From developer FrozenPlain comes Floe (Beta), a free and open-source sample player for macOS and Windows.
FrozenPlain is a developer we first covered over a decade ago with their Victorian Music Box library for Native Instruments Kontakt.
Since then, FrozenPlain has developed its proprietary sample-based instrument players: Mirage and Floe.
The journey begins with Mirage, a free sample-based synth engine that allows you to layer up to three instruments and run the layers through a built-in effects rack to create unique sounds.
Mirage has been around for a while, and simplicity has always been a priority for its developer. It’s free, and no login or license key is required.
Floe is the evolution of Mirage, and its successor. FrozenPlain built Floe with the same three-layer architecture as its predecessor, but it offers a more powerful and more refined performance.
Floe is fully backwards compatible with Mirage libraries, and current Floe libraries include Music Box, Celtic Harp, and Xylophone. Floe libraries come from FrozenPlain and third-party contributors.
Some third-party libraries require attribution (you own your music, but you must credit the library creator whenever you share it).
The interesting thing about the three-layer architecture is that you can do more sound-shaping than you might with a typical sample player.
Each layer has Filter, LFO, EQ, and MIDI tabs. The MIDI tab allows you to adjust keytracking, mono/poly settings, velocity mapping, and transpose.
You can also reverse, trim, and loop the sample in any layer. The looping options are interesting, with a Ping-Pong mode available, in which the loop alternates between playing forward and backwards.
The interface consists of two main sections: the Layers section, which offers sample-based synthesis options, and the Effects Rack.
The Effects Rack features ten distinct effects:
Distortion, Bit Crush, Compressor, Filter, Stereo Width, Chorus, Reverb, Delay, Convolution Reverb, and Phaser.
Preset management is another area where FrozenPlain has made improvements since Mirage. You can view and search presets easily based on descriptive tags.
Floe is still in beta, so now it’s time to try it out and share your thoughts and suggestions.
For more free sounds, check out Season Two of The Crow Hill Company, featuring a company rebrand, improved free instruments, and donationware.
Floe is available in AU, VST3, and CLAP formats for macOS (Big Sur or later) and Windows (10 or later).
Standalone application, AAX Pro Tools, and Linux compatibility aren’t currently supported, but may be in the future.
Download: Floe (FREE – Beta)
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Last Updated on July 4, 2025 by Tomislav Zlatic.
