Presets often get a bad rap in music production, but anyone who’s spent hours designing a patch from scratch knows how valuable they can be. Whether you’re chasing a lush pad, a razor-sharp lead, or a bassline that punches through the mix, presets offer an instant starting point—or even the perfect sound, no tweaking needed. What’s more, they can be a source of inspiration, sparking new ideas and pushing your tracks in directions you hadn’t planned. Plenty of legendary producers lean on presets, proving that it’s not about how the sound is made—it’s about how you use it. In this post, we’ll dive into the best synths for preset lovers—synths packed with ready-to-play sounds that are not only high quality but cover a wide range of styles. From vintage emulations dripping with character to modern powerhouses loaded with genre-specific banks, these synths are built for creativity without the menu-diving. Whether you’re looking to skip the sound design rabbit hole or just want inspiration on tap, these picks will have you covered.

The 5 Best VST Synths Out There For You (If You Love Presets)

Credit: ArtStation — *Credit:* *ArtStation*

1. Serum | Xfer Records

This article could end here. Serum is “da bomb”.

Yet, I was skeptical when I first got Serum. At the time I was enamored with analog synths and in a committed relationship with the Arturia V Collection. At first sight, Serum doesn't give you that intuitive knob-per-function experience you'll get from the synths of yore.

Serum doesn't look like a synth from the past because it's not a synth from the past. This is the synth of the future, baby! This thing is straight out of Blade Runner 2049.

This being said, even though there’s a bit more menu-diving than with your typical vintage emulation, most of Serum’s parameters are only a few clicks away, and pretty easy to access.

With a nearly infinite amount of modulations, this is a thing where your imagination is the only limit to the sounds you can create. I'll admit I'm not great at programming my own sounds from scratch. I'm a simple guy and I like to work from presets, which is perfect because there are a bunch of affordable preset packs out there, on top of the ones included.

I've purchased many preset packs adapted to my needs from great providers like Echo Sound Work, Studio Sounds, and even Splice. They often come with custom wavetables and noises that expand the sounds you have access to even further. You can easily recreate classic synth sounds, but Serum shines when you use it for flashy pads, edgy plucks, and any other type of futuristic, mind-bending sound.

Serum is my ultimate go-to, but it's not the only synth I mess with. Here are a few more…

Download Serum here

2. Analog Lab V | Arturia

As I mentionned earlier, if you know Arturia, you’re probably aware that the V Collection is a treasure trove of vintage VST synths, giving you the possibility to carry your favorite machines with you virtually, everywhere you go. It also gives you the possibility to skip the maintenance fees and soldering headaches, which is always a plus.

If you want an easy entry point to the world of virtual synthesis, please give Analog Lab V a go.

This plugin combines thousands of presets created across the whole range of classic synths available in the French company's range, as well as their modern original instrument, Pigments. It might seem like a cop-out to say that one of the best synthesizer plugins out there is "all the classic synths rolled into one'', but I feel confident doing so because Analog Lab truly feels like an instrument in its own right, especially for a guy who relies on presets, like me.

The interface is really simple and made for performance. The presets are plenty, and you can really dig up some weird ones. If I had a small criticism, I’d say that some presets might be going a little too heavy on the reverb and the delay, but that’s a matter of taste…

That being said, you can tweak the sounds pretty easily, and if you own the V Collection, you can also open the presets in their respective interface and really get down to some business. All in all, it's a good way to have access to some crazy sounds and get the most out of vintage forms of synthesis.

If you’re looking for something really modern and weird, you should give Pigments a shot.

Download Analog Lab V here

3. Output Arcade

Output Arcade might be known for its loop-based workflow, but don’t sleep on its Instrument mode, which transforms it into a powerful sample-based sound design tool. It’s not a synth in the classic sense—no oscillators or traditional subtractive synthesis here—but if you love presets, Arcade arguably offers more instantly usable sounds than any other synth on this list.

