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A software synthesizer or softsynth is a computer program that generates digital audio , usually for music. Computer software that can create sounds or music is not new, but advances in processing speed now allow softsynths to accomplish the same tasks that previously required the dedicated hardware of a conventional synthesizer.

Softsynths may be readily interfaced with other music software such as music sequencers typically in the context of a digital audio workstation.

Softsynths are usually less expensive and can be more portable than dedicated hardware. Softsynths can cover a range of synthesis methods, including subtractive synthesis including analog modeling , a subtype , FM synthesis including the similar phase distortion synthesis , physical modelling synthesis , additive synthesis including the related resynthesis , and sample-based synthesis.

Many popular hardware synthesizers are no longer manufactured but have been emulated in software. The emulation can even extend to having graphics that model the exact placements of the original hardware controls. Some simulators can even import the original sound patches with accuracy that is nearly indistinguishable from the original synthesizer. Some softsynths are heavily sample -based, and frequently have more capability than hardware units, since computers have fewer restrictions on memory than dedicated hardware synthesizers.

Some of these sample-based synthesizers come with sample libraries many gigabytes in size. Some are specifically designed to mimic real-world instruments such as pianos. Many sample libraries are available in a common format like.

The major downside of using softsynths can often be more latency delay between playing the note and hearing the corresponding sound.

Decreasing latency requires increasing the demand on the computer's processor. When the soft synthesizer is running as a plug-in for a host sequencer, both the soft synth and the sequencer are competing for processor time.

Multi-processor computers can handle this better than single-processor computers. As the processor becomes overloaded, sonic artifacts such as "clicks" and "pops" can be heard during performance or playback. When the processor becomes completely overloaded, the host sequencer or computer can lock up or crash. Increasing buffer size helps, but also increases latency. However modern professional audio interfaces can frequently operate with extremely low latency, so in recent years this has become much less of a problem than in the early days of computer music.

It is also possible to generate sound files offline , meaning sound generation does not have to be in real time, or live. The advantage of offline synthesis is that the software can spend as much time as it needs to generate the resulting sounds, potentially increasing sound quality.

It could take 30 seconds of computing time to generate 1 second of real-time sound, for example. The disadvantage is that changes to the music specifications cannot be heard immediately. Often a composer or virtual conductor will want a "draft mode" for initial score editing and then use the "production mode" to generate high-quality sound as one gets closer to the final version. The draft mode allows for quicker turn-around, perhaps in real time, but will not have the full quality of the production mode.

The draft render is roughly analogous to a wire-frame or "big polygon" animation when creating 3D animation or CGI. Both are based on the trade-off between quality and turn-around time for reviewing drafts and changes. A software instrument can be a synthesized version of a real instrument like the sounds of a violin or drums , or a unique instrument, generated by computer software.

Software instruments have been made popular by the convergence of synthesizers and computers, as well as sequencing software like GarageBand , Logic Pro geared toward professionals , the open source project Audacity , and Ableton Live which is geared towards live performances.

Also of note is software like Csound and Nyquist , which can be used to program software instruments. A software instrument is akin to a SoundFont.

Stand-alone softsynths run as a program on the computer so additional software is not required. Plugin softsynths require a host application such as a digital audio workstation , which records the music that is played.

Software synthesizers can have more advanced algorithms than digital hardware synthesizers due to the much greater processing speed as well as support for floating point processing and greater than bit word size of the x CPUs that modern music production personal computers have over the digital signal processors found in common hardware synthesizers.

The advantage to dedicated hardware is that it can be more stable, and also that it often has a user interface that is physical knobs and sliders and therefore easier to manipulate during performances.

Many softsynths use mathematical algorithms that directly emulate the electronic components and circuitry of the original hardware synthesizer. This produces an exceptionally authentic sound, even capturing flaws in the original hardware, such as oscillator drift caused by thermal sensitivity of the components.

It can generate polyphonic, multitimbral , microtonal sounds in realtime. The integrated processors included in mobile phones have become so fast, that synthesizer applications apps can play with the same capabilities as the classic analog or digital synths.

They can have several oscillators with pulse-width modulated waveforms, frequency- and amplitude- modulation, ADSR envelope forming, and a number of digital sound processing effects like filter, exciter, delay, chorus and reverb.

One example is the Windows Phone Synthesizer. Many of these are from independent developers. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Computer program that generates audio. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. This section does not cite any sources.

Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. January Learn how and when to remove this template message. Archived from the original on 9 May Retrieved 31 July Microsoft Corp. Categories : Music software Software synthesizers.

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