There are so many good synthesizers on the market it is hard to know which to try out better yet which are worth buying and investing time to learn. Here we have collected the best 5 best synth plugins for you to use. Each plugin has been chosen by its popularity and quality, so you’ll know exactly what you are getting.
This blog post contains our 5 Best Free or Paid Synthesizer Plugins. In addition, we have included links to their respective websites for easy installation and download.
Diva
The legendary Diva synth is a must have for all electronic producers. It’s described as a “dinosaur impersonating virtual analogue synthesizer” aka D.I.V.A. That pretty much sums it up – it looks like an old synth and is super fun to use. Diva beautifully simulates the noisy, warm, and beautiful sounds of retro synths – in a fresh interface with many features. Start your sound by choosing one of the five oscillator models are based on classic synth hardware. The first five filter models are classics. There are dozens more available now, with three or more modulation slots, LFOs, and various other sonic options. Create any sound you want for your house, techno, or electronic music.
The best digital synth out there is Diva. It simulates the sounds of analogue synths beautifully, and it’s also easy to use. Load up your favorite preset, or start from scratch – Diva is easy to set up and use. The LFO section (Low Frequency Oscillators) on the rear panel are great for adding “breathing” to your bass lines or other low-frequency elements to your music.
Specs: 5 Oscillator Banks, 5 Filter Banks, 2 Envelopes, 2 LFOs, Plus an FX Section and Oscilloscope.
Synth Type: Virtual Analog
Diva is developed by U-He and is not inexpensive by any means. It can be purchased on their website.
Serum
The ultimate wavetable synthesizer for sound designers is the Serum synth. It comes with two ultra-wide oscillator sections and a huge variety of waveforms to choose from.
Additionally, it features many effects including filter, LFO, envelopes and more. The possibilities are almost endless when combining these elements in various ways. The Subharmonic Oscillator (Sub O) adds thick, lush bass sounds, perfect for adding weight to all your tracks.
The Noise Oscillator (Noise) adds a subtle hiss effect that creates a unique sound.
A great, versatile synth.
Specs: 4 Oscillators, 1 Filter, 3 Envelopes, 4 LFOs, and a Suite of FX.
Synth Type: Wavetable
The Serum synth software is developed by Xfer Records and can be purchased for download on their website.
Checkout Serum in Action
Vital
Vital is the new kid on the block in the synth community. It’s a high-quality wavetable synth that allows you to easily create your own wavetables through its text-to-audio conversion.
Many have called Vital a “Serum killer” but for us we still prefer the functionality and sound of Serum and it’s ultra clean oscaillators.
This will become a go-to synth for many producers in 2022.
Specs: 3 Wavetable Oscillators, 2 Filters, 3 Envelopes, 4 LFOs, Plus Random Generators, Macro Controls, and an Extensive FX Section.
Synth Type: Wavetable
Vital is developed by Vital Audio and has different pricing structures (starting at free for a limited feature build). You can find complete details on the Vital Audio website.
Massive X
This is the most powerful Massive synth yet created by Tom Oberholtz! With over 170 wavetables in ten different reading modes, plus the ability to switchable skins, a massive sound bank, and a GUI that’s easy to use yet features powerful controls, this is one synth you won’t want to share.
Start with the two oscillators, which feature over 170 wavetables in 10 different reading modes, plus purposeful controls and modes like Gorilla, King, Kang and Kong. In addition to having a powerful interface, Massive X comes with 16 assignable macro controls, many high-quality filters, effects, and voicing options to express your creativity and shape your sound.
There are also several routing features that let you connect any output to any plugin input for some very interesting results. This synth plugin is one of the flagship synthesizers from Native Instruments and a great choice for electronic music producers.
Massive X is developed by Native Instruments and can be purchased on their website.
Omnisphere 2
Omnisphere 2 is truly a ‘Masterpiece’ of a synth. It has everything you could ever want or need… even more than you could ever imagine!
There are so many great features, it will take your breath away! Get this bad boy… and never stop playing! When you want the absolute best possible sounds, there’s nothing else you can buy that comes close to Omnisphere. It’s one of the easiest, most intuitive synthesizer to use and it has the most incredible collection of sound effects and multi-layered organic instrument sounds available anywhere.
Includes over 14,000 sounds along with 58 different sound effects that range from top-of-the-line distortions to analog phasers to spring reverbs.
If it was not for the price, Omnisphere would be our top pick but the price tag hurts the price to performance ratio. Still, if you are not on a tight budget, you cannot go wrong with Omnisphere 2.
Omnisphere 2 is developed by Spectrasonics and can be purchased here.
Check Out Omnisphere 2 in Action
See the video below to see some of the capabilities of the Omnispehere 2 synth.
We hope this deep dive into our favorite sytnhs for 2022 will give you the ammunition you need to make the right call on your next purchase. As always, please leave a comment and let us know if we missed any of your favorites.
