Best Software Synths for Mac of 2025

LMMS

Compose music on Windows, Linux and macOS. Compose songs, create sequences, mix and automate in one simple interface. Play the notes with a MIDI controller or using your computer keyboard. Consolidate instrument tracks using the Rhythm + Bass Editor. Fine-tune patterns, notes, chords, and melodies with the Piano Roll Editor. Full automation based on user-defined tracks and computer controlled automation sources. Import MIDI files and Hydrogen projects. Built-in support for 64-bit VST instruments via 32-bit VST bridge (Windows 64-bit). Support for LADSPA plugins. Support for VST® Effects Plugins (Linux and Windows). Built-in compressor, limiter, delay, reverb, distortion, and bass booster. Graphic and parametric equalizers included. Built-in spectrum analyzer / viewer. Create music with your computer, making melodies and rhythms, synthesizing and mixing sounds, arranging samples, and much more.

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Reason

Reason Studios

Reason is a powerful collection of fantastic instruments, synthesizers and effects for you to create endless amazing sounds and music. Use it as a plugin with your favorite DAW or produce music in Reason standalone. Sound Packs are like musical building blocks that just sound perfect together. Sound Packs are filled with Reason patches (aka presets) that are powerful combinations of various Reason devices, made by world-class sound designers. With new Sound Packs every week, you’ve always got somewhere to turn for some inspiration.

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Syntronik

Ik Multimedia

Syntronik is a cutting-edge virtual synthesizer that raises the bar in sound quality and flexibility thanks to the most advanced sampling techniques combined with a new hybrid sample and modeling synthesis engine. Syntronik includes 17 amazing Synths, available as a collection or separately, with over 2,000 preset sounds covering a wide selection from 38 of the most iconic to ultra-rare and painstakingly multi-sampled vintage synthesizers. Syntronik’s synthesis engine goes well beyond traditional sampling thanks to a brand new analog modeled filter section created with the utmost expertise from IK, the pioneer in virtual circuit modeling. This is coupled with exclusive DRIFT™ technology to accurately reproduce the behavior of oscillators from real hardware synths. All of this combined with an effects section that is unrivaled in the world of virtual instruments along with advanced features like 4-part Multis, splits and arpeggiators make Syntronik the ultimate source of inspiration.

Starting Price: $299.99 one-time payment

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Krotos Concept 2

Krotos

Concept 2 is everything you want in a modern synth plugin, beautiful sounds without the complexity of operation found in many other synths. Your time is valuable, and so we wanted to give you access to a rich sound design palette without having to spend time learning how to use it. With Concept 2, you can get lost in the music, not the manual. We designed Concept 2 for musicians, producers, composers, sound designers, and post-production professionals who want to create sounds fast. Here are just some of the highlights of the benefits of creating sounds with Concept 2. With tons of great-sounding presets from top artists, including Roni Size, Richard Devine, and Kayla Painter, there’s every chance you’ll find a sound that works right out of the box. Cinematic lush pads, organic soundscapes, stirring strings, killer bass synths, screaming leads, and more. Presets are a great starting point, but Concept 2 gives you access to almost limitless routing parameters to shape the sound.

Starting Price: $149 one-time payment

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Music Maker JAM

Loudly

With Music Maker JAM, anyone can create amazing music, and instantly release it to a community of millions. Join the music revolution now. Make it yours, you can choose from hundreds of mix packs across all genres, from hip hip to rock. Or remix the tracks of hot artists and producers to create your own take on a song. Combine studio-quality samples in our 8-track mixer, then add FX to make your own sound. You can even add your own vocals. Take your music to the next level with PRO, bringing you exclusive access to all of our best JAM features. Choose from 300+ Mix Packs with a 100k+ loops library. Become a producer who records live with a perfect mixdown on the 8-channel mixer. Access thousands of studio-quality loops; from beats and vocals to synth leads and bass lines. Compose your own unique sound by combining samples from different music genres. Remix free/premium audio loops from our store. Add vocals to your track on top of studio-quality beats.

