9 Best Oscilloscope VST Plugins 2024
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Visualization can play a very important role in mixing and mastering, making oscilloscope valuable tools in music production.
In this guide, we’ll be looking at a mix of oscilloscope VST plugins – those that have been designed with spectral analysis in mind, and those featuring oscilloscopes in some capacity.
So, let’s get into the best oscilloscope VST plugins.
Contents
Blue Cat’s Oscilloscope Multi by Blue Cat Audio – Best Overall
Blue Cat Audio’s Blue Cat’s Oscilloscope Multi lets you analyze and compare the waveforms of multi-track recordings in real time. Thanks to the X-Y view, monitoring several audio tracks at the same time is a simple task.
Oscilloscope Multi also features stereo or mid-side channel waveform extraction, multiple synchronization modes, as well as zooming and measurement capabilities.
Altogether, Blue Cat’s Oscilloscope Multi comes with a waveform display (featuring loop, flow, and trigger modes), histogram display, dual-channel XY phase-scope view, latency compensation, animated zoom, measurement, curve saving for A/B comparison, and left-right or mid-side operation.
You also get data sharing technology with multi-core processor support, opacity control, full MIDI control, skinnable and customizable user interface, smooth bypass, undo / redo, import / export presets, and more.
Learn more: Plugin Boutique
Diva by u-he – Best Premium Option
Despite its age, in the world of virtual analog synthesizers, Diva easily makes the top three, and even in the realm of the best VST plugins ever created, Diva would likely be ranked in the top five to top 10.
Part dinosaur, part virtual synth, Diva is the ideal solution for mixing and matching classic synthesizer sounds. From your Yamahas and Oberheims to Rolands and Korgs, there should be something very familiar about the sounds coming from u-he’s Diva, and that’s a good thing to say least. Because let’s face it – many virtual analog synths simply fall short of the ideal!
And, by the way, we like to keep an eye on u-he, and whenever they come out with an update or a new product, we’re there.
Anyway, if you’re intimidated by synthesizers and all the tweaking that typically goes into dialing in the ideal sound, you’ll be happy to know that Diva has over 1,200 presets built in. You should rarely want for more!
A close look at the filters (always a big deal in synthesizers, considering some filters are later released as standalone products) reveals zero feedback delay filters with plenty of filter types emulating classic hardware filters.
Diva comes with two envelopes, one for general enveloping purposes, and the other for the output amp. You can choose from several models, all taking after classic hardware synths.
You’ll also find effects, modifiers, trimmers, all the tools you need to make your patches come alive.
And, yes, you will also find a very no-nonsense oscilloscope onboard, with just two knobs – frequency and scale. As u-he says, every synthesizer should have one!
You can’t really use the oscilloscope to analyze anything besides the sounds the synthesizer generates, but it’s nice to see the feature included.
Learn more: Plugin Boutique
BLEASS Chorus by BLEASS – Best Budget Option
In the realm of affordable, quality chorusing effects, you probably won’t find better. BLEASS Chorus is sure to be a cut about your Digital Audio Workstation’s (DAW’s) stock effects, offering added customizability.
This two-stage chorus excels at widening your tracks. There’s a built-in oscilloscope that lets you monitor the effect, whatever you end up choosing to do with it. The one-screen design makes it easy for you to make tweaks and changes on the fly.
BLEASS Chorus takes after classic rack effects and pedals. At the input stage, you’ll find controls for input gain as well as a low-shelf / high-pass input filter. At the chorus stage, you’ll find all the standard parameters you’d expect to find on a chorus, plus an oscilloscope. And, at the output stage you can control the dry / wet mix.
BLEASS Chorus is great for adding interest to synth lines in electronic music, but it’s well worth trying on vocals, guitars, and even drums as well.
Learn more: Plugin Boutique
FilterShaper 3 by Cableguys
As its name would suggest, Calbeguys’ FilterShaper 3 is a filter shaper effect for creating wobbles, pulsing rhythms, and even unconventional outer space style effects.
Though FilterShaper 3 can do some sophisticated things, its design isn’t too hard to understand. The two onboard filters can be run in serial or parallel, and their behavior can be set using a few basic controls.
Next comes the main controls, which come complete with their own modulation sections, two LFOs, and one envelope follower (no, not in total – for each). Each LFO has speed and intensity controls, and they are MIDI triggerable.
Each LFO comes with an oscilloscope view, which lets you monitor the visual feedback. The oscilloscope isn’t very useful when it comes to analyzing individual tracks, but it is a nice built-in feature for keeping an eye on what the effect is doing.
Altogether, FilterShaper 3 comes with a preset library, two filters, 60 LFOs, 50 envelope followers, and sidechain compression effects.
