Processing modules are joined together on screen with virtual patch cables in order to build up a patch, which can then be exported as a plug‑in.
In 2004, I joined up with Jorge and we worked together to take it to its first commercial release, which happened in November 2006.” As Malcolm explains, in SynthMaker's case, VST export was always part of the plan: "We always knew that the software had to be able to produce output that would work independently of the main application.”īoth SynthEdit and SynthMaker follow the same basic virtual modular paradigm. The idea was to create a general visual programming environment but initially apply it to the creation of sound. Outsim's Malcolm Barbour explains: "SynthMaker was originally conceived by Jorge Costa, who began it as a hobby project in early 2001. The four panels near the top show progressive levels of detail as the project is zoomed in. SynthMaker's slick GUI at work on a sample synth. SynthMaker from Outsim, a more recent player on the 'Save As.' scene, had similar hobbyist beginnings. I took a different approach - synth editing and synth playing as two distinct activities.” When you're jamming with a band, you need fast access to your presets: that's not the time to start tweaking patch cords. I wanted SynthEdit to integrate somehow with Cubase, but I didn't want a synth‑building user interface squeezed into a tiny plug‑in window. "When VST first came along, everyone was making VST conversions, trying to squeeze desktop applications into a plug‑in. However, his approach differed from what some others were doing at the time. With the arrival of the VST plug‑in standard in the late '90s, Jeff saw a means to allow his modular creations to be used in third‑party applications. Those factors together spawned SynthEdit.”
The code naturally became very modular, and I saw a parallel with synth programming. In the game, each alien 'thought' for itself, independent of the others. I started programming a game called Defender for the Atari. At that time I played a lot of arcade video games. We used an Atari ST for MIDI sequencing, but were frustrated because we only had two keyboards. Jeff explains: "In the early '90s I was in a synth band called Krisis.
This Windows program hit the market in pre‑release form around a decade ago, but the application's roots pre‑date the VST standard entirely. A simple polyphonic synth prefab open in SynthEdit.
One of the foundational players in the 'Save As.' movement is SynthEdit, from developer Jeff McClintock. These are basically modular synthesis environments that allow you to export your creations as stand‑alone plug‑ins to be used in any VST host. And if you come up with something useful enough to sell commercially, the requirement for the end‑user to purchase an entire modular environment program just to use your creation is not likely to help your sales! The 'Save As.' ProgramsĮnter the 'Save As.' packages. If they own a copy of the same modular environment, you can trade a preset, but that limits your audience quite considerably, and becomes even more complicated if you've made use of any third‑party modules. But if you want to share these concoctions with a friend or a colleague, or the public at large, things can get a little more complicated. Modular packages like Native Instruments' Reaktor or Plogue's Bidule, to name just two, offer a great deal of flexibility to put together weird and wonderful combinations of processes, to achieve results that would be difficult, if not impossible, with less flexible software. If you've ever used a modular synthesis environment, you'll know that they can expand your processing and synthesis horizons well beyond what you'll find in a DAW. The learning curve can be steep, but there are development environments out there that can help. There are lots of reasons why you might want to write your own VST plug‑ins.