In this blog post, we mention some of the most popular synth instrument VST plugins used by music producers.
1. Serum (Xfer Records)
Serum lets you invent creative sounds with an intuitive layout for sound design, custom drawn or imported waveforms, and real-time wavetable animation.
You can put some pepper in your patches with any combination of the ten built-in effects. Reorder the signal chain to optimize your audio. Add reverb, compression, phasing, distortion, Xfer’s Dimension expander, and more.
Read More: Serum (Xfer Records)
2. Synthmaster Player (KV331Audio)
SynthMaster Player is a simplified version of SynthMaster with limited editing capabilities.
It is targeted towards users who prefer to use presets rather than designing their own sounds. The paid version comes with 1750 factory presets.
Read More: Synthmaster Player (KV331Audio)
3. Hybrid 3 (AIR Music Technology)
Hybrid 3.0 is the next generation in synthesis. This high-definition virtual synthesizer combines the coveted warmth of analog synths with a full range of futuristic digital manipulation capabilities.
The result is the best of both worlds — a virtual instrument with a comprehensive set of precisely adjustable parameters that can sound like a synth you remember or something no one has ever heard before.
Read More: Hybrid 3 (AIR Music Technology)
4. The Riser (AIR Music Technology)
The Riser is an all-new instrument for designing musical transitions of epic proportions.
A powerful, synth-based instrument, The Riser features all of the tools you need to compose heart-stopping transitions in one intuitive user-interface. In seconds, you can construct rises, falls, swells, fades, and more, based on our coveted sound synthesis technology.
Read More: The Riser (AIR Music Technology)
5. Kontakt (Native Instruments)
KONTAKT powers the biggest selection of sampled instruments available and the factory library puts 55+ GB of detailed, creative, and expressive instruments at your fingertips.
You can shape your sound with on-board tools including modulation, wavetables, envelopes, and effects. You can also build your own instruments with powerful sample-editing and instrument-building options.
Read More: Kontakt (Native Instruments)
6. LuSH-101 (D16 Group)
LuSH-101 is a synthesizer created from modules that can be found in many modern virtual synthesizers, all combined into a single compact and logically intuitive design.
The multilayer architecture guarantees that both the sound design possibilities and number of unique situations in which LuSH-101 can be used, are virtually limitless.
Read More: LuSH-101 (D16 Group)
7. Iris 2 (iZotope)
Create and discover musical sounds that have never been heard before. Get started fast by selecting from hundreds of expertly crafted Bass, Keys, Leads, Pads, and Rhythmic patches.
An inspiring sample-based synthesizer, Iris 2 is immediately playable—combining the power of a sampler, the flexibility of a modular synth, and the fun of spectral filtering.
Read More: Iris 2 (iZotope)
8. Carbon Electra (Plugin Boutique)
Carbon Electra is a powerful and intuitive synth built by producers, for producers.
The graphical displays act as a comprehensive information tool as well as an accurate guide to each parameter change. Best of all, it sounds incredible.
Read More: Carbon Electra (Plugin Boutique)
9. Massive (Native Instruments)
Massive has a virtual-analog architecture for colossal sound that is equally flexible in the studio or on stage. It also has a comprehensive library with 1,300 huge presets.
The synth that defined bass music, this powerhouse synthesizer is an uncompromising sonic monster and the go-to choice for bass music and electro producers.
Read More: Massive (Native Instruments)
10. Vaccum Pro (AIR Music Technology)
Vacuum Pro is a polyphonic analog synthesizer with vacuum tube circuit modeling that perfectly captures the crunchy, warm sound of the analog era.
With four analog oscillators, multiple filters and envelopes, and built-in audio effects, Vacuum Pro lets you dive deep into subtractive synthesis to recreate those sought-after analog sounds from the 70s and 80s.
Read More: Vaccum Pro (AIR Music Technology)
11. Vengeance Sound VPS Avenger Synth (Vengeance Sound)
Vengeance Producer Suite Avenger is here! The most versatile and best sounding synth you will ever encounter.
There is nothing VPS Avenger can’t do, it offers you tons of features and a gigantic growing library from some of the best sound designers on this planet.
Read More: Vengeance Sound VPS Avenger Synth (Vengeance Sound)
12. Twist (SONiVOX)
Wrap yourself around Twist 2—the Spectral Morphing Synthesis instrument from SONiVOX.
Combining a dynamic interface, an advanced pattern generator, and onboard effects, Twist 2 is your toolkit for serious sound design using simple, time-saving controls.
Read More: Twist (SONiVOX)
13. Omnisphere (Spectrasonics)
Omnisphere is the flagship synthesizer of Spectrasonics – an instrument of extraordinary power and versatility.