Starting Price: Free

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VCV RACK

VCV RACK simulates a modular synthesizer where each module itself can be a challenge to simulate on a modern computer, whether it’s a virtual analog model with hundreds of analog components to simulate, or a digital module designed to be run on an ARM microprocessor similar to your smart phone’s. A common patch of a hundred modules can require billions of floating point calculations per second to simulate and millions of 2D path elements to draw using OpenGL. Use VCV Recorder to record audio or video. It operates in engine “time”, not real-time, and therefore does not record real-time audio hiccups/stuttering. This means that any hiccups/stuttering you hear in real time will not be present when the recording is played back. Plugins extend VCV RACK functionality by adding one or more modules to use in your patch. Plugins are typically installed via the VCV Library. Save, share, edit, and move around selections of modules.

Starting Price: $19 per month

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TyrellN6

u-he

TyrellN6 is a compact, sporty synth. Based on concepts and ideas for a hardware synth: a few modules, novel features, analog sound, and low cost. TyrellN6 is the software version manifestation of these ideas. Available as a free download exclusively from the German online magazine Amazona. TyrellN6 is a free virtual analog synthesizer developed by u-he, inspired by the design of classic hardware synths like the Roland Juno 60. It features two oscillators, noise, a ring modulator, and two LFOs with eight waveforms. The audio source mixer includes authentic overdrive and filter feedback, while the twin filter is related to u-he's Diva synthesizer. TyrellN6 supports unison with up to eight voices and offers analog-type ADSR envelopes that are loopable or LFO-triggered. A small modulation matrix with depth modulation from a second source, a chorus effect with three modes, and MIDI learn/unlearn for hardware control are also included.

Starting Price: Free

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ZebraCM

u-he

ZebraCM is a stripped-down version of Zebra2 with a selection of modules organized in a simple layout. Though smaller, ZebraCM is still an adept synthesizer with enough features to keep you busy before stepping up to the full experience of Zebra2. ZebraCM was commissioned by Computer Music magazine for their readers. Two wavetable oscillators with 16 waves each, featuring integrated sync and spectral filtering. Supports up to 16 voices, with options for duophonic, monophonic, and legato modes. Includes white, pink, digital, and crackles noise types. Equipped with 20 modes, encompassing various lowpass, bandpass, notch, shelf, and all-pass filters. Offers three LFOs and two ADSR envelopes with fall/rise sustain. Features chorus, delay, and reverb effects. Provides a resizable and skinnable UI, adjustable from 70% to 200%. Comes with 221 factory presets.

Starting Price: Free

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BazilleCM

u-he

BazilleCM is a streamlined version of u-he's modular synthesizer, Bazille, offering a compact yet powerful synthesis environment. It features two digital oscillators capable of simultaneous frequency modulation, phase distortion, and fractal resonance, providing a rich palette for sound design. The synthesizer includes a multimode analog-style filter with six parallel outputs, two ADSR envelopes with adjustable sustain slopes, and a low-frequency oscillator with multiple waveforms. A 16-step sequencer with eight morphable snapshots allows for intricate pattern creation. Additional components such as multiplex units for mixing and modulation, a built-in stereo delay, and various audio-rate signal processors enhance its versatility. BazilleCM supports a polyphony of up to eight voices and offers a resizable, skinnable user interface. It comes with over 265 factory presets to inspire creativity.

Starting Price: Free

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Beatzille

u-he

Beatzille is a compact version of our monster modular synthesizer Bazille. Although its condensed feature set makes it the ‘little brother’, Beatzille is still an engaging and capable synthesizer. Power and style run in the family. Digital oscillators, analog-style filters,s, and flexible patching will keep you busy for a good while before thinking about tackling Bazille. Striking the balance between too much and too little, Beatzille is the happy medium. It presents an introduction to modular synthesis and a taste of the power of Bazille without being overwhelming. All three synthesis methods run simultaneously, so you can combine them to create an extensive range of sounds. Beatzille is great at generating weird modular blips and squeaks, but you can even coax soft pads and organic keys from the oscillators, as demonstrated by the factory library. Add modulation for even more sound possibilities.

