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- 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.
- 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 ...
Jul 20, 2019 · List of the best Free Subtractive, Additive, FM and Wavetables Synthesizer VST/AU Plugins currently available in 32-bit and 64-bit!
- 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.
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Jan 1, 2024 · VST synths are incredibly popular, and there are more free synths available than you might even think. In this guide, we look at the best free VST synth plugins you can use to create pro quality sounds.