Learn more: Plugin Boutique
K7D – Tape Delay by Imaginando
There are a few different types of delay, but it’s fair to say vintage tape delay is among one of the more popular choices. Imaginando’s K7D – Tape Delay is customizable and powerful while being affordable. With a modern interface and a classic sound, K7D is sure to prove a creatively inspiring effect.
Imaginando’s analog emulation process is painstaking, and they spent plenty of time analyzing classic hardware to determine the exact factors that would lead to detailed emulation.
All in all, K7D – Tape Delay features a dual playhead analog modeled delay (with noise, tape distortion, mechanical vibration models, as a well as a 1 ms to 1 sec. delay time), input with preamp saturation, gain staging, and saturation algorithms, as well as normal and ping pong modes.
Additionally, you get delay time spread between heads and stereo width control, high pass and low pass filter on the feedback path, LFO bipolar time modulation with multiple waveforms (saw, sine, triangular, square, sample and hold, filtered sample and hold), inverted LFO phase on second playhead, BPM sync, oscilloscope, 50 presets, and more.
The built-in oscilloscope offers visualization of the audio and LFO waveforms.
Learn more: Plugin Boutique
TimeShaper 3 by Cableguys
Cableguys’ TimeShaper 3 is a time-based multi-effect taking inspiration from the realm of DJs.
Practically speaking, that means you can scratch, rearrange the beat, insert a tape-stop, add vinyl “wow,” utilize half-time effects, reverse, go multi-band, create combos, and add custom chorus or flange effects. And that’s just the beginning.
With a built-in waveform editing tool, you can manually draw your time-bending patterns. You can sync everything to bars and beats if you want to ensure the effect doesn’t wreck the groove of your project. Patterns can be triggered using MIDI and audio triggering.
TimeShaper 3 has multi-band LFOs so you can do different things at different frequencies – low, mid, and high. A single track can easily be transformed into glitchy chaos.
Overall, TimeShaper 3 includes a resizable interface, retina / HiDPI support, built-in help, wave presets, nine slots for storing custom waves, dry / wet mix, master mix, smoothed bypass, solo bands, spectrum view, oscilloscope view (with Magnitude and Freeze options), and an expandable LFO.
You also get LFO loop length features, audio-rate modulation, 2x / 3x button for doubling or tripling patterns, flip / resize / move / randomize controls for waves or selections, copy / paste waves, unlimited undo / redo, selection skewing, and more.
Learn more: Plugin Boutique
DX7 V by Arturia
Fans of classic synthesizers should not be strangers to the Yamaha DX7, one of the most popular digital FM synthesizers ever created. Arturia’s DX7 V, of course, aims to recapture the magic of the original with authentic modeling, and wrap it all up in a convenient, smooth, modern coating.
DX7 V features the original 32 DX7 algorithms as well as all its original parameters, its SysEx import function, six operators with multi-mode filter and feedback per operator, 25 waveforms per operator, as well as syncable and loopable envelopes (DX7, DADSR, and Multi-Segments) per operator.
You’ll also find two modulation envelopes, four assignable macros, an advanced modulation matrix, step sequencer (two LFOs with six waveforms and arpeggiator), four effects slots, an oscilloscope, preset browser, and resizable GUI.
Learn more: Plugin Boutique
VolumeShaper 7 by Cableguys
Cableguys’ VolumeShaper 7 is a multi-band sidechain ducker that allows you to shape audio signals with ease. This tool lets you create pumping effects, sidechain kick and bass, louder mixes with multiband ducking, drum hit editing, hi-hats erasure in loops, and much more.
This may all strike you as complicated, as sidechaining usually means messing around with your DAW’s routing options. But VolumeShaper 7 is quite straightforward with its simple waveform editing tools for creating all kinds of volume patterns in just seconds.
With click-free lookahead smoothing, you won’t have to worry about those annoying clicks and pops that typically come with sidechaining and compression plugins. There’s also an onboard Smooth control to help ensure the elimination of unwanted noise.
Your can sync your volume patterns to bars and beats to ensure they line up with the rhythmic feel of your projects.
Aside from what we’ve already covered, VolumeShaper 7 shares much in common with FilterShaper 3, so if you’re curious what it boasts in terms of features, refer to the entry on FilterShaper 3.
Learn more: Plugin Boutique
Sines Synthesizer by Cherry Audio
There are a ton of powerful synthesizers out there. No producer uses just one, though you can certainly get to the point of overkill if buying more virtual synths becomes a habit.
Either way, in this price range, there are probably very few virtual synths that compete with Cherry Audio’s Sines Synthesizer. This polyphonic synthesizer comes with four sine-wave oscillators with waveshaping that allows for the creation of complex, variable shapes.
