March 28, 2026
Retromulator 1.3 released
Retromulator is a hardware synthesizer emulation plugin featuring cycle-accurate Motorola DSP 56300 virtual analog cores, physical modelling, FM synthesis, and sample playback — available on macOS, Windows, and Linux as AAX, AU, VST3, and Standalone.
Version 1.3 delivers a major OpenWurli 0.3 upgrade with circuit-modelled preamp and tremolo, a new high-quality Speex resampler, and important bug fixes across OPL3, Standalone, and AU.
Improvements
- OpenWurli 0.3 Preamp: Melange-generated 12-node DK preamp circuit solver replaces analytical DkPreamp — closer match to Wurlitzer 200A preamp nonlinearity.
- OpenWurli 0.3 Tremolo: Twin-T circuit tremolo oscillator replaces sine LFO — fixed ~5.6 Hz rate matching real hardware (tremolo rate parameter removed).
- OpenWurli 0.3 Gain: Recalibrated post-speaker gain from +13 dB to +10.5 dB to match Brad Avenson's 2-7 mV measurement.
- OpenWurli 0.3 Speaker: Speaker tanh saturation bypassed at character=0 to prevent nonlinear coloration on polyphonic ff chords.
- OpenWurli 0.3 Cleanup: Removed unused filter classes (OnePoleHpf, OnePoleLpf, TptLpf, DcBlocker).
- Resampler: Replaced libresample with Speex resampler (quality 5) — SNR improved from 75 dB to 107 dB at the same CPU cost.
- Disk Operations: Added backup/restore on None machine core.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed OPL3 preset navigation switching bank instead of stepping through patches.
- Fixed Standalone preset not sounding on project reopen — deferred sysex resend was never triggered because the Standalone host provides no BPM transport.
- Fixed AU setCurrentProgramStateInformation overwriting DX7 voice bank RAM on state restore.
This update is free for all Retromulator 1.x customers. Retromulator is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux in AAX, AU, VST3, and standalone formats.
March 15, 2026
Discovery Pro 8.16 and Retromulator 1.2 updates
We're pleased to announce updates to Discovery Pro and Retromulator, featuring cross-layer LFO routing, new hardware synthesis cores, and expanded sampler capabilities.
Discovery Pro is the ultimate virtual analog synthesizer and sampler with 4 layers, 12 oscillators, 16 filter types including Nord Lead 2, Moog, and Oberheim SEM models, SFZ/WAV/SoundFont support, PADSynth re-synthesis, and Nord Lead 2 SysEx import/export.
Version 8.16.6 adds cross-layer LFO routing and per-LFO envelope linking, and upgrades the wavetable format.
What's New
- Cross-Layer LFO Routing: Layers can now receive LFO1/LFO2 modulation from other layers, each with independent destination, rate, and amount from the source layer. Route LFO submenu added to the LFO1/LFO2 Zone Preset Edit menu (zone corner popup) with per-layer tick toggles and All option. All morph LCD indicators (filter cutoff, OSC2 pitch, pulse width, FM, amplitude, wave pitch) reflect routed LFO modulation from source layers in real time.
- Per-LFO Envelope Link: Each LFO can now be scaled by Amp, Filter, or Mod envelope values per-voice, enabling delayed vibrato, transient-following modulation, and envelope-shaped LFO effects. Link Envelope submenu added to LFO1/LFO2 preset menus.
- Wavetable Format Upgrade: Optimized classic wave cache file and renamed Wavetable.dat.
This update is free for all 8.x customers.
Retromulator is a hardware synthesizer emulation plugin featuring cycle-accurate Motorola DSP 56300 virtual analog cores including Access Virus ABC/TI, Waldorf MicroQ/XT, Nord Lead 2X, Roland JP-8000, Yamaha DX7, and Akai S1000 sampler playback.
Version 1.2 introduces two new hardware cores: the Wurlitzer 200A physical model piano and Yamaha OPL3 FM synthesis, along with expanded Akai S1000 browsing and import capabilities.
New Hardware Cores
- Wurlitzer 200A: Physical model piano via OpenWurli, ported from ~3,000 lines of Rust to C++ and integrated directly into the JUCE plugin framework. Models the tine, pickup, and tone bars of the classic electric piano with per-voice physics.
- Yamaha OPL3: FM synthesis via Nuked OPL3 v1.8 cycle-accurate emulation by Nuke.YKT, with SBI instrument loading, folder-based bank browsing, and zip import support.
Improvements
- OpenWurli settings panel with live parameter editing via combo and navigation pill.
- Akai S1000 browse folder mode with auto-slice drum mapping and state persistence.
- Akai S1000 ISO/BIN/CUE disk image loading.
- CC20 global tuning support with auto-slice and tuning state recall.
- Import/Export/Delete and drag & drop support for all cores.
