Synister Vst Plugin
The list starts with the VST synthesizer Tal-Bassline made to get a warm and analog sound. This VST plugin specialized in adding a heavy bass, acid sound and effects. With the help it’s -18db low pass filter and the unique components, you can create Trap and EDM synth. Synister was developed by TU-Berlin students under the supervision of Marc as part of a Student project from the Quality and Usability Lab. Synister features. Modulation made easy. It is fully Open Source. VST and AU Support!
A list of open source VST (and other format) plugin/app projects. The intention of this list is to catalog open source plugins or apps which are fully featured or are useful examples which have non-trivial features.
The main benefit of having Open Source plugins/apps is that the code itself is preserved for the future, so when the author(s) stop updating it the community can continue using and developing the software. Open Source projects are also a great way to learn how different audio FX/instruments are created.
https://openaudio.webprofusion.com
Please contribute links!
Audio Plugins
Plugin | Description | Type | Framework |
---|---|---|---|
ADLplug | FM Chip Synthesizer — OPL & OPN | Instrument | JUCE |
andes | Sound synthesiser plugin based on Perlin noise | Instrument | JUCE |
Airwindows | Various small and experimental effect plugins | Effect | |
amsynth | Analog-modelling (virtual analog) synthesizer | Instrument | GTK |
Argotlunar | Real-time delay-line granulator | Effect | JUCE |
Audio Effects | Plugins implemented from the explanations in the book “Audio Effects: Theory, Implementation and Application” | Effect | JUCE |
BinAural VST | Mono-to-stereo plugin that positions sound in a 3D space using Head-Related Transfer Functions | Effect | JUCE |
BlackBird | Analog-inspired software synth with its own voice | Instrument | JUCE |
Calf Studio Gear | Many LV2 and Jack audio plug-ins | Effects | GTK |
CHOW | A maximally truculent distortion effect | Effect | JUCE |
Cloud Seed | Algorithmic reverb for emulating huge, endless spaces and modulated echoes | Effect | |
Cocoa Delay | Warm and lively delay | Effect | WDL-OL |
Convolver | Impulse-response reverb | Effect | VSTGUI, JUCE |
Dexed | DX7 FM plugin synth | Instrument | JUCE |
Digits | Phase-distortion synth inspired by Casio CZ series | Instrument | VSTGUI |
Distrho glBars | OpenGL bars visualization plugin (as seen in XMMS and XBMC/Kodi) adapted from jack_glbars | Effect | DPF |
Distrho Juice Plugins | Misc | DPF | |
Distrho Kars | Simple karplus-strong plucked string synth based on the karplong DSSI example synth | Instrument | DPF |
Distrho Mini-Series | Collection of small plugins based on LOSER-Dev Plugins | Effect | DPF |
Distrho MVerb | DPF-based version of MVerb | Effect | DPF |
Distrho ndc Plugs | DPF-based versions of some of ndc Plugs | Effect | DPF |
Distrho Nekobi | Simple single-oscillator synth based on Roland TB-303 | Instrument | DPF |
Distrho ProM | Music-visualizer plugin based on projectM | Effect | DPF |
Dragonfly Reverb | Hall-style reverb based on Freeverb3 algorithms | Effect | DPF |
Element | Advanced Audio Plugin Host | Misc | JUCE |
Eurorack | Diverse set of physical modeling sources, organic processors, wavetable oscillators, waveshapers, granular synths, and utility modules | Misc | |
Flutterbird | Simple pitch fluctuation | Effect | iPlug 2 |
Gverb/Gigaverb | Reverb | Effect | VSTGUI |
Helm | Polyphonic synth with lots of modulation | Instrument | JUCE |
hexter | Yamaha DX7 modeling FM synth for DSSI | Instrument | DPF |
HiLoFilter | Simple hipass/lopass filter controlled with a single knob | Effect | JUCE |
JuceOPLVSTi | FM synth based on Yamaha OPL2/3 emulation from DOSBox | Instrument | JUCE |
Juno 6 | Roland Juno 6/60 Synthesizer | Instrument | |
keithhearne/VSTPlugins | A collection of VST plugins | Effect | JUCE |
K-Meter | Implementation of a K-System meter according to Bob Katz’ specifications | Effect | JUCE |
KickMaker | Synth specifically to create kick-drum sounds | Instrument | VSTGUI |
LameVST | LameMP3 as an effect | Effect | |
Magical8bitPlug 2 | Old 8bit game console style synth | Instrument | JUCE |
mda | FX and virtual instruments for PC and Mac | Misc | (no GUI) |
Mika Micro | Simple subtractive synth | Instrument | WDL-OL |
MVerb | Studio-quality reverb using the Dattorro’s figure-of-eight reverb structure | Effect | VSTGUI |
NotNotchFilter | Performance-oriented filter designed to replace the mid-EQ found in a standard 3-band DJ mixer | Effect | JUCE |
ndc Plugs | VST plugins for Windows and OSX | Misc | |
Odin2 | Polyphonic Synth | Instrument | JUCE |
OwlBass | Additive bass synth | Instrument | JUCE |
OB-Xd | Based on the Oberheim OB-X | Instrument | JUCE |
Oxe FM Synth | Multitimbral 8-operator FM synth (VST 2.4; Windows, Linux, macOS) | Instrument | VSTGUI |
PulseDelay | Timed delay effect | Effect | (no GUI) |
QtVST | VST plugins with a Qt interface | Effect | Qt |
