Wavetable synthesizers are all the rage right now, and there’s no denying their versatility or sound quality. They are used very heavily in today’s music, from electronic genres all the way over to rock and more.
What are the best wavetable synths? Well, this depends a lot on who you ask. Either way, though, we’ve compiled a collection of wavetable and wavetable capable synths that we think stand out in the market.
Here you will find the best wavetable synth VST plugins.
Circle2 by Future Audio Workshop – Best Overall
Circle2 is an underground favorite, offering powerful functionality while ensuring ease of use. It’s a tough balance to achieve, but we think Future Audio Workshop has done it!
Circle2 isn’t based on any classic analog hardware as most soft synths are. It’s a work all its own, one that’s been designed for the present and future instead of calling back to the past.
To that extent, the Vector Phase Shaping Synthesis (VPS) oscillator is certainly a standout feature, utilizing two sine waves with configurable frequencies.
That said, this baby still comes with all the goods – four VPS oscillators, four analog oscillators, and four wavetable oscillators, along with one noise source and one feedback.
It also includes one VCA, a mixer, an analog modeled filter, a dual analog modeled filter, two mouth filters, two fuzz distortion, two overdrive, two parametric EQs, two crushers, five ADSR envelopes, five step sequencers, and five wavetable LFOs.
In terms of effects, you will find a mix of reverb, double echo, ping pong echo, analog phaser, chorus, panner, analog modeled bucket delay, and analog modeled tube distortion.
Finally, Circle2 features NKS Support for Maschine and Komplete Kontrol, MIDI note arpeggiator, 32 voice polyphony, MIDI learn, 110 wavetable oscillator shapes, over 300 patches, drag and drop modulation, 16 wavetable LFO shapes, 16 step sequencer, and more.
Learn more: Plugin Boutique
Equator2 by ROLI – Best Premium Option
The ROLI Equator2 hybrid synth is more of a workstation than a mere synth.
This MPE synth comes with four sound engines – wavetable, sampler, granular, and noise. These are assignable to six slots.
The synth includes 42 multi-sampled instruments along with 220 variations and articulations. You’ll find iconic vintage synths, a baby grand piano, world instruments, electric and acoustic instruments, classical instruments, granular samples and more. ROLI also gives you the ability to import your own samples.
Of course, there’s also a modulation section, effects, and more than 1,300 presets.
Not strictly a wavetable synth, Equator2 offers a near limitless set of sound possibilities.
There are other options for those who are only looking for wavetable functionality, but if you think you might need more, you’ll want to check out Equator2. It’s our best premium option.
Learn more: Plugin Boutique
WIGGLE by 2nd Sense Audio – Best Budget Option
2nd Sense Audios’ WIGGLE is a positively surprising entry. It’s a great sounding, feature-rich soft synth that also happens to be quite affordable in the grand scheme of things.
WIGGLE comes with four sound generators with four control points and individual LFO, multiple synthesis options (wavetable, free-drawing PD curve, FM, and morphing), FM matrix, eight free drawing LFO / envelope, and a morph pad.
It also includes seven effects, a step sequencer, recorder, retina ready display, and tutorial.
WIGGLE is delightfully vintage, great for electronic music of a variety of flavors, and classic video game style sounds too.
Learn more: Plugin Boutique
Serum by Xfer Records
There’s little denying that Xfer Records’ Serum is one of the crowning jewels of the wavetable synth kingdom. This is in large part due to its enduring and explosive popularity, in combination with its flexible design and undeniable sound quality.
With Serum, you can do just about anything you can imagine with wavetables. You can create them. You can import them. You can edit them. And you can morph them. This can all be done in real time.
This, in addition to its super clean oscillators, versatile modulation system, multiple filter types, built-in effects system, and stackable oscillators (with up to 16 voices), makes Serum an unmissable force in the wavetable synth realm.
If you’re not up to the task of dialing in your own tones, then you’ll be glad to know there are some awesome presets aboard. That said, if you’re going to get a wavetable synth anyway, you should probably get used to the idea of customizing and tweaking your own sounds too.
Learn more: Splice
Hybrid 3 by AIR Music Technology
As its name would suggest, the six-oscillator Hybrid 3 is a combo synth, of the subtractive / wavetable virtual synthesizer variety.
And it comes with a ton of features too – over 1,200 presets, HD oscillators, saturation and dual filtering modes, four LFOs, an envelope editor, Hype algorithm (for enhancing high or low frequencies), and two Doubling knobs.
There are also 16-step sequencers, modulation matrices, morph groups, and 40 effects.
