The fourth machine of 1997

DIODORUS— the virtual analog with Scene Morph

Scene Morph holds two complete sounds at once and crossfades the entire patch between them under one control — so a patch can travel from a soft evolving pad to a hard cutting lead in a second. It is the defining feature of late-90s virtual analog hardware, and almost nothing on the market today revives it.

Built for evolving pads, cutting leads, weighty basses, and the layered and split multitimbral programming of classic late-90s hardware.

Three oscillators with FM and cross-modulation, twin multimode filters, an 8-slot modulation matrix with slew and curves, and 555 factory presets.

€89 €49 — Introductory offer until 30th September

About the Windows warning — this is normal, and it is not a virus. The first time you run the installer, Windows will show a blue “Windows protected your PC” screen. That is Microsoft’s SmartScreen filter, and it appears for any installer that has not been code-signed yet. Click More info, then Run anyway, and the install continues as normal. Code signing is being arranged and the warning will go away in a future release. The macOS build is already signed and notarized by Apple, so it shows no such warning.

Installing on macOS. There is no Mac installer. Unzip the download, then copy Diodorus.vst3 into ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/ and Diodorus.component into ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/. Rescan plugins in your DAW and DIODORUS will appear.

  • Windows & macOS 64-bit
  • VST3 & AU
  • 555 factory presets
  • Bitimbral

DIODORUS on KVR Audio — product listing, specifications, and user reviews.

Current Release

Platform
64-bit — VST3 on Windows, VST3 and AU on macOS, one purchase covers both
Sound Engine
3 oscillators with FM, cross-modulation and BLEP-corrected sync, unison spread with per-voice detune, twin multimode filters with serial, parallel and split routing, three LFOs, an 8-slot modulation matrix, arpeggiator, and bitimbral layer and split
DIODORUS synthesizer interface showing three oscillators, FM sources, twin filters, preset browser with Scene Morph, bitimbral slots, an 8-slot modulation matrix, effects, and arpeggiator.
Three oscillators, FM, twin filters, bitimbral slots, the 8-slot modulation matrix, effects, and the arpeggiator all sit on one screen — no menu diving.

The fourth machine

1997 had three virtual analogs. This is the fourth.

For about two years, virtual analog hardware got something right that almost nothing since has repeated: a complete synthesizer with every control on the front panel, no menu diving, no page turning, and an engine fast enough to play rather than program. Three machines from 1997 defined that idea. They are sought-after and expensive now, and none of them were ever quite finished.

DIODORUS is built as the fourth one — the machine that would have arrived a year later with the obvious next step already in it. Three oscillators instead of two. FM and cross-modulation on a virtual analog. Twin filters that split as well as chain. And the feature the hardware of that era gestured at and never delivered: two complete scenes held at once, crossfading under one control, assignable to a mod wheel or to host automation.

It is not an emulation of any particular instrument, and it does not pretend to be vintage. It is that design brief, finished.

Audio Demos

Hear DIODORUS — the sounds of the plugin.

Full Track

2004

An electronic track produced as a demonstration of DIODORUS. Every sound in it was made entirely in DIODORUS, apart from the drum sounds.

Bass

Distant Drift

Bass

Lunar Passage

Bass

Northern Threshold

Bass

Pale Veil

Bass

Russet Cascade

Bass

Sable Bloom

Bass

Wandering Lantern

Bass

Wax Anthem

Saw Stack

Aurora Wall

Saw Stack

Hypernova

Saw Stack

Saw Choir

Saw Stack

Trans Atlantic

Saw Stack

Unison

Saw Stack

Wide Awake

Lead

Fat Detune

Lead

Firestarter

Lead

Funky Worm

Lead

Hot Rod

Lead

Mono Glide

Lead

Screamer

Lead

Solar Flare

Lead

Square Lead

Pad

Glass Tide

Pad

Hollow Mirage

Pad

Solar Bloom

Pad

Violet Halo

Polysynth

Dusk Carriage

Polysynth

Gilded Anthem

Polysynth

Glass Spire

Polysynth

Slow Cinder

Polysynth

Solar Static

Strings

Copper Moon

Strings

Faded Carriage

Strings

Gilded Vow

Choir

Lunar Harbor

Choir

Wax Mirage

Key Features

Authentic virtual analog signal path, with a morphing engine.

