Consider supporting Linux for Synthesizer V Studio 2

Synthesizer V Studio
1

I’ve been a full-time Linux user since 2018, and I’ve bought both the original SynthV editor and SynthV Studio expressly because of their Linux support. In total, I’ve spent about 270 USD on these programs and associated voicebanks. The lack of Linux support in SVS2 is a slap in the face for me and other people who use Synthesizer V on Linux. I was willing to tolerate the lack of Linux support for Vocoflex, which is a distinct product from SynthV, but dropping it for a product intended to supersede an existing one that supports Linux right now is different, especially when the original SVS will likely stop getting fixes altogether.

I wish I could enjoy SVS2 as much as other people are anticipating to. However, as long as it does not support Linux, I will actively recommend other people against buying it.

I understand that ensuring that a Linux build remains as polished as the other builds is more than a trivial task – in fact, I’ve encountered a Linux-specific bug in SVS myself (namely, the vocal mode crash). If needed, I’ll devote some time to testing and reporting bugs on Linux to reduce the work needed to maintain a Linux build.

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I hope you and the other 2 people total who use Synth V on linux get what you need!

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Not sure what you’re trying to imply by that, but thanks!

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I didn’t know Synthesizer V 1 could be run on
Linux! I’m new to Linux as I’m getting fed up with Microsoft pushing new OS and having to buy better hardware to run it so I’m looking at alternatives.

Would running SV2 with Wine be a solution till Linux is officially supported?

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Right now, we don’t know if SVS2 will run on Wine without problems. Also, using Wine seems like a way to tell companies like Dreamtonics that supporting Linux officially is superfluous.

I also haven’t installed Wine on my new computer yet, but that’s a small problem to solve.

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I, as well, am a legacy Linux user. I have used studio and 2 paid ai voices. I would also like to implore dreamtonic to continue to support Linux.

I am interested if there were some sort of condition that would encourage dreamtonics to continue to support Linux.

If I have to run synthv through wine, I can run any vocal synthesizer through wine. I have not decided to leave the synthv community, but if I leave, it will be because synthv stopped supporting Linux.

But my business is largely insignificant, as people like me make up a .01 or whatever of the total userbase…

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7

I don’t see how it’s telling any company that native support is superfluous. Wine may / may not give access to vital system routines that would improve a software’s performance.

Running foreign programmes in a virtual machine is a way to test them, surely?

I’m sure Dreamtonics will do what they consider economically viable. If enough customers ‘sign the petition’ there will be a greater impetus for them to seriously consider Linux !

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I agree, more people, more impact. Let’s go!

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Synthv studio 1 could be run on Linux and we did get all the updates. However, it was not full throat supported like giving us .Deb or .rpm files, or allowing us to build it from source. I had a shell script that ran through an alias in my bash terminal, synthv studio 1 wasn’t exactly plug and play, but it worked, and it will continue to work, we just will not get the nice version 2.0 upgrades. I honestly can just keep using synth v studio 1 for my needs, I really want the new features, but I don’t need them.

The biggest question is will the voices continue to work on synthv studio 1? I feel like we are going to need to gamble a lot of money to “find out” if the new things are usable on Linux systems. I still have 2 new voices to buy, and I need to buy before the new voices are released to ensure compatibility.

I asked support about Linux and synthv studio 2, and here was their response:

Dear Linux User,

Thank you for reaching out to Dreamtonics Support.

We sincerely apologize that Linux is not supported in Synthesizer V 2 for security reasons.
We cannot promise full compatibility on Synthesizer V 2 with devices that do not meet the system requirements: Synthesizer V Studio 2 Pro - Dreamtonics Store

Regarding the newest information and future updates, please follow our official X @dreamtonics_en.

Thank you again for your interest in our products.
We hope you have a nice day.
Best,
Dreamtonics Support Team

So take that as you will. I, again, have not decided on whether I will support synthv studio 2, but I am sure if you ask, the Linux users who can, will help each other to get through this together. The old forum had a number of threads helping people set up synthv studio 1, maybe that stuff was on the wiki as well, but if people ask for help, Im sure the community will support, as that is the culture of the Linux community and why it’s so hard for me to leave Linux, despite Linux being dead since 1993…

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What do you mean - I’ve only just started to explore it? There are continuous updates offered and Fedora (my chosen distro) is on version 41. How is it dead…?

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Sorry about that, my joke was in poor taste.

People have been saying Linux is dead for years, yet here we are in 2025, still going strong. Linux has adapted to new architectures, evolving use cases, and even the decline of traditional desktops, all while facing the usual hurdles (printers are still a nightmare, lol).