Since the beginning, Omnisphere has been the sonic weapon of choice for creative players and producers in search of next level sounds on hit records, bestselling games and Oscar-winning films.
Read More: Omnisphere (Spectrasonics)
14. Ultra Analog Session (Applied Acoustic Systems)
The container may be small but Ultra Analog Session is a really fun to play and packs outstanding sounds. It has a superb sound library with signature presets from producers Richard Devine and Sean Divine.
Ultra Analog Session’s arpeggiator offers various syncing resolutions, playing algorithms, and rhythmic patterns that will spruce up any chord progressions into percolating melodies or pulsing sequences.
Read More: Ultra Analog Session (Applied Acoustic Systems)
15. V-Station (Novation)
The V-Station is a polyphonic soft-synth for Mac and PC. It has the same real 3-oscillator flexibility as the award winning K-Station, with powerful filters, 8-voice polyphony, simultaneous Novation FX.
Programming V-Station is simple, because all the primary controls are on the main screen. Simply recall a named factory preset, tweak it and instantly save it in any of the 400 program locations.
Read More: V-Station (Novation)
16. Wobble (SONiVOX)
Experience audio vertigo-go with the swaying, shifting, tones of Wobble 2—the Dubstep Grime Generator from SONiVOX.
Wobble 2 keeps things moving with an advanced pattern generator and onboard effects. This unparalleled combination delivers the swirling and undulating big-time grime that is the essence of Wobble 2.
Read More: Wobble (SONiVOX)
17. Sylenth1 (Lennar Digital)
Sylenth1 is a virtual analog VSTi synthesizer that takes the definitions of quality and performance to a higher level.
Until now only very few software synthesizers have been able to stand up to the sound quality standards of hardware synths. Sylenth1 is one that does. This enables you to create pure quality sound using only minimal system resources.
Read More: Sylenth1 (Lennar Digital)
18. Strum Session (Applied Acoustic Systems)
Combines an acoustic and an electric guitar in the same package. With chord recognition, chord voicing, strumming and picking action, MIDI riff library, amp and effects, playing guitar on a keyboard has never been so easy.
Use the collection of recorded strumming patterns over the chords you play and find inspiration for your track. drag and drop the loop to your host sequencer and make it perfect for you song.
Read More: Strum Session (Applied Acoustic Systems)
19. Darkstar (Minimal System Group)
DarkStar is a monster analogue modelled synth. With its 4 oscillators you can easily create the sounds you need.
Each two oscillator module has its own dedicated ADSR envelope. Two filter banks (one for each two oscillator module) with full ADSR envelope and LFO controls. Filter types include LP, HP, BP, BR, PK.
Read More: Darkstar (Minimal System Group)
20. Addiction Synth (Stagecraft)
The new synth is a professional, versatile, subtractive synthesizer. It can be easily made to sound like anything from a sweet, light organ, to a sharp, funky clav.
There are multiple voices, velocity sensitivity, mono/polyphonic switching, versatile LFOs and filter, and effects. In short, everything you would expect with any of the most professional synths.
Read More: Addiction Synth (Stagecraft)
21. Nexus (reFX)
NEXUS2 is a next generation ROM synthesizer-plugin that delivers a level of sonic quality unsurpassed by even the highest end hardware. Euphoric leads, glowing keys, otherworldly pads… NEXUS2 does it all.
Its killer basslines, devastating drums, electrifying arpeggios, and cutting leads will send you to the top of your game, whether you’re a Future House enthusiast or an EDM, Deep House, Trance, or Dub producer.
Read More: Nexus (reFX)
22. Loom Classic (AIR Music Technology)
Loom is an award-winning modular additive synthesizer with a shape-shifting Morph Pad that makes it easy to create rich, swirling, and captivating sounds.
Loom takes a unique modular approach to additive synthesis, a synthesis technique that involves combining simple waveforms together to create complex sounds, by allowing anyone to select from and combine 30 editable modules.
Read More: Loom Classic (AIR Music Technology)
23. Saturn 5 (Minimal System Group)
The Saturn 5 analogue modeling synthesizer has been lovingly developed to accurately produce the classic big sounds of classic synths.
We have cut out the gimmicks and concentrated on perfecting the key elements of a good synthesiser such as the oscillators, the filter, and the workflow for the user.
Read More: Saturn 5 (Minimal System Group)
24. kHS One (kiloHearts)
kHs ONE was not designed to be a fat analog beast with a massive warm sound. That just happened anyway.
A lot of time and effort has been put into making oscillators and filters of the highest quality which gives kHs ONE a pleasantly warm and analog sound.
