly on the developer’s mind because it comes complete with random micro detuning...
Newfangled Audio calls Pendulate a “chaotic” synth. This monosynth uses a unique oscillator design (a chaotic oscillator) on a double pendulum. Though chaotic, to be sure, it utilizes patterns of interconnectedness, constant feedback loops, repetition, self-similarity, fractals, and self-organization. Pendulate comes with wavefolder, low pass gate,...
If I knew Matt Tytel, I might say he’s outdone himself here. But I don’t, and maybe this is the quality of software he always creates. The flawlessly designed Helm comes with 32 voice polyphony, modulation with live visual feedback, dual oscillators with cross modulation and up to 15 oscillators each, unison and harmony mode, oscillator feedback an...
dexed is yet another enduring free FM synth. It’s a multi-platform, multi-format plugin based on the Yamaha DX7. The Yamaha DX7 was manufactured by Yamaha from 1983 to 1989. It was the first successful digital synthesizer, and one of the best-selling synths of all time. dexed comes with 144 DAW automatable DX7 parameters, DX input and output sysex ...
The FB-3300 simulates the KORG PS-3300 polyphonic analog synthesizer. The PS-3300 was a large, semi-modular two-piece synth with many knobs and patch points along with a classic KORG sound. Suffice it to say, the FB-3300 is considerably lighter (it’s software), easier to use, and a little more reliable. It emulates the behavior and controls of the ...
TAL-NoiseMaker is probably part of most everyone’s plugin library (mostly because it’s been around for so long). The TAL-NoiseMaker is an improved version of the TAL-Elek7ro with a new synth engine and other additions. It comes with three oscillators, adjustable master tune and transpose, up to six voices, portamento in mono and poly mode, ringmod,...
u-he describes TyrellN6 as a “sporty” synth, and we assume they’re talking about its attractive graphical user interface. The TyrellN6 was based on hardware synths with a few modules, novel features, and analog sound. It’s the software version of that, basically. As legend has it, they originally set out to create a hardware synth, but ended up wit...
u-he’s Zebralette: Mini Zebra, by their own admission, is their “Trojan Horse” to get you hooked on Zebra2’s oscillators. Zebralette has one, while Zebra2 has four. We’ll let you be the one to decide whether you want to upgrade. Regardless, the free Mini Zebra comes with one Zebra2 oscillator with a 16-slot waveset, oscillator waveform editing with...
Exakt Lite is an FM synthesizer with an intuitive, user-friendly design. From cold and harsh to warm and organic, it can do it all. Exakt Lite comes with four aliasing free operators with classic TX waveforms, 12 voices, drag-and-drop envelopes, eight classic FM algorithms with feedback on operator D, resonant filter with 24db/oct lowpass, highpass...
A Guide To The Best Free VST Plugins
Jan 1, 2024 · Dexed. Here’s another popular free option among producers and sound engineers (and there’s a good reason for it). Dexed is an FM multi-platform, multi-format plugin synth. It was designed to emulate the Yamaha DX7 and is also a MIDI cartridge librarian/manager for the DX7. Dexed works on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
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Jan 13, 2022 · By James Nugent // Updated on January 13, 2022 News. A pre-release version of the multi-band distortion plugin Fire by Wings Music is available for free download. The plugin will remain free and open-source beyond this beta release. Fire (Version 0.9.4) for macOS and Windows (AU and VST3) and source code are available from the developers Github.
