How to make your own synth VST

Start with a description

Open Studio 56 in your browser and say what kind of sound it is and where it sits in a track, then how it should move and feel. Descriptions like these work well:

• A round sub bass that glides between notes
• A wide pad that slowly opens up over each chord
• A glassy bell pluck with a short delay
• A 70s string machine with a little chorus
• A bright supersaw lead for a drop

What Studio 56 builds

The AI picks from more than a hundred verified DSP blocks, such as oscillators, filters, envelopes and effects, and then sets and wires them together in your browser, where you can see each one.

You can play it in your browser the moment it’s made. When it sounds right, send it to your DAW, where it plays inside the Studio 56 plugin from your keyboard or your piano roll.

Shape it after it’s built

Every knob stays yours to change. You can ask the AI for a change, like a darker filter or a slower attack, or add a block like an arpeggiator or a chorus yourself. You can also build a synth by hand from the start, free with no limit.

Synths it does best

Basses, leads, pads, plucks, keys and bells come out best, along with organ and string-machine textures, vocal-like tones and kicks. Your sounds play inside Studio 56 in Ableton Live, Logic Pro, GarageBand, FL Studio and most other DAWs except Pro Tools, and the guide to making a VST plugin with AI walks through setting it up.

What it costs

Building a sound by hand is free with no limit, and your first 3 asks to the AI are free. Pro is $10 a month, and the AI builds about 70 sounds a month on it. You can use what you make in songs, videos, live shows and commercial releases. The one thing you can’t do is sell the sounds themselves.