Read More: kHS One (kiloHearts)
25. Cthulhu (Xfer Records)
Cthulhu is firstly a chord memorizer and player, allowing you to experiment with creating and reworking chord progressions with single-note presses.
Included are over 150 factory chord presets allowing for a near-unlimited amount of possible musical-sounding chord progressions.
Read More: Cthulhu (Xfer Records)
26. VirtualCZ (Plugin Boutique)
Many artists still use the CZ today for its unique sounds, including great pads and synth strings, screaming leads, big basses, weird FX, metallic percussion and above all RAVE ORGANS.
Read More: VirtualCZ (Plugin Boutique)
27. Reaktor (Native Instruments)
REAKTOR opens a universe of sound. It’s a deep and powerful modular studio that sets no restrictions on creativity.
Customize existing instruments, or create your own individual sound generator from scratch thanks to the fully modular architecture. REAKTOR is a true playground for the creative mind.
Read More: Reaktor (Native Instruments)
28. Battery (Native Instruments)
BATTERY 4 is the cutting-edge drum sampler designed for the 21st century. It combines a supercharged library, tailor-made for electronic and hip hop music, with a radically-intuitive workflow that keeps the focus on creativity.
Instantly find and arrange sounds with a new, tag-based browser, and route powerful new effects with drag-and-drop simplicity.
Read More: Battery (Native Instruments)
29. Spire (Reveal Sound)
Spire is a software polyphonic synthesizer that combines powerful sound engine modulation with flexible architecture and a graphical interface that provides unparalleled usability.
It has high quality built-in processors such as the Shaper/Decimator, Phaser/Vowel, Chorus/Flanger, Delay, and Reverb.
Read More: Spire (Reveal Sound)
30. Maschine 2 (Native Instruments)
MASCHINE 2.0 brings cutting-edge advancements to MASCHINE.
Completely reworked, the software offers countless new ways to support and fast-track your ideas. MASCHINE’s new user interface brings you all this and much more –cutting-edge groove production has never been this easy.
Read More: Maschine 2 (Native Instruments)
31. Diva (u-he)
Diva captures the spirit of five decades of analogue synthesizers.
Oscillators, filters, and envelopes from some of the greatest monophonic and polyphonic synths of yesteryear were meticulously modelled for unmatched analogue sound.
Read More: Diva (u-he)
32. Zone (Audiaire)
At the heart of Zone is a powerful parameter sequencer that allows virtually every control to be assigned to and modified by its own independent sequencer lane, with unlimited lanes, each running at their own unique rate and number of steps.
It comes with infinite note and parameter sequencer lanes, with complex tools and presets for modifying lane behaviour. The sound generation possibilities are virtually limitless.
Read More: Zone (Audiaire)
33. Effectrix (Sugar Bytes)
Effectrix is a professional multi-effect sequencer, a game-changer in the way contemporary music is made. By painting colored blocks across a sequencer, quite simply, your tracks metamorphose into fireworks.
Tweak your beats, create new rhythms, reverse parts, stretch others, apply delaylines; even create melodies with atonal material. If you like, do it all at once!
Read More: Effectrix (Sugar Bytes)
34. Lounge Lizard EP-4 (Applied Acoustic Systems)
The Lounge Lizard EP-4 plug-in delivers authentic vintage electric piano sounds in an everything-you-need package. Simply pick from more than 100 custom electric piano presets.
Users will dig the real-time controls over hammer hardness, tine colour and decay, damper noise, and pickup placement for an unsurpassed level of customization.
Read More: Lounge Lizard EP-4 (Applied Acoustic Systems)
35. FM8 (Native Instruments)
Native Instruments has harnessed the power of FM synthesis. The strengths of digital are manifest in FM8’s powerful audio engine which generates breath-taking, brilliantly dynamic FM sound in pristine quality.
With its emphasis on ease-of-use, the FM8 brings a high degree of simplicity to the otherwise intricate process of FM synthesis, delivering unsurpassed depth, brilliance, and dynamism.
Read More: FM8 (Native Instruments)
36. Trilian (Spectrasonics)
Trilian is designed from the ground up to be the most versatile bass virtual instrument available today with a new level of expressive, real-time performance for acoustic and electric basses.
Trilian is the successor to Spectrasonics’ award-winning Trilogy bass instrument, offering deeper control of musical expression and much greater flexibility of sound shaping.
Read More: Trilian (Spectrasonics)
37. Absynth (Native Instruments)
ABSYNTH 5 is an exceptional synthesizer with unique sonic potential and more than 2,100 preset sounds.
Its specialty is a limitless spectrum of unusual, evolving sounds created using the powerful, hybrid synthesis architecture and sophisticated modulation and effect system – resulting in sounds far removed from the everyday.