Starting Price: Free

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Triple Cheese

u-he

Triple Cheese is a unique freeware synthesizer that employs comb filters for sound generation instead of traditional oscillators or wavetables. It features three comb filter modules arranged in series, each offering eight different modes, allowing for a wide range of sound design possibilities. The synthesizer supports polyphonic (up to 16 voices), duophonic, monophonic, and legato modes, with adjustable portamento time. It includes two ADSR envelopes with customizable sustain stages, two host-sync-able LFOs (one regular and one "vibrator" with delay and amplitude modulation), and a VCA with amplitude modulation and pan controls. Triple Cheese also offers five built-in effects, including chorus, flanger, phaser, delay, and reverb. Modulation sources encompass wheels, velocity, pressure, breath, key follow, and random inputs. The user interface is scalable from 70% to 200% and skinnable, providing flexibility in appearance.

Starting Price: Free

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Podolski

u-he

Created in 2005 and still going strong. Podolski is a free, straightforward, CPU-efficient virtual analog synthesizer. One oscillator, one filter, one envelope, and an arpeggiator/sequencer. Simple, but with a few tricks up its sleeve. Create high-quality sounds with ease. Podolski is a simple, CPU-efficient virtual analog synthesizer. Basically a cut-down version of FilterscapeVA with just one oscillator, one filter, one envelope, and two LFOs, it also features a Zebra-style arpeggiator/sequencer plus chorus and delay effects. Podolski's specialties are the click parameter (which emphasizes the filter attack) and its ability to seamlessly morph between three waveforms (WaveWarp). Oscillator with variable symmetry (sawtooth to triangle, PWM) and glide. Combination arpeggiator/16-step sequencer with extra modulation source. ADSR or HDSR, linear or exponential. Sustain has fall/rise control.

Starting Price: Free

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Zebralette

u-he

Zebralette is our version of a Trojan horse. A free synthesizer and an introduction to Zebra2's fantastic oscillators. Perhaps it will persuade you to try Zebra2 and upgrade. If one oscillator is this powerful, imagine what you can achieve with four, and all the other great features available in Zebra2. Zebralette is an introduction to Zebra2's powerful oscillators. Zebra2 can seem overwhelming at first glance, so we stripped it down to a single oscillator plus a few other features and created Zebralette, the little Zebra. Once you master Zebralette you can move up to Zebra2 with confidence. Your presets can come with you, as Zebralette presets can be opened in Zebra2. But more than a teaching tool, Zebralette is an incredible-sounding synth in its own right. Surrounding Zebra's spectral oscillator with a few core modulation options and effects makes Zebralette highly capable.

Starting Price: Free

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Serum

Xfer Records

The dream synthesizer did not seem to exist, a wavetable synthesizer with a truly high-quality sound, visual and creative workflow-oriented interface to make creating and altering sounds fun instead of tedious, and the ability to “go deep” when desired - to create/import/edit/morph wavetables, and manipulate these on playback in real-time. Serum has a wavetable editor built right in, you can create your own wavetables in a variety of ways. Import audio directly from audio files. Serum has a variety of methods and options for analyzing audio for breaking it apart into individual waveforms. You can import single-cycle wavetables of course, as well as many at once (with in-built sorting options, or manual re-ordering). Morph between various wavetables using standard linear interpolation (crossfading) or via harmonic/spectral morphing. Draw directly on the waveform, with optional grid-size snapping and a variety of shape tools.

Starting Price: $189 one-time payment

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Kilohearts Phase Plant

Kilohearts

Phase Plant’s open modular architecture gives you the freedom to design anything from compact synths to complex evolving patches within an ecosystem that is fun and intuitive to use. Combine as many generators, modulators, and effects as you need to create your own unique sounds with precision and ease. Choose from regular waveforms, wavetables, samples, and noise for your source sounds. Make use of an extensive selection of factory wavetables or design your own with Phase Plant’s advanced wavetable editor. Start with solid foundations to create original layers and combinations of sounds within one synth. Phase Plant comes with Kilohearts Essentials, a large range of useful effects plugins. These are all available as snapins to be combined and modulated as you desire in Phase Plant’s three effects lanes. Keep all your FX processing right inside Phase Plant and baked into your presets. Premium Effects are available to buy separately to further bolster your sound design capabilities.

