FOSSPicks

Synthesizer

Surge

If you're into synthesizers (and you really should be), you can't help but have noticed that the open source scene has exploded. This is mostly thanks to the amazing VCV Rack, a truly modular software synthesizer platform that runs virtual recreations of real and imagined hardware, all connected with virtual voltage and audio cables. Each month, there are new, and often open source, modules released to expand your VCV Rack system. It's now possible to build a virtual modular synthesizer on Linux that would cost you tens of thousands in real life.

However, VCV isn't the only amazing open source synthesizer that has recently become available on Linux. There is also Surge, a once-commercial product created by one of the developers behind the brilliant Bitwig commercial, loop-based DAW. Surge's code has been released, because the developer no longer has enough time to maintain it. That means not only do we get an incredible sound generator, we also get a Linux version where there were previously only Windows and macOS versions. What's particularly brilliant about this is that, because Surge was once a commercial product, there's an uncommon polish to not just its amazing sound, but in areas where voluntary projects often (quite understandably) struggle. Surge comes with a huge sound library of over 1,000 categorized patches, for example, and there's great user-interface (UI) design, and (wait for it) … a comprehensive manual!

But what really matters is the sound, and Surge is also one of the most powerful synthesizers you can find on your Linux desktop. It starts with the three oscillators per voice. Each can have one of eight waveforms: classic, sine, wavetable, window, FM2, FM3, sample/hold noise, and audio input. This is really exciting because the first (classic) is actually a morphable oscillator that shifts between pulse, saw, and dual saw – classic sounds that cover a huge chunk of synth history. From the oscillators, the sound is sent to an equally well-specified filter bank. There are two filters, each offering eight different algorithms, including classic two- and four-pole low-pass filters; notch, band pass, and comb filters; and a waveshaper – all with self-oscillation. This means you can create classic vintage sounds just as easily as experimental, futuristic sounds.

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