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SYNTH WEEK 2026: Why search for the ultimate soft synth when the very DAW in front of you might well include everything you need? It’s time to dig into your DAW to find its hidden gems, because the synth sounds you need could be just a mouse-click away…
There’s no doubting that the software synthesizer market is huge, almost ridiculously so. From the vast range of solid freeware titles to those high-end professional instruments and collections that could set you back well into four figures.
Soft synths also give you the bulk of the sonic power that hardware synths can muster (and often much more) at a much lower price. Yes, analogue synths might get you another 2% of vintage reality, but why spend a fortune on a hefty physical unit when a cheap plugin will literally ‘plug-in’ to your studio setup and workflow immediately, smoothly and quickly, and do most of the heavy lifting, without, well, any actual heavy lifting.
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However, there is a category of soft synth that often gets overlooked. You might already own at least one and not be aware of its potential – you probably actually own a lot more.
Best of all, they’re kind of free. We’re not talking about second-rate freeware here. These are the real deal; proper plugins for proper synthesis.
We’re talking, of course, about those free synths that come bundled with your DAW. These are the ones that have been put together by the pros to tempt you into spending a decent wedge of cash on a complete software studio system for music creation.
These synths are often the flagship USP of DAW point updates, so they must be good, right?
In the main, yes – they really are good. But they’re often maligned as, when you open your DAW you’re spoiled for choice by the workstation’s other features and its myriad of compositional and effect options.
When you’re scrolling through your favourite third-party synths to assign to a track, those default synths are sometimes not considered at all. They’re left, festering on your hard drive like dusty, forgotten toys from your childhood.
So, as it’s Synth Week here at MusicRadar, we’re here to remind you of just how good those stock options can be; and which of the many DAW freebies are worth booting up again.
So without further ado, let’s count down the best synths in your DAW you need to use more.
1. Drift (Ableton Live)
A more recent synth to kick-off with, Drift was actually introduced to Ableton Live around three years ago in the 11.3 update. Greeted by some as just another 2-oscillator subtractive synth, it enjoys a few extras that take it away from this unfair comparison and also away from Analog, Drift’s more popular and famous older sibling.
One of Drift’s big plusses is its MPE compatibility, meaning that you can twist its sounds into something more unusual with extra performance dimensions, like those found on ROLI’s 5D and Expressive E’s Osmose keyboards, plus many other controllers from the likes the Roger Linn (Linnstrument) and Ableton’s own Push.
That said, Ableton’s Analog also introduced MPE at the same time so really we have to look at the synth’s workflow to find its more attractive qualities and this is where we start to majorly ‘drift’ away from any comparisons.
In short Drift has pretty much everything right there for you, all the common controls you need and simple drop-down menus to access deeper tailoring options.
You can easily route oscillators through the filter or miss it out completely, add tuning variations between those core ingredients, introduce keyboard tracking to change filter characteristics according to the note you play and, this is where it gets really good, drop in some modulation quicker than possibly any other synth out there.
Drift’s icing on the cake comes from the parameter of the same name, introducing drift between oscillators for more vintage swirls and character or subtle stereo effects just by playing with two parameters – or you can go completely mad in Unison mode for extra detuning and conjuring massive pads.
It’s easy, fun, all there in front of you, and best of all, Drift is available in all versions of Live, from the cheapest Intro version (€79) upwards.
For more on how to get to grips with Drift, check out our hands-on guide to navigating its intricacies here
2. Europa (Reason)
Yes we could (and many will say should) have included Reason’s Thor in this list (and by mentioning it in this sentence, I guess we kind of have), but while Thor was an absolute beast on release, it has been (arguably) superseded by other big, bold and massive synths since. Europa takes our ‘hidden gem’ award, then, simply because it strays away from the norm more than Thor.
Introduced in Reason 10, Europa is a three oscillator ‘shapeshifting’ wavetable synth that also does good strings thanks to an included modelling algorithm. It is capable of a lot more weirdness, hence the shapeshifting name, by way of Spectral Filter and Harmonics modules which allow more extreme and partial processing of your sources.
Add in effects and an easy modulation matrix and you might even forgive the slightly dated UI, because this really is a synth to dive into, rewarding any time you spend with it.
Like many of the synths here, you can’t get it unless you get the DAW, but Reason is also available as a rack, which means that you can pick up all of its instruments and effects to use as a plugin minus the DAW stuff, for £199 (as opposed to £299 for the DAW).
Read our original 2018 review of Europa here
3. Alchemy (Logic)
Logic has one of (if not the best) libraries of instruments, effects and sounds. Apple has made it this way in order to shift hardware, after all. Stalwarts of this collection include the ancient-looking ES synths, which still pack a decent punch but look like they’ve turned up at your DAW by way of a Charles Dickens short story.
Alchemy, on the other hand, is modern (ish), punchy, clean and easy on both the eye and ear. In fact it’s as good as any third-party synth plugin, pretty much because it was a very good third-party synth plugin before its incorporation into the Logic suite back in 2015 for version X.
Before this, Alchemy existed as an incredibly well-regarded synth from Camel Audio, but its insertion into Logic has certainly helped shift a few copies of the DAW and resulted in many a song being created within it.
It’s not so much that Alchemy sounds that different, although with its mix of additive, granular and spectral synthesis, it certainly can if you wish it to, it’s more that you can choose to interact with it on a very simple level to twist sounds into your own in no time at all.
In fact, it’s one of those synths where you’re almost embarrassed to call the results of a couple of preset tweaks your own. But you still do as, come on, no-one knows you just tweaked the Frequency dial, do they?
We won’t tell anyone.
Check out our ultimate guide to getting the best out of Alchemy here
4. 3x Osc (FL Studio)
Many hardware synths are so old we call them ‘vintage’, and quite right too, but software, by its very nature, never tends to get that label, even though some soft synths have been around since the dawn of time. Ok, the outset of the 21st century. One that quite literally ticks that box, and even has ‘since 2000’ proudly written on itself, is 3x Osc, one of FL Studio’s standout plugins.
Whether it’s pronounced ‘Three Ex Osc’ or ‘Three times oscillator’ or any variation/combination of those is up for debate, but what isn’t is the fact that this thing can do pretty much anything, despite being one of the most basic looking synths out there.
Thanks to an easy tab interface that allows a lot of simple envelope editing, you can literally shape your sound, with just enough modulation flexibility to lift it away from standard subtractive fare.
Yes there are better synths (it is a quarter of a century old, after all) but 3x Osc is one of those plugins where you can quite easily master it and do everything you need with it, or transfer a lot of that knowledge across to other plugins.
Basically, ‘start here’ and maybe ‘stay here’, but definitely ‘come here and use me’.
5. Padshop 2 (Cubase)
We could have gone for the ‘definitely a synth’ option of Retrologue here, but as good as that is, it’s just another VA style synth of which we have plenty of already.
No, instead we’re opting for Padshop 2, a synth that crosses so much into sampler territory that we might even be breaking our own rules by including it.
Never mind though, software instruments tend to challenge definitions these days, and to be honest, if it has synth features, it’s a synth, so there.
And what features. Simply drag in a sample, apply the on-board grain oscillator and you’ll start shifting your core sound into, well, pretty much any atmosphere, drone and sound effect you can imagine.
You might not be able to aim for a specific sound, but you’ll have a lot of fun along the way if you do, even if you don’t end up with what you intended. This is out-there, wild and, well, droney.
Use your retro synths for anything analogue, and this for all the atmospheric backdrops and experimental textures you could ever need.