With Instruments, Arcade lets you play melodic patches using your MIDI keyboard, just like a traditional synth. Each Instrument is built from carefully crafted sample layers, offering everything from shimmering pads to punchy plucks, all wrapped in a simple, intuitive interface.

Where Arcade’s Instruments shine is in their playability and sound design flexibility. You can shape each sound with built-in effects like reverb, delay, and tape-style saturation or dive deeper with the modulation controls to add movement and texture. With smart macros mapped to your keyboard, you can transform sounds in real time—perfect for recording expressive performances without menu diving.

Arcade’s Instrument presets are genre-diverse and highly curated, with fresh packs dropping regularly to keep your sound library evolving. But if you want to experiment further, you can even drag and drop your own samples to build custom instruments.

Of course, beyond Instruments, Arcade is still a loop-based powerhouse. Its signature “Lines” packs deliver genre-specific loops that you can instantly remix with pitch-shifting, resequencing, and real-time FX. But for synth lovers like me, it’s Arcade’s evolving Instrument section—and the sheer volume of inspiring presets—that makes it a serious contender in the virtual synth space.

Download Output Arcade here

4. Diva | u-he

If you love presets and crave warm, analog vibes, Diva by u-he might become your new favorite synth. Short for “Dinosaur Impersonating Virtual Analog,” Diva nails the classic analog sound, modeling legendary oscillators, filters, and envelopes with stunning accuracy—so convincing that many producers can’t tell it from the real thing.

I’ve interviewed countless producers and beatmakers for this blog, and Diva is the synth they rave about most. It’s easy to see why: the built-in presets are packed with character—thick basses, lush pads, and creamy leads that slide right into your mix. Plus, thanks to Diva’s cult status, there’s a deep well of third-party preset packs covering everything from hard-hitting trap to cinematic soundscapes.

Diva isn’t just about presets, though. Its modular design lets you combine oscillators and filters from different vintage synths to create hybrid sounds that feel classic and fresh at once. And yeah, it’s a CPU hog, but the sound is so rich, you won’t care.

For preset lovers like me, Diva is an endless playground. I’ve built entire tracks from a single browsing session. And if you want to tweak, the interface is intuitive and rewarding without being overwhelming.

Diva isn’t just another synth—it’s the gold standard for analog-style presets.

Download Diva here

5. Astra | Splice

This one is a new addition to my workflow, and I haven't used it enough to be able to form a solid opinion, but I think it's worth mentioning for a couple of reasons.

Astra isn't the product of some new software manufacturer. It's simply a stock plugin offered by Splice, the sample store that has slowly but surely disrupted the world of beatmaking. From Doja Cat to Dominic Fike, chances are the latest hits of your favorite artists probably (but most likely CERTAINLY) contain samples that were purchased on Splice for a few pennies.

Astra is included in the Creator and Creator+ memberships, which makes it kind of a bonus if you're already using Splice, but it shouldn't be discounted as another freeware. It's a pretty powerful synth. Just going through the presets, I can tell this thing has a lot of potential.

My only criticism so far concerns the interface. Everything is there, and visually, it’s not without charm, but I think it could gain from being streamlined. Maybe I just need to get used to it, but since most virtual knobs are the same size, I’ve spent some time looking for essential functions every time I need to tweak a parameter.

The synth comes with a few hundred plugins, but you can download more presets on Splice's platform, for a few credits each. That's where this synth becomes really interesting.

That means there might be a near-infinite amount of presets coming our way, custom-made for different popular genres. This way you can download the specific patches you need, and not have to pay for the ones you don't.

Astra is still a humble challenger in the world of virtual synthesis, but with the help of creative preset developers out there, it could become the plugin to rule them all. (That is, as long as you're ready to pay for a monthly Splice membership…)

As I said, I've just started using Astra, and I'll probably have to write a full review soon, but in the meantime, don't be afraid to give it a shot, and let me know what you think.

Check out Splice here

If this post didn’t quite scratch your itch, check out my article about the best synth VST plugins for trap and type beats.

Cover photo by Vollume

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