Prophet 5 (NI Pro53) in your Browser:
https://cmajor.dev/docs/Examples/Pro54/

 

Of course, I used the Nordal for comparison. The hardware itself inspires me and makes me want to play. I turned the software on and off, and there was no inspiration at all, like they were two different synthesizers. The hardware also makes a noise like a deaf-mute, so maybe that's the magic? Maybe they sound the same in a blind test. But I don't like the Nordal at all, and the Nord Lead 2x, while somewhat limited, is wonderful in its own way.

 

- everything by TOGU AUDIO LINE (TAL)
- the usual suspects (these take more time to learn but it's worth)
- waldorf microwave

if i had to answer with only one, then i'd say tal-bassline 101. simplest and you can recreate anything you want that was made on an sh-101. if you have ableton, Monomono - Mono One is a good alternative (in my opinion, even better than tal's)

 

https://plugins4free.com/dev/223/

 

i dont like either nodal emulation. i hope maybe they make nord lead 3 one... nodal sounds a bit .. cheap and nothing special. i guess it good for basses

 

disregard

 

A few free synths to check out, there are so many but these are a good start, also check out the download or support pages for the manuals.
Zebralette
Surge XT
Vital
U-HE TyrellN6
Surge XT

 

My most used synth plugins aren't even emulations, honestly (Charlatan, ZebraCM, FilterscapeVA, Vital, Surge, Spire, Helix, Z3TA+ 2). But I still got a love for 'em.

The Usual Suspects emulations are probably my favorite. The Virus A/B/C/Ti are mind-bendingly deep. Super flexible. Waldorf's official Microwave plugin is good (Blofeld plugin might be good too? did not try), as are the Usual Suspects Waldorf emulations (Xenia and Vavra). Waldorf also has the PPG Wave 3 for old school wavetable sounds. Plogue's OPS7 is an extremely accurate emulation of Yamaha DX7, even lets you go a bit beyond the original possibilities. For 90s sounds, Roland Cloud D50 plugin is pretty good, as is XV-5080, albeit very CPU hungry and lacking some features of the real hardware.

Analog synth emulations are harder to achieve objective accuracy with, but the official Roland Cloud Jupiter-8 seems surprisingly close in various side-by-side comparisons I saw on YT. TAL J-8 is also a good Jupiter-8 emulation, and they got a fairly good Alpha Juno and Juno-60 plugin. Roland Cloud's Juno-60 is nice if you ever wanted two envelopes instead of one on a Juno. Synapse Audio has a pretty good Minimoog (Legend) and Oberheim OB-Xa (Obsession) emulation. G-Force has a pretty good Oberheim OB-X and Eight-Voice (OB-E) emulation. Softube has a good Minimoog (Model 72 -monophonic only), Prophet-5 (Model 80) and Yamaha CS-80 (Model 77) emulation. And u-he also has a good Prophet-5 emulation (Repro). It doesn't get much better than these IMO. Also, u-he Diva isn't strictly an emulation of one synth, but lets you mix and match components from a variety of hardware simulations. It's pretty good.

Full Bucket has FB-7999 which is a pretty good emulation of Korg DW-8000. Korg themselves have the Korg Wavestation and M1 - both digital. There's a good emulation of Roland JX-8P called PG8X by ML-VST. Korg has versions of the MS20 and MonoPoly which are great, albeit not super accurate. Speaking of not very accurate, that's Arturia and Cherry Audio's specialty, but some of their stuff can be fine.

 

Last edited: Mar 17, 2026 at 1:50 AM

You want to learn how to program synths ?
You want to do it on a plugin that emulates well its hardware counterpart ?

What if I told you there's a software that emulates a synth system known for being an endless money pit that most who dip their toes in end up burning through their kids' college funds just to keep their thirst for a larger system ? A system so powerful you can learn absolutely everything known to humanity when it comes to synthesizers ?
A system so useful and used by the community that some of the best hardware manufacturers emulate their own products so people can access them in software form before deciding to buy it irl ?

And what if I told you, you can get it for free ???

https://vcvrack.com/




Don't listen to the rest of the philistines. THIS is the way.

 

all of u-he's stuff is great (although lots of it has nothing to do with hardware)
especially re-pro which is the closest sounding vst I've used to hardware
(also includes the pro 1 version which is even simpler)

(do check out diva as well)

 

For something simpler, I highly recommend this free plugin from Cherry Audio. It’s an emulation of the Realistic Concertmate MG-1, a synth manufactured by Moog for Radio Shack in 1982. It was designed to bring synthesis to a mass-market audience, though its momentum was famously cut short by the arrival of the Yamaha DX7 a year later.

 

I don’t care about synth plugin emulation accuracy that much, that is more effects. I’m not in a YES stadium-rock cover band and so regretfully even the best Mellotron plugin is going in the trashcan in 2026. Example, Arturia. Nice enough emulations but bloated as hell. Sound, performance, price, and expansions are what I care about more. And usually, the first 15–30 minutes of demoing is still the best indicator for me. If it doesn’t click right away, it’s probably not going to grow on me. I am pretty much done trying to force myself to like any one synth plugin. Roland Cloud versions? not identical either, but hell yeah. Dexed? -> Garbage can.

 

So there are a ton of free options, but if you actually spend money, I would suggest going with an actual hardware synth, as it is so much more fun to be able to touch the dials and mess around with them. I am pretty sure you will learn so much more and faster as well. Personally I would recommend the Behringer Model 15. It is a clone of the Moog Grandmother. It sounds awesome for a synth that is less than 200 €.

Then again, if you want to create all kinds of sounds, you should probably look into Vital. It is a free wavetable synth, and it is very versatile.
As already mentioned, VCV Rack has a free version as well, even though I think it might not be the best option to start with if you don't know the basics already. The learning curve sure is steeper, as you will have to figure out the needed modules. There are a lot of tutorials for it on YouTube, though.