Musictop Instruments releases Creatools: Keys, a FREE and open-source synth plugin for Windows.
Creatools: Keys is a free and open-source rompler synth plugin built on the HISE framework.
This virtual instrument features a wide range of sampled sounds you can edit, layer, and modulate in various ways.
Creatools: Keys has a collection of built-in effects, including reverb, compression, saturation, tremolo, delay, and phaser. It also has a multi-mode filter, four LFOs, and a custom LFO shape editor.
Each LFO has Fade In, Legato, and Loop settings.
Along with the effects mentioned above, you also get convolution resonance, which plays a significant role in adding the finishing touch to any sound.
The included samples come from acoustic, electric, and electronic/digital instruments. The presets are spread across multiple categories.
Many of the instruments referenced are keyboard instruments like the Pianet T, harpsichords, DX7, Rhodes, and Wurly.
While there is a good mixture of sounds, Creatools: Keys seems to do the 80s/90s electronic piano thing very well .You know, that almost plucky percussive piano sound that’s not quite a CP-70, but maybe from a DX7 or Korg M1 (the sound of pop music for many years).
You can also do that overstated dreamy 80s/90s thing with the plucky element layered with strings/pads.
The interface has multiple pages: Main, Editor, Mod, Settings, and Presets.
So far, Creatools: Keys is a Windows-only plugin, but the developer says MacOS support will be available in the future.
Creatools: Keys isn’t the first in the Creatools series; Musictop Instruments previously released Creatools: Piano XS featuring two acoustic grand piano models.
If you want a more authentic piano tone, it is worth checking out Creatools: Piano XS, too.
Alternatively, if you’re looking for a different type of free synth, you could try Wavea’s Flite Play with hundreds of presets.
I’m going off-topic here, but I’m curious: did anyone go for the Waves Platinum Bundle deal before it expired? The comments were very mixed, as expected, and in the end, I didn’t manage to convince myself to jump in.
Anyone still looking to grab a bargain can do so with Plugin Boutique’s FX Bundle. The FX Bundle features ten plugins with a combined retail price of $443, but you can grab them for just $29 for a limited time.
Download: Creatools: Keys
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