Official Serum 2 thread!

[DorianBloom]

Serum 2 has essentially had me sell of 80% of my soft synths. I still use Phase Plant, Massive X, FM8, Bitwig grid and Tal Mod, but Serum 2 does about 70% of the work now. So good.

Does anyone else experience the 'bug' when changing unisons voices? It's also a feature in S1, the arrows don't always function when clicking. It seems to sometimes work better when you expand the plugin window though. It's an odd bug to have persisted between versions.

Yeah I have been really getting into it too. At first I don't know what was, but I wasn't immediately blown away by it. But all the cool little add ones like the sequencer / note tools, FX routings, really do add up to making it a cool synth.
I would say I still do more in the grid / bitwig, because its so flexible and integrated into the DAW, and like you there are still a few others I use a lot (phase plant, Icarus, and now Zebra 3) but serum is in heavy rotation!
We are quite lucky at the moment...

[swilow11]

Serum 2 has essentially had me sell of 80% of my soft synths. I still use Phase Plant, Massive X, FM8, Bitwig grid and Tal Mod, but Serum 2 does about 70% of the work now. So good.

Does anyone else experience the 'bug' when changing unisons voices? It's also a feature in S1, the arrows don't always function when clicking. It seems to sometimes work better when you expand the plugin window though. It's an odd bug to have persisted between versions.

Yeah I have been really getting into it too. At first I don't know what was, but I wasn't immediately blown away by it. But all the cool little add ones like the sequencer / note tools, FX routings, really do add up to making it a cool synth.
I would say I still do more in the grid / bitwig, because its so flexible and integrated into the DAW, and like you there are still a few others I use a lot (phase plant, Icarus, and now Zebra 3) but serum is in heavy rotation!
We are quite lucky at the moment...

Indeed we are. Spoiled for choice.

I have to say that despite Serum 2 massive depth and complexity, I find myself mainly making simpler patches. I used to make wildly convoluted things with modulation everywhere and macros which were essentially full preset warps. But I would find the patches hard to arrange, particularly after returning to them weeks after creation. I'd lose the logic behind my decisions and would hear something I didn't like which would make stepping through the mod matrix to find the source annoying. Still use maybe 30 slots per patch but I'm a big fan of very subtle randomisation, note on random is my most used modulator which I like to throw liberally across parameters but only very small amounts.

I've rarely used many mod sources. I thought I'd be using the oscillators as mod sources way more than I do. Still, it's great having this capacity and given how I build a patch, it's always easier to use Serum over Phase Plant. Having to instantiate 15 randoms a patch makes things unwieldy. For me, the place where Phase Plant shines is in making complex multiband nested FX chains.

Polygrid is so good too. Mainly making generative atmospheric things which I sample into a granular synth.

Although recently been demoing Diva a lot and appreciating how damn good this sounds.

[DorianBloom]

Serum 2 has essentially had me sell of 80% of my soft synths. I still use Phase Plant, Massive X, FM8, Bitwig grid and Tal Mod, but Serum 2 does about 70% of the work now. So good.

Does anyone else experience the 'bug' when changing unisons voices? It's also a feature in S1, the arrows don't always function when clicking. It seems to sometimes work better when you expand the plugin window though. It's an odd bug to have persisted between versions.

Yeah I have been really getting into it too. At first I don't know what was, but I wasn't immediately blown away by it. But all the cool little add ones like the sequencer / note tools, FX routings, really do add up to making it a cool synth.
I would say I still do more in the grid / bitwig, because its so flexible and integrated into the DAW, and like you there are still a few others I use a lot (phase plant, Icarus, and now Zebra 3) but serum is in heavy rotation!
We are quite lucky at the moment...

Indeed we are. Spoiled for choice.

I have to say that despite Serum 2 massive depth and complexity, I find myself mainly making simpler patches. I used to make wildly convoluted things with modulation everywhere and macros which were essentially full preset warps. But I would find the patches hard to arrange, particularly after returning to them weeks after creation. I'd lose the logic behind my decisions and would hear something I didn't like which would make stepping through the mod matrix to find the source annoying. Still use maybe 30 slots per patch but I'm a big fan of very subtle randomisation, note on random is my most used modulator which I like to throw liberally across parameters but only very small amounts.