Regrader | Degenerative delay | Effect | VSTGUI |
Roth-AIR | Mixing tool for easily adding airy, crispy presence to audio | Effect | JUCE |
ScorchCrafter Guitar FX | Audio DSP FX and plugins, mostly for guitar (amp sim) and other FX | Effect | VSTGUI |
sfizz | SFZ parser library and instrument plugins | Instrument | VSTGUI |
ShoutVST | VST for streaming sound into Icecast/Shoutcast directly from VST hosts | Effect | VSTGUI, FLUID |
Sound Analyser | Real-time audio analysis to allow anyone to quickly set up and experiment with different algorithms | Effect | JUCE |
Surge | Subtractive wavetable synth | Instrument | VSTGUI |
Synister | Subtractive synth | Instrument | JUCE |
Syntage | VST 2.4 .Net Study Synth | Instrument | |
Temper | Digital distortion targeting VST, VST3, and AU for OS X and Windows | Effect | Faust, JUCE |
Tunefish | VST virtual analog synthesizer | Instrument | JUCE |
traKmeter | Loudness meter for correctly setting up tracking and mixing levels | Effect | JUCE |
VCV Rack | Virtual modular synth | Misc | RtAudio |
VSTSID | SID synthesizer instrument | Instrument | |
VST2413 | FM synth based on emulator of YM2413 (OPLL) chip used in Sega Master System and FM-PAC MSX expansion | Instrument | (no GUI) |
Wolf Shaper | Waveshaper plugin with spline-based graph editor | Effect | DPF |
YK Chorus | Chorus audio effect plugin based on DSP code by TAL | Effect | DPF |
zam-plugins | LADSPA/LV2/VST/JACK audio plugins for high-quality processing | Effect | DPF |
Collections
- Linux Synths - a list of linux based synths, some of which are open source
- SFZ Instruments - a list of SFZ instruments, most of which are free
- VCV library — a library of plugins compatible with VCV Plugin Manager
Open Source Audio Apps
Software | Source | Description |
---|---|---|
Ardour | Ardour/ardour | DAW |
ASIO2WASAPI | levmin/ASIO2WASAPI | Universal ASIO driver for Windows |
Audacity | audacity/audacity | Audio editor |
Carla | falkTX/Carla | GNU/Linux Plugin Host |
Element | Kushview/Element | Advanced Audio Plugin Host |
FlexASIO | dechamps/FlexASIO | Universal ASIO driver for Windows |
Giada | monocasual/giada | Loop machine |
Guitarix | SourceForge → guitarix | GNU/Linux Virtual Amplifier |
Helio Workstation | helio-fm/helio-workstation | Sequencer |
HISE | christophhart/HISE | Cross-platform framework/application for building sample-based virtual instruments (VST, AU, AAX) |
Hydrogen | hydrogen-music/hydrogen | Drum machine |
NewMixer | jatinchowdhury18/NewMixer | Mixing Software |
LMMS | LMMS/lmms | DAW |
OpenMPT | OpenMPT/openmpt | Popular tracker (formerly ModPlug Tracker) for Windows with support for IT, XM, S3M, MOD modules, VST plugins and ASIO |
OwlPlug | DropSnorz/OwlPlug | Audio plugin manager |
orDrumbox | SourceForge → ordrumbox | Drum machine |
Psycle | SourceForge → psycle | Modular music tracker |
StudioRack | github.com/studiorack | Audio plugin manager |
VCV Rack | VCVRack/Rack | Modular synth |
Zrythm | zrythm/zrythm | DAW |

Open Source Software Development Libraries
Library | Source | Description |
---|---|---|
Cabbage | rorywalsh/cabbage | Framework for developing audio plugins and standalone instruments with Csound |
Csound | csound/csound | Programming language for sound and music synthesis |
DPF | DISTRHO/DPF | C++ framework for creating cross-platform audio plugins |
Faust | grame-cncm/faust | Functional programming language for real-time signal processing |
FluidSynth | FluidSynth/fluidsynth | Real-time synth based on the SoundFont 2 specifications |
iPlug 2 | iPlug2/iPlug2 | Simple-to-use C++ framework for developing cross-platform audio plugins/apps |
JUCE | WeAreROLI/JUCE | Cross-platform C++ framework for developing desktop and mobile apps and audio plugins |
jVSTwRapper | SourceForge → jvstwrapper | Wrapper to write audio plugins in Java (VST 2.4, AU, LADSPA; Windows, Linux, macOS) |
libopenmpt | OpenMPT/openmpt | Cross-platform C/C++ module-playback library based on OpenMPT |
PortAudio | Assembla → portaudio | Cross-platform audio I/O library |
RtAudio | thestk/rtaudio | C++ classes for cross-platform real-time audio I/O |
rust-vst | rust-dsp/rust-vst | VST 2.4 API implementation in the Rust language |
Soundpipe | PaulBatchelor/Soundpipe | Lightweight music DSP library written in C; over 100 modules, many ported from Csound |
VSTGUI | steinbergmedia/vstgui | User-interface toolkit mainly for audio plugins |
WDL-OL | olilarkin/wdl-ol | Simple-to-use C++ framework for developing cross-platform audio plugins (superseded by iPlug 2) |
Code Samples
- KlangFalter — a convolution audio plugin (e.g. for usage as convolution reverb)
- FFTConvolver — an audio convolution algorithm in C++ for real-time audio processing
Open Data Resources
- OpenAIR — the Open Acoustic Impulse Response Library (Convolution Reverb Impulse Responses to recreate reverb character of space and equipment/recordings)
Leads are great. They are the sugary surface of any good track. They get you in the door and perk you up.
