Synths

Industry-standard wavetable synth, rebuilt. Granular and spectral oscillators alongside wavetables, deep modulation, built for sound designers.

• Granular and spectral oscillator modes go well beyond wavetable morphing alone, useful for textures a plain wavetable synth can't reach
• 288 wavetables and 626 presets ship in the box, a strong starting library for a synth this deep
• Free lifetime upgrade path for existing Serum 1 owners, so past investment carries forward

• $249 makes it one of the pricier single synths in this category, a real ask for anyone still building a plugin collection
• No VST2 support, a small but real issue for anyone still running an older host that never moved to VST3

Multi-engine hybrid synth. Wavetable, virtual analog, sample, granular, and additive engines in one instrument, three can run at once.

• Five distinct synthesis engines in a single plugin means switching sound-design approaches never means switching plugins
• Three engine slots with independent routing effectively make this multitimbral, letting layered sounds run in parallel
• 20 built-in effect algorithms, including a shimmer reverb and vocoder, cover most of a mix chain without leaving the instrument

• That much engine variety adds a real learning curve, especially compared to a single-purpose synth
• $199 buys a lot of synthesis power, but a reader who only wants one specific engine type is paying for four they may never touch

Circuit-modeled analog synth. Five swappable oscillator and filter models drawn from classic hardware, tuned for authenticity over CPU efficiency.

• Mix-and-match oscillator and filter models from five different vintage synth lineages in one instrument, rare flexibility for an analog-modeled synth
• Zero-delay-feedback filter design is built specifically to chase real analog character, not just approximate it
• Cross-platform down to Linux, unusual for a synth this focused on emulating specific vintage circuitry

• 16-voice polyphony is on the low side for a synth priced at $179, a real constraint for dense chord work or pad layering
• Not multitimbral, so it can't hold multiple distinct patches across MIDI channels the way a workstation-style instrument can

Modular, snap-in synth. Wavetables, samples, and noise generators built around Kilohearts' swappable Snapin effects architecture.

• Kilohearts Essentials effects bundle drops directly into the synth's own signal chain as Snapins, no separate effects plugins needed
• Free lifetime updates mean the $199 purchase price is a one-time cost rather than an ongoing subscription tax
• MPE support puts real expressive control within reach for anyone using an MPE controller

• The semi-modular signal-chain approach is a real departure from a fixed-layout synth, and takes longer to get comfortable with
• Published specs don't state a maximum polyphony, so anyone chasing dense voice counts should test it against their own project before buying

Wavetable synth with a modular-feeling modulation system. Successor to the original Massive, built around 170+ wavetables and deep FM-style routing.

• 170+ included wavetables plus 780 presets give a strong head start without buying extra content
• Three insert FX slots can be patched anywhere in the signal chain, not locked to a fixed post-synth position
• Built specifically for AVX or Apple Silicon, so performance is tuned for genuinely modern hardware

• That AVX/Apple Silicon requirement locks out older CPUs that still run plenty of other synths fine
• No standalone mode, so it only runs inside a host, not as its own application for quick sketching

Flagship hybrid synth-and-sample engine. Quadzone synthesis and wavetables, plus any WAV or AIFF as a sound source, at flagship pricing to match.

• Accepts any WAV or AIFF file as a sound source, turning the entire synth into an open-ended sampler as well as a synthesizer
• 35 built-in FX units mean full mix-chain processing never has to leave the instrument
• 8 patches per multi makes it properly multitimbral, useful for building whole layered arrangements from one instance

• $499 is the most expensive plugin in this category by a wide margin, a serious commitment for a single instrument
• Published specs don't state a maximum polyphony ceiling, worth testing against a dense project before relying on it for large chord stacks

Free spectral wavetable synth. Visual, warping oscillator displays and text-to-wavetable generation, with paid tiers for extra content only.

• Core synthesis engine is fully free with no feature gating, a real full-powered synth rather than a limited demo
• Text-to-wavetable generation turns typed words into custom wavetable shapes, a genuinely unusual sound-design shortcut
• Runs on Linux as well as Windows and macOS, still a rarity among modern wavetable synths

• Plus ($25) and Pro ($80) tiers exist purely for extra presets, wavetables, and audio import, so the free version stays limited for anyone who wants to sample their own audio into it
• Requires OpenGL 3, which can be a real blocker on older or virtualized machines without a proper GPU driver

Multimode hybrid synth. Four polymorphing oscillators switch between classic, FM, sync, and vowel modes, paired with a built-in mix chain.

• Oscillators switch between seven distinct modes including FM, hard sync, and vowel formants, a wide sonic range from one oscillator section
• Built-in multiband compressor and 3-band EQ go beyond the usual chorus-and-delay effects rack most synths ship with
• 9x unison voices per oscillator gives huge stacking potential for wide, layered leads and pads

• Published specs don't state a maximum polyphony figure, worth confirming against a dense project before buying
• Development has slowed in recent years compared to more actively updated competitors in this category

Free, open-source FM synth. Faithful Yamaha DX7 parameter set and SysEx compatibility, built for FM sound design and DX7 patch management.