The spirit of the GNU Project may not be as central to most Linux users today, but Linux thrives because people still care and continue maintaining free software.

This might not be the best place for a deep discussion on it, but just to be clear: Linux isn’t going anywhere. And as long as we have great resources like:
:small_blue_diamond: Linux Musicians
:small_blue_diamond: r/LinuxAudio

We’ll be just fine. Linux is alive, my friend—very much alive.

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Oh, okay… I think the only ones saying it is dead are the monopoly chasers (not the board game), but aggressive companies seeking full market share. We know who they are and their tactics.

Didn’t know these - thanks for sharing!

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I think the question needs to be “will there be a V1 version of any new vioces that are released”.
I hope, at least in the short term, that this will be the case until a ‘critical mass’ of us purchase the new program, It seems clear that V2 voices will not work on SynthV1.

I am a windoze user but follow this with interest…

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So support got back to me and I can live with the answer they gave me…

Basically, if you bought the version 1 you can keep using it and the voices are either version 1 or version 2. So all the version 1 voices will remain usable with version 1. However, it seems that after synthv studio 2 comes out, they will likely stop selling version 1 studio and version 1 voices. So if you want it, get it now!

As I have always said, I am not sure if I will buy synth v studio 2, but this does expand my options.

If I buy synthv studio 2, I will likely buy a new license for synthv studio 2, so my license for 1 is untouched and completely seperate (might not matter, but those are my thoughts)

Here is the response in full:

Dear Linux User,

Thank you for reaching out to Dreamtonics Support.

Version 1 will continue to be available, but sales on the official website will end on March 21.
Support for version 1 will be available after that date. Also, the version 1 license you purchased is still valid forever.
However, we currently do not provide Linux VST plug-ins for product security reasons. We are sincerely sorry for the inconvenience.

Please note that Felicia Voice Database is designed for Synthesizer V 1 and Felicia 2 Voice Database is for Synthesizer V 2.

Thank you again for your interest in our products.
We hope you have a nice day.
Best,
Dreamtonics Support Team

15

I, too got a replay from Dreamtonics today, but with no mention of “security”:

Dear +merlan #flirora,

Thank you for reaching out to Dreamtonics Support.

We sincerely apologize that Linux is not supported in Synthesizer V 2.
We will forward your request and feedback to our dev team for consideration.

Regarding the newest information and future updates, please follow our official X @dreamtonics_en.

Thank you again for your interest in our products.
We hope you have a nice day.

Best,
Dreamtonics Support Team

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In light of these news I’ve tried getting SynthV 1 running on WINE, and it runs, but the UI is completely unusable. You can interact with the application but there are no updates to the UI. Given that SynthV 2 is the same software I don’t think things will be any different.

This is super sad.

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Thanks for testing for us @Leon . I’m also dissapointed that they have not mentioned on the upgrade sales page that the Linux version is not included. This is very misleading.

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Just to be sure, do you mean the current version of Synthesizer V Studio, or the original SynthV editor?

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I downloaded the Synth V Studio Basic editor, not really wanting to fiddle with serial keys and the like for a version that I might not be able to get to work. I run on WINE9, with DXVK installed - I use it for VSTs and Yabridge.

Might be worth testing further. I’ll give SVS2 a try too once it’s out. Would prefer to not have to fiddle too much with Windows, VMs, and what have you.

Edit: It just struck me that there is an option to use OpenGL for UI graphics, I never tried turning that on. Frankly I’m not sure you can, but I’ll give it a go.

Edit 2: Alright, so if you flip over to OpenGL for graphics the UI works. Until then only the top menu bar actually does stuff. You can open the Settings panel from the View menu, and then if you minimise the window it’ll redraw.

The “UseOpenGL for UI graphics” is really far up in the options so you won’t have to fiddle around to find it. Once that’s clicked, SVS Basic seems to work alright. I haven’t tried it in-depth yet, though.

There’s some artifacting on the menus, I think caused by their drop shadow.

Screenshot From 2025-02-26 20-41-06
Screenshot From 2025-02-26 20-41-061521×947 105 KB

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I’ve already bought the pre-order, anticipating that Dreamtonics wouldn’t be so stupid as to drop support for something they’ve had since the start (Literally! Every single iteration of SV up until now has had Linux support!!), but…! Seems we have to fight every single step of the way, huh?

I’ll be tinkering with maybe getting it running through Lutris once it comes out, as that’s the easiest way for me to quickly swap between different Wine/derivative releases. I theorize it’ll work best on Proton.

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