ADDITIVE SYNTHS

Unlike FM or wavetable synthesis, additive synths haven’t yet had much of a resurgence in the hardware realm (although we think it’s about time Kawai’s ’80s classics got a revival). There are plenty of great additive plugins out-there though.

In terms of dedicated additive instruments, Native Instruments’

Razor – designed by Berlin producer Errorsmith – is a longtime favourite. Arturia’s Pigments has recently gained a powerful additive engine for version 3 too. What’s more, lots of common software synths have easily-overlooked additive capabilities. Logic’s Alchemy, Ableton Operator and Xfer Serum all have additive engines onboard, so you may well have an additive synthesiser in your arsenal without even realising it!