Hi everyone,

I'm a musician and I recently launched a free resource designed to change the way we explore virtual instruments. I realized I wasn't the only one looking for virtual versions of real instruments—not only because musical gear is expensive and some instruments are rare and difficult to maintain, but also because the search itself is always tedious since no one had created a system to directly find the virtual versions of these real instruments. This resource addresses that problem.

Instead of browsing by software brand or format, you can search by the original hardware—discovering all the available virtual versions (VST, Kontakt, etc.) of classic synths, drum machines, electric organs, keyboards, sound chips (8-bit/16-bit), and more.

The site features over 1,000 pages on original hardware and around 5,000 links to companies producing these virtual emulations. I’ve put a lot of effort into making the site not only highly functional but also visually appealing, so you can enjoy an intuitive and engaging browsing experience.

Importantly, the site is completely ad-free and non-commercial—it's purely a labor of love aimed at providing a valuable resource for the music community.

The potential of this resource has already been recognized by outlets like Synthtopia and Gearnews, and I hope it can become a valuable tool for musicians looking to explore new sounds and expand their sonic palette.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions!

virtualsynthesizers.com

 

Excellent idea and kudos on the execution of it! Looking at it right now. Besides the color scheme (fluorescent green and orange against hard black is hard for me to read - dark grey background, either from 55-75 might be easier on the eyes), I like the logic of the layout.

I'm exploring for now. Will update with suggestions if any. Cheers!

 

great idea! bookmarked.

 

Hi, Balisani,
Even though I received a lot of comments that didn't mention this problem, indeed it stands out a lot, so I'm going to do it differently. Is it just the top bar or the buttons too?
Thank you very much for your feedback
Thomas

 

Hi shinyzen,
Thank you very much for your feedback

 

Very good database! Thanks
Handling and appearence are fine for me. Huge effort to get this done. Very much apprechiated.

 

I've made a few modifications to make the site design a little less “flashy”.
see you soon

 

Hello Jeggar ,
Thank you very much for your feedback

 

Yay, you got rid of that awful llm crap! So much cleaner and concise than the last time I viewed couple weeks ago. Bigly improved.

 

Hello Usr4321!
Thank you VERY MUCH for this feedback, it makes me very happy to see that my efforts are noticed

 

Brilliant resource!

Man, I was unsuccessfully searching for a Farfisa 345 VIP vst recently. Found it in seconds using your site, thank you!

 

Last edited: Apr 8, 2025

Nice one! Bookmarked. And it´s better for eyes now

 

Very nice idea and can be a really good source of inspiration. Maybe it should also contain some user input system, for example - for suggestion, if there is some info missing. for excample - i opened Roland Juno alpha page but there is no TAL alpha VST listed there So maybe some user feedback would be good for updating the page.

 

Hi FrankPig
Great! It's a pleasure to read this

 

While I very much like what you're doing, I think it's really important to make a distinction between an emulation, an approximation, a "feature clone" and sample expansions, because these are all very, very different things.

 

Hi Legotron,
Super! Thanks for your feedback

 

Hello Dr After,
I agree with you, but I have to admit I'm a bit afraid that if I let everyone edit, someone with bad intentions might do something stupid to the site. For the moment, the only secure solution I've found is the “comments” section.
Thanks for your feedback .

 

You're welcome - any valiant and generous effort such as yours should be supported.
The way I see it (literally), the black background is too austere, and the combination of the bright/fluorescent Orange and Green lettering is a little challenging, borderline eyesore.

I would just soften the entire color scheme, starting with a neutral grey background, or blue grey like this page. you're reading this on. You could also check out the sister site for ideas, or head over to synthpedia for comparison.

My days of designing (award winning digital audio/video) GUIs are behind me, but that's where I would start: subtle, gentle contrast.

To be clear, I'm not complaining - very appreciative of your efforts - this would be one of the finishing touches, you've done the bulk of the work aplenty.

Congratulations again, and cheers!

 

Hello Noizy ,
You're right, I'll have to think of a solution for that.
Thanks for your feedback

 

Ah yes, I understand what you mean by looking at the synthpedia site. I actually understand better what you're saying when you say that green and orange create complexity in colors. I agree with you that it's not really necessary. I'll see what I can do to soften the colors even more.
Thank you for your very good advice.