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- u-he Zebralette. Urs Heckmann, founder of u-he, spoils us with several excellent free software synths. Tyrell and Podolski have been around for years and are still very popular.
- Vember Audio Surge. The wavetable synth “Surge” by Vember Audio definitely deserves a place on this list of the best free software synths. Yes, you read that right: Wavetable synthesizer, free of charge.
- Cherry Audio Voltage Modular 2. Cherry Audio Voltage Modular is a powerful virtual modular system, and the mini version called Nucleus is available for free!
- Eventide Pendulate. Pendulate emerged from a collaboration between Eventide and Newfangled Audio and offers a novel sonic concept derived in part from ideas developed by Don Buchla.
- 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.
- Free Plugin Synths at A Glance
- Vital
- Digital Suburban Dexed
- Codsp OB-Xd 2.0
- Surge Xt
- Tal Noisemaker
- Martin Lüders PG-8X
- Wavewarden Odin 2
- U-He Tyrell N6
- NUSofting Sinnah
VitalDigital Suburban DexeddiscoDSP OB-Xd 3.0Surge XTVital’s self-titled free synth, released in 2020, is a powerful spectral warping wavetable synth with tons of features. While there are paid-for versions with more presets, custom skins and a cool text-to-wavetable feature, even the free version of Vital is an absolute steal. It has wavetable and spectral morphing, loads of modulation capabilities,...
Frequency modulation (FM) synthesis has a bit of a rep of being difficult to master, mostly due to Yamaha’s DX7 – the hardware FM synth that defines the genre. The DX7 was incredibly popular in the 80s and 90s, though, and you can hear it presets on countless pop hits. Dexed, created by Digital Suburban, is an open-source DX7 clone, and while it sp...
The OB-X is a fat and warm-sounding, highly sought-after hardware polysynth, released by Oberheim in 1979. It barged its way to prominence in the 80s with the help of Jean-Michel Jarre, Herbie Hancock, Van Halen and Queen– among plenty of other artists. OB-Xd by discoDSPfaithfully emulates the renowned OB-X polysynth. It integrates modern features ...
Used by the likes of Roger Linn, Surgeis a free, open-source software synth that was, until 2019, a paid product. Rebranded as Surge XT in 2020 and having gone through various updates since then, this subtractive hybrid synth features three oscillators per voice with eight oscillator algorithms plus oscillator FM/ring modulation to quickly mutate y...
NoiseMaker builds on the success of TAL’s Elek7ro synth and is a relatively straightforward virtual analogue soft synth. Despite its simplicity, with three oscillators, several different filters and a pleasing amount of modulation capabilities, it can make some seriously powerful sounds. Built-in effects such as a reverb, bitcrusher and Roland Juno...
Roland’s synth legacy from the 1980s is impressive, and the freeware community has paid homage to the brand’s legendary line of instruments in abundance. The PG-8X is based on the popular JX-8P, an analogue subtractive six-voice synth with digitally controlled oscillators and a separate programmer, the PG-800. And it’s from this programmer that sof...
Reason’s legendary wavetable synth, Thor, gets the freeware treatment from TheWaveWarden with Odin 2. The 24-voice VST3 plugin is still in beta but features 11 oscillators, over 30 different waveforms and 12 different filters. The filters include emulations of Moog’s classic Ladder filter, Oberheim’s smooth low-pass filter and the aggressive Korg 3...
u-heregards the Tyrell N6 as a “compact, sporty synth”. Inspired, the brand says, by design concepts for hardware, it’s a virtual analogue synth with two oscillators, noise, ring modulator, and twin filters reminiscent of the u-he’s aforementioned Diva model. With two LFOs featuring eight waveforms and host-syncing capabilities, you can churn out a...
One of our classic choices gets an inclusion again, thanks to an update to v1.1 a couple of years back. At first glance, Sinnah has a simple architecture, but also boasts a large delay matrix, plus five waveshapes and the ability to increase the level of harmonics for each. It’s able to sound both acoustic and very electronic, so can be used for a ...
Apr 21, 2021 · Other free synths for Windows include Aeolian Mediation, an additive synth; Defiant, a hybrid wavetable synth; and Shruti Box, a synth inspired by the traditional Indian drone instrument. See the Ocean Swift site for details.
Jan 29, 2021 · Instant download, no signup required. Link: https://github.com/asb2m10/dexed/wiki/Dexed-as-a-DX7-editor. Cobalt [Win] - Mono/Poly. No, not the Modal Cobalt, but the one designed by Leslie Sanford, Cobalt is a digital hybrid-style synthesizer with two oscillators and a big focus on modulation.
Jan 1, 2024 · 25 Best Free VST Synth Plugins 2024 – Create Pro Sounds. By Ryan Harrell. Last Updated on January 1, 2024. If you’re going to be making music in any capacity, you simply can’t do without synths. You can use them for effects, atmosphere, color, texture, melody, soaring leads, and more.
Jul 17, 2019 · 1. Vital by Vital Audio. Vital VST Review. This is the newest one on our list and I’ve decided to put it first because it’s just that good! Vital is a super hot “Spectral Warping” wavetable synth that is creating a lot of buzz for some really obvious reasons. In case you are only just hearing about Vital now, let’s look at why it’s a hit…
