DSP Bricks Optigan: The 1971 Optical Organ, Rebuilt

DSP Bricks has released Optigan, a software recreation of the Optigan, the optical-disc home organ that Mattel sold from 1971. The plugin is out now for macOS and Windows. It ships with all 40 original program discs plus three unofficial prototype discs. It costs $49 (€49) with a free trial, and it is one of the few ways to get that strange, warbly sound without hunting down the fragile hardware.

At a glance: A faithful model of the 1971 Optigan with 40 program discs and 3 prototype discs. Standalone, VST3, AU and AAX. macOS 10.13+ and Windows 10+, Apple Silicon native. Single purchase with a lifetime licence and two activations, plus a no-card trial. The verdict: the most complete Optigan in software, built for producers who want lo-fi character rather than clean sounds.

What is the Optigan?

The Optigan was a home organ with an unusual trick. Instead of oscillators or tape, it read sound from clear plastic discs printed with optical soundtracks, the same basic idea as the sound strip on old film. Each disc held a full instrument on the right-hand keys and a set of rhythm and chord accompaniments on the left, so one disc might be a Latin band and the next a pipe organ or a country group.

Mattel pitched it as a living-room instrument for people who couldn't play. It didn't sell well, and the discs warped and wore, but the sound stuck around. Producers fell for the wow and flutter, the hiss and the slightly out-of-tune chords, and the Optigan turned up on records by Tom Waits and others who wanted an instrument that sounded broken in the right way. Working units are now rare and temperamental, which is exactly the gap this plugin fills.

What DSP Bricks Optigan does

The plugin models the whole instrument, not just a few sampled notes. The left hand plays the chord and rhythm buttons printed on each disc, the right hand plays the lead instrument, and the panel keeps the original layout of chord rows, tempo, reverb and balance.

All 40 discs, plus prototypes. You get the complete set of 40 program discs that shipped for the hardware, three unofficial prototype discs, and multiple revisions for fifteen of them. That's a large and varied library, from big-band and polka to guitar, organ and novelty sounds, and it means the character changes completely when you load a new disc.

The speed and pitch link, with a way out. On the real Optigan, changing the playback speed also changes the pitch, because the sound is tied to how fast the disc spins. DSP Bricks keeps that behaviour, so slowing the tempo drags the pitch down with it. A Flex option breaks the link when you need it, letting you set pitch independently of tempo so the instrument sits in a modern track at the right key.

DAW sync and chord detection. The plugin locks to your project tempo, so the rhythm tracks on each disc stay in time with the rest of the session. Chord detection reads the notes you play and fires the matching chord buttons, which makes the accompaniment far easier to drive from a keyboard than the original button grid ever was.

Playable from keyboard and MIDI. Computer-keyboard modes trigger the chord and effect buttons without a controller, and MIDI in and out cover scale tones, chords and the effect buttons, so you can sequence the whole thing or map it across a rig.

Spring reverb and more. An emulation of the original spring reverb is built in, and the plugin adds touches the hardware never had, including compatibility with Panoptigon discs, the option to load a disc upside down for backwards textures, and an optical metronome.

DSP Bricks Optigan specifications

Spec	Detail
Type	Software recreation of the 1971 Optigan optical organ
Content	40 original program discs, 3 prototype discs, multiple revisions for 15 discs
Key features	DAW tempo sync, chord detection, Flex pitch/tempo decoupling, spring reverb
Playback	Original speed-to-pitch link, upside-down disc loading, Panoptigon disc support
Control	Computer-keyboard modes, MIDI in and out for scale tones, chords and effects
Formats	Standalone, VST3, AU, AAX
macOS	10.13 or newer, Apple Silicon native
Windows	Windows 10 (1607+) or Windows 11
System	2 GHz CPU, 2 GB RAM, 200 MB free disk
Licence	Single purchase, lifetime licence, 2 activations, free trial (no card)

How Optigan compares

The Optigan sits in a small club of "play a recording per key" instruments, next to the Mellotron and its software versions. Here's how the DSP Bricks plugin lines up against the only other Optigan in software, Pea Hicks and Stefan Stenzel's iOptigan, and against a modern Mellotron plugin.

	DSP Bricks Optigan	iOptigan	GForce M-Tron
Instrument	1971 Optigan optical organ	1971 Optigan optical organ	Mellotron tape keyboard
Platform	macOS and Windows plugin and standalone	iOS app	macOS and Windows plugin
Discs or tapes	40 discs plus 3 prototypes, in the box	Core set, more discs as in-app purchases	Mellotron tape banks
DAW sync	Yes	No	Host tempo for its rhythms
Chord detection	Yes	No	No
Formats	VST3, AU, AAX, standalone	iOS only	VST3, AU, AAX

Which to pick? For a studio, the DSP Bricks plugin is the obvious choice, because it plugs into the DAW, includes the whole disc library and adds sync and chord detection the hardware never had. The iOptigan app is the cheap, fun route if you only want the sound on an iPad. If you want the related "canned ensemble" sound of tape rather than optical discs, a Mellotron plugin such as GForce M-Tron is the better fit, and we cover more of these character instruments in our best synth plugins guide.

Who Optigan is for

It's for producers who chase texture: lo-fi beatmakers, ambient and experimental writers, scoring work that needs an instrument with a story, and anyone who likes the sound of a machine fighting to stay in tune. The disc library is wide enough that it can be a lead, a pad, a rhythm bed or a whole arrangement, and the built-in character means a single part can carry a lot of mood.

Who should skip it: anyone who needs clean, in-tune, modern sounds. The instrument is rough by design, and that roughness is exactly what rules it out for clean work. If you want a polished electric piano or a precise sampler, look elsewhere. It also leans on its own aesthetic, so a little goes a long way in a mix.

How much does Optigan cost?

Optigan is a paid instrument sold directly by DSP Bricks as a single purchase with a lifetime licence and two activations. There's a free trial that doesn't ask for a card, so you can load the discs and hear the character before you buy. It costs $49 (€49) in DSP Bricks' store.

The nearest free alternative in spirit is a Mellotron-style plugin: GForce's free M-Tron gives you tape-keyboard character at no cost, though it doesn't sound like an Optigan. For more lo-fi flavour, the UJAM Detunicorn free effect adds warble and detune to anything in the session.

FAQ

What is the Optigan?

The Optigan was a home organ sold by Mattel from 1971 that read its sounds from optical discs. Each disc held a lead instrument and a set of rhythm and chord accompaniments. DSP Bricks Optigan recreates the instrument in software, with all 40 original discs included.

Is DSP Bricks Optigan free?

No. It costs $49 (€49) from DSP Bricks as a single purchase with a lifetime licence and two activations. A free trial is available with no card required, so you can try it first.

What formats and systems does Optigan support?

Standalone, VST3, AU and AAX, on macOS 10.13 or newer (Apple Silicon native) and Windows 10 or 11. It needs a 2 GHz CPU, 2 GB of RAM and 200 MB of disk space.

Does Optigan sync to my DAW?

Yes. It locks to your project tempo so the rhythm tracks on each disc stay in time. A Flex option also lets you set pitch independently of tempo, which the original hardware couldn't do.

What makes the Optigan sound special?

The sound is tied to spinning optical discs, so it carries wow, flutter, hiss and slightly out-of-tune chords. That lo-fi character is the reason records reach for it, and the plugin keeps it rather than cleaning it up.