This post is for the Mac users. When it comes to Mac OS X, the number of freeware plugins is very low, compared to the Windows world. The popular “Save as VST” softwares (Synthedit and Synthmaker) are Windows only. The “upgrade” politic of Apple is a sort of nightmare for developers (and sometimes users!), so many old free plugins don’t work anymore…
Ample Sound Ample Guitar Telecaster v3.1.0 Crack Free Download r2r Latest Version for Windows. It is full offline installer standalone setup of Ample Sound Ample Guitar Telecaster v3.1.0 Crack mac for 32/64. I have no doubts that SE will run fine on mac and pc soon many fixes for both lately. The issue for me is I need vst3 on Mac and iOS support which is a ways out. Even though I prefer PC a majority of potential customers are asking for it. Also it is hard to get potential customers to realize how good SE plugins are now compared to a few years ago. In SynthEdit 1.4 are there any user-configurable settings (such as in global.txt) that can override any panel graphics scaling based on monitor DPI after exporting to VST3? I am still looking to fix the onscreen keyboard module for mac. The SE keyboard module on mac causes errors it won't show up or in some cases shows up but does not. On Windows, SynthEdit creates VST Plugins. For SynthEdit-built plugins to work they need some common support files called the 'Visual C Redistributable Package'. These need to be installed only once on each PC that uses plugins. Visual C Redistributable Packages (get the 2015 version).
I have searched for free MAC plugins over the web and then tested ! – only free synth (not effects), in VST and or AudioUnit (AU) format – the OS used is Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) – i tested the plugins in Ableton Live 9 / Renoise / some free VST & AudioUnit host softwares (Pedalboard, the JUCE open source plugin host, VSTLord, AULab, Ugly VSTi Interface…)
It’s a selection with free virtual analog synths, organ emulations, epiano emulations, drum synth, bass synth, FM synth, emulation of Oberheim / NordLead / DX 7 synth, chip synth, guitar emulation…
and here a list of 25 free synth plugins for Mac OS X :
1. Synth1 AU/ VST
The must-have free synth plugin is available for Mac since one or two years, it is in beta state, it still have some minor bugs with the UI, but it’s usable and you can benefit from the incredible amount of presets created for Synth1, including these 😀 => https://blog.wavosaur.com/synth1-presets-chris-bank-volume-2/ & https://blog.wavosaur.com/chris-bank-synth1-reup/ I had some problems for saving preset in Ableton Live. Synth1 can do an incredible variety of sounds. The most versatile Synth in this list
2. OBXD AU / VST
OBXD AU
The free Oberheim OB-X OB-Xa OB-8 emulation ! work without any problem in my AudioUnit / VST hosts on Mac.
3. Tyrell N6 AU / VST
http://www.u-he.com/cms/tyrelln6Â DL here : http://www.amazona.de/amazona-de-freeware-synthesizer-tyrell-n6-v3/
U-He loves the Mac, don’t hesitate to have a look at the other freeware on the Website, all are working without problems in VST or AudioUnit format. I have also selected Triple Cheeze and Zebralette from the same developer. These plugins are good and full featured.
TyrellN6 plugin comes with a big amount of presets, and a deep variety of sounds. It’s powerful and easy to program. It’s rock solid stable and have a nice UI too!
4. FreeAlpha AU / VST
FreeAlpha AU
This freeware from LinPlug sounds very good, it has punch and is easy to tweak. It can do punchy bass, but also nice pads and clean leads. Despite its simple look, it’s powerful and funky!
5. Crystal AU / VST
The old Crystal Synth is still top, and one of the best synth for complex / evolving PADS, with its multipoint envelopes, and the complete modulation matrix. One of the best virtual synth, for more than 10 years!
6. TAL NoiseMaker AU / VST
TAL Noisemaker
Like U-He, TAL has many freebees for Mac OS X. I have selected Noize M4k3r and Elek7tro but you also have other interesting plugins. The “Noise Maker” plugin has two osc + sub, a good filter and the famous Chorus “a la Roland”, so you have all you need for your fat bass/lead. Certainly more agressive than Crystal, it completes well the sonic arsenal.
