Music Tech Focus

The 12 Best Soft Synths Money Can Buy

Rules

1. Only one synth per company

2. Has to (still be) available to buy separately from any DAW or bundle

3. Not freeware (that’s a separate list)

4. Available to run in 64-bit

5. Why 12? Why not?

6. Vote to change this chart at www.musictech.net

Lennar Digital Sylenth1

Sylenth1 has been around for longer than pretty much every other synth in our Top 12 and has become a legendary synth in the world of plug-ins. Its developer is fairly quiet and updates are rare, with the 64-bit version only arriving a year ago, but it was well worth the wait. Sylenth1 might be old, but this four-oscillator, two-filter analogue-style synth has launched more dance tracks than most and has a sound that can be the backbone to any track in many styles. Thanks to easy-to-use effects, massive polyphony and an easy ability to tweak and refine the onboard sounds – of which there are over 1,300 – this synth was, as they say, designed to perform. And it certainly still does just that…

U-He Diva

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