In our look back at the best of 2014, we’ve already looked at the 10 Best New Mobile Music Apps, the Best New Hardware Synths, the 10 Best New MIDI Controllers, the Best New Modular Synth Gear and the Best New Electronic Music Hardware.
2014 was a good year, too, for desktop/laptop electronic music software. There were multiple major DAW updates. And, for the first time, there were several major new DAW releases for Linux in one year.
It was also a year that saw several apps make the leap from iOS to Mac & Windows or to VSTi/AU standards.
And, after 2013, where it seemed like iOS was getting many of the most interesting new synths, 2014 saw some very interesting new desktop/laptop synths.
Here’s our take on the best new music software of 2014:
The Best New Music Software Of 2014
- Bitwig Studio For Linux, Mac & Windows
- Tracktion 5 For Linux, Mac & Windows
- Madrona Labs Kaivo Physical Modeling Synthesizer
- Dune 2 Synthesizer
- XILS 4 Matrix Synthesizer
- Realivox Blue Text-To-Vocals Synthesizer
- Reason 8
- Eventide UltraReverb Native Plug-In
- PPG WaveMapper 2 For Mac, Windows
- Free Yamaha DX-7 Patch Editor & Virtual Synthesizer
Other notable releases in 2014 included:
- BT + iZotope BreakTweaker
- Rob Papen Blue II
- Glitchmachines Scope Modular Sound Generator & Effects Processor
- Samplemodeling Flutes
- Algoriddim DJay 2
- sonicLab Cosmosƒ FX ‘Live Input Stochastic Processor’
- GForce Oddity 2
- Audulus For Windows
Let us know your picks for the best new music software of 2014!
You forgot the Arturia Oberheim Matrix 12 V!!
What about Arturia Oberheim Matrix 12 V??!! Awesome piece of gear!
The best music software of 2014 is Xfer Serum, for me that is beyond a debate as it is likely the best soft synth of the last 10 years, if not ever – and not even a honorable nod!? Who complied that list and where the hell have they been?
Absofuckinglutly Serum is amazing it has a real UI so many VST’s UI is a joke and they should not be charging for that shit. Serum is designed with being used in mind other VSTS are designed to look like hardware which it isnt.
Serum is my go to Synth and it the first that i have made patches for and boy have a made some lol – The fact that you can see the wavetable and what the oscillators are doing is a godsend all sysnths should do this it makes it so easy to make patches. Serum gets 11 out of 10 for me
Seriously bad oversight not including Xfer Records’ SERUM. (It didn’t even make the “Other notable releases” list.) I was never a huge fan of wavetable synths but this was so good I had to get it. They definitely set the bar high.
Interesting lists, though Dexed is in both. 🙂
I disagree with Reason 8’s inclusion. It was an underwhelming upgrade with UI improvements that they are still fixing. I’m sure that some are happy with it, but after the way the upgrade was handled, I won’t go back to Reason.
Serum is in my opinion by far the best new software of 2014….unrivaled sound, GUI and user friendliness.
a benchmark for all other Synths
permut8 1.1 has new firmwares good enough for me.
sunvox 1.8 has had enough stuff added this year too.
🙂
I like sunvox Buy i find the GUI is behind where it should be
Somehow you missed Xfer Records’ Serum, the best plugin I own and the best synth plugin I’ve ever heard. It’s just mind-blowing.
Again, Serum. This is a meaningless list without it with some dreadful releases like the reson update that even the reason fanboys were underwelmec by.
No mention for Bazzile? Cubase 8?
I guess if you just want comments and hits, posting a stupid list will do it!
Bazille… DUH
I was astonished that U-He Bazille wasn’t listed. It’s an outstanding synth: great-sounding and flexible.
what about the best freeware ?
Serum without question should be at the top or near the top of this list. The fact that it is not even included leaves me scratching my head…
Knew you were going to piss off a bunch of Serum fanboys when I saw that list…
iZotope Iris 2 well deserves a place in the top 10. The new interface is a breeze to learn and the results that you can get from some tweaking are stunning.
Iris 2 certainly doesn’t deserve a place on any list except one recording the biggest disappointments of 2014:
1) Ridiculously expensive so-called “upgrade”
2) No development ***at all*** of the fundmental spectral tools, such as time stretching
3) Breaks compatibility with Iris 1 soundsets
4) Buggy as h**l
Max 7
Reaktor 5
arturia v collection 4
all iZotope products !!!
Madrona Labs Aalto
Audulus for mac and pc and ipad
Minihost Modular for mac and pc
XILS 4 Matrix Synthesizer
Bazille for me. I bought it and love it. As with a lot of soft synths, easy to use but you do actually need to read the manual to get to use all the functions.
I also like the Humanoid Sound Systems Enzyme. The results are good but in a similar field, all pretty mental and good value.
I have only just upgraded to the Arturia Matrix12 etc but I find their physically modelled plug ins really useful as you can really twist the sounds. Just try the Wurly electric piano and go through the presets to see what I mean.
Nothing Native Instruments related? hmmmm…..
blacklist them until we get fm9, absynth 6, and reaktor 6
Renoise 3
Reason 8? Really? Talk about unimpressive upgrade. To suggest that effort was one of the ten best software products of 2014 is a slap in the face to those that actually made an effort.
I like Reason but they’ll be waiting for version 9, a price reduction, or adding something else before they get more of my money.
Bazille, Serum, Rounds…not a great list. Leaving Serum out alone disqualifies this from being taken seriously, but to completely leave out Bazillle…..what about Wavemapper?
The free and awesome sounding OBXD by 2Dat/Datsounds! Incredible sounding freeware softsynth!