kHz ONE is a fairly straightforward subtractive virtual synth, featuring two main oscillators and a sub-oscillator, two filters, three envelopes, chorus and delay effects, two LFOs for modulation, and a modulation matrix to assign them.
While obviously not being as full-featured and flexible as Kilohearts’ flagship PhasePlant, or even as versatile as the also-free Surge XT and Vital, this synth’s strong point is its relative simplicity presented in a package with an intuitive control layout and overall well-designed user interface.
The analog-emulating synthesis engine covers a decently broad range of tones, and these high-quality oscillators coupled with kHz ONE’s also-excellent filters mean it’s great for simple-but-powerful pads and bass sounds. All without taxing your CPU as much as something like DIVA might!
It’s these features altogether that make it a particularly strong candidate as a starter instrument for learning subtractive synthesis, or just synthesis in general.
Until recently kHZ ONE has cost $19, but with Kilohearts discontinuing its development (presumably to focus on more next-gen features, improvements, and support for new ideas and their other existing fantastic instruments and effects plugins), the latest version is now free to download. (Link at the bottom of this article).
Bear in mind that we can’t now expect any future updates or technical support for kHz ONE. Kilohearts wrote, “kHs ONE has been discontinued and is no longer available through the regular Kilohearts Installer. A stand-alone installer for the very last version of kHs ONE is available below. Please note that kHs ONE is not available in the VST3 format.”
So that potential compatibility (check your DAW requirements) and support aspects not-withstanding, it’s a great opportunity to grab this excellent free tool and have some fun with it in the immediate term, particularly if you’re looking to get your feet wet in synthesis without getting overwhelmed by more elaborate options.
Specs: kHs ONE is available for both Windows and macOS in 64-bit VST2, AAX, and Audio Unit plugin formats.
Download from the Kilohearts site here: Kilohearts kHs ONE (discontinued, free to download).
For beginners, you can also download the manual here!