Scene Morph

Two complete sounds loaded side by side, with every parameter crossfading between them under one control. Assign it to the mod wheel, an LFO, or host automation and the patch itself becomes the performance.

Three Oscillators

Sine, square, saw and pulse shapes with per-oscillator octave, level, coarse and fine detune, and pulse width, plus a noise source and BLEP-corrected hard sync for clean, alias-free edge.

FM And Cross-Modulation

Three assignable FM sources with independent amounts let oscillators modulate each other for metallic tones, growling basses, and harmonically dense leads well beyond standard subtractive shapes.

Unison Spread

Voice count, detune, and stereo spread controls thicken any oscillator into a wide, drifting stack — from a subtle chorused double to a full-width wall.

Twin Multimode Filters

Two independent filters with selectable modes and slopes, routable in serial, parallel, or split, with key tracking, envelope amount, and a shared filter envelope for coordinated movement.

Bitimbral Layer And Split

Two slots with independent level, pan, and transpose, playable as a stacked layer or split across the keyboard — two sounds from one instance, and the two halves of a morph.

8-Slot Modulation Matrix

Eight routings with source, destination, amount, per-slot slew, and selectable response curves, so modulation can glide, snap, or accelerate rather than only moving in straight lines.

Three LFOs

Three LFOs with selectable shapes, direct destination assignment, and independent rate and depth, sitting alongside the amp and modulation envelopes for layered motion.

Arpeggiator

Mode, rate, octave range, note order, latch, gate length, and swing — enough control to write the part rather than just decorate it.

Effects

Delay, distortion, chorus, ring modulation, and reverb built in, so patches arrive closer to release-ready without immediately reaching for extra plugins.

555 Factory Presets

A deep factory library across leads, pads, basses, arps, keys, and motion sounds, with a browser that filters by category and steps through sounds one at a time.

Preset Import And Export

Save, export, and import presets and banks for backing up your own work, sharing patches, and loading expansion banks as they are released.

Try Before You Buy

Free demo is full-featured except audio dropouts and no preset save

Free Demo

  • Every oscillator, filter, and modulation feature unlocked
  • All factory presets
  • Scene Morph fully available
  • Brief audio dropout roughly once per minute
  • User preset saving and bank import/export disabled

Full Version

  • Every oscillator, filter, and modulation feature unlocked
  • All factory presets
  • Scene Morph fully available
  • Uninterrupted audio
  • Full preset saving, export, and bank import

Your Demo Projects Aren’t Hostages

The demo installs as its own separate plugin, so it never overwrites or conflicts with the full version. Anything you start in the demo keeps working when you buy — load the project, swap in the full plugin, and carry on from where you stopped.

The demo and full version install as separate plugins and can sit on the same system at the same time.

Expansions

Expansion banks are on the way.

DIODORUS reads and writes its own bank format, so additional preset collections can be installed straight into the browser alongside the factory library. Expansion banks are in development and will be announced as they are released.

Get Notified

System Requirements

64-bit only — please check before you buy.

System

  • Windows 64-bit or macOS 64-bit
  • Windows: VST3 only
  • macOS: VST3 and AU
  • Windows and macOS are sold as separate products
  • No AAX or 32-bit build is available
  • Compatible DAW with VST3 support, or AU support on macOS

Important Release Notes

  • The Windows installer is unsigned while code-signing is being set up.
  • Windows may show an Unknown Publisher or SmartScreen warning during install.
  • The macOS build is signed and notarized by Apple, and has no such warning.
  • macOS has no installer — the download is a .zip you unzip and copy into place yourself.
  • If your DAW does not detect DIODORUS immediately, rescan your plugins after installation.
  • The demo and full version install separately and can coexist on one system.

Install

  • Current version: 1.0.4
  • Format: 64-bit — VST3 on Windows, VST3 and AU on macOS
  • Windows install path: `C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\` (handled by the installer)
  • macOS install: unzip the download, then copy `Diodorus.vst3` to `~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/` and `Diodorus.component` to `~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/`
  • Factory presets: 555 total (526 plus 29 layer/split)
  • User preset slots: 40
  • Expansion region: holds up to 80 presets
  • File formats: `.vabank` for banks, `.vapreset` for single presets
  • Preset banks import and export from the browser