I've rarely used many mod sources. I thought I'd be using the oscillators as mod sources way more than I do. Still, it's great having this capacity and given how I build a patch, it's always easier to use Serum over Phase Plant. Having to instantiate 15 randoms a patch makes things unwieldy. For me, the place where Phase Plant shines is in making complex multiband nested FX chains.

Polygrid is so good too. Mainly making generative atmospheric things which I sample into a granular synth.

Although recently been demoing Diva a lot and appreciating how damn good this sounds.

This is why I hate and don't use Marcos. I prefer to just automate individual parameters in the DAW. Getting to the logic of a preset can be finicky.
This is a reason hy I love using the Grid in Bitwig You can make your patch so elegant - just using only what you need. Each parameter can be immediately modulated or automated with incredible integration into the DAW. It really is amazing.

For macros, I really like the approach that Melda has taken with its 'banks'
You can use a parameter to sweep through banks of parameter snapshots. To me it is much more powerful tan simple macros and so much mote flexible.
I have wished phase plant would implement something like this TBH.

[Echoes in the Attic]

Just updated serum to 2.1. Anybody notice the new k35 filter (ms-20 style), which has a LP to HP knob. So you could set up a HP into LP like an ms-20 if you wanted to. Sounds pretty good.

[Morty-C-137]

Cool update. Nice to now have preset back and forward arrows for the FX modules! Currently it only shows when hovering over it, but I would not mind for it to find a permanent place on the GUI.

[kvotchin]

So, what’s rhe state of CPUs vs. Serum 2 at this stage?

In other words, what’s proved to be the determining factors in CPU architecture, for being able to “max out” Serum 2?

Okay, obviously not truly maxing it out in every way. But you know what I mean: pushing it in the ways that really torture the CPU.

Does the prize go to AMD, Intel, or Apple? Or is it so close it doesn’t even matter..

[Echoes in the Attic]

I wish there was a view where you could see both filters at once instead of only all three oscillators at once. I think if anything, having the oscillator view being tabbed, and the filters being untabbed, and always visible, like Spire, is the more useful view. However having the option would be cool. Sometimes when designing the overall oscillator sound it's useful to see and be able to edit all oscs at once, however sometimes it's more useful to have quick access to both filters, especially when setting up filter modulation.

[PsYAuM]

Where can I find the change log for 2.1.1?

[zvenx]

in your account under the release notes:

## [2.1.1] - 2026-03-27


- Fixed invalid text in LFO [Y] drop target for first & last points

- Fixed Logic Pro assigning wrong automation parameters when loading old projects


## [2.1.0] - 2026-03-25


- Added "Double-Click to rename presets" preference (default: off)

- Added "Link to S1 Presets" preference to Serum2Prefs.json

- Added "Velocity Legato" option to set whether velocity updates when playing legato

- Added Filter Type: K35

- Added FX unit preset name display on hover

- Added Poly Count and Voice Steal Priority settings to Arp tab right-click menu

- Added pop-out resizable sample edit window to improve slice editing workflow

- Added separate entries for other oscs in WT Editor process all menu for Set Spectra, Set Phases and Subtract Spectra

- Added SFZ opcodes: `delay`, `delay_random`, `direction`, `offset_random`

- Added support for CC120 all sounds off and CC121 reset all controllers MIDI messages

- Added support for custom skins

- Fixed Ableton Live's Re-enable Automation button unexpectedly lighting up in sets using AU version

- Fixed add slice not working after switching slice mode from auto to manual with no slice markers after start marker

- Fixed Arp not responding to MPE input if MPE enabled by default

- Fixed clicks when key repeatedly pressed while sustain pedal held

- Fixed crash in Live when loading aupresets that change MPE enabled state

- Fixed crash in Logic Pro when closing GUI with popup menus still showing

- Fixed drag & drop from Ableton Live 12.3.0 Arrangement view on macOS

- Fixed fade out applied to voices playing same note number when "Limit Same Note Poly to 1" enabled

- Fixed FX filter and Distortion filter not adjusting according to global tuning value after loading preset or adding effect

