Oxo Music has released Oxo Synth2, a free, open-source recreation of Daichi Laboratory’s classic Synth1 software synthesizer, Synthtopia reported. The new instrument aims to keep Synth1 sounds and existing preset collections usable on modern systems, with versions for macOS and iPad.
Synth1 has been a widely used freeware virtual analog synthesizer since the early 2000s, but the original instrument has not received updates in recent years. Its continued use on newer Mac systems has become a compatibility concern, particularly as Apple moves away from support for older Intel software.
Oxo Synth2 is an independent recreation developed by François Chabloz. The project retains Synth1’s original parameters and interface without intentionally changing its synthesis engine, according to the developer. The instrument was recreated by measuring the original synthesizer’s audio output and modeling its parameters individually, a process involving approximately 3 GB of measurement data.
The source code is available under the MIT open-source license. Oxo Synth2 is available as a free download for macOS in VST3 and Audio Unit formats, requiring macOS 14 or later. An iPad version is available as an AUv3 instrument for devices running iPadOS 17 or later. A Windows VST3 version is in development, while Linux ports are welcome as community contributions.
For more information, visit synthtopia.com.
