VCV Rack: Open-source virtual modular synthesis and introduction to module development in C++

Abstract: VCV Rack is a new open-source virtual modular synthesizer for Mac/Windows/Linux based on the appearance, sound, and functionality of Eurorack and other modular formats. Its first stable version, 1.0, was recently released, including modular polyphony, a multi-threaded DSP engine, MIDI input/output, MIDI parameter mapping, and several other frequently-requested features. Rack's license allows open-source, freeware, and commercial plugins to be built using Rack's SDK, and its community has grown in the last two years to over 100,000 users and around 150 plugin developers, with over 1,200 modules currently available.

Rack is written in C++ and processes modules with 1-sample buffers to allow low-latency feedback in patches. Plugin developers can optionally use Rack's SIMD-accelerated DSP library containing common synthesis processes. The platform is as much of a graphics rendering engine as a DSP engine, with the ability to draw real-time SVG using OpenGL.

This talk will cover basic modular synthesis concepts, an introduction to VCV Rack, and VCV's future developments, with a special focus on how Rack works.

Bio: Andrew Belt founded VCV as a side-project in 2016 while working at Lawrence Livermore National Lab and later pursuing a PhD at Michigan State's Engineering Department. As VCV grew, he left MSU to focus on maintaining the project full-time in collaboration with Grayscale, a Eurorack and Buchla-format module manufacturer, to design VCV Rack's UI and virtual modules. Andrew currently resides in the foothills of Cherokee National Forest and performs his Rhodes/Juno in a jazz band in his hometown of Johnson City, TN.