| Synthesizers
|  |
| Step
sequencers |
|  |
OdO's SeeqOne
V2 is a fascinating sequencer synth, devoted to techno music, which
produces rather wild, distorted, agressive and juicy sequences.
3 Osc, 5 filters, 2 Lfo, several effects like delay,
distorsion, and five
16 step sequencers that can modulate almost everything. First-class interface.
http://lesitedeburnie.free.fr/Host/OdO-SeeqOne2.zip |
|
| Dream
Sequencer by Dream
Vortex Studio
is a little and easy to use 8 step sequencer with only 1 Osc, 1
envelope, 1 filter and 1 echo, but it sounds clear, clean, deep and
works fine. Very good for 70's space music sequences (Tangerine Dream
for example, as they say on the site). It is host synchronized, but, unfortunetly,
it has no "hold" button. http://www.dreamvortex.co.uk/instruments/ |
|  | Capsule by Mu-Station is a
toy-looking 16 step sequencer, but it sounds good. One VCO with 7
waveforms with a nice "noise",
1 filter, sync mode, speed modulation,
rather complete and separate editing for each step
(tune, length,
volume, pan). A delay gives some relief to the sequences that can be
played in 4 modes :
step, hold force, hold retrig and arpeggio. In order to edit
each
step, just click on the red circle with the number of the one
you
want to adjust, and all the parameters are on the middle circle of the
soft... A cool thing.
http://www.geocities.jp/mu_station/ |
| 
| Sequin by Andy M, is
a small synthedit-made 16 step sequencer coming with 2 pannels that can
be easily set. it has a pan and speed adjustment and an efficient "fat"
button that produce clean, straight and punchy sequences and leads. No
"hold" button.
Arlequin
is the same thing, but polyphonic.
http://www.kara-moon.com/index.php?modid=mod02&l_submenu_id=m001_02_05
|
| 
|
TS-404 alias Transistor Synth 404 is
an old and efficient standalone TB-303-like 16 step sequencer. On the
main panel you find 2 Osc, 1 Lfo, 1 envelope, 1 filter, 1
delay and 1 distortion (and more), but you can add other
panels
with exactly the same features, to make richer sequences. And it works
rather fine... The machine is easy to use, and the sound is good.
Unfortunetly, no recording tool in it. So you must use an external
editor if you want catch the sound...
http://www.threechords.com/hammerhead/ts-404.shtml
|
|
 | Creakbox Bassline by
Bioroid is
an old commercial emulation of the famous TB-303, and is free since the
development stopped in 2004. Bad
Boys
modified it by adding a multimode
filter, a drive, a bass and trebble boost, a disto and a delay. So it
is a small monosynth with only 2 waveforms, and a 16 step sequencer
that will please to the maniacs who want a software clone of the
Roland's machine... Of course, it is much poorer than Rebirth, but it
is vst...
http://lesitedeburnie.free.fr/Host/Bioroid-CreakBox-BadBoys.zip
|
|
|
|
|
| Synths for
noise |
|
 | First,
not an instrument but a
whole site : Acousmodules
offers dozens of multichannel instruments
and effects around multiphonic music (made with synthedit). The GUIs
are nice, well finished and everything is free. The man of those
fascinating products and site is a musician who makes acousmatic music,
and ever produces new things... He gives also many informations, and
there is a lot of things to understand and learn on this site. Lastly,
the site is in french and in english... Beautiful work.
http://acousmodules.free.fr/ |
|  | KX-Synth-X16 by KX77free
is inspired by the EMS VCS3 (the Putney, close to the famous Synthi A)
and adds some interesting features to it, like a nice modern interface, with a notepad, the ability to change the colour of the background, and especially polyphony, analogue sequencer. The 3 Osc with adjustable response curve and the filter can be controlled with precision from the keyboard, and 256 mini knobs have been added to the matrix. The original ASR envelope is extended to 2 ADSR envelopes, and most
of controls have a numerical display for precise adjustment. This
typically analogue engine delights lovers and connaisseurs of such
mythic synths. Certainly the best free emulation of EMS style synths,
that competes with commercial ones. A must have...
