Shortcircuit XT by Surge Synth Team is an open-source sampler plugin for macOS, Windows, and Linux, and it’s now in beta.

We have a lot of people to thank for the progress to this stage, not least of all, the Surge Synth Team for taking over Vember Audio’s Shortcircuit2 back in 2021.

We also need to look further back, to September 2018, when Claes Johanson, owner of Vember Audio, released the source code for Surge 1.6 under the GPLv3 license.

This move by Vember Audio led to Surge XT (one of the best free synth VSTs ever), today’s Shortcircuit XT news, and the general air of excitement whenever we hear anything from the Surge Synth Team.

I’m sure we’re all thankful for that chain of events.

While the Surge Synth Team still has some planned features to add to Shortcircuit XT, and there are bound to be some bumps/bugs along the way, what we can say for sure is that the sampler has come a long way since Shortcircuit2.

The sampler offers up to sixteen parts, each compatible with samples and multi-samples in various formats, including WAV, SFZ, and AIFF, with a simple drag-and-drop workflow.

Shortcircuit XT features several synth engines that you can use as dedicated instruments or alongside samples to create hybrid sounds.

In addition to the featured synth engines, Shortcircuit XT boasts extensive sound design and modulation options.

You have up to five envelopes, four LFOs, phasers, randomizers, filters, built-in FX, and an advanced modulation matrix.

You also have a comprehensive mixing console.

Another feature that might interest users looking to maximize performance potential is MPE compatibility, which lets you get the most out of your MPE controllers.

It’s still relatively early days, but Shortcircuit XT has already come a long way.

The Surge Synth Team has added some notes to the GitHub page for users/testers to consider before/during use.

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Last Updated on February 2, 2026 by Tomislav Zlatic.