| Not only are soft synths incredibly powerful, the price differential with hardware synths is impressive. A midrange synth module will cost you $1,000 or more, while many excellent soft synths are available as shareware. Let's look at a few. All of the programs described here are for Windows 95/98/2000. I've included short sound samples generated by each program, though they barely scratch the surface of the variety of sounds that you can create with all this software. All of the sounds are in streaming Real Audio format - you'll want to make sure you have the newest version to hear everything correctly. All the software described here, and lots of other cool audio tools to boot, can be downloaded from our Multimedia Goodies Download Section. VAZ+1.7
VAZ main screen
RealAudio Sample 1
RealAudio Sample 2
VAZ stands for "Virtual Analogue Synthesizer", and that's what the program's author has come very close to achieving. Like an old style synthesizer, the program makes sounds by passing signals between a chain of modular oscillators, filters, and effects. As such, there are lots of options and parameters available - almost overwhelmingly so for a new user. Power users can wire their own virtual synthesizers together from the ground up, if they so desire; beginning users can get great results just by playing around with the parameters in the myriad of quality preset sounds that come bundled with VAZ. Find a preset you like, and start messing around until you get a sound you want to call your own. Save the sound as a .WAV file, and you're good to go. VAZ can make a wide variety of sound FX, ranging from the keyboardish and percussive (as in audio sample 1), to the downright strange and annoying (see audio sample 2). GranuLab 
GranuLab screen shot
RealAudio Sample
The sound of a mad scientist's lab. Granulab uses a technique called "Granular Synthesis" - you can envision it as breaking a sound into little tiny fragments and then reassembling those fragments in a myriad of ways. You're not going to be creating any Mozart with this one, but for surreal sounds and Sci-fi textures, it's hard to beat. Because the interface on Granulab is so "non-standard" (there is no equivalent real-world instrument) and because the kinds of sounds you're producing are so amusical, this can be an easy program for non-musicians to jump into (notice that I said "jump into," not "understand"). You don't need years of piano lessons under your belt, just a good set of ears and the time for a little experimentation. In this audio sample, I've created a variety of strange bleeps and blurbs, all generated from one short vocal sample as source material. Virtual Waves 
Virtual Waves screen shot
RealAudio Sample 1
RealAudio Sample 2
In between the synthesizer-leaning VAZ and the more experimental Granulab lies Synoptic's Virtual Waves. Like VAZ, this program consists of a variety of small, modular sound producing and altering "units" that the user connects to one another, similar to the earliest analog synthesizers in the 1950s. Virtual Waves has a much larger variety of these modules (53 in the full version, 26 in the "lite" version), and they range from the standard oscillators, sound generators and effects found in all soft synths to some that are truly advanced or unique (like the "Spectral Sketch Pad"). Add to this a large variety of preset patches, and you've got a huge sound palatte to choose from. Virtual Waves isn't a real-time sound generator. After connecting the units that will generate and shape your sound, you need to render it to actual audio. While those with high-end PCs might be a little frustrated by this lack of real-time interactivity, it's an advantage to those with older machines which choke on too much real-time processing. Beginning users will appreciate the Wizard mode, which walks you through sound creation from a very non-technical point of view. The audio examples here include a simple button sound, with a little echo (sample 1), and a bubbly sci-fi sound (sample 2). Rebirth RB-338
Rebirth screen shot
RealAudio Sample
Though its appeal has faded somewhat, Rebirth RB-338 was one of the first massively popular commerical softsynths, and raised the bar for all consumer-level music programs. Rebirth's goal is to model 2 of the now-vintage Roland TB-303 synths and a TR-808 drum machine. You've probably heard both of these before, even if you weren't aware of it: the 303 produces the "acidic" rubber-band-like keyboard lines that became the staple of a thousand techno songs, while the 808 provided the drum beat for those songs (and another thousand rap tunes). Rebirth is very good at what it does, and that's both it's greatest strength and weakness. While you can change the drumsounds and user interface in the registered version (and these "Mods", as they're called, are definitely worth checking out), the keyboard sound is limited to that of the 303. If that's what you're looking for, this program is a wonder; if you're looking for more variety, well.. Moreover, while emulating the awkward step sequencer of the 303 may earn points for authenticity, it certainly doesn't add to the ease of use. The audio clip here will allow you to close your eyes and pretend you're at a dance club. Though not a very good one, from the sound of things. There are plenty of other popular shareware soft synths and sound generators. Some others to look at include AudioMulch, Stomper, Orangator and ChaosSynth, all available in our Multimedia Goodies Download Section. Fruity Loops
