Primer

Primer is a free synth that combines pro-level sound with beginner-friendly simplicity.

Created by Audible Genius, it is an exact replica of the synth used in their flagship synthesizer training app, Syntorial. As such, Primer contains the most common controls found on most subtractive/analogue synths, allowing for a wide variety of patches and sounds, while presenting a simple and easy-to-understand interface and layout.

Primer was designed from the ground up as a teaching tool with educational clarity in mind:

• Includes only the essential building blocks of subtractive synthesis: oscillators, filter, envelopes, LFOs, performance controls, and effects.

• No distractions or visual clutter.

• No hidden routing or confusing architecture—modulation is explicit.

• The sound engine is clean and consistent. When you tweak something, it responds exactly how you'd expect.

• When you're ready to dive into formal synth training, the tight integration with Syntorial makes it easy to jump right in.

• With the most common controls at heart, Primer serves as a starter synth from which you can later level up to today's more feature-packed synths like Serum, Vital, Pigments, etc.

The latest 2.0 update brings new features into the fold:

• Modernized and resizable UI.
• The Visualizer, a real-time animated display of the Envelopes, LFO, and Filter.
• Random patch generator.

Primer includes:

• Subtractive synthesis.
• Three Oscillators (Two with Waveform, Pitch, Pulse Width, and Mix controls, and a Sub oscillator with Waveform and Volume controls).
• Saw, Pulse, Triangle and Sine waveforms.
• FM knob.
• Noise Oscillator.
• Oscillator Sync.
• Filter (Low, Band and High Pass) with Resonance and Key Tracking.
• ADSR Filter Envelope.
• ADSR Amp Envelope.
• AD Modulation Envelope.
• LFO with four waveforms, seven destinations, rate, amount, trigger, and mono/poly modes.
• Mono, Legato and Poly Voice Modes.
• Portamento.
• Unison with Voice, Detune and Spread controls.
• Ring Modulation.
• Distortion, Chorus, Phaser, Delay, and Reverb effects.
• Mod Wheel, Pitch Wheel and Velocity controls.

Pricing: Free:

• The VST/AU plugin version of Primer is available for free.
• The Standalone version is available for free as part of the free Syntorial app (in the menu select Options->Launch Standalone Synth).
• The Primer iOS app is free in the App Store.