7. Dexed FM VST
The famous free Yamaha DX7 emulation ! It’s VST only (no AU for the moment). Use the cart / load / save button to browse or import presets. It can read / write sysex files for and from the DX7. Now all your FM needs are fullfilled: you can do pop ballad or Detroit techno, vive la FM !
8. MiniSpillage AU (Drum Synth)
MiniSpillage AU
Now that we have the FM synth, the Pad synth, the Bass synth and Lead capable synths, we need a DRUM synth. The Minispillage plugin has three dedicated algo for bass drum, wood drum and hihat. I tend to prefer “Drumatic” but Drumatic is Windows only.
9. ComboF organ AU / VST
After all these synths, we now need an emulation of our prefered organ : the Farfisa combo organ! ComboF gives you the sound of the Italian electric organ we all love. Available for Mac and windows, in AudioUnit and VST!
10. MrTramp 2 e-piano AU / VST
MrTramp2
After the organ emulation, we need the electric piano! MrTramp 2 is the best (free or not) emulation of the Wurlitzer electric piano. It’s raining again ! Now you can sound like Supertramp ! Breakfast in America !! There are not so much controls but you don’t need more, and the sound is excellent.
11. Cheeze Machine AU
A dedicated string synth plugin for Mac ! The Cheeze machine from Big Tick is a kind of Arp Solina emulation. It has this phaser / chorus creamy sound. it’s AU only and should work with your favorite Mac host software.
12. TripleCheese AU / VST
TripleCheeze plugin
Cheese again ! The U-He contribution to the first KVR Developer Challenge. It’s an original synth with unusual sound generation. Nice for plucked sounds. Works well on my Mac OS X Mountain Lion. Thanks to the comb filter, you can generate very original sounds.
13. Zr3 organ VST
We have ComboF for the Farfisa emulation, and for the Hammond B3 organ lovers, there’s Zr3. It’s VST only and works nice in Ableton Live 9. The only good free Hammond B3 emulation for Mac OS X.
14. TAL Elek7ro AU / VST
TAL Elektro
A perfect free synth for bass and perc sounds. Don’t forget to check the other TAL plugins !
15. VST Speek AU / VST
Coming from here ! the funkiest text to speech in plugin format ! The best C64 Sam oldskool text to speech emulator, for all your techno voices. Available in 32 & 64 bit, VST & AU
16. Zebralette AU / VST
Zebralette plugin
Coming with the demo of Zebra, the famous synth by u-He, Zebralette is a nice synth, with unusual sound, and powerful possibilities and plenty of special waveforms to play with.
17. Model – E VST
The antic VST from Steinberg, now free, and now available in VST format for Mac OSX. It has been surpassed in all domain by many other synth (freeware included). But it can be useful and you can get some nice sounds out of it if you tweak it with love.
18. VB-1 virtual bass VST
VB1 bass
Another prehistoric virtual synth from Steinberg, this virtual bass plugin is free and available with Model E in the same package (see link above). Very simple sound, can be useful. Cutting optimization pro 5.8 2.3 full keygen version. Freeware for Mac are rare so we take it!
19. MDA Piano ePiano DX10 & JX10 VST
NO GUI
These free VST work for Mac OS X, they don’t have UI, you’ll have to use the default interface supplied by your host. – Piano & ePiano are sample based synth, the ePiano is very good, it’s a kind of Rhodes emulation. – DX10 is a FM Synth, it has only two operators, but you can still get nice bell sounds out of it. – JX10 is a very nice virtual analog synth, despite some bugs (the Windows version has the same), it can do some very nice leads.
20. 4Front R-Piano AU / VST
Another free electric piano emulation for your Mac! It’s simple and has a nice clean sound. Perfect for deep house chords.
21. Chip32 AU
Chip 32 AU
This is the URL where you can also find the Cheeze Machine VST, and also the very good Clavinet emulation by Big Tick (TickyClav). Chip32 is a very simple plugin, perfect for your chip tune needs.
22. Spicy Guitar AU / VST
A free Audio Unit / VST emulation of an acoustic guitar ! It’s use a physical modelled synthesis, and is a great emulation. Here are coming the ukulele / banjo / Flamenco guitar !
23. Scythe VST
Scythe VST
A very simple VA Synth (VST only), with two oscillators, a filter, modulation envelope & some embedded effects : bitcrusher / phaser / chorus / delay. It’s simple but efficient. You can also generate random presets!
