It’s been 11 years in the wait, but Serum 2 is available now.
Xfer Records has unveiled Serum 2, the highly anticipated upgrade to one of the most beloved wavetable synthesizers in electronic music. Serum 2 takes the original’s core vision — high-quality sound, intuitive workflow, and deep sound design flexibility — and pushes it further, adding a host of powerful new features designed to inspire producers and sound designers alike.
The original Serum was created to fill a gap in the market: a wavetable synthesizer that combined pristine sound quality with an intuitive, creative interface. Now, Serum 2 expands that vision with new oscillator types, a flexible effects routing system, an arpeggiator, and a clip sequencer. Best of all, for existing Serum users, the upgrade is completely free—staying true to Xfer Records’ promise of lifetime free updates.
New and Enhanced Oscillators
Serum 2 introduces several new oscillator types:
- Wavetable Oscillator: The legendary wavetable engine has been refined with new warp modes, FM, phase distortion, and dual warps, allowing deeper manipulation of sound. A new Smooth Interpolation mode enables near-infinite frame positions without the need for morphing.
- Multisample Oscillator: Expanding beyond synthetic sounds, this new oscillator allows for realistic instrument replication. Serum 2 ships with an extensive collection of multisampled real-world instruments, including orchestras, choirs, pianos, and guitars, all stored in the open-standard SFZ format.
- Sample Oscillator: Serum’s sample engine now features advanced looping with snap detection, flexible modulation, sample slicing with real-time score extraction, and a ‘tails mode’ for smooth playback transitions.
- Granular Oscillator: A powerful granular synthesis engine that lets users stretch, fragment, and morph sounds in new ways, breathing life into existing samples.
- Spectral Oscillator: Bringing real-time resynthesis to the table, this oscillator allows harmonic-level processing of samples, with transient detection similar to high-end timestretching algorithms.
Expanding Creative Potential
Beyond oscillators, Serum 2 adds significant enhancements to its workflow and creative toolset. A new arpeggiator and clip sequencer expand rhythmic and melodic possibilities, making Serum not just a synthesis powerhouse but also a dynamic performance tool. The effects section has been overhauled to offer greater flexibility, allowing users to route effects in new ways for deeper sound manipulation.
Specs and Availability
Serum 2 comes with over 626 presets and 288 wavetables, making it an instantly inspiring tool for both new and experienced users. It is available in VST3, AU, and AAX formats for macOS (High Sierra and later for Intel, Big Sur and later for Apple Silicon) and Windows (Windows 10 and above).
A demo version is available for both macOS and Windows, with a 15-minute session limit.
Pricing and Free Upgrade for Serum 1 Users
Serum 2 launches at an introductory price of $189 until June 1st, after which it will return to its regular price of $249. However, existing Serum 1 users receive the update completely free of charge — a rare and welcome commitment from Xfer Records to its community.
With its deep new synthesis options, refined workflow, and lifetime free updates, Serum 2 cements its place as an essential instrument for producers pushing the boundaries of sound design.
Get Serum 2 here.
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