Ultra is a flagship multi-synthesis software synthesizer built around the UltraWave engine, combining five sound sources, dual filters, deep modulation, and 32-voice polyphony.
Plugin comparison
Ultra vs Vital
Specs, price and the Dubspot Score, side by side — with our verdict on which synth to buy.
Independent score / workflow fit / buying signal
Contenders
The side-by-side
9.0Essential
Vital is a spectral warping wavetable synthesizer by Matt Tytel for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Technical matrix
Specs compared
| Signal | Ultra | Vital |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $149 intro / $249 full | $25 |
| Dubspot Score | — | 9.0 |
| Formats | VST3, AU, Standalone | VST, VST3, AU (Audio Units), LV2, Standalone |
| Type | Multi-synthesis synthesizer | — |
| Sound sources | UltraWave, sampler, virtual analog, Supersaw, noise, plus sub-oscillator | — |
| UltraWave | Blends up to 4 stereo wavetables; adds pitch, amp, and timing data | — |
| Analog engine | 3 multi-wave oscillators, cross-modulation, dual-engine Supersaw | — |
| Filters | Dual-filter section | — |
| Modulation | 4 LFOs (A/B crossfade, 4 modes), 3 ADSR with hold, velocity/aftertouch/random | LFOs, envelopes and randomized sources with stereo modulation, remappable curves, audio-rate modulation, and keytracked LFOs |
| Effects | 3 sections (Global/A/B): distortion, bit-crusher, chorus, delay, reverb, OTT, gate | — |
| Polyphony | Mono to 32 voices | — |
| Expression | MPE compatible | — |
| Import | WAV import with cycle extraction; multi-sampling with pitch/velocity morphing | — |
| System | macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows | — |
| Licensing | Perpetual license, lifetime free updates, no subscription | — |
| Synthesis type | — | Spectral warping wavetable synthesis |
| Operating systems | — | Windows 10+, macOS 10.15+ (Intel or Apple Silicon), Ubuntu Linux 18.04+; 64-bit only, OpenGL 3+ |
| Wavetable tools | — | Pitch-splice and vocode wavetable converters, plus text-to-wavetable generation |
| Tuning and MPE | — | Microtonal support (.tun, .scl, .kbd files) and full MPE support |
| Included content | — | Basic: 75 presets / 25 wavetables; Plus: 250 / 70; Pro: 400+ / 150 |
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