Starting Price: $99 one-time payment

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Generate

Newfangled Audio

Generate, developed by Newfangled Audio, is a unique cinematic polysynth that combines chaotic oscillators with traditional synthesis elements to create evolving and dynamic sounds. It features eight chaotic generators capable of smoothly transitioning from sine waves to complex, unpredictable textures, offering a vast sonic palette. The synthesizer includes five wave folder types, providing diverse harmonic shaping options. Generate's modulation system is extensive, allowing users to modulate any control with MIDI or MPE, facilitating expressive performances. The built-in effects suite comprises delay, reverb, chorus, and more, enabling further sound enhancement. With over 800 professional and artist presets covering basses, leads, pads, plucks, rhythms, sequences, and textures, Generate serves as a versatile tool for musicians and sound designers seeking innovative and evolving sounds.

Starting Price: $49 one-time payment

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Pendulate

Newfangled Audio

Pendulate, developed by Newfangled Audio, is a free chaotic mono synth that introduces a novel approach to sound generation through its double-pendulum oscillator. This unique oscillator design allows for seamless transitions from pure sine waves to complex, chaotic textures, enabling the creation of biting basses, searing leads, and gritty soundscapes. Inspired by the designs of synthesizer pioneer Don Buchla, Pendulate incorporates a wave folder and low pass gate, further expanding its sonic capabilities. The user interface features an innovative modulation system, permitting modulation of every control directly from the main page, with support for up to 325 simultaneous modulation routings. Additionally, Pendulate offers MPE support, enhancing expressive control with compatible hardware. The synthesizer comes equipped with 136 presets, including contributions from professional artists.

Starting Price: $49 one-time payment

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Vital

Vital Audio

Give new life to wavetables by using Vital's spectral oscillator warping. Spectral warping acts on a waveform's harmonics and can create drastically different shapes and timbres from a simple source. Turn your own samples into wavetables by using Vital's pitch-splice or vocode wavetable converter. Create wavetables from scratch using the built-in wavetable editor and even generate wavetables from text. Vital is a visual synthesizer. See what's happening behind the scenes with animated controls, filter responses, waveforms, smooth LFOs, oscilloscopes, spectrograms, and more. All animations run at 60 frames per second and are GPU optimized which leaves your CPU to do its real job, the audio processing. Modulate Vital's controls with a fast, drag-and-drop workflow. Vital gives you a preview of the modulation before committing so you can quickly experiment without ruining your sound.

Starting Price: $5 per month

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HALion

Steinberg

HALion is a comprehensive virtual sampling and sound design system developed by Steinberg, offering a versatile platform for creating and manipulating sounds. It combines advanced sampling capabilities with a powerful synthesizer engine, providing users with a vast array of tools for sound creation. HALion supports multiple forms of sound synthesis, including granular, wavetable, and virtual analog synthesis, allowing for a wide range of sonic possibilities. The software features a user-friendly interface with a customizable macro page designer, enabling users to create personalized user interfaces for their instruments. Additionally, HALion includes a comprehensive library of high-quality samples and presets, covering various instruments and genres. It integrates seamlessly with major digital audio workstations and supports VST, AU, and AAX plug-in formats, making it a flexible tool for music production and sound design.

Starting Price: $366.92 per month

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SunVox

WarmPlace.ru

SunVox is a compact, fast, and powerful modular synthesizer combined with a pattern-based sequencer (tracker), designed for music enthusiasts who wish to compose music anytime, anywhere, on any device or system. It is available for multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, Linux (x86, x86_64, ARM, ARM64), iOS, Android, and Windows CE, with free versions for most systems except Android and iOS. SunVox features highly optimized synth algorithms and a flexible architecture, supporting various sound systems such as ASIO, DirectSound, MME, ALSA, OSS, JACK, Audiobus, and IAA. It functions as an AU instrument/effect on iOS and supports 16/24/32-bit WAV, AIFF, and XI samples, along with multitrack WAV export capabilities. The software offers MIDI In/Out/Import/Export, real-time sample recording, and a powerful microtonal sequencer. Users can import XM (FastTracker) and MOD (ProTracker, OctaMED) files and perform real-time recording of various sound events.