Fruityloops main screen
RealAudio Sample
On the one hand, Fruity Loops is almost a complete "studio in a box"; on the other, it's simply one of the most enjoyable musical toys around. Fruity Loops combines sample playback along with a built-in softsynth (the "TS-404"), sequencing, effects, beatslicing, resonant filters and much more. The program can also render additional synthesizer patches (instrument sounds) made with SimSynth - another fine soft synth. Feel overwhelmed? It's not too surprising, as Fruity Loops contains more features than you can shake a stick at. Don't get too scared though; Fruity Loops is a wonderful example of a program that "scales" pretty easily. You can dive in, and start messing around with the included songs and sounds, working your way in deeper to the program's feature set as you grow more comfortable with it. And once you get used to working with Fruity Loops, you may not need to use anything else - it's that comprehensive of an audio tool. Fruity Loops also has a very active user community. The Web site features songs and samples from users, a bustling discussion forum, FAQs, tutorials and more. In this audio sample, I've combined my own samples with some of FruityLoops' built-in 404 keyboard. The sound and pattern sequencing abilities of the program let me sketch out this rough layout of a song very quickly. Hammerhead/Tuareg 
HammerHead main screen
RealAudio Sample
Although not a soft synth, Hammerhead is one of the most popular freeware music programs on the Internet. Very simply, it's geared to let you make "dance/electronic"-style (ok, "jungle/breakbeat"-style, for those that are picky about these things) drum loops out of either your own or the program's built-in samples. The main interface provides you with 6 channels of drum sounds or sample loops, which you can sequence with the straightforward "buttons". It's not nearly as fully featured as Fruity Loops - there's only one built-in effect (distortion), no built-in softsynths, and somewhat limited sequencing powers. So why is it so popular? Because it is so simple; you can throw your own samples and drum loops in easily, and they'll be instantly synced up and ready to go. For all it's limitations, Hammerhead is surprisingly useful, and one of the easiest-to-use programs we've listed here. If you're a complete newcomer to computer-based music, Hammerhead is simplest way to get started making your own drum loops. Hammerhead's author, Bram Bos, has recently offered up a sequel to his popular creation. The new program is called Tuareg, and comes in both freeware and shareware versions. Bos calls Tuareg an "interactive phrase sampler", and that sums it up well. You load short phrases of music into Tuareg and then use its various features to sequence, manipulate and remix them into a complete piece of music. It's unclear whether Tuareg will grow to become as popular as Hammerhead, but it'll be exciting to watch and find out. Here the audio sample is short drum loop created with HammerHead's built-in sounds. Acid
Acid screen shot
RealAudio Sample
There's no way I could talk about easy-to-use PC audio programs and overlook Sonic Foundry's ground breaking Acid audio sequencer (Read our earlier review). It's not shareware, but the company does have demos available, and the intro level versions of the program (dubbed Acid Rock, Acid DJ and Acid HipHop for the style of samples they come bundled with) are priced at a reasonable $54 (the more full-featured Pro 2.0 version rings in at $399). Acid is remarkable simple to use, but when appropriately applied, is also capable of making very professional sounding music. Think of Acid as a "loop sequencer" - you feed audio loops into the program (like drum loops, bass lines, and so on), and it takes care of the formerly-aggravating work of adjusting the length and tempo of the loops so that they sync up. From there, you sequence or arrange your song by painting in different loops in different tracks. It's remarkably easy, and if you start with high-quality sample loops in the first place, you may be surprised at the apparent quality of the music that you can produce. It's easier to experience firsthand than explain (the program, wiseguy), so grab the demo today. You can combine any style of audio samples in Acid. Here's a quick mix of strings, drum loops, and electronic percussion.
JSyn - Audio Synthesis API for Java
This totally unique product lets you do interactive audio
recording, processing and synthesis in a Web page. JSyn is based on a unit generator model where you make sounds by
connecting oscillators, filters, etc. Synthesis and audio
I/O is done in native code so Web use requires a Plugin. There are plugins
for Mac and PC. If you want to see some interactive examples, you can download the
plugin and try out some Applets at http://www.softsynth.com/jsyn/.
All the software described here, and lots of other cool audio tools to boot, can be downloaded from our Multimedia Goodies Download Section. This article first appeared in Streaming Media World, a site which covers all aspects of streaming media. Click here to read the original article.Eric Cook is the Assistant Editor of WebReference.com, a site featuring the latest Web development tutorials, news, and how-tos. Off-hours, Eric is an independent musician, producer and remixer, who has appeared on over 20 CDs and LPs. You can find out more about his "music in several strange flavors" at www.simulated.net. |
