4.8 / 5     (49 votes)
Win32 Win64
   
VST
Charlatan is a polyphonic subtractive synthesizer with focus on sound quality and easy usability.

It comes with a flexible, yet not overwhelming feature set which encourages artists to start tweaking instead of just relying on presets. Inspite of it's simplicity, Charlatan's architecture is flexible enough to create both classic sounds and rather experimental noises. While making no compromise about sound quality, the sound engine has been highly optimized for efficient CPU usage making Charlatan well suited as a "bread and butter" synth even in projects with a large number of plugin instances.
  • 2 oscillators with shape modulation.
  • Oscillator hard synchronization and ring modulation.
  • Unison mode with upto 7 voices and stereo spread.
  • Stereo noise generator.
  • 2 ADSR envelope generators.
  • LFO with host tempo synchronization.
  • 3 filter types modeled after classic analog hardware: 4-pole (24 db/oct) and 2-pole (12 db/oct) lowpass, bandpass.
  • 3 voice modes: Monophonic, Monophonic Legato and 8-voice Polyphonic.
  • Ultra-low CPU usage.
Downloads
Michel42 Jul 30 2024
Jul 30 2024
How to contact the publisher of this synthesizer ?
Michael Mar 31 2024
(5 / 5)
Mar 31 2024
Hi. Sometimes you download something and only at second glance do you realize how ingenious and brilliant the work is. This is what happened to me when I was hunting for free plugins. CHARLATAN is simply AWESOME. And all of this for free. I wish you a happy Easter, good luck and STAY HEALTHY
ali Feb 13 2024
(5 / 5)
Feb 13 2024
THIS IS SO NICE, with some reverb and eq its all perfect the filter does so much make sure to play with it
Charlatanuser Jan 07 2024
(5 / 5)
Jan 07 2024
This synth is fantastic. Truly low on CPU with many essential features and even a few more! Fantastic sound too. I've used it a lot, even though I have soft synths which cost money.
АЛЕКСАНДР Nov 30 2023
(5 / 5)
Nov 30 2023
Чуть бы допилить и красота)
Michael Sep 07 2023
(5 / 5)
Sep 07 2023
Best synth ever. Just put a reverb on it!
Paul May 23 2023
(5 / 5)
May 23 2023
My go-to synth. For bread and butter sounds I always reach for this synth despite owning more sophisticated paid-for synths. There's something about the layout and design that allows me to dial in a sound quickly and without fuss. And this sounds fantastic. It's killer for bass, pads and leads. It's very gentle on CPU and has never crashed on me.
Mike Apr 19 2023
(5 / 5)
Apr 19 2023
Amazing synth. Easy to edit sounds, and what you make ends up so usable. Doesn't even make the CPU sweat at all, super efficient. This synth is what made me develop a love for sound design, I learned all about making good pads, basses, leads, brasses etc. Definitely a bread and butter freebie, deserving of being beside classics like Synth1.
Elsie Jan 19 2023
Jan 19 2023
Excellent and very handy
Dude Love Nov 11 2022
(5 / 5)
Nov 11 2022
Nice Synth, nice sound
Proteus Aug 02 2022
(5 / 5)
Aug 02 2022
Really great synth!
mnrv-ovrf-year-c Jul 22 2022
Jul 22 2022
Thank you to the developer for the free synth which made me finally give up a magazineware one. Even better was when the "vel" sliders for the envelopes were added! Otherwise I would have complained there aren't enough patches and not a good excuse to make any more. Some polyphonic sounds are just alive, cannot get that from any synth created in decade-2000. Just use it.
mirens Feb 20 2022
(4 / 5)
Feb 20 2022
New skin for charlatan on this link: http://goa.in.rs/charlatan_vsti_skin
Daniel Bolshakov Jan 02 2022
(5 / 5)
Jan 02 2022
Великолепный синтезатор. Всё очень просто крутится, топовые фильтры. Действительно напоминает "то самое" звучание. Рекомендую.
John Burns Jul 30 2021
(4 / 5)
Jul 30 2021
Good option if you just want to use 1 really easy synth and you aren't too fussy about the tones. Nice layout. It's not as warm or as fat or as edgy as some other synths. It's got a very non-descript, "vanilla" vibe to it. It's an analog style synth but it won't remind you of any classic synth tones. I like the filter. I like the noise section. The waves don't sound that good to me. It sounds pretty mellow. It's hard to get a really thin, cutting sound out of it if that's what you want. I like it generally but it just doesn't impress me much. Highly recommended as a beginner synth though or if you just want a small synth part in the track and don't have a really specific tone in mind.
ArseniyYashkin Jun 21 2021
Jun 21 2021
This is the best I've found. First, it is simple and second, it is easy to learn.
Jon Jun 17 2021
(3 / 5)
Jun 17 2021
It's oscillator and filter is high quality. Decent analog feel (but don't expect Diva/Obsession level analog). So it's good. However, it has some bugs that bother me. Noise/glitch when switching to POLY, and the detune knob stops at 6 semitones when I want 7ths... A workaround is possible by combining TUNE (Osc2) and DETUNE (Pitch), but it doesn't work well. Also, when loading project files, Charlatan seems to ignore my Pitch Wheel settings at first. And it seems this synth will never be updated again.
Andi Apr 23 2021
(5 / 5)
Apr 23 2021
This is paid-plugin quality!!! First thought its a mono synth only but then I discovered that it has poliphony! And the filter is just synth p*rn!! I only can recommend it!
Darko Mar 16 2021
(5 / 5)
Mar 16 2021
Charlatan is a top quality VA softsynth, up there with the best freebies PG-8X, Obxd, Tyrell N6, Mausynth, Xhip. <3 <3 <3
Maria Dec 13 2020
(5 / 5)
Dec 13 2020
I love it!!!
Yondar Dec 12 2020
(5 / 5)
Dec 12 2020
I like this vst a lot. I can make a lead or chord sound like some nexus presets without nexus.
Motie May 26 2020
(5 / 5)
May 26 2020
I love this synth. I'm very much a preset guy, any sound I can create has already been created only 100 times better, and on the BlauKraut website you can find more preset banks that just sound really awesome. Thank you BlauKraut. You've brought happiness to my normally jaded heart :-)
NB Mar 08 2020
(4 / 5)
Mar 08 2020
Very impressive little synth! I'm not a synthesis Pro by any stretch of the imagination, so the simplicity of this plugin is absolutely right up my alley, as I'm able to create really cool sounds with relative ease. Congrats to BlauKraut!
Monolectric Feb 17 2020
(5 / 5)
Feb 17 2020
Fantastic, tidy and simple GUI. Great and clear in Sound. The only thing I miss is a small Effect-Section.
Digital Rules Nov 15 2019
(5 / 5)
Nov 15 2019
Impressive synth! <3
ajh Nov 05 2019
Nov 05 2019
A great sounding synth with a pleasing interface.
Fanatic 12000 Oct 18 2019
(5 / 5)
Oct 18 2019
What a perfect tool !!! The only plugin in my computer, I use it for everything: Basslines, Leads, Chords, Drums, Glitchs, FX ... Thousand thanks <3
Fred4Fred Sept 28 2019
(5 / 5)
Sept 28 2019
I like this plugin. It's easy to understand easy handling, stable and superlow CPU usage. Good Sound. much thank's to blaukraut
Darko Aug 18 2018
(5 / 5)
Aug 18 2018
A bit basic in architecture but certainly awesome in sound!
Steagnus Jul 07 2018
(5 / 5)
Jul 07 2018
Good job BlauKraut Engineering!
AM May 23 2018
(5 / 5)
May 23 2018
This is great! It has a very thick analogue sound. 5/5 I so hope BlauKraut Engineering will bring us more synths, a bigger brother of Charlatan would be killer!!
Proteus May 19 2018
(5 / 5)
May 19 2018
Very nice tones coming out of this! For free this is stunning!
Acid Lady Apr 29 2018
(5 / 5)
Apr 29 2018
I love the simplicity of this plugin.
Mato Apr 24 2018
(5 / 5)
Apr 24 2018
Excellent quality sound engine in this softsynth.
XR95 Apr 06 2018
(5 / 5)
Apr 06 2018
One of the best free Soft synths. High quality analog sound.
francisco Mar 14 2018
(5 / 5)
Mar 14 2018
muy bueno me encanto
STV May 29 2017
(5 / 5)
May 29 2017
One of the best Free Soft-Synths. Good job and thanks!
Chris Apr 03 2017
(5 / 5)
Apr 03 2017
Easy to use and well designed interface.
okarowarrior Mar 09 2017
(5 / 5)
Mar 09 2017
Of the simplest substractive-synths there are in this site. This one is the best.
Reverend Entity Apr 24 2016
(5 / 5)
Apr 24 2016
Great sound, easy to program, lots of presets available.
Betty Simonson Mar 12 2016
(5 / 5)
Mar 12 2016
Simple and clean for beginners and experts .
Octavius Mar 03 2016
(5 / 5)
Mar 03 2016
Good for Basses,leads and very usable.
Phaeax Mar 02 2016
(5 / 5)
Mar 02 2016
Efficient, low CPU usage and simple interface. Good job.
Iosubsys Mar 02 2016
(5 / 5)
Mar 02 2016
Good sounds and easy to use... Gracias.
TheRobotizer Jan 22 2016
(5 / 5)
Jan 22 2016
Superb!!!
Akros Aug 21 2015
(4 / 5)
Aug 21 2015
Sounds good. Miss a sub
PC-Edy Jul 15 2015
(2 / 5)
Jul 15 2015
Just good.-