Abyss 2 vs SynthMaster One

ABYSS 2 is a synthesizer plugin for musicians and creative sound design. Its sound engine arranges tone colours on a gradient, allowing sounds to change as you move through it. Samples can be dropped onto the gradient to extract spectral tone-colours, while audio files or folders can supply custom palettes. The instrument includes more than 400 presets, including more than 200 new and more than 200 upgraded sounds. A modular effects engine provides four slots and 20 modules, and a poly-rhythmic sequencer shapes rhythmic material. ABYSS 2 supports MPE and comes in AU, VST3, and AAX formats for macOS and Windows. It is a plugin rather than a standalone application, with workflow focused on DAW parameter automation instead of MIDI Learn. A free trial needs no email or registration; after three days, trial mode adds occasional mild vinyl-like crackle. Activation uses a serial number inside the plugin.

SynthMaster One is a wavetable software synthesizer for shaping and sequencing sounds. Its desktop version includes 1,250 factory presets, two oscillators, two sub oscillators, two filters, four ADSR envelopes, two LFOs, a 16-step arpeggiator/sequencer and 11 effect types per instance. Users can import wavetable files and extend the library by placing files in the SynthMaster One Waveforms folder. It supports Scala tuning files and drag-and-drop import of MIDI patterns into the arpeggiator. The maker says presets, waveforms, samples, favourites and MIDI programs can sync across machines and platforms. Desktop runs as a VST instrument on Windows and Mac, and as an Audio Unit instrument on Mac; Windows also has a standalone application. On iOS, AudioUnits V3 supports multiple instances in compatible DAWs, and the Files app can import and export presets, waveforms and scales on iOS 11 or later. The iOS version has 16-voice polyphony and 650 presets, compared with 32 voices and 1,250 presets on desktop. The iPhone-only app is free; the universal iOS app costs $9.99, paid once, and the desktop version costs $49, paid once.