- Fixed Granular and Spectral scan/length key track not following portamento or real-time MTS-ESP tuning changes if Osc pitch tracking disabled

- Fixed Granular Osc using grain voice instead of unison voice when processing inter-osc modulation

- Fixed handling of CC123 all notes off MIDI message to behave as if all keys released

- Fixed handling of swing in Arp when BPM sync disabled and not using Pattern

- Fixed latency reporting in AU version

- Fixed LFO rate not always getting parsed correctly from text entry

- Fixed LPF Warp not passing audio in new voices when freq and res set to 0

- Fixed main tuning modulating getting clamped to +/-64 semitones

- Fixed MIDI Clip drag export to bottom or right when Windows Display Scaling not at 100%

- Fixed Missing Files Dialog not finding matching multisamples

- Fixed modulation and automation of Env Hold

- Fixed note and FX tails not getting silenced when switching offline rendering

- Fixed notes not visible in piano roll after pasting from another clip when fold enabled

- Fixed Osc Mapping text entry when using scaled or zoomed UI

- Fixed phase of WT Osc getting randomised if Phase Memory set to Per Voice and modulation assigned to Phase or Rand Phase of any osc

- Fixed playback of multisamples using SFZ `trigger=release`

- Fixed Preset prev/next button resulting in "Unable to Load Preset" error after loading projects or sessions

- Fixed PZ filter not respecting filter module lock state

- Fixed REAPER showing empty space below UI at some scale factors on Windows

- Fixed rendering of velo and note curves in sessions saved with v2.0.16

- Fixed slices auto-syncing to clip when changing Osc type

- Fixed steps not getting removed from pattern on note off when using Arp Rand Once shape

- Fixed tuning not getting applied to note curve

- Fixed UI showing wrong parameter values in AU version when loading FL Studio project containing automation

- Fixed VST3 volume expression causing some notes to play louder in Bitwig Studio

- Fixed wavetable draw when using alt warp

- Improved Arp note off handling: now checks for other held notes with same note number but with different ID to add to pattern

- Improved Arp note on handling: for latched arp note now toggles latch for that note

- Improved Arp rate change handling when BPM sync disabled and not using Pattern

- Improved Clip Player note preview now plays all selected notes

- Improved LFO loopback for Ping Pong and Reverse directions

- Improved MTS-ESP note filtering

- Improved preset menu layout on Windows, with taller columns so that submenus pop up closer to the mouse cursor

- Improved voice steal priority by falling back to Newest if multiple candidate voices found for Highest, Lowest or Velocity

rsp

[Alexander_D]

Nice update for sure. But it's still CPU hungry synth... I am on M4 but some presets can kill the processor... Just interesting any plans for optimization in this area...

[Morty-C-137]

Anyone know what “Added support for custom skins” entails?

Edit: nvm.. found it on the Xfer official forum

Skinning is now officially supported with custom colors via theme.json.
Thanks to Chris at COLOVE Recordings who collaborated with us on this and has created 6 skins that take advantage of it.
https://coloverecordings.com/serum-2-sk ... r-records/

[Igro]

Nice update for sure. But it's still CPU hungry synth... I am on M4 but some presets can kill the processor... Just interesting any plans for optimization in this area...

Bad presets then, no? (I can create a preset in PhasePlant 2 than can give a 100% core load, though the PP2 is generally low on CPU).
Serum 2 itself has a low to average CPU load (Very similar to Zebra 3. Tough Z3 is a bit heavier). Nowhere near to some CPU killers like Gforce MAP and such.

[Gam456]

Nice update for sure. But it's still CPU hungry synth... I am on M4 but some presets can kill the processor... Just interesting any plans for optimization in this area...

There is a really simple result to the equation ... don't use the preset

[Sampleconstruct]

For me on Mac M3, the most CPU hungry oscillator in Serum 2 is the spectral oscillator with transients and phase lock engaged, but is sounds fantastic too.

[kraster]

- Added pop-out resizable sample edit window to improve slice editing workflow

This is the big one for me.

Serum has amazing slicing capabilities particularly with the built in sequencer but the sample editing window was for ants.