Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Surge XT VS SketchCassette

Compare Surge XT VS SketchCassette and see what are their differences

Surge XT logo Surge XT

Open-source subtractive-hybrid synthesizer formerly sold commercially as Vember Audio Surge.

SketchCassette logo SketchCassette

SketchCassette is a plugin that simulates the sound effect of cheap tape, lo-fi effects, sounds of music cassettes, and 8-bit music.
  • Surge XT Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-31

Surge XT is an open-source hybrid synthesizer and the synth which started the Surge Synth Team project!

  • SketchCassette Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-03-11

Surge XT videos

Free VST - Surge Synthesizer plugin

SketchCassette videos

Must have cheap lofi plugin! sketchcassette II plugin review.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Surge XT and SketchCassette)
Email Marketing
88 88%
12% 12
Audio & Music
66 66%
34% 34
Work Management
100 100%
0% 0
Audio Editor
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Surge XT and SketchCassette. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Surge XT seems to be a lot more popular than SketchCassette. While we know about 178 links to Surge XT, we've tracked only 9 mentions of SketchCassette. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Surge XT mentions (178)

  • Ask HN: Comment here about whatever you're passionate about at the moment
    Good stuff! I started getting in to this at the start of the year. Already had an old, dusty MicroKORG and MIDI interface to use it as a controller, but recently splashed out on a bigger controller as the Korg's tiny keys were hurting me - plus, I wanted something bigger to get better at piano! A couple of free soft synths I'd recommend are Surge XT, and Vital. https://surge-synthesizer.github.io/... - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • Obsolete (or not) DAW recommendations for windows 8?
    Https://surge-synthesizer.github.io/ and https://asb2m10.github.io/dexed/ should work like a charm. Source: 10 months ago
  • Hi, I'm new
    To get the equivalent of a symphonic orchestra in your computer, the solution is basically money; you buy the instruments you need. In the case of synthesizers, things are much cheaper - if you put in the effort yourself. https://surge-synthesizer.github.io/ is excellent and could even be used if you wanted to make a more retro-style soundtrack. Source: 11 months ago
  • So is serum worth the money? Can someone ELI5 why I should buy it rather than use a free synth like synth one?
    Instead of Synth1, try https://surge-synthesizer.github.io/ . It's pretty much better in every aspect except for the UI which is going to look a lot more daunting to you ;). Source: 11 months ago
  • These just appeared in my Facebook, anything to be excited about? I’m waiting on prices.
    For the DW-8000, check https://www.fullbucket.de/music/fb7999.html . Alternatively, https://surge-synthesizer.github.io/ can use single-cycle waveforms (basically wavetables that don't change) which can get you close. Source: 11 months ago
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SketchCassette mentions (9)

  • The Lofi Magic of VHS Audio
    There are many shades of plugins for the effect (and related media), but you lose that edge of chaos—most of the sounds that are so popular are the result of happy accidents because of that chaos and randomness. If you play around with these plugins enough you'll find them pretty deterministic. That said, they're pretty great, and highly portable. And I'm going right out to get the one you linked! But for... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Still looking how to start
    The answer to that is partially about building sounds, partially about buying things. Source: about 1 year ago
  • I can see why this pedal is so pricey! How else can you make your guitar tone sound like this?
    If you want to try out the effect before committing to a pedal, Sketch Cassette is a relatively cheap plug-in and is absolutely fantastic. Source: about 1 year ago
  • Looking for help recreating a TOBACCO synth
    However to save you from spending a million on tape recorders, I really really recommend you get this: https://aberrantdsp.com/plugins/sketchcassette/ I absolutely love it. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Gutter by Nick Schubert
    Glad you noticed! Yeah I have a slap back delay with the mix output turned really low. Other than that just a ton of compression lol. A little SketchCasstte for grit and tape emulation and FreshAir to make them pop. Source: over 1 year ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Surge XT and SketchCassette, you can also consider the following products

Vital - Vital is a spectral warping wavetable synthesizer with drag'n'drop modulation workflow and animated preview of the synth's inner workings where needed. Comes with many modulation sources (including audio-rate), MPE support and FX chain.

iZotope Vinyl - iZotope Vinyl is a plugin that gives you the tools to cut, shuffle and alter your audio content to give it that lo-fi vinyl sound.

Serum - VST for FL Studio, Ableton Live, and many other VST supported DAWs. Heavily utilized in EDM.

Unstable by De La Mancha - Unstable by De La Mancha is a pitch modulation effect tool packed with inspiration and creativity.

ZynAddSubFX - ZynAddSubFX is an open source software synthesizer for Linux, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows.

Dumpster Fire by Freakshow Industries - Dumpster Fire by Freakshow Industries is a multi-dimensional virtual effect audio plugin that allows you to shape the sound of fire in all its forms.