PlasticSynth is a small, growing workshop of playable, retro-flavoured musical instruments that run in a web browser. There is nothing to install and no account required — open a page, press a key, and sound comes out. The machines belong to one fictional maker, but use different shapes, plastics, gestures and eras. They are built on the Web Audio API. Most voices are synthesised live; a few deliberately blend in self-hosted sample layers.
Why it exists
Most music software wants you to download it, log in, or pay before you can make a single sound. PlasticSynth is the opposite: a link you can open on a phone or a laptop and immediately play. It is a love letter to the cheap, charming home keyboards and drum machines of the 1980s — the kind with a handful of buttons, a tinny speaker and far more character than they had any right to — rebuilt with modern browser audio so they cost nothing and reach everyone.
The collection
There are 13 flagship machines so far: keys, drums, bass boxes, sequencers, samplers and stranger controllers. Another 5 focused modules explore harmony, performance and recording without posing as separate product lines. The maker's marks hold the collection together; the silhouette, material, main gesture and sound source distinguish each one. Open the rack and pick the machine that catches you.
The Studio
The Studio is where the collection becomes a band. Every instrument can be a track — a drum grid for the beat, keys for a bassline, an organ comping chords, a granular texture, even a voice you recorded — all sharing one clock and one tempo, so they lock together the moment you press PLAY. A global KEY keeps everything in tune, the magic DICE rolls a fresh coherent groove, and AUTO quietly keeps a track re-arranging itself, hands-free. Bounce the result to a WAV or a MIDI file whenever you like.
Ways to make music — even if you don't read a note
You never have to start from a blank page:
- The generator builds a whole in-key track from a genre — or from a mood you describe in plain words.
- Type-a-tune turns any words into a melody that always stays in key.
- Projects & sound recipes guide you through a complete loop or one useful patch, with a playable checkpoint at every step.
- Renditions play famous public-domain pieces — Für Elise, Canon in D — in the PlasticSynth voice.
- Listen & match reads the key and tempo of music playing near you and spins up a track to play along with it.
Learn as you play
A whole Academy explains how synthesis works and how music gets made, with a playable demo on every page — from waveforms through rhythm, bass, chords, melody, arrangement, mixing and sampling; the plain-English Basics guide covers notes, sharps and keys for people who've never read a score; and the glossary defines every knob and bit of jargon. The instruments share one control language, too: real rotary knobs and a live oscilloscope or spectrum on each, so you can watch the sound as you shape it.
How it's built
Playback and audio processing happen on your device. Camera frames never leave it, and microphone input is captured and processed locally. A recording leaves the browser only when you explicitly save or share a session containing it. See the privacy page for the exact boundary.
Who makes it & getting in touch
PlasticSynth is an independent project, established in 2026 and made by one person. Found a bug, have an idea for a machine, or just want to say hello? The contact page has the inbox. To see how it all grew, the changelog tells the whole story; to just make some noise, the guide gets you started.