Helm vs SynthMaster One

Helm is a free software synthesizer for creating electronic music on a computer. It is available as a standalone application or as a plugin in LV2, VST, VST3, or AU formats, with GNU/Linux, Mac OSX, and Windows versions in 32-bit and 64-bit editions. Its sound tools include dual oscillators with cross modulation, unison, a sub oscillator, filters, modulation, a step sequencer, an arpeggiator, and audio effects. MIDI Learn lets users assign a MIDI control to a knob or slider. The maker describes Helm as software that can be run without DRM, studied, changed, and redistributed in original or modified form. The FAQ says the person who plays a sound made with Helm holds its copyright. Listed requirements include Windows 7 or later, MacOS 10.7 or later, Ubuntu Trusty 14.04 or later, and Debian Jessie or later. The project is described as being in beta with outstanding bugs. For bug reports, the maker asks users to include details such as what happened, crash reports, their operating system, and whether they use the plugin or standalone version.

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.