Sojus Records has released a free and open-source VST3 emulation of the Ensoniq SD-1/32 synthesizer.
It’s the first plugin emulation of this synth. But the coolest part for me is that it’s built on MAME, the same emulation framework used to preserve arcade machines and vintage hardware.
I’ve spent hours playing some of my favorite arcade machine games on MAME (Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, anyone?), and knowing that it’s now running a synth plugin in my DAW is wild.
The synth it’s running is also pretty cool.
The Ensoniq SD-1, released in 1990, sits in a long line of Ensoniq’s Transwave wavetable synthesizers. It started with the ESQ-1 and eventually led to the Fizmo.
The SD-1 uses a form of wavetable synthesis based on waveform modulation. This puts it in similar territory to the PPG Wave and Waldorf Microwave series (which was also emulated as Xenia).
A single patch can use up to 6 of the 168 waveforms in ROM, shaped by dual multi-mode filters, three 11-stage envelopes, an LFO, and 15 modulation sources. The 32-voice model emulated here also includes a built-in effects processor and a 24-track sequencer.
The plugin offers four panel layouts, all within a resizable GUI and a VFD display that mimics the original hardware. It supports full VST automation, MIDI CC control, polyphonic aftertouch, and SysEx file import for loading original preset banks.
You can also load VFX, VFX-SD, and SD-1 disk images and cartridges directly into the plugin, so if you have old sound libraries for the original hardware, they should work here.
There’s an important catch. Due to copyright, the required Ensoniq ROM files are not included. It’s the same thing as with The Usual Suspects plugins.
You’ll need to source them yourself, place them in the folder, and zip them into a file called sd132.zip. The setup instructions on the project page walk you through the process, and the developers have been very responsive in the comments when users run into issues.
Anyway, it’s definitely not a plug-and-play installation, but the community around the project is active and helpful.
Speaking of the devs, Sojus Records is a Budapest-based netlabel active since 1997. They’re musicians, not programmers, and they are very upfront about using AI coding tools to help build this emulation.
The plugin is running a hardware-level emulation of the original Motorola 68000 CPU and Ensoniq OTIS sound chips. That level of accuracy comes at a cost, though. The plugin is CPU-intensive and can run only one instance per DAW session.
The plugin is currently VST3 only (an AU version is in the works) and requires Windows 10 or later or macOS 11 Big Sur or later, with both Intel and Apple Silicon supported on Mac.
Download: Ensoniq SD-1/32 VST Emulation by Sojus Records (FREE)
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Last Updated on April 2, 2026 by Tomislav Zlatic.