Hybrid 3 sounds amazing. Whether pads, leads, basses, FX, or otherwise, you’ll be amazed how many high-quality sounds are available here.
Hybrid 3 is superior to previous renditions in every way, and it’s the best version so far.
Learn more: Plugin Boutique
Factory by Sugar Bytes
The Sugar Bytes’ Factory poly synth features two oscillators with 10 modes, including wavetable PWM, wavetable sync, wavetable formant, wavetable drone, waveguide, pulse sync, saw sync, saw fractal, FM formant, and transformer.
This synth comes with a ton of features, including but not limited to sub-oscillator with ring modulation, 8×10 mod matrix with 36 targets, noise generator with five flavors, morph fader, and sample & hold.
Factory is a very programmable, great sounding synth.
Learn more: Plugin Boutique
Diversion by DS Audio
Modern, versatile, configurable, and great sounding, there’s a lot to like about DS Audio’s Diversion.
Tailor made for electronic music; Diversion comes complete with four oscillators. Each waveform has parameters X and Y for adjusting the tone of your sounds. The synthesis modes including filtering, FM, RM, and wave shaping.
As of version 1.2, DS Audio added a wavetable editor, and with version 1.3, they also added granular synthesis, output audio recording, and sample playback.
Diversion also includes bus processors, effects, oversampling, modulation, and arpeggiator (with trance gate).
Overall, Diversion is a complex, powerful soft synth.
Learn more: Plugin Boutique
Hive 2 by u-he
u-he’s Hive 2 makes the creation of new patches a cinch.
As of the latest version, wavetables have been built into Hive, controllable via the central hexagon. Wavetables can be manually selected. You also have the option of modulating the position using the matrix, and you can scan them using the loop and envelope options.
Hive 2 gives you the power to split wavetables into up to 16 parts. It’s like a two-dimensional oscillator!
Altogether, Hive 3 features three synth engines, two oscillators, drag and drop modulation, 12×2 mod matrix, four XY control pads, eight-step shape sequencer, arpeggiator, step sequencer, scale quantizer, two function generator, seven effects, panel presets, solo buttons, and a few other goodies.
Hive 2 simply sounds stunning.
Learn more: Plugin Boutique
Bassynth by Wave Alchemy
Wave Alchemy’s Bassynth is begging to be the most versatile and powerful bass synth you’ve ever owned.
This baby covers so many sounds, it’s hard to capture in one sentence let alone one paragraph. Brass sections, bass guitars, winds and strings, 808s, subs, percussion and mallets, foley, acoustic instruments, noise and transients, and a great deal more.
Bassynth comes with over 800 multi-sampled sound sources, wavetables, and oscillators you can assign any four sources.
Altogether, Bassynth comes with 290 presets, advanced sound design engine, filters, modulation, FX, eight voice unison per layer, detune, stereo spread, wet / dry, 64 blend and morphable parameters, dynamic sound source, and preset browser.
There’s also a wavetable engine (with 200+ scannable wavetables, 14 warp modes), drag and drop macros, 32-step motion designer, polyrhythmic parameter sequencing, up to eight round robins per source, mono, legato, and poly (with glide), analog slop controls, over 40 FX, and more.
Learn more: Plugin Boutique
What Should I Look For In A Wavetable Synth VST Plugin?
From your Serums and Omnispheres to more obscure options like Circle2, there is no shortage of hyper-powered wavetable or wavetable capable solutions to choose from. There are even hybrid, workstation, and multi-sampled options like Bassynth and Equator2 to keep things interesting.
But the final decision is yours to make. Sound is usually a good thing to consider as you’re shopping around, so it would be word to the wise to check out video demos / reviews and audio samples, so you know what to expect.
Wavetable synth VST plugins almost never have the exact same feature set, so if there’s something specific, you’re looking for, it’s well worth paying attention to features.
Finally, don’t forget to factor your budget into consideration. Look, nowadays, you can get an awesome wavetable synth for very little. You’re not forced to go with premium options like Serum or Omnisphere if you don’t want to.
Either way, though, we don’t recommend going into debt for any purchase. That’s key.
Top Wavetable Synth VST Plugins, Final Thoughts
Regardless of the project or situation, you should be able to get your wavetable needs met with one of the above synths. There are always other options to consider, if you can’t find what you’re looking for, but otherwise this guide is made up of very competent, very powerful, highly rated entries.
Once you’ve settled on a plugin, purchase it, download it, install it, and start experimenting immediately. If you have no prior experience, synthesizers can take a while to learn, but the effort you put into it will be worth the trouble. Now, go and have fun!