This free and open source software synth really blows me away.
It's better than most paid alternatives and I really love how visual interactive and well laid out this synth is.<p>Due to it being free, there's a huge community growing around creating presets, sharing tutorials, and more.
For example, here are many presets incl. audio preview: <a href="https://presetshare.com/presets?instrument=2&orderby=likes" rel="nofollow">https://presetshare.com/presets?instrument=2&orderby=likes</a>
I really love this synth, and I really love this software model.<p>You can support with a subscription, but it's not a scammy "we hope you forget to cancel this", you literally get the credit from your subscription to buy the full thing.<p>You don't have to buy anything! The code is free as in speech and in beer, but if you actually use the software for what it is used for, you get a lot of amazing benefits from doing so (ie; I'm a programmer, but if I'm making music I don't always want to be making presets, sometimes I just want to hear a bunch)<p>There's (less) danger of the company just going backrupt and being locked into their bitrot because the code can be forked and maintained (can is not will, but makes me feel better)
Great synth! Huge sound possibilities and the visual aspect is great for visual learners who are learning synths for the first time!<p>I love seeing this stuff posted here.<p>Does anyone have any other similar plugins for synths/effects. I know that Valhalla does amazing work and there is VCV or whatever but I remember there being a bit of community issues with that one.
Vital is one of the best free software synths out there. In terms of functionality, it competes with a whole lot of paid synths out there. For anyone getting started with making music or synthesis, this is 100% the recommendation I give.
There's a big difference between "Free" and demo versions. I've personally found that most music software makers always have an angle or strategy to up-sell when they say their tools are free, and that's simply NOT free. Now even demo versions of software give you no accurate indication of what happens behind the scenes.<p>Free plug-ins often install additional software, security tools (digital dongles) and drivers that can cause problems even once they are installed, especially if you don't purchase the full version. They also often don't uninstall correctly as well. I tried Vital months ago and found the free version to be limited in many subtle ways and processor intensive, which likely is not as much the case in the full version.<p>I am very cautious now about plug-ins and other software offered online as "Free" because after trying out the free version of Fresh Air by Slate digital a few months ago, it never managed to run and my DAW and computer experienced total failure and data corruption caused by their licensing tool, which cost me a lot more than the full version cost, but it also cost the company me, as a potential customer. Luckily I routinely make backups, I can't afford to lose my work and data by trying dodgy apps... No exceptions.
I don't get the spectral warping part: is it similar to nonlinear distortion (e.g. Casio CZ-series)? Or is it a different concept? How does it work under the hood?
I'm two months into writing a VST instrument, and I'm curious about business models and how much success this product is having.<p>I'd consider open sourcing, but I also feel like I've put in a crapload of work (and still have lots to do before I'd release, mostly UI work which I hate doing).<p>I had in mind perhaps I would create a fairly cheap commercial project and attempt to sell and market it myself. But it seems like this one has an interesting alternative models. Open source core, free basic version, pay for content? I wonder how successful it is in bringing in $$.<p>Looks like a boatload of work went into the instrument, too.<p>(The thing I'm making is a mix of additive + frequency-modulation synth. Uses a variant of frequency modulation [Modified FM] not present in anything else I've seen based on some papers I read some years ago [from Victor Lazzarini and Joe Timoney @ Maynooth University university]. A more regular linear pattern to the sideband amplitude during modulation. Sounds less "nasal" and "tinny" than classic Yamaha DX FM.)
Is the creator going to release updates on the github repository or is this the last version that's released as open source? Because the github seems to be out of date a bit.