SuperTron

I'll keep this brief. Being on fixed income, I, unfortunately, am perpetually low on funds. One of my favourite software synths of all time, which I no longer possess, was Sylenth1. I'd stopped writing music for a few years but just recently dived back into it. Out of curiosity, I sought out synths that were similar to Sylenth1. To my surprise, there are quite a few free 64-bit/step sequencer/note arpeggiator synths out there, some better than others in the sounds and programming department. While all the ones i tried out had their merits, I find that SuperTron 4 not only comes close to offering what Sylenth1 does but it sounds fantastic doing it., and that's probably due to its analog circuitry. The presets alone are a blast, especially the Bach one. Highly recommended if you're into pulsating, percolating, punchy synths.

This is some of the best freeware I have come across so far this year.

It contains 64 presets which have been programmed with care. Just playing around with them feels like a Berlin School album done and dusted right there.

It features two oscillators that can be turned on/off, with a choice of 6 waveforms (noise, pulse, square, triangle, saw, and sinewave)

The two filters can be set to high, low or bandpass, and one can also choose the input of each oscillator on each of the filters.

The sequencer interface is laid out nicely, but I would have preferred to have more than two octaves to work with. Another drawback is that the sequencer only has 16 steps, I would like to be able to make longer sequences. But a big plus is that each sequence contains 4 scenes which one can cycle between either manually or automatically, to make variations inside the groove. Add to that an envelope trigger which makes further variations of the sequence possible. It is also possible to shape the patterns according to some provided formats (saw, pulse, up/down or trance), but space is also made available for user settings here if needed.

The sequencer can be turned off, so one can also play the instrument as a regular synth.

To round off the instrument is an extensive effect section. The "vintager" effect is supposed to generate warmth to the sound, an interesting addition, but mostly a novelty, the 80's settings makes the sound a bit more metallic, not something I will use much I think, but a nice diversion nevertheless.

Elsewhere there is reverb, multifx (chorus, echo, delay) and distortion.

The LFO has also been placed among the effects, a little confusing, but it sounds great. Maybe the developer ran out of space and just needed to put it somewhere?

I've used the synth in FL Studio, have had no problems with it, no lag, and midi-learn works great with FL Studio's "last tweaked" option.

All in all this is as great a bargain as there ever was. I didn't know Berlin School was so well looked after "down under" in Argentina. But I'm happy to know now!