But we all know what that one special ingredient is… The most important part of arranging and writing songs. It’s the soul of any good track:
Synister Vst Download
The BASS.
But there’s thousands of free VSTs out there. Which ones are good for bass? No sweat. We found all the best ones so you don’t have to dig.
Here’s our 10 favourite free bass VST plugins that will give you bigger, better bass.
Steinberg – Model E
The Model E is a useful 3 oscillator bass station capable of pumping out some nice lines.
The super simple controls make all your options easy to see and tweak. Plus the lower CPU usage means easy breezy basslines in no time.
TAL – Elek7ro
When it comes to free VSTs no one beats TAL. All their free plugins work great and are super useful. I’m a huge fan of their plugins and you should be too.
The Elek7ro is no exception to their history of producing high quality tools. This synth-plug is good for pretty much everything. Including making some nice full basses for your tracks.
It even comes with a super helpful user guide for getting the most out of Elek7ro.
Top Vst Plugins
Plogue – Sforzando TableWarp2
The TableWarp2 is part of Plogue’s Sforzando bundle. It’s a versatile synth that gives you tons of classic sounds…
Including some superb mid-low range basses perfect for beefing up your tracks.
NUsofting – Sinnah
The Sinnah is great. It can create cool noisy tones with its 3 channel delay matrix and feedback sculpting.
It also has a pretty solid onboard EQ which really helps bring out the magic in each tone. So you can get tons of control over the bass sounds you create.
TAL – Bassline
I’ve already talked about the TAL-Bassline in an older Free Plugins article. But I had to put it on this list because it’s so good. The Bassline is basically built for better bass.
This plug has a warm analog sound and ‘robust core‘ for all your bass and acid needs. Plus, the TAL Bassline user guide will have your walls rattling in no time.
u-he – TyrellN6
U-he is another major source for some very superb free plugins. The TyrellN6 is a powerful overall plugin that will give you all varieties of nice analog synth sounds.
Synyster Vst Plugins
That means wicked basses too. It also has some nice triggering features that are super fun to play around with and a nice, clean interface for easy tweakage.
The download page is in german. So if you don’t speak German just scroll down to find the download link!
Ample Sound – Ample Bass P Lite II
The Ample Bass P Lite II is a nice electric bass plug perfect for some groovier and more rock-centric bass sounds.
Ample Bass also comes with some nice ‘articulations’ including palm mute, slap and legato slide for those little accents that makes bass pop.
LinPlug – FreeAlpha
This plugin is the free version of LinPlug’s Alpha. But just because it’s the free version doesn’t mean it’s not good. In fact, it’s great!
FreeAlpha‘s 2 oscillators are perfect for all sorts of nice basses and the built-in presets are superb starting points for all types of bass and more.
Bruce Sutherland – JUCEoplvsti
If you ever dreamed of making all those incredible sounds that lived on old DOS games then this plugin is your hot ticket.
JuceOPLVSTI is modelled on the Yamaha OPL sound chip found in some old PC computers.
Juce’s interface is a lot like a video game and is super easy to use to get some superb basses, leads and pretty much any other sound you need from an FM synth.
Synister – Synister
Synister is one of the best looking and easiest to use synth plugins I’ve ever seen. This 3 oscillator synth is perfect for making all types of basslines.
The interface is simple, organized and easy to follow. The effects, envelopes, oscillators, LFOs and filters all have their own drop down menus for an easy workflow. And it even has a built in step sequencer!
The bassline bottomline
A good bassline can make or break a track. Finding the best one for your track can be tricky.
These bass VSTs will give you everything you need to find the right one (Hot tip: Turn your monitors way up while you’re experimenting if you wanna meet the neighbours).
Put these in your DAW, start experimenting and take a trip to the international bass station.
Synister Plugin
If you’re already set for bass check out our other Free VST Plugin Favourites: