Psycle is a free, Open-Source, music creation program that offers an easy way to create your own music, fast, and with high quality.
Psycle uses a classical tracker interface (a text grid of notes which are sequenced one after the other), coupled with modularity (plugins) that allow to extend the sounds that you get from it.
It supports three ways to get sound: its own native format, the VST Plugin standard, and recorded .wav samples using the sampler machine.
Notes are entered in patterns, where you can also use commands (plugin specific, or global), as well as automating parameters via the mcm and twk commands. These patterns are then organized in a linear sequence, which becomes the song order.
- A 64 Tracks Pattern Editor, with up to 1024 lines
- 256 sequence positions
- Audio Routing (machine) view to interconnect the virtual machines in order to apply different effects
- Internal Stereo Sampler unit which supports .wav and .iff files of any sampling rate, 8/16 and 24bits, mono or stereo
- 70+ Native Plugins (generators & effects), most of them open-source and with an easy to use API to create new ones
- Support for VST1 and VST2 plugin standard
- Imports .xm, .s3m, .it, .mod
- Exporting to wav, as well as recording realtime to .wav
- Configurable Keyboard Layout
- MIDI-In Support (control Psycle using a MIDI keyboard, or even a software sequencer)
- Themes and skins support and much more
Downloads
Win 32 VST
(8.9 Mb)
Win 64 VST
(8.6 Mb)
Awesome program, I wish I could use it on my computer now. I *had* to update Windows10, then this app no longer functions. I'm sad because of it. Also doesn't work on Linux under any circumstances. The evolution of the native machines was never taken seriously: for example "Pooplog FM Laboratory" mattered the most it seems, so that "Light" version that I preferred was left with a memory leak, a couple of broken distortion modes and the inability to set tweaks to *all* the parameters in one pass from one pattern. The Lua scripting ability was a good concept but the poor documentation most of all made me give up. I came up with a "volume slide" machine which causes zipper noise even into a rendered WAV and don't know how to fix it, and it has been at least five years. Exactly ten years ago I made a lot of songs with this app, brutal as well as sentimental stuff. I'm sorry if this is TL;DR
Said the thing about Linux because this program is being listed on Sourceforge with incorrect information. I couldn't even use the v1.8.5 which was really buggy esp. with Synthedit-built plug-ins. Made me wish I still had one of the laptops with WinXP, then I would have *never* considered anything 64-bit.
(5 / 5)
Reverb in this Daw sounds soo much better...crazy
(3 / 5)
I have been using Psycle for more than a year and it could have been one of the best trackers ever but sad to say the development has practically ceased since 2017. I recommend to try Psycle_1_12_2beta_32bits – it's a portable version which works without installation (it does leave traces in registry and AppData/Local).
Pros: support for old audio and tracker formats, 8-bit wav export (important if you still work with legacy software), practically no CPU usage by Psycle itself, excellent modular interface (SunVox has a similar approach). Cons: unstable, crash-prone, issues with certain plugins, average sound quality, abandonware.
(0 / 5)
It doesn't even finish installing.. Garbage
(3 / 5)
Great routing capabilities and surprisingly good built-in generators and effects.The only issue is wav-import doesn't work in Sampler. Seems like the actual version is a bit glitchy.
THE BEST TRACKER around (thanks ARGURU and all those continuing it's development), but get a version that works with your WINDOW, not all versions work, and u may easely think that PSYCLE is crap, I had to try many before finding mine, which is this one Psycle_1_12_2beta_32bits
"Soundtracker" type interfaces are how many older techno people first got into making computer music. They are very simple to use. This is an excellent modern version of that style of software. A joy to use! Works with most of my VSTs. Thank you Psycle!
(2 / 5)
If you prefer to compose on trackers rather than using a DAW, this is a good software to look into. It is open source and in continuous development. On the other hand, most of its features are given by the VSTs you can plug into it rather than the options of the software itself. Very limited support of different audio file formats.
(5 / 5)
Great app which i use for hosting my VST plugs. Psycle has many features out of the box. I am a little concerned with the auto download delivery system during the initial install but everything works.
(5 / 5)
Love this thing. Works like a charm with most Vst and VSTi plugins I've tested. Crashes only if you're overdoing it, but even on my barely decent rig I can do everything I want to do. Takes some getting used to, but then it's AWESOME.
(1 / 5)
Hm, I put at least 30 instrument dll's into it's instruments folder... BTW, for sure no exotic ones. You know what? All of them - without even an exception - are shown as 'not working'.
I also know, that all of them are working e.g. with Reaper. Moreover Psycle not even shows any reason why none of them works... First I thought, I chose a too long path... but even in a folder called 'Instruments' on C: doesn't change anything.
It looks to me like Psycle is a similar sickness as Gimp, which is claimed to be ... a lot of things. In fact it is simply a freak product, made for those freaks, who have the time left in their life to explore all the possibilities of it, which are by far less than the people claim there should be. But as long as everyone needs to explore even simple things like Robinson Crusoe his island, these programs always look adventory and somehow interesting.
Ok, may be Psycle indeed is interesting. But as long as even a simple function like VSTi-support is that incomplete and as long as a day in my life has only 24 hours, which I also need to organize my life, I'll prefer to use programs which do such simple jobs without miracles. And in such a case I'd be even willing to pay money for a license... 60$ are really no wealth nor a luxury. Reaper is such an example.
BTW, I didn't test REVISTIT yet... it's also a tracker and ... it is still under development... and it's free as well.
(5 / 5)
Yay, been looking for a tracker with VST support. Used to used OctaMed on the Amiga to trigger samples. I've been struggling along with FL Studio but now this is gonna be awesome!
(5 / 5)
It supports VST, the dll file must be placed in the VST plugins folder.
After you run Psycle and press the new machine button you have to click on the "check for new plugins".... usually VST support is not something that one can lie about, though world is "improving" every minute... anyways, Ev was a bit fast to make this classification.
(1 / 5)
i couldnt load my vst instruments. it gave a stupid error msg and put them in an unusable file which is b..s cause they work on every other program ive used. so they are lying when they say it is vst compatible. USELESS GARBAGE
(5 / 5)
Do yourself a favour, work with this thing. I have been recording on computers since the comodore vic 20. From doctor t up to fl studio 9. Psycle is my tool of choice. Once you track you never go back to piano rolls. With trackers you can see all your work on one page. It may look old school, but it is amazingly efficient and creative. This is not a hard program to use. I have used all the freeware out there and have used fl studio, this is my choice in music creation software. For all you old amiga med trackers. This one will take you home.
(2 / 5)
not so intuitive and with an old fashioned gui like old os windows programs...
(2 / 5)
Not very user friendly nor intuitive
(4 / 5)
Very good tracker with a lot of possibility.