P8

I was looking for a softsynth of my favourite real synth (the JP8000) and finally, after a lot of vsts, I discovered Superwave P8.
This has to be THE JP8000 emulator of the bunch. Its sound quality is brilliant, it produces huge, fat strings, pads, sweeps that are dance essentials. If you've ever used AXS, think of that but with far superior sound quality, and of course VST integration.
I'm not much into the grey theme though; I'd much prefer to see it done in sexy silver or JP blue!

At first, I find the GUI overwhelming: there is just so much going on and so much control. Which is great, btw. It has 2 oscs with all the usual waveforms, and then it has 'superwaves', which really give the unit its huge fat sound. Along the top of it are 7 superwave controllers (which seem to only affect superwaves) that allow you to detune 7 superwaves it seems for each osc. I really like how you have two knobs for L/R pan pos, so you can position your sound anywhere in the stereo field that you like with as much width as you like. The delay fx are slightly complex, allowing you to have control over left and right delay lines. Basically, every parameter has oodles of control for really adjusting the sound to fit what you're doing.
The filters are unique for this synth in that they work extremely well for big sweeps, pads, strings, etc but they seem to lack 'bite' when you want to get certain bass sounds out of it, so I use other VAs for bass (and it's not quick to program in a simple punchy bass sound all those controls - you end up having to manually reset everything just to switch everything off and get an unaffected sound - very time consuming).

Presets: This is one of the few synths around that has incredibly useable presets. So much so that I don't think I'll bother programming it much at all, apart from simple filter mods. They really show off this machine perfectly. Drool-inducing!

Overall, the perfect machine for strings/pads/ambient sweeps. Don't forget it's FREE! Youd pay top-dollar for a hardware equivalent of this thing! Thousands have!
A massive thanks to the Superwave team!

This just may be the best free synth out there. I can't believe I didn't try this sooner. The sound is so rich and fat, it's just beautiful. I'm a vst minimalist, but this one is definitely staying in my vst folder. I can't believe it's free! :)

Superwave comes with a list of midi CC's so you can set your controller for controlling the parameters, which is a very nice feature for a free softsynth.

The presets are excellent and really showcase Superwave's ability to do rich analog sounds. The brassy sounds are some of the nicest I have heard in a virtual synth. This synth is a great choice for trance sounds, but I'm using it for ambient pads and sweeps and I'm very pleased.

Try this synth if you have not already!

This is one of my favourite freeware synths. It's perfect for trancy lead sounds and full,warm pads or strings. I'm quite new to using VSTi's and mostly I have a lot of trouble figuering out what all the buttons and switches do, but the Superwave P8 has a clear, easy-to-use interface and when you turn a knob or clik a button it intantly becomes clear what the knob or button is for and what the posibilitys are, even for a n00b like me. The presets contain al lot of nice sounds and with a little tweaking they sound just right in your music. The Superwave P8 is also very stable, it has never crashed on my computer (unlike some payware synths!). Best of all: The Superwave P8 is free. Just download it and in minutes you'll experience it's usefullness!

SuperWave is one of those soft synths that has a distinctive sound. The UI is spectacular, of course, and the synth features are very well conceived, but what really makes this synth is the sound. Put simply, it is a great, great VA.

Loosely modeled after the Roland JP8000/8080, this synth comes with a great set of presets that do an excellent job of showing off its capabilities - and its full-bodied, warm sound. It's not a bread-and-butter VA sound like you might get in, say, a DreamStation, but it is highly usable and flexible.

I have had a few problems with the synth - stuck keys being the biggest, but the occasional crash also happens. Your mileage may vary.

Despite the fact that this synth was developed using SynthEdit, it really shines as a pro-level product. Why the developer gave it away free is a bit beyond me - but I'm glad he/she did.

HI

This one amazed me. I you need pads (trance, house, new age, electronical, pop), this is it! This vst is sooo cool. And you can control if with your midi control surface. Midi controller list included. you don't need more. You don't need to understand the knobs. They are obvious. You need to experiment a bit.

It has good knobs and good funcionality. I cant wait for the trance synth he is working on. This shouldn't be free I think. This would sell!! But at the same time I don't mind having it at home. This sounds much better than the pro 53 or the fm7 things.

One of the best in my collection.