Starting Price: Free

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Qithesizer

Robkoo

Qithesizer is a powerful multi-engine hybrid software synthesizer designed with wind controllers in mind, combining virtual analog, wavetable, and physical modeling synthesis into one versatile platform. It features two wavetable oscillators, four physical instrument models, three noise generators, three classical filters, two envelope generators, two LFOs, four modulation slots, 11 modulation sources, and 18 modulation destinations, allowing users to craft their own unique sounds. The app includes a patch library for immediate sound creation and supports playability via keyboards and other MIDI controllers, making it accessible even for beginners without prior synthesis knowledge. Real-time visualizations provide visual feedback synchronized with performances, enhancing confidence during play. Qithesizer is available on iPad, iPhone, and Mac (requiring an Apple M1 chip or later), and supports AUv3 format for integration with hosts on iPad, iPhone, and DAWs like Logic Pro on Mac.

Starting Price: $12.99 one-time payment

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KAOSSILATOR PRO+

Korg

The Korg KAOSSILATOR PRO+ is a dynamic phrase synthesizer and loop recorder that allows users to create and perform multi-layered music across various genres with a simple touch of the X/Y touchpad. It features 250 sound programs, including 62 new additions, covering styles such as hip-hop, house, dubstep, and rock. The loop recording function supports up to four measures, enabling intuitive performance and track creation with four infinitely stackable loop banks. Users can set musical scales and keys to ensure accurate performances, and the gate arpeggiator function facilitates easy phrase control via a slider. The device includes line and mic inputs for recording external audio sources, and its USB MIDI capability allows it to function as a versatile MIDI controller. Additionally, the KAOSSILATOR PRO+ supports saving loop data and external WAV files on SD/SDHC cards, with dedicated editor software available for managing sample data and settings.

Starting Price: $9.99 one-time payment

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Animoog Z

Moog

Animoog Z is an inspiring 16-voice polyphonic synthesizer that invites you to explore new concepts of multidimensional sound design and performance. Powered by Moog’s Anisotropic Synth Engine (ASE), Animoog Z empowers you to visually traverse new sonic universes and even create your own. ASE utilizes a novel orbit system to expand the concepts of wavetable and vector synthesis, allowing you to navigate dynamically through the X, Y, and Z axes of sound. Sound design with Animoog Z is immediate and intuitive, simply select and drag the orbit path to explore endless sonic configurations. Animoog Z captures the immediate and intuitive experience of Moog synthesizers and applies it to the modern digital paradigm, enabling you to quickly sculpt incredibly fluid and dynamic sounds that live, breathe, and evolve as you play them. Use Animoog Z’s built-in keyboard to control pitch and pressure per voice (or send MIDI out), or connect your favorite MPE controller.

Starting Price: Free

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Voice Synth

Voice Synth is a professional live instrument designed to create incredible new voices, choirs, rhythms, sounds, and soundscapes based on your own unique voice. Speak, sing, hum, or beatbox into the mic to transform your voice live into various forms, such as a baby or tenor, a pop star with AutoPitch, a robot from Cylon to Dalek, a church or close harmony choir, animals from birds to dogs and lions, musical instruments like organs, guitars, and groovy bass to percussions, and rich 70's vocoders. The app includes over 200 factory presets to get you started. It offers two play modes, live mode and sampler mode. The vocoder features three voice modes, natural, robot, and breath. The Vocoder Designer provides tools to design your own vocoder with four oscillators and various synthesis options. Additional features include a pitch tracker, formant shifter, pitch and scale shifter, stroboscopic vocoder gating, and classic effects.

Starting Price: Free

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Helm

Helm runs in GNU/Linux, Mac OSX and Windows. Run Helm as a standalone synthesizer or as an LV2, VST, VST3 or AU plugin. Comes in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. This means you are free to run Helm anywhere without the pains of DRM, you can study and change the source code and redistribute exact or modified copies of Helm. Helm is a software synthesizer. You use it to create electronic music on your computer. Helm is free as in freedom. This means you control this software, it doesn't control you. In terms of money, Helm is pay what you want. So you are free to pay nothing. Any sound that comes out of Helm belongs to the person who played it. You are the copyright holder to any sound you create with Helm. You can turn some modules on and of. They have little power buttons in the top left that you can click to turn them on or of. The SUB module is one of the three sound producers in Helm. It controls a single oscillator that by default plays one octave below the currently played note.

