🔥 NOW AVAILABLE — v1.0.0
🐔

Chikn Soup
Synthesizer Plugin

8-bit chiptune nostalgia meets aggressive festival bass. A commercial MPE-capable hybrid synth for Logic Pro 12, Ableton, and beyond. VST3 & AU — macOS, Windows, Linux.

⬇ Download Free ▶ Hear Demo Songs ▶ Hear the Demos
20
Factory Presets
4×
Oversampling
MPE
Per-Note Expressive
ZDF
Analog Filter Model
AU+VST3
Formats

What's Under the Hood

Everything from PolyBLEP oscillators to diode clipping, zero-delay-feedback filters, and a reactive roasting chicken UI.

🎛
PolyBLEP Oscillators
Square with PolyBLEP alias suppression, Triangle, and a 2-operator FM engine. Lush detuned stacks or single crisp tones.
ANTI-ALIAS
🔥
Saturation & Grit
Diode-clipper drive stage modelling analog hardware warmth, plus a hard clipper for digital aggression.
ANALOG MODEL
💀
Bitcrush & Degradation
Variable-depth Bitcrushing and Sample-Rate Reduction (sample & hold decimator) for lo-fi textures from cassette to N64.
8-BIT VIBES
🌊
ZDF Filter
Zero-Delay-Feedback StateVariableTPTFilter for true analog-modeled resonance. No quantisation artefacts at any cutoff.
ZERO DELAY FB
🎚
LFO Routing Matrix
Global LFO with Sine, Triangle, Square & Random-step shapes, routing to filter cutoff and FM index for evolving, living tones.
4 SHAPES
🎹
Full MPE Support
Per-note pitch bend, pressure → FM growl & amplitude, timbre → pulse width. Built on juce::MPESynthesiser with legacy MIDI fallback.
MPE EXPRESSIVE
⚡
4× Oversampling
Saturation, drive, and clipping stages wrapped in juce::dsp::Oversampling — up to 4× to eliminate all aliasing artefacts.
OVERSAMPLED
🐔
Roasting Chicken UI
A 30-frame embedded sprite sheet animates from raw to charred, driven by a real-time RMS envelope follower in processBlock().
REACTIVE UI
💾
APVTS State Management
All parameters managed by AudioProcessorValueTreeState — full host automation, DAW state recall, and XML preset serialisation.
HOST AUTOMATION

🎵 Hear It in Action

Two full demo songs — Für Elise remixed through the actual ChiknSoup synth engine with live drum synthesis, preset automation, and multi-track arrangement.

Für Elise — Brostep
Skrillex-style dubstep · 140 BPM · 2:05
BROSTEP
DROP
DROP
Brostep waveform and spectrogram
🥁 Half-time drops 📻 Growl wobbles 🔊 Sidechain pump 🎛 Preset: Motherboard Melt
Für Elise — Festival House
Tiësto / David Guetta style · 128 BPM · 2:17
FESTIVAL
DROP
DROP
Festival waveform and spectrogram
🎵 4-on-floor kick 🎺 Super-saw stabs 👏 Clap on 2 & 4 🎛 Preset: Wavedash Pluck
Für Elise — Wavedash Pluck
Factory Preset #03 · Proof-of-concept render
PRESET
Waveform pitch analysis
🎯 Pitch verified ±1 Hz 🎹 Pure melody playback
Pitch Verification
All notes confirmed via FFT analysis
PROOF

Opening phrase frequency analysis — each note within ±1 Hz of expected:

E5
660 Hz
D#5
623 Hz
E5
660 Hz
D#5
623 Hz
E5
660 Hz
B4
494 Hz
D5
587 Hz
C5
523 Hz
84%
Melodic frames (both remixes)
0
Silent gaps detected
±1Hz
Pitch accuracy
40+
Unique pitches per song

🎛 20 Factory Presets

From glitchy 8-bit plucks to massive festival bass — all recallable from APVTS and fully host-automatable.