Along with a wide variety of effects and modulation capabilities, you can create just about any kind of tone / patch you want.
Sines effectively features a one-page design, setting all critical parameters within reach (although there are a lot of them!). Color, indicators, and mini oscilloscopes all provide visual feedback to show you exactly the sound you’re crafting.
This plugin comes with four LFOs, four oscillators, as well as four envelope generators along with sine-wave oscillator waveshping controls – drive, feedback, phase, width, shape, and wavefold. There’s also a sub oscillator and super oscillator, just for good measure.
We could go on about the controls and features, but we know how overwhelming it can be to take in. Fortunately, this beast of a synth comes with 500+ presets you can dive into without friction and endless tweaking.
So, to cover off some of the features, Sines comes with four sine waveform oscillators with waveshaping controls, six waveshaper controls, sub oscillator, super oscillator, oscillator utility function (copy / paste, randomize, reset), glide (portamento) and keyboard (pitch) controls, and up to 16-voice polyphony.
You’re also given two polyphonic modes, chord memory, single voice, unison, unison detune, resonant multimode filter, four tempo syncable LFOs with 14 wave forms, ADSR filter and amplifier generators with velocity, two auxiliary envelope generators (can be used as mod sources), four-slot mod matrix, and an arpeggiator with tempo sync.
And that’s not all. You get four fully modulatable effects sections, Drift controls, eight-band graphic EQ, over 700 presets, MIDI control and DAW automation, preset and global MIDI mapping, and much more.
Sines does a lot of things well. To me, it sounds like it’s best suited to modern applications, but with a very versatile design, it’s sure to be able to handle a variety of genres, styles, and projects.
Learn more: Plugin Boutique
What Should I Look For In An Oscilloscope VST Plugin?
Oscilloscope plugins are in somewhat limited supply. If you’re looking for a visualizer / analyzer you can use on full mixes, then Blue Cat’s Oscilloscope Multi is the only sensible choice in this guide. All other plugins featured here come with oscilloscopes, but these can only be used to monitor the effect or synthesizer, not a full mix.
For some, that should make their purchase decision obvious, and further exploration may not be required.
For those of you who are still here, you may have a few unanswered questions you’re trying to wrap your head around so you can move forward with next steps.
So, here are a few criteria you can apply to shopping for an oscilloscope VST plugin:
- Intended Use
- Features
- Budget
Let’s look at each.
Intended Use
How do you plan to use the oscilloscope? At the risk of sounding repetitive, the only plugin that’s going to help you with monitoring and analysis on full mixes is Blue Cat’s Oscilloscope Multi. All the other plugins featured here come with oscilloscopes, but they are to be used to monitor the effect or synthesizer itself, not your mix.
Besides Blue Cat’s Oscilloscope Multi, in this guide, you’ll also find a filter, chorus, delay, time-based effect, volume-based effect, and a few synthesizers, each with their built-in oscilloscope solutions. If you require any of these virtual effects or instruments, they’re all quite highly rated, but they won’t help much if you’re trying to analyze the frequencies of your project.
But will the virtual effects help with mixing? They certainly can, especially if you’re still using your DAW’s stock effects or don’t have better options in your VST arsenal. Filters, choruses, and delays are practically staples in the mixing process.
And do the synthesizers mentioned above sound better than stock ones? It depends on what DAW you’re using, but in many cases, yes. Diva, DX7 V, and Sines are all very capable synths.
Again, if you aren’t looking for virtual effects and instruments right now, there’s no need to pursue these any further. But if they sound compelling, they may be worthy of further exploration. You may even want to add them to your wish list.
Features
There is only one dedicated oscilloscope VST plugin found in this guide, but if you plan to extend your search further, know this – features will vary from one oscilloscope to another. And, depending on what you need, you may want to do a little bit of digging before you settle on a specific plugin.
If you know what features you need, I don’t need to offer any further guidance. If you’re unsure, you may want to do some research and identify what you’re looking for in an oscilloscope VST plugin.
Budget
Oscilloscope VST plugins shouldn’t send you to the poorhouse. But it’s quite tempting to buy multiple VST plugins in one go. Before you commit to a purchase, we suggest consulting your budget. And avoid going into debt at all costs. We don’t recommend it.
Top Oscilloscope VST Plugins, Final Thoughts
Utility plugins – like oscilloscopes – aren’t always the most interesting thing in the world, but everyone needs them! So, don’t hesitate to purchase and download the tools you need, especially those you know you will be using over and over.
P.S. Remember though, none of what you've learned will matter if you don't know how to get your music out there and earn from it. Want to learn how to do that? Then get our free ‘5 Steps To Profitable Youtube Music Career' ebook emailed directly to you!