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KOMPLETE

Native Instruments

Flagship synths, immersive platforms, unique sampled instruments, and sounds for any genre, production, or performance. KOMPLETE 13 packs the very best Native has to offer into a do-it-all production toolkit that includes brand-new GUITAR RIG 6 PRO, SUPER 8, NOIRE, and much more. From beats, to screen scores, to conjuring underground sounds – KOMPLETE 13 is curated for genre-bending versatility and endless inspiration, whatever you create. Get it all for less with a huge saving on the combined cost of each product in KOMPLETE 13. Revamped, redesigned, and reimagined with new amps, effects, and ways to sculpt your sound. An eight-voice, modern take on vintage polysynthesis. Warm tones and a wide sweet spot. The signature sound of Nils Frahm’s evocative concert grand, captured at its home in Berlin’s Funkhaus complex.

Starting Price: $599 one-time payment

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Caelum Audio

Plugins, samples and free stuff. Distortions and effects for making big sounds. Premium pack containing crunchy summertime cassette stems. Multi-FX tape plugin with a huge amount of custom control. RMS compressor plugin with a bold and aggressive sound. Peak compressor plugin with a transparent and elegant sound. Premium 808 sample pack. Premium organic sample pack from the British countryside. Synchronized amp and filter custom envelope. Improved and rebuilt plugin that recreates the classic sound of tape cassettes. Even more synth loops, MIDI and WAVs are provided. More sounds from the human body, dry and processed WAVs. Finger cracking samples, dry and processed WAVs. Please ensure your DAW can load VST3 format plugins and is set up to see the containing directory. If you used the installer's default location this should be fine. Ensure that VST3 is turned on in your DAW.

Starting Price: $16.47 one-time payment

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Roland Zenbeats

Roland

Roland Zenbeats is a music creation app that keeps you in an effortless artistic flow. Get started on any device or platform. With its collection of both modern and legendary sounds, Zenbeats brings Roland’s history of innovation into a new, accessible format. Whether you’re an emerging musician or an established producer, Zenbeats makes music creation easy. Make beats, take lessons, and sample the world around you. Wherever you are, no matter what platform or device you use, capture your creative spark with Zenbeats. ZC1 is a new plug-in synthesizer using Roland’s ZEN-Core Synthesis System. Available in Zenbeats as a free instrument, ZC1 has 60 presets and a sleek touch-based interface. Use the XY pad for Resonance and Cutoff or other parameters. Plus, unlock ZC1 to share sounds with ZENOLOGY and ZEN-Core-compatible hardware and get around 900 additional preset tones and 90 built-in MFX effects. These sounds cover a wide range from acoustic and electronic to ethnic instruments.

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ZENOLOGY

Roland

Synthesizers are in just about every style of modern music, so you need something versatile, authentic, and forward-thinking. ZENOLOGY embodies nearly 50 years of synthesizer research and development. Its roots go back to the dawn of synthesis. Its future will reshape your relationship with sound. For decades, Roland sounds have had a massive influence on music. A string of legendary instruments defined genres like techno, house, rap, trap, and hip hop, and deeply influenced pop, rock, and film music. This experience has culminated in the ZEN-Core Synthesis System. It’s the most advanced sound engine we’ve ever made, powering our professional synthesizers like JUPITER-X and FANTOM, used on stages and in studios around the world. ZENOLOGY is an expandable plug-in version of the ZEN-Core Synthesis System. ZEN-Core is based on discrete synth voices,each containing a flexible oscillator, filter, amplifier, dual step-LFOs, and lush effects.

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Roland Cloud

Roland

Roland Cloud is an evolving cloud-based suite of software synthesizers, drum machines, and sampled instruments for modern creators. Harness the vast power of the ZEN-Core Synthesis System and dive deep into the world of custom sound design with ZENOLOGY Pro. For nearly fifty years, Roland has delivered memorable, genre-defining sounds. And a big part of that sonic footprint is our unique approach to effects processing. The swirling JUNO chorus, feedback-drenched tape echo, and other sounds have left their mark on countless tracks over the decades, and with ZENOLOGY FX, you can now add that flavor to any keyboard sound or instrument track right inside your DAW. With over 90 processors to choose from, there's a wealth of ways to make your synth sounds come alive. Add delays to arps, larger-than-life modulation effects to chord progressions, and twist and distort basses and lead tones that leap from the speakers.

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Best Software Synths for Mac

Compare the Top Software Synths for Mac as of June 2025

What are Software Synths for Mac?