http://kx77free.free.fr/English-page.html |
|  | Synthi Aks by Richard Brooks
still beats most of
other free emulations of EMS synths, although it is old and no more
developed. It is unstable, but
it is nice, because its Oscs sound with an
analogical grain, rather close to the original machine...
http://www.vickers-armstrongs.co.uk/virtual-area/synthedit/synthiaks.htm
|
|  | Vcs5 by Richard Brooks
too, has a good analogue texture, and produces
amazing sounds close to the original machine, the Vcs3, mixed with a
modulation matrix of a sort of ARP 2500. With 2 osc, 1
lfo, 2 envelopes, 1 filter, S&H section, and the matrix, it is
unstable and has a bad interface, but it is a nice analogue sounding freeware...
http://www.vickers-armstrongs.co.uk/virtual-area/synthedit/vcs5.htm |
|
 | Sophia by Audiobulb is a
little
thing that is not easy to understand at a first glance, because it is
not easy to find the parameters, but it sounds very nice, and
makes good useful noises and atmospheres.
http://www.audiobulb.com/
click on "create" at the top of the page. Or :
http://www.dontcrack.com/freeware/downloads.php/id/3388/software/Sophia/#
|
|
 | Atlantis by Jeremy Evers
is not especially made for noise and fx sounds, but i think that it is
better used in that way, because it has a rather harsh nature, and its
random buttons produce some nice weird things... The synth is a
monster, with 3 stereo morphing osc, independant
width, phase,
spread, chorus, tuning, volume, envelope and panning feed into two
filters for each, a shaper, a multitap filtered delay, extended routing
(almost everything can be modulated by almost everything else), and you
can import your waveforms... There are also 2 LFO and 2 envelopes, 4 filters, 1 portamento, and 5 buttons for "randomising" parameters... Not the best sounding synth, but
interesting for its unheard sounds.
http://jeremyevers.com/ |
|  | Basic 64 by De la Mancha
is mentioned here only for those who like Commodore 64 and other old 8
bits machines... It is probably the best emulation of that sort of
things, with 3 Osc and 4 waveforms, their envelopes, 2 sync Lfo, 6, 8
or 16 bits resolution, an arpeggiator, a multimode filter and so on...
http://lesitedeburnie.free.fr/Host/Delamancha-Basic 64.zip
|
|  | Noized SineX by EYB,
instead of too
many synthedit-made bad little crappy noisy freewares, makes really
good strange space sounds and other weird noises, with a good sound
quality. It has 4 sine Osc with their own tuning,
volume, envelope and velocity level, FM, 1 multimode filter, 2 Lfo, 2 envelopes, a
16 step sequencer to make evolutive sounds, and effects like 1
stereo delay, 1 reverb and 1 flanger... Site down, so take
it there :
http://lesitedeburnie.free.fr/Host/EYB-Noized-SineX-1.0.zip |
|
|
|
|
| Workstations
|
| 
| Proppellerheads' Rebirth became
free in august 2005,
and it is a real bargain, because it is a very good multi-instruments
machine, a complete workstation : 2 TB-303, 1 TR-808, 1 TR-909, 1
distortion, 1 delay, 1 compressor, mixing tools, shuffle and so on. You
can make complete pieces of music with a
very good sound quality,
and record them in wave format ! There is so much more to say about
Rebirth : see on the Proppellerheads' site, where you will find more
than 50 modules and around 4000 songs ! An absolute must-have without
any limitation, but standalone... You must register before you download it. win / mac
http://www.rebirthmuseum.com/
|
|  | DreamStation 1
by Audio
Simulation
is free since Dreamstation 2 appeared on the market, and it is a real
bargain, because it sounds very good, powerful and fat. It is
a
complete workstation, and you can make your own pieces of music with
the integrated 32 tracks sequencer. A 8 channels mixing console is
available and you can downmix your work in wave format. There are also effects like
delay, chorus, phaser, flanger and
reverb. The heart of Dreamstation 1 is the DXi2 synth, a good 3 Osc
analogue polysynth. Like Rebirth, it is
standalone.