• 144 fully automatable DX7 parameters give hands-on access to a synthesis style most modern synths don't attempt at all
• Doubles as a DX7 SysEx librarian, genuinely useful for anyone still running or converting patches for real DX7 hardware
• Completely free and open source under GPL v3, with no licensing catch of any kind

• FM synthesis has a steep learning curve, and this interface doesn't soften that the way some modern FM-hybrid synths do
• Only a single low-pass filter and no other built-in effects, so shaping the raw FM tone further means reaching for other plugins

Free, open-source subtractive synth. Predecessor to Vital, built by the same developer for lightweight, no-DRM sound design.

• Completely free with no DRM of any kind, and the source code is open for study or modification
• Cross-platform on Linux, Mac, and Windows in both 32-bit and 64-bit builds, wider architecture support than most modern synths bother with
• Built by the same developer behind Vital, a track record that carries real credibility for a free tool

• Development has largely wound down in favor of the same author's newer Vital, so updates and fixes are unlikely going forward
• Published specs don't confirm built-in effects or a maximum polyphony figure, worth testing hands-on before relying on it for a dense mix

Streamlined subtractive synth. Three engine characters and 140 wavetables, built by u-he for speed over Diva's deep circuit modeling.

• 140 included wavetables extend the subtractive core well past a typical two-oscillator analog-style synth
• 16x unison per oscillator plus a 12x2 modulation matrix punch well above the synth's mid-tier price
• NKS-compatible, so it integrates directly with Native Instruments hardware controllers out of the box

• 16-voice polyphony caps out at the same level as u-he's own pricier Diva, a real ceiling for dense chord or pad work
• Not multitimbral, so it can't run multiple distinct patches across MIDI channels in one instance

Free-to-try Oberheim OB-X emulation. Analog-modeled subtractive synth with up to 128 voice slots, commercial use requires a paid license.

• 128 voice slots with up to 16 detuned unison voices per note give it unusually deep polyphony for an analog-emulation synth
• Runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, one of the wider desktop platform spreads of any synth in this category
• Fully functional non-commercial trial lets a producer test the entire instrument before deciding to buy

• No built-in effects processor, so shaping the sound further always means reaching for a separate plugin
• The free trial is genuinely non-commercial only, a real gotcha for anyone releasing music who assumes a free download means free to use

Free, open-source hybrid synth. Subtractive core plus FM and wavetable modes, two full synthesis scenes per patch.

• Completely free and open source, with the full source code available to inspect or modify
• 27 built-in effect algorithms plus 56 more from the bundled Airwindows suite, an unusually deep effects rack for a free synth
• Two independent scenes per patch allow layered or split sounds without leaving the instrument

• The two-scenes system isn't true MIDI-channel multitimbral operation, so it can't substitute for a proper multitimbral instrument
• Open-source development means support runs on community and volunteer maintainer time, not a dedicated commercial support line

Virtual analog workhorse. Four alias-free unison oscillators, a fixture in electronic music production since the 2000s.

• Four alias-free unison oscillators give it an unusually thick, clean stack for a virtual analog synth
• Seven built-in effects plus a step-sequenced arpeggiator cover a full sound-shaping chain without leaving the plugin
• Long track record in electronic music production means a huge base of existing presets and tutorials to draw on

• Interface and engine haven't changed dramatically in years, a real contrast against newer synths' modern workflow features
• No Linux support, unlike several of the free and open-source options in this category

Juno-60 emulation, rewritten. Zero-feedback-delay filter modeling and chorus, aimed at that one classic analog sound specifically.

• $100 is a genuinely budget entry point for a dedicated circuit-modeled analog emulation, well under most of this category's flagship pricing
• Calibrated chorus emulation targets the original hardware's signature sound specifically, not a generic chorus effect bolted on
• MPE support brings modern expressive control to what is otherwise a faithful recreation of 1982 hardware

• 12-voice polyphony is the lowest ceiling in this category, a real limit for dense chords or thick pad layering
• Narrow by design: it's built to sound like one specific vintage synth, not to be a flexible do-everything instrument

Roland's ZEN-Core engine, in plugin form. Virtual-analog and PCM sample layering across four oscillators, drawing on Roland's own hardware sound library.

• Layers virtual-analog and PCM sample-based oscillators in the same patch, a genuine hybrid rather than a synth that just claims the label
• Built on Roland's own ZEN-Core system, the same engine underpinning their current hardware synths, so patches and sound design skills carry over
• A free Lite version exists alongside the paid Pro tier, letting a producer try the engine before committing to the full price

• $229 sits at the pricier end of this category for a synth whose sound library depends heavily on which expansion packs are also purchased
• Published specs don't state a maximum polyphony figure, worth confirming against a dense project before buying