MonkSynth: Free, open-source Delay Lama remake (VST3/AU, Windows/macOS/Linux)

[akadajet]

Hi everyone!

I'd like to introduce MonkSynth, a free and open-source vocal synthesizer uh... let's say inspired by the classic Delay Lama.

I was watching the and saw the original plugin doesn't run on modern systems anymore. So, I decided to take a look at the plugin and build a modern version of it from scratch, with a few extras like an ADSR envelop and unison modes.

Runs on Linux, Windows, Macs (and even weird DAWs like GarageBand). There are friendly installers for Windows and Mac, and I've gone through the circles of Apple Development hell to get the installer notarized (no gatekeeper warnings, hopefully)


There's a theme system, and you can point it at an original copy of the windows plugin and extract the theme from there.

https://github.com/JonET/monksynth
Downloads Here:
https://github.com/JonET/monksynth/releases

This is still early, so I'm sure there are bugs. I'd love to hear about them!

[akadajet]

The only thing I haven't tested is the Linux version. Maybe someone can check that out for me and tell me if I need to do some native testing there.

[pough]

EDIT: Whoops! I misread the docs. Stupid old eyes. Ignore what's written below. I'll just be playing around.

Is there a way to get the default theme without using the installer? The basic ZIP download only has the plugin, not the theme or presets.

[akadajet]

EDIT: Whoops! I misread the docs. Stupid old eyes. Ignore what's written below. I'll just be playing around.

Is there a way to get the default theme without using the installer? The basic ZIP download only has the plugin, not the theme or presets.

No worries! It should prompt you for the original to extract assets from. I’d love to eventually have a default theme to ship with. I just have no artistic talent lol.

[Largos]

The only thing I haven't tested is the Linux version. Maybe someone can check that out for me and tell me if I need to do some native testing there.

Tried it in three different hosts and it crashes every one instantly upon adding it to a track.

[sprnva]

A quick test on Linux (debian sid): crashed BespokeSynth when I try to open the UI. Doesn't even get to the screen asking to import the Windows dll.

Seems to work fine in Ardour 9. Got the skin screen and imported the dll assets successfully. Played some notes, got some singing. The help/info dialog doesn't seem to work though.

[akadajet]

Okay. Clearly I'm going to have to install Ubuntu on something this evening. Thanks!

[pough]

I did get the original theme, but I was hoping for something different. It's an interface that's more charming than comfortable, IMO. This even has that old-school crazy-knob behaviour! I had forgotten about the sudden changes that could happen if you clicked somewhere you didn't mean to.

I'm running it on Windows 10. I've tried it in Waveform and Reaper (latest versions of both). Is the question mark meant to pop up the help in your version?

Right-click does bring up options for themes and it opens a file dialog in Reaper but not Waveform. Waveform is special.

If I download the presets, where should I put them?

[akadajet]

For Linux, I ran "sudo apt install libxcb-cursor0" to get it working in Ubuntu under Reaper. I might need to try statically linking it.

[Tj Shredder]

Very nice. The the pad on the user interface allows some kind of pitch bend. I would like to have this mapped to midis pitch bend. Best would be +- 12 semitones… It would be immediate fun with my LinnStrument… Playing the vowels and voice with timbre and pressure is already fun…

[akadajet]

I did get the original theme, but I was hoping for something different. It's an interface that's more charming than comfortable, IMO. This even has that old-school crazy-knob behaviour! I had forgotten about the sudden changes that could happen if you clicked somewhere you didn't mean to.

If I download the presets, where should I put them?

I purposefully used VSTGUI like the original to emulate it's look/feel. But it does feel kind of crusty. I could look into JUCE for a nicer future version, but they use a copyleft AGPL license which is kind of... ugh... not my cup of tea. I'd want to keep the DSP engine MIT at a minimum. I'd love to have a "modern/original" toggle or something to bring it in line with modern standards, but keep the charm...

I need to probably re-generate those presets. I've added more parameters since I made them. I'll fix them up and add them to the installer in a future release.

[Weasel-Boy]

What a kick to see this running on an M1 Mac under Tahoe on Cubase 15. The installer will see the old Windows version from Audionerdz and grab the GUI. There seems to be a few features I can't seem to access on Mac: Pitchbend, Unison and the ADSR. I couldn't find any manual info on Github.

Needless to say, thanks for bringing this back.

[akadajet]

Ah! I don't have cubase. Under ableton it shows up under the generic VST UI. I'm doing some research on an expanded UI that has controls embedded in the window. I'm kind of excited to make improvements.

[akadajet]

I've uploaded a new beta. Adds an info screen and some fixes for Linux.

[sprnva]

Thanks for the update. Unfortunately it now crashes Ardour as well as Bespoke so I can't get it to run at all on Linux.