24. Automat AU
A virtual substractive synth with 3 osc, and filter for each osc, + many effects and modulations. It’s audiounit only, and like Scythe, it has a random preset generator.
25. VOPM VST
VOPM VST synth
A VST emulation of the Yamaha YM2151 Chip that was used in many arcade games, and is similar to the chip in the Sega Megadrive. It’s a 4 operator FM synth, with 8 algorithm. here’s a lot of preset for VOPM : http://truechiptilldeath.com/blog/2010/05/04/opm-patches-out-of-most-genesis-games/
26. Bonus tracks ?
1) there’s also kickmaker, a free kick drum synthesizer in VST and AU format : http://teragonaudio.com/KickMaker.html
and C700, that can load sample in aiff and wav format : http://picopicose.com/software.html
2) I also tried other free VST plugins for MAC , but with no luck (no one working in any host on my Mac OS X Mountain Lion), i think these are too old plugins, or maybe ppc plugins (even if they were said to work on Mac OS X). For example : the Delay Lama ! http://www.audionerdz.nl/download.htm AU303 & AirySynth : http://airy.andre.online.fr/AU/index.html#au303
3) I’m working on a port of Rave Generator VST for MAC, here you can find a beta (x64 only, VST only) : https://www.facebook.com/groups/149376535107031/835302689847742/
3) I’m also working on a port of CreakBox (the TB303 plugin) for MAC OS X (i already have converted it to VST2.4 then to 64 bit), see link ( @ 6. and in the comments) : https://blog.wavosaur.com/best-free-tb-303-emulation-sotware-vst-plugins-standalone/
4) i’ll do another posts with the free effect plugins for MAC ! It seems there are more effects available for free than synths.
How to export a SynthEdit plugin to run on Mac OSX
Get latest SynthEdit 1.4 (64-bit)
Export-as-VST3
Export your plugin using the VST3 option in the export dialog box. In addition to a VST3 plugin, SynthEdit will export a Mac Audio-Unit plugin. The Audio Unit will be exported to the folder ..DocumentsSynthEdit ProjectsMac Export , The plugin will be a folder (Mac users call these folders 'bundles') named for example like MySynth.component.
After you've exported, open the exported MySynth.component folder and check the file sem list.txt, this lists all the modules (SEMs) needed to run this plugin on Mac. The file will indicate which Mac modules have been successfully found and which were not. If you don't have Mac-compatible modules, the Mac plugin will not function correctly.
IMPORTANT: A Mac plugin MUST use Mac-specific modules (SEMs). SynthEdit will automatically choose the right type of module, but to use a module in a Mac plugin please ensure that you have installed not only the Windows version but also the Mac version.
You install 3rd-party Mac modules in: C:Program FilesCommon FilesSynthEditmodules_mac
SynthEdit ships with Mac versions of most standard modules. These are stored in: C:Program FilesSynthEdit 1.4mac_assetsmodules
Not all 3rd-party modules are available in Mac format, it depends on the individual developer. Some may not have access to a Mac.
Copy plugin to Mac
Copy the entire MySynth.component bundle (folder) to your Mac, place it in folder /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/ on your Mac.
Copy presets to Mac
During export, SynthEdit will create a presets folder, e.g. ..DocumentsSynthEdit ProjectsMac ExportPresetsMyVendorNameMySynth, copy this folder to your Mac to the user's ~/Library/Audio/Presets/ folder. for example on my mac the full path is /Users/Jeff/Library/Audio/Presets/Jeff McClintock/PD303/
Note that the Library folder on a Mac is a hidden folder. More information: https://www.macworld.com/article/2057221/how-to-view-the-library-folder-in-mavericks.html
To run your Audio Units you will need an Intel Mac computer running operating system version 10.8 'Mountain Lion' or better. 'Mountain Lion' was shipped on Macs built since 2012.
If possible it's preferable to have a machine capable of running macOS Version 10.11 'El Capitan', which is the minimum to be able to run the new Version 3 Audio Unit spec. SynthEdit may move to AU Version 3 in a future update. 'El Capitan' was shipped on Macs built since 2015.