Read More: Absynth (Native Instruments)
38. M1 (KORG)
The M1 was and still is a popular and widely used digital synthesizer and music workstation.
The M1 features built-in AI Synthesis for full digital generation and processing using 4MB of PCM sampled and synthesized waveforms which can be shaped using analog-style editing.
Read More: M1 (KORG)
39. Addictive Drums (XLN Audio)
Since 2006, Addictive Drums has been one of the world’s best-loved and best-selling virtual instruments.
Our advanced technologies and obsession with recording the world’s most interesting instruments has gotten us on to so many hit songs, games, and movies we’ve lost count.
Read More: Addicitve Drums (XLN Audio)
40. TAL-U-NO-LX (Tal-Togu Audio Line)
TAL-U-NO-LX is a complete rewritten emulation of the popular hardware with a new engine and GUI. The commercial vintage synth emulations are known to be very accurate and authentic.
Up to date zero feedback delay filters and carefully calibrated controls make this synth a good replacement for the analog device with all the advantages software plugins have.
Read More: TAL-U-NO-LX (Tal-Togu Audio Line)
41. SynPlant (Sonic Charge)
Synplant is a software synthesizer with a genetic approach to sound creation.
The purpose of this product is to move focus away from the sometimes intricate and difficult process of sound synthesis and instead let you develop sounds by simply using your ears.
Read More: Synplant (Sonic Charge)
42. Zebra (u-he)
Zebra is our wireless modular synthesizer. It combines many different types of synthesis with a powerful modulation engine.
Zebra2 is a sound-design playground. The powerful, high quality (but still CPU friendly) sound engine and the numerous sound sculpting tools make Zebra2 capable of a near-limitless range of new sounds and textures.
Read More: Zebra (u-he)
43. SubBoomBass (Rob Papen)
SubBoomBass is filled with excessive amounts of low end ammunition to detonate your tracks!
SubBoomBass has been carefully crafted to provide you with the tools to create fresh new bass lines. It includes unique tuned drum percussion samples which are great for Hip Hop and RnB basses but can also be used to add rhythm flavour to your tracks.
Read More: SubBoomBass (Rob Papen)
44. Synthmaster (KV331Audio)
SynthMaster is an ‘all-around’ semi-modular software synthesizer and effect plug-in that features many different synthesis methods.
With its multi-synthesis oscillators, analog modelled/digital filters, flexible effects routing with 11 types of high quality effects and a massive modulation architecture with 95 separate modulation sources and 650+ modulation targets; SynthMaster is a ‘must-have’ for all synthesizer enthusiasts!
Read More: Synthmaster (KV331Audio)
45. EZkeys (Toontrack)
EZkeys is more than a piano – it’s a powerful songwriting tool, packed with intuitive tools that will make adding piano to your already written songs or writing custom pieces from scratch a breeze.
With EZkeys, you don’t have to be a keyboard player to write great piano-based songs or add world-class piano parts to your already written material.
Read More: EZkeys (Toontrack)
46. EZdrummer (Toontrack)
EZdrummer takes drum production to a whole new level. Tap your rhythm directly into EZdrummer 2 and have the program list the closest matches!
It is designed to erase any technical barrier between you and your creativity and introduces several groundbreaking features for quick and easy songwriting.
Read More: EZdrummer (Toontrack)
47. True Pianos (4Front Technologies)
When instrument blends transparently with musician’s hands, reality becomes music.
TruePianos virtual instrument was designed with exactly this in mind giving inspiration an instant GO as soon as you touch the keyboard. Following tradition, the instrument is optimized for real-time performance.
Read More: True Pianos (4Front Technologies)
48. Dune (Synapse)
Conceptually, DUNE is a virtual-analog type of synthesizer. The key parameter ranges can be adjusted as well as tuning, drift or saturation.
Moreover, numerous innovative enhancements greatly increase its versatility. Hence, it will be familiar to many musicians who are used to work with such gear.
Read More: Dune (Synapse)
49. Cyclop (Sugar Bytes)
Monophonic, raw and unbelievably versatile. Cyclop is packed with tools for the bass of the future and beyond. Wobble Knob, FX Sequencer and a hilariously versatile sound engine will give you endless joy.
Cyclop derives its power from the two sound generators. Spectral, digital, fat analog or use your own samples as a wavetable.
Read More: Cyclop (Sugar Bytes)
50. ANA (Sonic Academy)
ANA comes with three OSC types: analog, advanced noise, and attack containing 133 waveform shapes. Completely redesigned from the ground up, ANA returns to the scene stronger than ever.
One that is super simple to use but with an extensive toolset to allow you to create complex and exciting sounds.
Read More: ANA (Sonic Academy)