VOOG
Ranked 3 of 5 software synthesizers by recommenders
Free Python synthesizer with a Moog-style ladder filter that people admire as ambitious work. Critics note wonky sound when playing several notes at once.
Free Python synthesizer with a Moog-style ladder filter that people admire as ambitious work. Critics note wonky sound when playing several notes at once.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 8
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 89%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 8 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Praised as impressive, ambitious, cool work
“This is fantastic work! The Moog ladder filter implementation is particularly impressive.”
Comment from 15 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: VOOG – Moog-style polyphonic synthesizer in Python with tkinter GUI” “Really ambitious and really cool, congrats on finishing and sharing!”
Comment from 15 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: VOOG – Moog-style polyphonic synthesizer in Python with tkinter GUI” “Damn, that is really, really cool.”
Comment from 15 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: VOOG – Moog-style polyphonic synthesizer in Python with tkinter GUI”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Wonky output when playing multiple notes
“the output was a bit wonky, especially when trying to play multiple notes quickly or simultaneously”
Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: VOOG – Moog-style polyphonic synthesizer in Python with tkinter GUI” No panic button to stop sound
“The only thing that jumped out to me is a lack of a panic button that stops all sound.”
Comment from 15 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: VOOG – Moog-style polyphonic synthesizer in Python with tkinter GUI” Unreliable, may not work on some systems
“It's great that it works, and it may well work 99% of the time.”
Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: VOOG – Moog-style polyphonic synthesizer in Python with tkinter GUI” “Doesn't work at all on my system (kubuntu stable, whatever the stock audio subsystem is now).”
Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: VOOG – Moog-style polyphonic synthesizer in Python with tkinter GUI”
Other software synthesizers people recommend
The four most recommended other software synthesizers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surge XT | 9 | 1 | 90% | 6 | — | — |
| VCV Rack | 9 | 2 | 82% | 5 | — | — |
| VOOGThis page | 8 | 1 | 89% | 1 | — | — |
| Bespoke Synth | 6 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Dexed | 5 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
9 of the 10 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“it instantly recognized my m-audio keystation”
“This is clean, well-architected Python.”
“Doesn't work at all on my system (kubuntu stable, whatever the stock audio subsystem is now).”
“the output was a bit wonky, especially when trying to play multiple notes quickly or simultaneously”
“It's great that it works, and it may well work 99% of the time.”
“This is fantastic work! The Moog ladder filter implementation is particularly impressive.”
“The only thing that jumped out to me is a lack of a panic button that stops all sound.”
“Really ambitious and really cool, congrats on finishing and sharing!”
“Damn, that is really, really cool.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.