Attila M. Magyar released JS80P, a FREE virtual synthesizer in VST and FST plugin formats for Windows and Linux.
JS80P comes from developer Attila M. Magyar, and it’s free to download via his GitHub page, as is the source code (available under the terms of the GNU General Public License Version 3).
JS80P is a two-oscillator synth offering ten waveforms and sixteen notes of polyphony.
The featured waveforms are Sine, Sawtooth, Soft Sawtooth, Inverse Sawtooth, Soft Inverse Sawtooth, Triangle, Soft Triangle, Square, Soft Square, and Custom.
Each oscillator has two filters and a Custom Waveform Harmonics section. The multi-mode filters offer seven filter types:
Low-Pass, High-Pass, Band-Pass, Notch, Bell (Peaking), Low-Shelf, and High-Shelf.
The Custom Waveform Harmonics section, which allows you to introduce and blend 1st to 10th harmonics, is a nice addition.
Other notable features/functions include Portamento, a Wave Folder, Amplitude Modulation, Frequency Modulation, and Phase Modulation.
Although the interface looks pretty busy at a glance, everything is very easy to follow and neatly laid out across five main tabs: Synth, Effects, Controllers, Envelopes, and LFOs.
The Effects tab features built-in Overdrive, Distortion, Stereo Echo/Reverb, plus two additional filters. You also have six envelopes and eight LFOs at your disposal.
JS80P is inspired by the Yamaha CS-80, an iconic analog synth produced in the late 1970s.
Although the CS-80 wasn’t everyone’s ideal synth, partly because it was so big and heavy, it delivered some iconic sounds used by iconic musicians like Vangelis, Stevie Wonder, and Michael McDonald.
As you can tell from those three names, the CS-80 sound lends itself to a varied range of styles, from dystopian movie soundtracks to keyboard-driven, radio-friendly Pop music.
A Yamaha CS-80 would set you back anywhere from thousands of dollars to tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the year and condition. Arturia offers an impressive emulation from the V Collection, the CS-80V, which I think is pretty awesome, but also relatively expensive unless you catch a good sale/offer.
So, if you dig the CS-80 sound and use Windows or Linux, you should check out JS80P for free.
Despite telling you how often I write about freebies/deals, then miss them myself over the past couple of years, it still happens; I clearly have the attention span of Homer Simpson, and even with the best intentions, I get distracted by a blue car, or something equally trivial!
So, I’m reminding you (myself) again that you can get a free MoogerFooger plugin with any purchase at Plugin Boutique throughout May 2023.
I’m heading to Plugin Boutique right now to make sure I don’t; oh, a blue car!
Download: JS80P
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