The 8 Best Synth VST Plugins 2022 (For Any Budget!)
“What are the best synth VST plugins out there in 2022?”
Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced producer, investing in a professional, versatile synth VST plugin can be a complete gamechanger.
Most DAWs come with exclusive VST instruments and effects (such as FL Studio’s Sytrus), and many of these plugins are surprisingly powerful production tools.
However, if you’re serious about your music, investing in a commercial VST synth is essential to your music production journey. Not only will it expand your sonic palette, it will allow you to use various sound design techniques to shape and manipulate your own original sounds.
Luckily for us, synth VST plugins can be relatively cheap nowadays, so in this list I’ve included synth plugins for a range of budgets.
So without further ado, here is my rundown of the very best synth VST plugins on the market in 2022.
The 8 Best Synth VST Plugins 2022
1. Xfer Records – Serum
Sound Quality
Features
Value for Money
Who this plugin is for: Producers looking for an ultra-clean, modern synthesizer with incredible sound quality and on-board controls.
We’ve said it time and time again, if you’re looking for a powerful VST synth capable of creating any sound imaginable, Serum is an absolute no-brainer.
Upon it’s release, Serum blew every other VST synthesizer out of the water. Everything from it’s pristine-sounding oscillators to it’s revolutionary wavetable functionality made Serum the most popular, highly acclaimed plugin on the market.
The 4 sound generators consist of an A and B wavetable oscillators that are displayed via gorgeous 3D wavetables, a sub-oscillator and an additional noise generator. Within the Serum interface, these wavetables can be edited and finetuned to an incredible degree of precision. The plugin also features a massive amount of additional features and customization tools, meaning you’ll never run out of musical inspiration.
This endlessly versatile plugin is a rare example of a heavyweight VST product that is easy for beginners to understand and enjoy, but has the complexity and intricacy that will keep advanced producers busy for many years.
One small downside of Serum is the CPU-usage. In my experience, Serum’s CPU consumption has never been an issue (when compared to other similar heavyweight wavetable synths), but it’s worth mentioning in case you have a particularly slow system.
This product is available for both Windows / Mac and 32-bit / 64-bit.
Click here to check best price + more info / reviews.
2. u-he – Diva
Sound Quality
Features
Value for Money
Who this plugin is for: Producers looking for a beautifully-designed, analog-modelled synthesizer plugin capable of creating authentic, vintage sounds.
If you’re looking for ultra-clean, modern sounds, Serum is a fantastic choice for any producer. However, if you’re looking to re-create the analog tone and “imperfect” character of vintage synthesizers, Diva might just be the plugin for you.
To put it simply: Diva has the best sound of any synth I’ve heard that has an analog-modeled design.
The plugin allows you to replicate the warm, natural tone of several classic synths, and then manipulate the sounds using the vast selection of on-board controls (including unison, filter and envelope options, modulation controls, FX, etc).
Diva also comes with a staggering 1200+ presets, including everything from synths, basses, pads, realistic instrument emulations, percussion hits and much more. When browsing the presets, you genuinely feel like you’re exploring an endless universe of retro sounds and effects.
There’s a reason this synth is seen as a god-send by many producers, and for me it truly changed the way I create music.
This product is available for both Windows/Mac and 32-bit/64bit.
Click here to check best price + more info / reviews.
3. Spectrasonics – Omnisphere
Sound Quality
Features
Value for Money
Who this plugin is for: Producers looking for a virtual instrument with extraordinary power and versatility.
If you’re a music producer, you’ve probably heard of Spectrasonics’ flagship synthesizer Omnisphere. This incredible piece of software is revered for it’s endless feature-list, stunning sound quality and extensive sound library.
For years, Omnisphere has been an essential virtual instrument for songwriters, sound designers, and composers ranging from hip hop producers to cinematic film composers.
Omnisphere’s powerful synthesis engine includes over 14,000 expertly designed sounds (with 4 layers per patch), a whopping 57 powerful FX Units, and countless more additional features to create and edit original sounds.
The most-recent update includes the all-new synth engines Granular, Harmonia and Innerspace. Plus, Omnisphere now offers Hardware Synth Integration, which transforms over 30 popular classic synthesizers into hands-on controllers that unleash Omnisphere’s full sonic firepower.
However, Omnisphere is definitely a little more on the pricey side. At around $479 for the full version, it’s one of the most expensive plugins on the market, but if you’ve got the money to spend it’s easily one of the best synth VST plugins in 2022.
This product is available for both Windows / Mac and 32-bit / 64-bit.
Click here to check best price + more info / reviews.
4. Arturia – Pigments 3
Sound Quality
Features
Value for Money
Who this plugin is for: Producers looking for a highly unique, analog/wavetable hybrid plugin with an incredibly intuitive design.
In quite the contrast to most VST synths out there, Pigments 3 from Arturia blends the world of analog-modeled sounds with modern, contemporary synthesis.