http://www.audio-simulation.com/?page=product3#screenshots
|
|  | LMMS or Linux Multi Media Studio
is a free and open source clone of FL Studio : it can import FL files
and looks a bit like it, with the same spirit and many identical
features, like a beat and bassline editor, an easy-to-use piano-roll for editing patterns and melodies, an FX mixer with 64 FX channels, unlimited mixing possibilities
with around 60 built in effects and intruments, synths, a version of
the excellent
ZynAddSubFX (coming with 400 presets), sample and sf2 players,
automation and, cherry on the cake, vst import. Everything to make
complete tracks that can be exported in wav or ogg formats... win / mac / Linux
http://lmms.sourceforge.net/ |
|  | MSynth, by Matthias Mayrock, is a small studio with a
sequencer, several synths, beat boxes with up to 32 pitchable
samples and stereo pan, 1 effect
rack with 4 stereo effects among 15 available, 1 mixer console with 4
stereo effect sends, 2 band equalizer and pan, pinao roll, automation,
and everything is editable. You can make songs with up to 640 bars
(16/32 notes per bar), and export them in wave format. The result is not the best
you can get, but it is nice and really usable.
http://www.mroc.de/msynth/
|
|  | The Dream Machine, by H.G. Fortune, is a bit like
the Wheel of Fortune series (X-Wheel of Fortune, XoF II, XoF 3, XoF 4,
XoF 6), but it has no percussion section, and produces slow evolving
soundscapes, and rich complex pads. It "is
based on very slow running LFO being
used for wavesequencing and sound modulations. There are three parts :
Bottom (Bass), Back/Pad and Sparkles
providing quite complex atmospheres. Each part has got a 24 step
sequencer". In my oponion, it is more fascinating than X-Wheel... The
free version can not
load sf2, has less parameters, and can not help some voice samples to
be heard, but these voices are pretty well integrated in the music...
On the site, go to the "download" page, and look the other strange
machines.
http://www.hgf-synthesizer.de/
|
|
|
|
|
| Absurd machines...
There
are strange engines that make music by themselves when they are
started, playing by their own hazardous logic. They surround you with
more or less atmospheric noises. Love them or hate them. |
|  | Semuta by Servovalve
takes its name from a famous novel by Frank Herbert, and is exactly the
thing described above : its looks like a
Hi-tech and mysterious music box that can sound relaxing
or irritating, depending on your sensibility. In fact, it contains 99
samples of varied noises, carefully choosen by the electro musicians
who made it, and you can adjust tuning, triggering, speed (all 3
parameters can be randomized), and the number of sounds, up to 6 at the
same time. But it is Semuta that plays and decides other parameters
like effects, in a hazardous way. It can be set in a completely
aleatory play mode, becoming a self-acting machine... You can also
replace the samples by yours, and discover ever new worlds of ambient
music. A fascinating must-have. Standalone. Requires Shockwave. Download : bottom of the page. win / mac
http://www.servovalve.org/
|  |  | Le Marteleur, by Servovalve
too, works in a similar way, but, like its french name lets you guess
(the hammerman), it is made for percussive sounds, and is a sort of
complex aleatory drum machnine. The UI is as Hi-Tech and
mysterious as Semuta's one, and the 99 samples that are contained in Le
Marteleur can also be replaced by yours. It produces rich and original
rythmical structures, with varied electro-noise sounds, and plays two
tracks simultaneously, that can be adjusted or muted separately. The
parameters are esoteric, and you must search to understand...
Standalone. Requires Shockwave. Download : bottom of the page. win / mac
http://www.servovalve.org/
|
|  | Sound borb by Tom Gersic is also an aleatory sample-based instrument, simpler and more monotonous, but interesting.
You have control on almost nothing, and the principle is to let it play
some samples simultaneously and successively, up to 15, producing more or less varied
ambiences, depending on the loaded ensemble. And this is its main
interest : with dedicated utilities, you can make your own Borb
ensembles, and give them for download. On the second link, you will
find around 50 of them...
http://soundborb.com/
http://soundborb.com/download.php | |  | Sun
Ra by Elogoxa
is an hypnotizing strange machine that is described as an "Ambient
texture generator, based on a dual synthesis engine (1 substractive
oscillator + 2 wave players), completed with several randomization
options and effects)"...
It has a nice and mysterious GUI, and, like WOF, it can not
be played,
but you can use a keybord to influence the sound, and it is
fascinating, though it is less rich than WOF.
http://www.uv.es/%7Eruizcan/p_vst.htm
|
|
 |
|  |
|
