Dexed vs Thorn

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.

Thorn is a software synthesizer for modern electronic music production, available as a 64-bit plugin for Windows and macOS. Its three spectral oscillators shape harmonics and support FM, ring modulation, pulse-width modulation and hard sync. Sixteen-frame spectrum tables provide editable, morphable harmonic sources, while additive spectral synthesis, harmonic filtering and spectral effects form the sound engine. Two analog-modeled multimode filters and nine effects extend sound shaping. Modulation includes three ADSR envelopes, three LFOs and two multistage envelopes. A flexible 16-step arpeggiator outputs MIDI, and a grid-based Glitch sequencer supplies another sequencing method. Plugin Alliance lists more than 600 presets. Thorn runs in VST2, VST3, AU or AAX hosts and is not a standalone application. Listed operating-system support is Windows 10–11 and macOS 13–26, including Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. A 14-day trial is offered; earlier-license owners are quoted a $19 USD upgrade.