Dexed vs SynthMaster One

Dexed is a free synth plugin and standalone app modeled on the Yamaha DX7. It runs on Linux, macOS and Windows, with VST, AU and LV2 plugin formats. Its sound engine follows the original DX7’s characteristics and includes Modern, Mark I and OPL Series engine types. Dexed also serves as a MIDI cartridge librarian for the DX7: it can load and save DX7/TX7 SysEx programs, save an individual program to a separate SysEx file, and exchange DX7 SysEx messages, including controller change. A single panel exposes 144 DAW-automatable DX7 parameters, and each operator has a real-time VU meter. Microtuning and MPE support were contributed by the Surge Synthesizer Team. Dexed is free software under GPL v3, at free. The project says documentation is minimal and cautions against expecting a perfect DX7 clone. Release 1.0.1 fixes scaling issues and rebuilds the Linux binary for older glibc versions.

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.