There are ton of awesome synth plugins that come free with Mainstage, but it can be a bit confusing as to what the advantages are of each synth, and how they work. Here’s a list of each synth, what they do well and what they don’t, and how I rate them overall for sound quality and usability:

(Note: I’m only reviewing the synth plugins in this blog, and I’ll be skipping the drum and acoustic instrument plugins).

Alchemy: the end all do all synth

Strengths: powerful sound creation abilities, flexible tone shaping options, massive sound.

Weaknesses: difficult to use.

My rating: 4.0 stars

Alchemy was originally developed by Camel Audio until Apple bought them in 2014.

EFM1: a synth from the 80's, this models the classic DX7 synth

Strengths: really great sounding FM synthesis, with a no nonsense usable interface.

Weaknesses: limited to FM synthesis only.

My rating: 4.5 stars

This synth does what it does well, but is fairly limited.

ES E: simple, monophonic synth

Strengths: not a bad little synth, and excellent for making quick, simple sounds.

Weaknesses: feels very dated. Sound quality not that excellent. Interface a bit clunky.

My rating: 2.5 stars

The ES E is probably my least favorite Mainstage synth- it was originally released in the early 2000's, and is really showing its age.

ES M: Moog inspired monophonic synth

Strengths: rich sound, easy to use, great bass sounds.

Weaknesses: limited to monophonic tones only. Limited tweaking abilities.

My rating: 4 stars

The tones in this are so beefy, even by today's standards.

ES P: Classic additive synth perfect for beeps, clicks, and video game sounds

Strengths: fun little synth with the ability to blend multiple tones together quickly.

Weaknesses: it as a very strong character that is charming, but somewhat limited.

My rating: 4 stars

This synth has got to be one of the most entertaining synths I've ever used.

Es1: bread and butter synth sounds with limited controls for ease of use.

Strengths: great sounding filters, simpler design, solid oscillators.

Weaknesses: this was Logic’s first big attempt at a power synth, and it’s showing its age.

My rating: 3.5 stars

This synth is powerful, but has a lot of limiting features that keep it from being as versatile as it's big brother, ES2.

Es2: a feature packed synth with a semi-modular routing system.

Strengths: the most powerful synth in Logic until last year, you can do just about anything with this synth.

Weaknesses: you can do just about anything with this synth, which can make it hard to use.

My rating: 5 stars

Everyone from Flo Rida to Lady Gaga has used this synth, and I still prefer it over almost all other plugins.

EVOC 20 PS: Mainstage’s vocoder synth

Strengths: if you want that classic vocoder sound, this is a great little synth to get the job done.

Weaknesses: the interface is a little dated. Not as powerful as modern vocoder plugins.

My rating: 4 stars

I rarely use this synth, but it comes in super-handy when you need that Daft Punk vocoder sound.

EXS24: sampler synth

Strengths: the only synth in Mainstage to use samples instead of tones, this little sampler has a ton of great synth samples that I use regularly.

Weaknesses: it’s not possible to generate tones using oscillators with this plugin.

My rating: 5 stars

While you can use this synth for a range of tones, it's synth presets often get missed.

Retro Synth: does exactly what it says: models FM synths, Moog synths, and a few other classics.

Strengths: a new addition to Mainstage last year, this synth does a great job emulating classic tones in an easy to use interface.

Weaknesses: the tonal quality doesn’t quite match that of Alchemy and ES2, in my opinion.

My rating: 4 stars

I rarely use this synth, but what I've seen has been impressive.

Sculpture: physical modeling synth that imitates acoustic, real world textures.

Strengths: amazing tone, amazing sound shaping options, and one of a kind routing combinations.

Weaknesses: difficult to use, and CPU intensive.

My rating: 4 stars

This synth boasts some bizarre features like pickup patterns, a mappable morph section, and so much more.