Limitations on Mac plugins
Parameters (e.g. sliders and knobs) must not have an inverted range. For example, a typical slider with a minimum value of zero and a maximum of 10 will work fine on Mac, however, a Slider with a maximum of 0 and a minimum of 10 will fail to validate on a Mac. This was not a problem on Windows.
Using Plugins on macOS Catalina (V10.15.4) and later
macOS now requires applications and plugins to be 'notarized', which means they need a digital signature to identify who made them. Plugins that are not notarized are blocked from running. You will see a message like 'Plugin cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified'. You can either work around these restrictions or officially notarize your plugin to allow it to be installed anywhere without hassle.
Working around Mac security requirements
The following two methods may help get a plugin running on macOS Catalina. If the first doesn't work, try the second.
In your DAW, hit <Cancel> to the message, then open System Preferences/Security & Privacy, you should see the plugin mentioned at the bottom. Click 'Allow Anyway' to enable it.
Open Terminal. Type the following three commands, hitting <return> in between. sudo spctl --master-disable auval -a sudo spctl --master-enable
Notarizing your plugin
Notarizing a plugin provides an assurance to end-users that the plugin can be trusted not to perform malicious actions. There are two main steps: 1 - code-signing, 2 - notarizing with Apple.
Code-signing protects against anyone modifying your plugin after it leaves your hands. If anyone modifies the plugin, the code-signing is broken and macOS will refuse to install it.
Notarization involves sending your plugin to Apple for verification. Apple will run some basic tests and check for malware. If Apple is satisfied they will approve the plugin by adding it to their list of 'safe' software. macOS can use this online list anytime a user installs your plugin to verify that the plugin is trusted. Apple will also send you a 'ticket' than can be 'stapled' to your installer. The purpose of the ticket is to provide an offline verification that the installer is trusted. 'stapling' is optional.
Code Signing example
The following command in the macOS terminal shows an example of how to code sign a plugin. codesign -s 'Developer ID Application: SynthEdit Limited (87KAYFXDS5)' '/Users/jeffmcclintock/Desktop/MySynth.component' --timestamp --deep
Notarization example
The following command in the macOS terminal shows an example of how to notarize a plugin.
What do all these commands mean? codesign -s - This is the command that performs code signing. Type this part as-is.
'Developer ID Application: SynthEdit Limited (87KAYFXDS5)' - This is the name of the certificate that identifies you. Substitute your own certificate name here.
'/Users/jeffmcclintock/Desktop/MySynth.component' - This is the path of the plugin. Substitute your own plugin here.
--timestamp - adds a timestamp to the signature. Mandatory. Type this as-is.
--deep - Signs not only the plugin but also the SEMs (modules) inside the plugin. Type this as-is.
Where do I get a Certificate?
Certificates are issued by Apple. To get one you need to sign up to the Apple Developer Program. This costs money. more about obtaining a certificate
There are several types of certificates. To sign a plugin you need a 'Developer ID Application' certificate. i.e. The name of the certificate MUST start with those words. Other types will sign OK, but won't pass the notarization step later.
To list you currently available certificates, type in the terminal: security find-identity
xcrun altool --notarize-app -f - this is the terminal command that does the notarizing. Type this part as-is.
'MySynth.component.zip' - This is your plugin, zipped up. To 'zip' a plugin on macOS right-click the plugin, select 'Compress'. The plugin will be compressed and placed in your home folder.
Note: you will need to set the terminal to the same folder as the plugin. e.g. type
cd users/jeffmcclintock/Desktop/
--primary-bundle-id com.Xvrk.audiounit.JQkl - In bold is the identity of the plugin (JQkl) and vendor (Xvrk). Substitute the identity of your plugin. You can get this info by typing auval -a in the terminal (and looking for your plugin), or by looking inside your plugin for the file Info.plist
To look inside an Audiounit plugin, right-click, choose Show Contents.
Synthedit For Mac Pro
--username '[email protected]' --password 'htww-pwjf-yfjd-hzip' - In bold are the email and App-specific password to log into the Apple Developer notarization website. Substitute your own details. How to get an app-specific-password
Other Notes
Synthedit Mac Os X
SynthEdit currently adds a text file to your plugin called sem list.txt. This file seems to cause notarizing to fail. This file is only for information and you can delete it before signing and notarizing. Future versions of SE will omit this file.