SNESynth

What it does

A chiptune instrument built on two layers, each holding either a sample from a library of roughly 2,500 console sounds or a synth oscillator with pulse width control. Layers get their own tuning, pan and ADSR, linked or independent. A step sequencer offers rate, gate, up to 16 steps with semitone offsets and skips, sent to one layer or both. Effects on board are crush, saturation, auto pan, tremolo, reverb, phaser and delay, with an LFO in the Pro tab routed to two destinations.

In the demo

Jade searches the sample list, builds a two-layer patch, then programs a sequence and shows lock and free running behaviour. She runs six instances at once to check DSP load, then plays through the guest preset banks and saves a patch with a note attached.

Worth knowing

Loaded as an AUv3 the on-screen keyboard disappears, so a MIDI source matters. The sound set is deliberately retro and will not stretch far outside that.