So what does this actually mean? Pigments 3 allows you to use two engines in parallel, with a choice of an analog-modeled triple-oscillator engine, a modern, complex wavetable engine (including over 160 wavetables), a sample & granular engine (including sample library), and a harmonic oscillator additive engine. The plugin even offers a third utility engine with a range of options.
In addition to these impressive sound engines, Pigments also offers endless, creative modulation options, professional utilities, and professional, versatile FX options.
Plus, all these features comes packaged in a gorgeous, intuitive interface perfect for both beginners and advanced producers. Despite it’s giant feature-list, Pigments 3 makes it easy to build, edit and finetune your own unique sounds. When using this incredible plugin, it’s easy to become immersed in the beautiful GUI and it’s effortless workflow.
This is easily the most underrated synth plugins out there, and no matter what genre you produce, Pigments 3 should definitely be on your radar.
This product is available for both Windows / Mac and 32-bit / 64-bit.
Click here to check best price + more info / reviews.
5. KV331 Audio – SynthMaster One
Sound Quality
Features
Value for Money
Who this plugin is for: EDM producers looking for an incredibly popular, easy-to-use wavetable synthesizer packed with EDM presets and on-board parameters.
If you’re a complete beginner to sound design, starting with a heavyweight plugin such as Serum can be confusing and overwhelming at times.
Relying on synth presets will only get you so far. At some point you’ll want to start tweaking these sounds and even creating sounds from scratch. This is where SynthMaster One by KV331 Audio comes in.
With it’s highly intuitive design, this synth is an ideal tool for learning complex sound design. It includes 2 stereo oscillators with up to 16 voices unison, wavetable synthesis (with the option to import wavetables, filters, various modulation options and 11 on-board effects.
Plus, it’s also one of the cheapest wavetable synthesizers out there. So if you’re after a powerful, modern, affordable synth plugin, SynthMaster One is definitely worth checking out.
This product is available for both Windows / Mac and 32-bit / 64-bit.
Click here to check best price + more info / reviews.
6. Native Instruments – Massive X
Sound Quality
Features
Value for Money
Who this plugin is for: Producers looking for a seriously powerful synth plugin with amazing sound quality and on-board functionality.
Massive X is the long-awaited upgrade to Native Instruments’ classic software synth Massive. This revamped version has a very futuristic, sleek design and is genuinely one of the aesthetically impressive plugins out there.
When compared to Serum’s ultra-clean sound, Massive X has a distinctive, rich, analog tone. It’s a fantastic option for EDM, hip hop and other modern genres, and the warm, analog character sets it apart from other similar synths.
One of my favourite things about Massive X is it’s impressive modulation options. Massive X has 9 independent, customizable LFO/Envelope options, which can each be set to a modulation envelope, an exciter envelope, a switcher LFO or a random LFO. These modulation options allow you to get really creative, and create some truly unique sounds.
Another incredible option from Native Instruments is their unique modular synth Reaktor 6. This experimental tool allows you to build custom synths, samplers, effects, and sound design tools using rack-style modular patching.
This product is available for both Windows / Mac and 32-bit / 64-bit.
Click here to check best price + more info / reviews.
7. Arturia – Analog Lab V
Sound Quality
Features
Value for Money
Who this plugin is for: Producer looking for an all-encompassing collection of highly accurate emulations of vintage synths.
Software emulations of classic hardware synthesizers are particularly popular with music producers, as they allow you to access the warm, retro character of these synths within the comfort of your DAW.
Analog Lab V from Arturia provides a huge selection of vintage synth emulations, including the OB-Xa, Jupiter-08, the Prophet-5, the mini-moog and many others.
This synth collection offers unrivalled authenticity and sound quality when compared to the original hardware synthesizers. On top of that, it’s easily one of the most inspiring synths out there in 2022.
If you have an interest in vintage sound design, or just want to emulate the old-school character of legendary synthesizers, Analog Lab V should definitely be on your radar.
This product is available for both Windows / Mac and 32-bit / 64-bit.
Click here to check best price + more info / reviews.
8. Initial Audio – Sektor
Sound Quality
Features
Value for Money
Who this plugin is for: Producers looking for a fun, intuitive synth with a ton of tricks up it’s sleeve.
Sektor is a another example of a highly underrated synth plugin. It offers an exceptional amount of control when it comes to creating, shaping and modulating your own sounds.
It is a polyphonic wavetable synth plugin with feature-rich modulation Envelopes, ADSR´s and LFO´s to sink your teeth into. It also contains 750+ unique factory presets, and 200+ unique wavetables.
It also has noticeably lower CPU usage when compared to other wavetable synths such as Massive X or Serum. Because of this, I usually load up Sektor if I’m looking for lightweight, rapid inspiration.
This product is available for both Windows / Mac and 32-bit / 64-bit.
Click here to check best price + more info / reviews.
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