Name your Go-To VCO

Plugins & Modules
1

There are many, many VCO modules in the library.

When starting a new patch, I often grab Bogaudio’s FM-OP as a starter, because it is compact, polyphonic, flexible and easy to use. Sound is decent and it has a volume ADSR envelope built in. Nevertheless, I wonder which other good VCOs are out there.

What are your preferred VCO to get a patch going, and why?

EDIT (2026-02-02): TL;DR: Here’s the current short list:

  • Macro Oscillator (Audible Instruments)
  • Macro Oscillator 2 (Audible Instruments)
  • Resonator (Audible Instruments)
  • Even VCO (Befaco)
  • Pony (Befaco)
  • XFX Wave (Blamsoft)
  • FM-OP (Bogaudio)
  • Alloy (CV funk)
  • Prodigal Son (FLAG)
  • Warp Core (Infrasonic Audio)
  • CZSaw (Mockba Modular)
  • Anuli (Sanguine Mutants)
  • Funes (Sanguine Mutants)
  • Basic VCO (Squinky Labs)
  • FM Kitchen Sink (Squinky Labs)
  • Wallenda (Studio Six Plus One)
  • SurgeXT VCOs, including Classic VCO, Wavetable VCO, Sine VCO (SurgeXT)
  • E340 Cloud Generator (Synthesis Technology, premium)
  • Ad (van Ties)
  • Wavetable VCO (VCV)
  • Venom VCOs, including Sofia’s Daughter (premium), VCO Lab, VCO Unit, XM-OP (Venom)
  • Basal (Vult)
  • Opulus (Vult)
2 Likes
2

Sanguine Mutants Funes… really versatile, lots of options and, also, it’s mine, so I’m quite familiar with it. :stuck_out_tongue:

3 Likes
3

If I had to choose only one it would probably be the SurgeXT:ClassicVCO. It’s got great features, timbre controls, stereo, unison modes and is very clean, flexible and efficient. Just sounds great and I can always use it very quickly in a patch.

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4

oh, so many good ones. Opulus, Surge XT VCOs, Venom XM-OP, Anuli, those are just off the top of my head…..

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5

I don’t have one! I’m really into resonators at the moment, so Anuli, Alloy and Wallenda are current favourites.

For really ambient/space ambient stuff I like wavetables - Surge one is great and Blamsoft.

In fact all the Surge VCOs are great, and I also like the Mutants version of Braids.

For other stuff and pads, Warp Core (phase distortion) and Prodigal Son (supersaw) are often used. All depends what I’m trying to do, and which techniques I’m messing about with that day. The only thing I’m not that keen on is traditional analogue style VCOs, I just don’t find them sonically very interesting :wink:

1 Like
6

there are many weird ones I really like, but for a “standard” one I’ll go for the EVEN VCO by BEFACO

7

Venom VCO Unit x2

2 VCOs are better than one

3 Likes
8

I don’t often have one in particular, usually I just randomly pick one from the favorites “settings,json” but I do use plaits and rings A LOT, especially Rings since it’s already plucky and doesn’t need an envelope… I do have MCO mkII but I usually use polyphonic oscillators and this post is trying to pull me back to my premium modules I bought last year…

9

I pretty much only use the Surge, Vult, or Mutable VCOs. Most of the other ones don’t really sound that great

10

Surge XT Sine VCO and/or Venom Sophia’s Daughter are the first to come out usually.

2 Likes
11

Another Surge XT vote, plus Venom’s VCO Unit & Lab. Lately being using Van Ties’ Ad a lot too, great additive oscillator. Also, Befaco’s Pony VCO and Squinky’s Kitchen sink get a lot of use too.

2 Likes
12

SurgeXT Wavetable because I have thousands of wavetables to choose from, not kidding.

Funes is 2nd one after that @Bloodbat :slight_smile:

Venom VCOs are moving up the list.

5 Likes
13

Thank you for all the great VCOs :control_knobs: and for the inspiration!

I’ve compiled a short list in the OP. Feel free to add more.

14

VCV Wavetable VCO if i must pick a favorite - mainly because it comes with rack, so it will probably survive a rack version bump.

I find it satisfying to generate wavetables in python. ( I shared a moog one inspired wavetable and the generating python script here).

4 Likes
15

The one? As of time of writing:

… it’s still Bogaudio’s FM-OP for both solo voices or chords. I might be imagining this, but when I use its internal VCA there’s this particularly nice quality to how a very short attack sounds.

(Opulus, Basal, E340 Cloud Generator, CZSaw, XFXWave, the pure harmonic content of Plaits’ snare, I love you all, too!)

1 Like
16

Venom VCOs

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17

It is the default exponential envelope shape (or VCA response), where both the envelope rise and fall are concave up.

My XM-OP does not have the exponential option, but rather has an envelope curve control that gives the more typical rise concave down and fall concave up. But I agree the exponential response sounds great. I think if you don’t assign the XM-OP envelope to the level, but rather patch the envelope output to a VCA with an exponential response, and then send that output to the XM-OP level you can get XM-OP to sound similar to FM-OP. I have recently been thinking about an XM-OP enhancement that could give the exponential response. I’ll put a post in my Venom development thread about this.

1 Like
18

All the Venom :heart: is extremely gratifying! Thanks everyone! :pray:

I think of an oscillator as a sound source. One of my favorite sound sources is a pinged resonant filter. My favorite used to be the Vult Unstabile filter. But now I like my Venom Multimode Filter even better for pinging. It also can produce a very stable +/-5V self oscillation sine wave that responds V/Oct over an extremely wide range. But I don’t think self oscillation is so important in virtual environments like VCV. If it were hardware I think that would be a pretty big deal.

2 Likes
19

I’ve been wanting to take your oscillators out more often - the utilities are becoming a staple - but you know, creature of habit. :wink:

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20

I almost always start with Squinky Labs Basic VCO. Then I almost always replace it with something else that better fits the sound of the patch.

1 Like