- Engine author credits in synth selector.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed DX7 AU preset changes after project reload in Logic Pro.
- Fixed DX7 AU switching synth type to None and back no longer produces silence.
- Fixed DX7 pitch being 2 semitones too low.
- Fixed DX7 preset navigator resetting to position 1 after project reload.
Retromulator is available for Windows, macOS (including Apple Silicon), and Linux in AAX, AU, VST3, and standalone formats. Visit our Retromulator product page for download information.
March 15, 2026
Retromulator 1.2 released
Retromulator 1.2 is a multi-core retro hardware emulation plugin that brings legendary synthesizer, sampler, and keyboard cores back to life through authentic low-level emulation. Virtual analog synths run on a faithful Motorola DSP 56300 recreation, the Yamaha DX7 runs a full emulation of its Hitachi HD6303R sub-CPU and Yamaha YM21280/YM21290 EGS/OPS chip set, the Wurlitzer 200A runs on OpenWurli physical modelling, and the Yamaha OPL3 runs on Nuked OPL3 v1.8 cycle-accurate FM synthesis.
Ten hardware cores are supported — Akai S1000, Yamaha DX7, Access Virus ABC/TI, Waldorf MicroQ, Waldorf XT, Nord Lead 2X, Roland JP-8000, Wurlitzer 200A, and Yamaha OPL3 — available on macOS, Windows, and Linux as AAX, AU, VST3, and Standalone. Built on Gearmulator, an open-source synthesizer emulation project by the dsp56300 team.
New in 1.2
- Wurlitzer 200A — physical model electric piano via OpenWurli, ported from ~3,000 lines of Rust to C++ with per-voice tine, pickup, and tone bar physics. OpenWurli settings panel with live parameter editing.
- Yamaha OPL3 — FM synthesis via Nuked OPL3 v1.8 cycle-accurate emulation by Nuke.YKT, with SBI instrument loading, folder-based bank browsing, and zip import support.
- Akai S1000 browse folder mode with auto-slice drum mapping, ISO/BIN/CUE disk image loading, and state persistence.
- CC20 global tuning support with auto-slice and tuning state recall.
- Import/Export/Delete and drag & drop support for all cores.
- Engine author credits in synth selector.
- Fixed DX7 AU preset changes after project reload, synth type switching silence, pitch being 2 semitones too low, and preset navigator reset.
Emulation Engines
- Access Virus ABC and TI emulation with sysex patch loading, ROM preset extraction to bank combo, and sysex cross-detection on patch import — loads ABC patches into TI and vice versa.
- Nord Lead 2X (N2X) emulation with per-program sysex navigation, edit buffer patch support, output level correction by summing DSP A and DSP B voices at full scale, and sysex patch name support expanded from 10 to 20 bytes with backward compatibility.
- Roland JP-8000 (JE-8086) emulation with ROM preset extraction, patch browsing, .pfm performance bank loading, multi-performance bank loading, and AU MIDI latency fix running at 44100 Hz.
- Waldorf MicroQ and XT emulation via dsp56300 cycle-accurate DSP engine with folder-per-bank ROM loading.
- Yamaha DX7 emulation via VDX7 — full hardware-level emulation of the Hitachi HD6303R sub-CPU, Yamaha YM21280 EGS (Envelope Generator), and YM21290 OPS (Operator) chip set with 16 KB firmware ROM and 32 KB factory voice data.
- Wurlitzer 200A emulation via OpenWurli — open-source physical model with per-voice tine, pickup, and tone bar physics, settings panel with live parameter editing.
- Yamaha OPL3 emulation via Nuked OPL3 v1.8 — cycle-accurate FM synthesis by Nuke.YKT with SBI instrument loading, folder-based bank browsing, and zip import support.
- Akai S1000 sampler — SF2, SFZ, ZBP, and ZBB sample bank playback via the SFZero v3.0 MIT-licensed engine with 8-point sinc interpolation, extended SFZ/SF2 opcode support, discoDSP Bliss sampler format (.zbp/.zbb), Akai ISO/BIN/CUE disk image loading, browse folder mode with auto-slice drum mapping, MIDI CC20 global tuning, MIDI CC support (mod wheel vibrato, volume, expression, pan), sustain pedal, and pitch bend.
- SRC (sample rate conversion) with high-quality Rolloff 0.97 / Beta 9 settings.
Firmware & ROM Management
- Browse dialog accepts .bin, .mid, and .zip files; ZIP archives are extracted flat to the ROM folder with automatic multi-synth detection — all recognised firmware files are saved in one pass.
