Free plug-ins often install additional software, security tools (digital dongles) and drivers that can cause problems even once they are installed, especially if you don't purchase the full version. They also often don't uninstall correctly as well. I tried Vital months ago and found the free version to be limited in many subtle ways and processor intensive, which likely is not as much the case in the full version.
I am very cautious now about plug-ins and other software offered online as "Free" because after trying out the free version of Fresh Air by Slate digital a few months ago, it never managed to run and my DAW and computer experienced total failure and data corruption caused by their licensing tool, which cost me a lot more than the full version cost, but it also cost the company me, as a potential customer. Luckily I routinely make backups, I can't afford to lose my work and data by trying dodgy apps... No exceptions.
If you're interested in soft synths that are FOSS, you might want to check out these as well:
Vitalium (a completely FOSS fork of Vital, in a similar vein as Chromium compared to Google Chrome
Helm (developed by Matt Tytel as well, just like Vital) Surge (XT)
Zyn-Fusion (a FOSS additive synth)
>additional software, security tools (digital dongles) and drivers
Vital appears to install/require none of these things.
>found the free version to be limited in many subtle ways
Subtle how? It's all listed on their home page: there are less presets (you can make your own) and there are less wavetables (you can import your own). The only functional limitation is on using the "text-to-wavetable" feature to generate wavetables.
Otherwise, you have all the same modulation, filtering, wavetable morphing, & FX that the paid version does. If you choose to pay for it, you're basically just buying more presets.
Vital seems to have been open-source for less than 13 months, following years of dithering: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30622014
Public git repo or GTFO.
It seems to be compiling/linking fine on Pop!_OS, but I had to do some apt trial/error to ensure the right packages were installed.
https://github.com/surge-synthesizer/surge
Team is super passionate constantly adding features which are already in thee wishlist zone.
As recently as the end of 02020 (two months earlier!) they were planning to not open-source it: https://forum.vital.audio/t/is-vital-actually-open-source/13...
https://github.com/DISTRHO/DISTRHO-Ports/tree/master/ports/v...
I love seeing this stuff posted here.
Does anyone have any other similar plugins for synths/effects. I know that Valhalla does amazing work and there is VCV or whatever but I remember there being a bit of community issues with that one.
Try Cardinal: a fork of VCV that offers a free VST implementation. It's still a little rough around the edges but it's great.
Due to it being free, there's a huge community growing around creating presets, sharing tutorials, and more. For example, here are many presets incl. audio preview: https://presetshare.com/presets?instrument=2&orderby=likes
I'd consider open sourcing, but I also feel like I've put in a crapload of work (and still have lots to do before I'd release, mostly UI work which I hate doing).
I had in mind perhaps I would create a fairly cheap commercial project and attempt to sell and market it myself. But it seems like this one has an interesting alternative models. Open source core, free basic version, pay for content? I wonder how successful it is in bringing in $$.
Looks like a boatload of work went into the instrument, too.
(The thing I'm making is a mix of additive + frequency-modulation synth. Uses a variant of frequency modulation [Modified FM] not present in anything else I've seen based on some papers I read some years ago [from Victor Lazzarini and Joe Timoney @ Maynooth University university]. A more regular linear pattern to the sideband amplitude during modulation. Sounds less "nasal" and "tinny" than classic Yamaha DX FM.)
You can support with a subscription, but it's not a scammy "we hope you forget to cancel this", you literally get the credit from your subscription to buy the full thing.
You don't have to buy anything! The code is free as in speech and in beer, but if you actually use the software for what it is used for, you get a lot of amazing benefits from doing so (ie; I'm a programmer, but if I'm making music I don't always want to be making presets, sometimes I just want to hear a bunch)
There's (less) danger of the company just going backrupt and being locked into their bitrot because the code can be forked and maintained (can is not will, but makes me feel better)
