Dexed vs Virtual Guitarist

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.

Virtual Guitarist is UJAM’s collection of electric and acoustic guitar plug-ins for creating accompaniment in varied styles. The listed range includes CARBON, IRON 2, SPARKLE 2, AMBER 2, SILK 2, and CINEDREAM, totaling 777 presets, 12,110 phrases, and 365 styles. Patterns can be dragged into a DAW as MIDI. Built-in effects, amp modeling, and selectable guitar, amp, and speaker combinations shape the sound. UJAM says no guitar or sound-engineering skills are required. The plug-ins work with Ableton Live, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, FL Studio, Cubase, Studio One, Bitwig, Reaper, and Reason. IRON 2 adds 30 styles, over 350 phrases, stomp-box emulations, Finisher FX modes, Drop D tuning, and doubling. It supports 64-bit VST 2, VST 3, AAX, and AU 2 on Windows and macOS. Pricing is from $129 with a seven-day trial.