- Required ROM files per synth: Virus ABC/C —
virus_c.bin(512 KB), Virus TI —virus_ti.bin(6–9 MB), Nord Lead 2X —nord_lead_2x.bin(512 KB), Roland JP-8000 —jp8000.bin(512 KB), Waldorf MicroQ —micro_q.bin(512 KB), Waldorf XT —xt.bin(256 KB), Yamaha DX7 —dx7_rom.bin(16 KB + 32 KB). Wurlitzer 200A and Yamaha OPL3 require no ROM. - Assembled ROM binaries are written to the ROM folder and source MIDI/IC dumps deleted, so subsequent launches load instantly from a single .bin.
- Firmware-missing browse flow on synth type change with synth-specific instructions.
- Per-synth patch name extraction and bank/program combo selectors.
- SysEx preset and bank export with embedded patch names.
- Import/Export/Delete and drag & drop support for all cores.
- Per-synth remembered file chooser directory persisted across sessions.
Plugin & Standalone
- AAX, AU, VST3, and Standalone plugin formats with DAW state persistence.
- Resizable editor window with aspect ratio enforcement and in-editor corner resizer for AU host resize support.
- Window size persists across DAW sessions.
- DAW notified of state changes on preset and synth updates.
- Hardened runtime with JIT entitlement for macOS code signing.
- DSP thread stack increased to 64 MB for stability.
- Standalone last used MIDI device remembered across sessions.
Retromulator is available for Windows, macOS (including Apple Silicon), and Linux in AAX, VST3, AU, and standalone formats.
March 1, 2026
Discovery Pro 8.16 released
We're pleased to announce Discovery Pro 8.16, bringing a new analog oscillator engine, Polyphonic Aftertouch, Adaptive Filter Slope, advanced sequencer capabilities, and folder-based preset organization.
Discovery Pro is the ultimate virtual analog synthesizer and sampler with 4 layers, 12 oscillators, 20 filter types including Nord Lead 2, Moog, Oberheim SEM, and Phaser models, SFZ/WAV/SoundFont support, PADSynth re-synthesis, and Nord Lead 2 SysEx import/export.
What's New
- New Analog Oscillator Engine: Brand new engine with warm analog modeled character and richer harmonic content, especially in the bass range. Real-time discontinuity correction for clean hard sync and FM synthesis. Classic engine available via per-bank global switch for backward compatibility.
- Polyphonic Aftertouch: Per-voice pressure routing enabling individual note expression control and MPE-ready workflows.
- Adaptive Filter Slope: Innovative filter slope switching with note and velocity matrix for dynamic filter character that responds to playing style. Adaptive slope support extended to SEM and Phaser filters with adaptive tap count (4/8/12 taps) for Phaser.
- Per-Sample Parameter Smoothing: Smoothing applied to pulse width, oscillator mix, filter resonance, filter envelope amount, mod envelope amount, and wave osc level to eliminate zipper noise.
- Gate and Mod Gate Sequencer Overhaul: Four independent playback modes per layer — Normal (resets on note-on), Trigger (continues from last position), Free Running (follows DAW transport), and One Shot (plays 32 steps once then stops). Custom Speed entry (0.1x–4.0x) for fine-grained tempo control. Step rotation via Shift+drag shifts all 32 steps left or right; Shift+Ctrl+drag rotates gate on/off bits while keeping articulation fixed.
- Per-Sequencer Randomization Algorithms: Individual randomization algorithms for Gate and Mod sequencers — Oscillator Shape, Rhythmic (with 7 scale types, 6 chord progressions, 6 density patterns), and Sample and Hold. Retrig and note-off articulation included in gate randomization results.
- Folder Support for Preset System: Presets can be organized into subfolders with Save to submenu (Root, existing folders, New Folder...) and folder-aware delete. Gate presets reorganized into subfolders.
- Analog-Modeled Soft Limiter: Added to standalone output for clean limiting without harsh clipping. 5ms output fadeout on program change, bank change, and panic.
- Hard Sync Correction: Improved hard sync quality and tightened PWM clamp.
- Bypass Controls: Bypass toggle added to preset edit popups for LFO1, LFO2, Mod Envelope, Panning, Delay, and Gate. Expanded Bypass menu with modulation and group bypass controls.
- Improvements: Consolidated oscillator menu with Analog Oscillators switch and clarified phase labels. Moved Adaptive Filter Slope and Auto Switch LP Filters to filter presets popup. LCD status display for CPU protection state. Flattened filter layout menu and reorganized filter listing items. Reworked Mod Gate mouse interactions and improved value dialog with input validation. Persistent last-opened effects tab via Skin.xml.
- Bug Fixes: Fixed arp not stopping on gate note-off cell and removed click on arp retrigger. Fixed CPU protection oversampling persisting after project reload. Fixed gate sequencer issues with held keys and articulation state. Fixed Note Retrig Edit mode left-click cycling articulation correctly (None -> Retrig -> NoteOff).
This update is free for all 8.x customers. Discovery Pro is available for Windows, macOS (including Apple Silicon), and Linux in VST, VST3, AU, AAX, and standalone formats.
