About this project

Zynthian is an open synth platform built on Raspberry Pi, Linux (Raspbian) and mostly free software synthesizers. This repository holds the Engine Manager and User Interface software; the ZynthianOS SD image bundles the rest of the stack, including sound libraries and presets. Supported synth engines are numerous and include ZynAddSubFX (additive/subtractive/pad polyphonic synth with effects), FluidSynth (SF2 soundfont engine), setBfree (Hammond B3 emulation), Linuxsampler and Sfizz (SFZ/GIG soundfont engines), Pianoteq (non-free, trial included), Aeolus (pipe organ simulator), Dexed (DX7 emulator), OB-Xd (Oberheim OB-X emulator), TAL NoizeMaker (virtual analog synth), and MOD-HOST + MOD-UI (plugin host and web GUI), among others. A Zynthian Box is the hardware device running this software stack. The canonical recommendation is a Raspberry Pi 3/4/5, a supported soundcard (ZynADAC, HifiBerry, etc.), a supported display (Zynscreen, PiScreen, PiTFT, Waveshare, HDMI, etc.), Zynthian controllers (4 rotary encoders plus switches), an MCP23017 GPIO expander (highly recommended because the Pi GPIOs are busy), and optional MIDI IN/THRU/OUT ports using the Pi UART. Project information and community resources are available through the website, wiki, blog and forum, and official kits can be purchased from the project shop.