# Name Character Genre
01 Chikn Broth Warm plucky lead, gentle overdrive Chiptune
02 Feathers & Fuzz Square wave fuzz bass, mid-cut Bass
03 Wavedash Pluck Crisp FM pluck, fast attack, bit-light Chiptune
04 Beak Freak Hard clipped square, resonant ZDF sweep Bass
05 Nugget Bass Deep sub-heavy 808-style FM Bass
06 Gravy Pad Slow-attack lush pad, sine LFO filter Ambient
07 Wing Ding Random-step LFO stab, retro percussion Chiptune
08 Cluck & Roll Rock organ-style, mild bitcrush Hyperpop
09 Digicore Chik Harsh bitcrushed sub, digicore aggression Hyperpop
10 100 Gecs Sugar 4-bit candy lead, max bitcrush, distorted Hyperpop
11 Rotisserie Wub Classic dubstep wob, triangle LFO filter Bass
12 Hen Matrix FM metallic stab, square LFO Festival
13 Pullet Surprise Trance super-saw (FM detuned), bright Festival
14 Deep Fried 808 Overdriven 808 sub, slow attack Bass
15 Coup de Grâce Festival chord stab, big-room shimmer Festival
16 Scratch & Peck Stuttering random-step, lo-fi scratch Hyperpop
17 Poultry Geist Ghostly hollow pad, long release Ambient
18 Final Destination Max drive, hard clip, angry growl Bass
19 Thermal Rider Gliding FM lead, pitch-bend expressive Festival
20 Motherboard Melt Bitcrushed chaos, max SR-reduction, walls of noise Hyperpop

⚙️ DSP Architecture

Built on JUCE 8.0.4 with zero compromise on audio quality. Every stage oversampled, every filter zero-delay.

SIGNAL CHAIN
MPE Voice: per-note oscillator + ADSR
ZDF Filter: StateVariableTPTFilter
LFO: modulates cutoff & FM index
4× Oversampling: diode + hard clip stage
Sample-Rate Reduction: decimator
Bitcrusher: variable bit depth
Output gain + RMS follower
OSCILLATORS
Square: PolyBLEP alias suppression
Triangle: integrated, band-limited
FM: 2-operator ratio + depth control
MPE pressure → FM growl & amplitude
MPE timbre → pulse width modulation
MPE pitch bend → per-note glide
MODULATION
Sine, Triangle, Square, Random-step
Targets: ZDF cutoff, FM depth
Rate: synced or free-running Hz
Depth: 0–100% modulation
Macro WARP: LFO rate + FM depth
BUILD SYSTEM
CMake ≥ 3.22 cross-platform
CPack: productbuild (macOS .pkg)
CPack: INNOSETUP (Windows .exe)
CPack: DEB + TGZ (Linux)
BinaryData: sprite sheet embedded
CHIKN_HEADLESS: CLI render host
TESTS
Parameters: range & default check
Preset recall: all 20 presets
APVTS round-trip: XML state
MPE note on/off: voice lifecycle
DSP output sanity: non-zero render
Für Elise pitch: ±1 Hz verified
FORMATS
AU: Logic Pro 12 (macOS)
VST3: Ableton, FL, Reaper…
Universal Binary: arm64 + x86_64
Resizable UI with aspect-lock
Simple + Advanced UI modes
💻 WHAT WE VERIFIED
# Every release is compiled fresh and tested before it ships
# -> APVTS preset recall verified across all 20 factory presets
# -> MPE note on/off voice lifecycle verified
# -> DSP output sanity: confirmed non-zero render on every voice
# -> Für Elise pitch accuracy: ±1 Hz verified end-to-end
# -> fur_elise_brostep.wav  (2:05 @ 140 BPM)
# -> fur_elise_festival.wav (2:17 @ 128 BPM)

⬇ Download & Install

Try it free for 3 days. No build required — grab a ready-made installer for your platform, double-click it, and load Chikn Soup in your DAW.

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Start with a
3-DAY FREE TRIAL
Full-featured. No credit card required. Download below.
then
$59
Introductory price · through Sep 30
🍎
macOS
AU + VST3 · Universal Binary
Logic Pro 12, Ableton, Reaper
⬇ .pkg Installer
🪟
Windows
VST3 · x64
Ableton, FL Studio, Reaper
⬇ .exe Installer
🐧
Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)
VST3 · amd64
Reaper, Bitwig, LMMS
⬇ .deb Package
📦
Linux (Portable)
VST3 · All distros
Tarball
⬇ .tar.gz
After installing: Open your DAW, rescan plug-ins if prompted, and load Chikn Soup by Down Special as an instrument track. On macOS you can validate the AU via auval -v aumu Cknp Fowl. For Logic Pro 12, open Preferences → Plug-In Manager and click Reset & Rescan.