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2012-03-20

Synth1 is the best free virtual instrument in the world - both for PC and Mac



If you are making music on a PC or Mac, try out the mighty freeware Synth1 by Japanese wizard Ichiro Toda. Functionally it's a virtual analog synth based on the classic Swedish instrument Clavia Nord Lead 2, and it can be used for anything from leads, basses, pads, strings to effects.

Despite its huge sound it's extremely light on the CPU. People have reported being able to open over 100 separate instances, which means you can layer sound on sound and create complex moving soundscapes. For free!

Here is a demo of some Synth1 sounds someone have uploaded to YouTube.

Features include:
* Two oscillators, FM modulation, ring modulation, sync, modulation envelope
* Four types of filters, distortion
* Two LFOs
* Arpeggiator
* Tempo delay, stereo chorus/flanger, compressor etc.
* Legato mode, portamento.
* 16 notes polyphony.
* Thoroughly optimized for light CPU load using SSE instructions etc.
* Automation
* All rhytmic features (LFO, arpeggiator and delays etc.) can be synchronized with host

Click here to download for PC or Mac, then extract the file(s) into your VST or AU folder.

When you want more sounds, here are over 14.000 patches in one small and handy download.

Zoran Nikolic has written a very good manual for Synth1, and also has links to even more patches and resources. Plus he has also made a page linking to a lot of music made with Synth1.

Have fun and make music!

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