Rating all 47 of my synth VST plugins

Why did I do this to myself?! Well, despite my mid-at-best keyboard and demonstration skills, I enjoyed showcasing this wide range of synthesizer VST plugins that I own, and hope you'll enjoy as well. I'm aware that there are tons of other amazing synths out there for music production (EDM, rock, metal, etc.) and there are probably about 20 more I've owned but don't have installed, including classics like Native Instruments Pro-53, Rob Papen Albino, rgc audio z3ta, VPS Avenger, Arturia Pigments, but hey, this is what I have right now...

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[ComposingGloves]

Harmor in C tier is going to keep me up at night.

[neuralvibesstudio]

This is awesome. It's amazing how different we all perceive our individual synths. CA2600 and PS-20 are in almost all of my music. Sytrus is well above FM8 on my list. It's great to see someone else's kind of workflow and synth prioritization.

[timaeus]

The 4 stages of grief:
- "Ooh, maybe I should rate my plugins."
- "Oh, there's... THAT many left?"
- "Man, I have a LOT of plugins..."
- "I still HAVE this?"
Repeat 2-4.

What a great video! Zebra2 is where I'd expect it

[DDRKirbyISQ]

3xOsc is 100% my desert island synth, hahaha. ;)

That said, I picked up Vital somewhat recently, it really is a steal!

[hcl]

The M1 preset Universe is timeless. I remember pressing a single note on a M1 back than in a shop in 1988 and got completely lost. The underlying choir sample is replicated in almost all sample based synths. It‘s even in Serum 2.

[TheGreatGario]

Vital is fantastic, glad to see you have it in the spot it deserves.

Didn't see you mention that Vital is *free*, with the company making it's money selling it's preset packages. There is no reason for folk to avoid this synth - pick it up if you haven't yet.

[flyingisland]

36:38 That’s a gorgeous preset. I love the M1 et Wavestation. 2 of my early vst’s love

[geggveck]

Not putting Phase Plant in S should be a crime! Haha. On another note, Pigments is closer to Serum/Vital but more versatile and a quicker workflow. Vital being free is impossible to beat though. Dune 3 also sounds INCREDIBLE.

[fischergreen]

UVI Falcon is my preset go to. It can do everything but the GUI is a bit of a challenge

[Chernabogue]

I'm here for the FL Slayer redemption arc lmao! Nostalgia from the late 2000s haha

[ArsenialBeats]

I would highly recommend Plugmon's DIVA skins.

[FoolsChaos]

Cool list! :) I have way too many synth vst's, but my favs i always find myself going back to. Dune 3, Pigments, and The Legend. If i could only have one, Dune 3.

[slackmaster]

Plasmonic is the new synth from the Absynth guy. He also just released an amazing fx plugin called Synestia that features those cool filters.

[neuralvibesstudio]

I use 3xOsc all the time for simple bread-and-butter sounds (sine wave sub bass, binaural beat, hypnotic pulse bass, etc.) as you mentioned, because it's soooo low on CPU.

[seanyeageradventuresbooks]

Great to see Vital in the S list. It can do so much in the right hands. Wavestation likewise.

[TheCruisinCrew]

I think you're missing out on Arturia... they've gotten their quality problems of the early years solved for a while now and their emulations of classic synths are fantastic!

[NurfKaligula]

I feel like considering the genre, or desired outcome is important in determining the value of any plugin synth. For example, Myth, is an incredibly powerful, and inspiring synth, but it doesn't shine well on hip-hop or trap style beats necessarily. Also, at least in my potato laptop, CPU and stability, are a huge consideration on which ones I choose to use, with something like Diva, or Pigments being too particularly CPU and core intensive a lot of the time for my needs despite their incredible power and quality. Personally, I love Vital (and it's free!!!) and generally use which one would be best for the style of sound I'm after. I am psyched you rated Zebra 2 so high, as I feel like it's grossly underrated, but is a go-to synth for me when I'm not sure where I want to go with something but am uncertain of the destination. Great list!

[ghfjfghjasdfasdf]

NOW this is my kinda 🔥

Fyi, I know what you meant when you excluded romplers… but what you meant to say was, only DSP based synths. 🤓

[bjulin]

I thought, I'm going to complain a lot. But I didn't at all... 😅
I absolutely would watch the reverb tierlist, too! 👍

[ericdanielhaley]

This is impressive. To review this many synths and not have a single Arturia VST in 2025 is wild! Haha. But seriously, fun video!