Synths are what is on every producer’s mind. Finding the workstation that is just right for you while staying in a certain price range can become extremely difficult with the number of choices out there. You either find everything you are looking for and it costs more than you can spend, or you find an alternative that has fewer choices but fits within your price range, like Circle 2.
Circle 2 by Future Audio Workshop is a creative synthesizer that allows you to come up with new ideas in an easy to use interface all while maintaining a budget. Simplicity was a goal for Circle 2 and they met it. Take the time to look through some of the key factors of what makes Circle 2 so great.
How We Reviewed Circle 2
Here is a look into what we have found about Circle 2, from their own highlighted points to what real users have to say. We compiled what we found to be important and prepared it for you here.
Overall
Best for:
Circle 2 is a synthesizer plugin that has an endless amount of sounds to create. At your fingertips is a creative user interface that allows you to channel the sounds in your head into the DAW. It can create any sound that any other synth based VST could create from warm pads to a bass boosted kick sound.
Features
One Window – Beautifully compacted into one window, Circle 2 lets you work on every component in one location. This saves time and prevents simple mix-ups from flipping between pages.
VPS – The VPS Oscillator is an oscillator type developed at the Aalto University School of Electrical Engineering and the National University of Ireland. It is a unique oscillator only found on Circle 2 and allows for control of both the X and Y-axis.
Wavetable Shapes – With 110 oscillator and 16 LFO wavetable shapes, you can create just about any sound you could want. There is a menu to open up and choose the shape available that you want to try.
Patches – There are over 300 patches for you to sort through to get just the right sound you’re looking for. Circle 2 has a smart browser that also helps you find your sound faster than ever.
Compatibility
Circle 2 is perfect for electronic music production as well as other genres. The sounds you can create with it can blend with rock, pop, hip hop, and more. This opens it up to many different DAW types, and it has been tested and found to work with many DAWs including Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Reason, Ableton Live. even Native Instruments Machine.
| Mac | Windows | |
| Memory | 4 GB RAM 8 GB recommended | 4 GB RAM 8 GB recommended |
| Operating System | 10.9 and higher | Windows 8 and higher |
This synth comes to you digitally.
Pricing
Compared to other synths of this caliber, the pricing of Circle 2 is perfect. It actually comes in a little under what I have seen other synths cost per month.
- Rent-to-own price: $7.99 month for 16 months, pause or cancel at anytime
- Total Price on Plugin Boutique: $129
Bonus & Extras
One thing I like is when creators take actual usability into account. Many in the world of electronic music production like to create using controllers and physical equipment. Future Audio Workshop has made it compatible with Maschine and Komplete Kontrol and even mapped every patch included in Circle 2.
Coming Full Circle
When you start learning about synthesizers, you want to start simple and work your way up learning how to make all the sounds yourself. Circle 2 is a great option to learn and grow your skills. Once you have learned how synthesizers work and how to make all your sounds, Circle 2 is still a fantastic full synth that you will be able to use. You will not need to upgrade to a “big boy” synthesizer.
We hope you found this information helpful, and if you are wanting to learn more about more synthesizers and effects, check out our collection of plugin reviews and comparisons by clicking here.