Sponsored Post:  While software synthesizers have opened up new avenues for musicians who might otherwise never have been able to afford the real hardware, they are not without their drawbacks. Two of the biggest concerns when it comes to soft synths are cost and features.

Synthesizers can be very imposing instruments to anyone who has never used one before. Just the amount of knobs, dials and sliders on some vintage synths are enough to scare away all but the most dedicated or persistent.

As long as you have a computer and an internet connection, you’ll be able to get your hands on any of the following soft synths absolutely free.

Most people associate synthesizers with the eighties when it was hard to find a chart topping hit or television show that didn't make  use of these instruments. However, synthesizers have also played an important role in the history of video games.

At the height of their popularity, synthesizers were featured in virtually all of the popular songs on the radio. In fact, the most memorable or catchy parts of many songs were actually the synthesizers. So, even if you know nothing about these incredible instruments, the chances are good that you have heard them in action.

Everyone is familiar with the big names in the synthesizer hardware industry, such as Korg, Roland, Moog and the rest, but they are by no means the only manufacturers.

Unlike traditional instruments, such as guitars and pianos, there are not as many constraints when it comes to the designs of synthesizers. This has resulted in a few synths that not only sound unique, but also look unlike anything else on the market. Since the synthesizer market also tends to attract people who are more comfortable than most when it comes to experimenting with electronics, there is no shortage of ingenuity on display. Here are just a few examples of some of the weirdest synthesizers that have ever been made. You are unlikely to be able to get your hands on many of these, unless you know how to create them yourself, but it is hard not to be impressed by the effort that has gone into their creation.

Our Vintage Vault 2 Giveaway is over and the winners have been selected.  Congratulations to  James Jenkins, Battistelli Jerome, Andrei Lobadin, Andrew Ozimek, Johnny Hill, David Sprinkle, Kevin Johnson, Pallaten Couture, Tyler Thomas and Ben Bowman. We will be in touch to arrange delivery!

Unfortunately for Android users, it is hard to argue with the fact that Apple’s mobile hardware has a lot more good synthesizer apps to choose from. The quality of these apps also tends to be better than what is possible on Android, which is good news for iOS owners who are also synth fans.

One of the reasons why software synthesizers are so popular isn’t just due to their convenience. Many people would love to own hardware synths, but unfortunately just don’t have enough money.

While it is true that nothing could ever truly compare to owning your very own vintage analog synth, this is unfortunately not an option for many people. Instead, they have to make do with soft synths that offer digital recreations of actual synthesizers.

This month, we have a very exciting giveaway for our readers - courtesy of UVI. This is your chance to get a complete sound collection of 50 instruments, 111 drum machines, and over 7,000 hand-crafted presets - all created using the original synthesizers.  Ten lucky winners will receive the Vintage Vault 2 software bundle, which currently sells for $599, but will actually give you closer to $2,600 in value.

These days a lot of people think of synthesizer performances as someone lurking behind a computer and just clicking away with a mouse. However, there are still musicians who favor hardware synths over soft synths, which makes for much more interesting and impressive live performances.

Suzane Ciani agreed to an interview and we chat about her career, her favorite synths, her successes in the advertising industry, the film that was recently made about her life and much more.  We had so much to talk about, it was impossible to summarize it all in one article, so we have been posting the interview in parts.  This is part 3, the last part of the interview.

If you love vintage synthesizers and have enough money to never worry about an empty wallet or bank account, then you could obviously build up quite a formidable collection. Unfortunately, for most people this isn’t feasible as synths are expensive and you can only stretch your budget so far.