Big news for friends of free synthesizers and especially from Surge. The open-source community beyond the latter has just updated Surge to version 1.9 with many new features, effects, and more.
After the big filter update 1.8, there are now more features and improvements to discover. Among other things, the developers added new oscillator and effect algorithms from Mutable Instruments in the engine. And with this update, the synthesizer plugin remains free for everyone, regardless of whether you are on macOS, Windows, or Linux.
Surge 1.9
Surge 1.9 is a huge update with tons of new features and improvements.
Here are a few new feature highlights
- 4 new oscillator types: a modern low aliasing waveshape oscillator, an alias, a string waveguide-based feedback oscillator as well Twist. The latter is based on the famous multi-oscillator module Plaits from Mutable Instruments.
- 14 new effects:
- Effects by Jatin Chowdhury including Neuron, a distortion effect (Gated Reccurent Unit), CHOW, a truculent distortion effect , Exciter, an aural exciter unit, and Tape, a compact implementation of Chow Tape Model.
- 11-band graphical EQ
- resonator takes inspiration from a very well-known vintage hybrid poly synth that rhymes with “vogue”. Plus expanded with a few Surge-inspired additions.
- combulator, a novel bank of 3 comb filters with feedback, additional noise exciter, separate output volumes for each comb, and individual panning for two out of three combs
- ensemble effect with several BBD modes and a clean delay mode, uses a very famous tri-phase dual LFO modulation setup
- nimbus, a live input granular processor with built-in reverb based on the Mutable Instruments Clouds module.
- treemonster, a really wild pitch-tracking ring modulator from Shortcircuit 2, proper Vember Audio classic!
- five new Airwindows effects including Galactic, Infinity, Verbity, MatrixVerb, and TripleSpread
- ODDSound MTS-ESP as a tuning source.
- … and more.
Improvements
Then, the developers have adjusted the existing engine and improved it in many areas. Here are some highlights:
- 4 new waveshapes in the sine oscillator
- oscillator drift now works properly for all oscillator types
- single-cycle wavetable support
- FM2 and FM3 oscillator types now have an extended range for feedback parameter by default & more
- … and more
New Content (Sounds, FX Presets…)
Further, Surge 1.9 also shops with new patches & FX presets from Vospi, Arti, Databroth, and others.
Surge 1.9 is a massive free update that expands once again the sonic capabilities of this powerful free Synthesizer plugin. Big thanks to the community.
Surge is available now and runs as a VST3/AU plugin on macOS, Windows, and Linux.
More information here: Surge