Serum

Serum is a wavetable synthesizer plug-in for macOS built for high-quality sound and a visual, creativity-friendly approach to sound design, with real-time control over how tones evolve. It is for sound designers and musicians who want hands-on modulation and detailed shaping tools without losing the “see what you’re doing” workflow.

A visual approach that invites hands-on sound design

Serum’s core appeal is how directly it connects sound to what’s on screen. The interface is built around a visual, workflow-oriented layout that helps make creating and changing sounds feel immediate rather than tedious. When you want to go deeper, Serum supports detailed wavetable work, including the ability to create, import, edit, and morph wavetables, then manipulate them during playback in real time. The result is a synth that supports quick experimentation while still rewarding careful, detailed editing.

Oscillators that go beyond classic wavetable duties

While Serum’s wavetable oscillator remains central, it also offers multiple sound-generation options. Alongside complex wavetables, Serum can work with sampled sources, multisamples, granular processing, and spectral manipulation, giving you multiple paths to build either familiar synth tones or more exploratory textures. Serum also includes dedicated noise and sub oscillators, which makes it easier to layer and reinforce a patch without leaving the instrument.

Modulation that stays musical and flexible

Serum includes envelopes and LFOs that can be assigned across the instrument, supporting evolving motion, rhythmic changes, and expressive performance control. Because these sources can target a wide range of parameters, you can keep modulation musical and intentional, whether you’re shaping subtle movement or more dramatic transformations. It’s a modulation setup that encourages experimentation while keeping the patch readable.

Shaping, routing, and pattern tools in one place

For tone shaping, Serum features dual filters with a broad selection of filter types, plus routing that lets you send oscillators through one or both filters for more detailed control over timbre. It also supports flexible effect routing, and includes an arpeggiator plus a MIDI clip system for pattern-based work directly inside the plug-in, which can be useful for sketching parts or building performance-ready sequences.

Mac plug-in support and compatibility

On Mac, Serum is designed to run inside a compatible host audio application and is available in common plug-in formats, including VST3, AU, and AAX (64-bit). It also runs natively on Apple silicon Macs, which helps it fit naturally into modern macOS production setups.