ZynthianOS Vangelis-2610 adds a clip launcher and new synth engines
After two years of work, ZynthianOS Vangelis-2610 replaces the Zynpad with a session-style launcher, adds a tempo-synced audio clip engine, OB-Xf, Vaporizer2 and KR-106. Free for Zynthian V4 and V5.
The Zynthian project released ZynthianOS Vangelis-2610 on 18 October 2026, the new stable system for its open-source synth platform, named as a tribute to Vangelis. It comes after two years of development, according to the official announcement, and changes how the box is played: the Zynpad gives way to a clip and pattern launcher modelled on Ableton Live’s Session view.
As a reminder, a Zynthian is a standalone unit built around a Raspberry Pi: keyboard expander, multi-effects, MIDI router, groovebox and small studio, all free software on open hardware. Its instruments are LV2 plugins, an open format that sits outside the VST3, AU and AAX trio we explained here.
What Vangelis-2610 changes
A phrase launcher replaces the Zynpad
The new Launcher is a grid. Each column is a chain (a synth and its effects): on an instrument or MIDI chain, cells hold step-sequencer patterns; on a clip chain, they hold audio files. Rows are called phrases, the equivalent of Live’s scenes: a main column fires them in one go, and they can be automated (loops, coda sections, time signature and tempo changes) to build a full song.
One caveat for upgraders: the Arranger view has been temporarily removed, and the Launcher only covers part of what it did.
Tempo-synced audio clips
The clip engine handles beat-sync, auto-warp (stretching a file automatically to match the song’s BPM) and beat slicing. When a sample loads, the system tries to read its tempo from the file name, and a clip can be swapped while everything else keeps playing.
A finer pattern editor
- 1920 PPQN internal clock (pulses per quarter note): timing resolution for notes and automation is no longer a bottleneck.
- Rewritten CC editor: any sound parameter can be automated, chain volume and pan included, with interpolation.
- Stutter (fast note repeats) with velocity and speed ramps, plus per-note chance and frequency.
- Block operations: copy, cut, paste and multi-edit several notes at once.
Workflow, stage use and accessibility
List menus become icon grids, two views (Chain Config and Chain Manager) tidy up chain management, and a stage-oriented Performance view lets you annotate, reorder and clone configuration snapshots. Contextual help now appears on screen (long press on ALT on V5, on the layer encoder on V4). Finally, ZynVoice adds text-to-speech navigation for visually impaired musicians; it needs a second audio interface to keep announcements off the main output.
New engines
| Engine | What it is |
|---|---|
| Vaporizer2 | Hybrid wavetable, additive and subtractive synth |
| Ultramaster KR-106 | Roland Juno emulation |
| OB-Xf | Modernised continuation of the open-source OB-Xd, inspired by the Oberheim OB-X |
| Airwindows | Large collection of effects |
| NAM (updated) | Neural amp modelling, now with A2 model support |
There is also a MIDI pattern library (chord progressions, drum patterns) and one-click packages from the web interface: SFZ and SF2 banks, kits and loops, 45 so far. On the sampler side, samplv1 becomes the recommended engine, LinuxSampler is limited to GIG files and the old ZynSampler becomes a plain audio player. The mixer gains pre-fader listening and A/B mixing.
The project demonstrates the launcher on video:
Who it is for, what it costs, what it competes with
Who it is for. Zynthian V4 and V5 owners first: the update turns the expander into a proper session groovebox. Gigging keyboard players get the Performance view, and anyone building their own Raspberry Pi unit gets a complete system image.
What it costs. The update is free, as an SD card image linked from the announcement. For new hardware, the official store lists the Zynthian V5.1 kit at €395 and the assembled unit at €540. The V5.1 takes a Raspberry Pi 5 or 4.
What it competes with. Few devices play the same fully open game. Critter & Guitari’s Organelle runs Pure Data patches, and MOD Audio’s Dwarf runs LV2 plugins as a pedalboard. Zynthian stands out for the breadth of its synth catalogue and, with Vangelis, for an integrated sequencer and clip launcher. The trade-off is the project’s own: a machine you configure, and should be happy to. For a closed groovebox comparison, see the OP-XY OS 1.2.0 update, and for the open-source angle, Beads going open source. Every update we follow lives in Firmware Updates.
