Best synthesizer for linux?

[nkfarwell]

Heya, I was using Arch for quite some time and have just switched to KXStudio (a Ubuntu OS that uses KDE) and have been looking for a good program to create synth sounds to send to my keyboard. Any suggestions? I can also run Windows programs on it but would prefer to stay native to linux.

[stoken6]

Paging Theo. That's Theo, to Keyboard Corner please.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Theo Verelst]

I don't know what it means to send sounds "to your keyboard", but if you're talking about using a decent Linux distribution to generate sound to a sound device, preferably using "jack" for synchronizing audio streams and choosing a (preferably) high sampling frequency and resolution with for instance "qjackctl" (for instance setting 24bit/96kHz to you sound card and alsa as system interface to connect the 32 bit float Jack audio to), there are a number of decent and usable audio prgrams.

 

Yoshimi (I;ve done a thread here on that one) is a re-done "ZynAddSubFX" which is an interesting and powerful polyphonic synthesizer worth trying out. Do use "Jack" (instead of just Alsa or Oss). For fun, there's the whole suite of Bristol synthesizer simulations, not exactly like the original or particularly refined, but fun and nice interface graphics.

 

There is monophonic synthesis and an organ in the "calf" software suite (use "jackcalfhost").

 

In the FM department there is Hexter and Dexed (latest, full parameter user interface), but decent DX-7 simulations I'v written about here.

 

There's QSampler (based on Linuxsampler/Supersampler, might be broken) and QSynth (you can use "swami" to create sound-canvasses (.SF2), there are a lot of them on the web (including one or two of my own)) which are like Romplers, sample based.

 

There are pipe-organ simulations, drum computers, vocoders, special packages (I'm on the Linux sound software page with a additive synthesis program setup from a over a decade ago for instance).

 

Since you use KXStudio I suppose you use the handy "Carla" and it's network editor (based on "Ingen"/Patchage), which can show you a lit of all plugins you've installed.

 

T.V.

 

[Tusker]

Well done Theo!

 

KC comes through again.

[johnchop]

There is no "best" synthesizer but the one that gives you the results you want

 

Does free, opens-ource matter?

 

If not... there's Loomer Aspect. Nice sounding VA.

[nkfarwell]

Free would be ideal but I would be willing to pay if it was that much superior to open source ones. KXStudio had a bunch of those ones already installed (AMSynth, ZynAddSubFX, etc.) and I have played around with Carla a little bit. I will definitely check out Yoshimi and get back to you

[Theo Verelst]

Open Source doesn't necessarily mean free, and in some cases you're free to support the developer.

 

The major, all overriding advantage of Open Source for these programs and tools is that you can find out what they do exactly, and if you're programming and developing savvy enough, you get to change things for the better !

 

There is a lot of closed source software for windows that includes Digital Signal Processing that has certain narrow minded goals, but isn't really a great idea. If you'd want to, you could set up some decent synthesis without too bad taste in Carla, that you could even prepare for pro studio and live use, which is something I work on. It's nicer, but often better as in more neutral and more amenable to existing professional neutrality and advances sampling and production related progress.

 

T.