SnareRush

Go on give us a snare rush. rush. rush. rush. rush. shur

SnareRush is a synthetic snare drum instrument inspired by analogue drum circuitry, expanded with software modelling. No samples, every hit is generated in real time from oscillators, envelopes, filters, and noise.

Powerful control for sculpting dynamics and tone, this is an over-powered swiss army knife for snare drum and percussive sound design.

SnareRush is in beta and is likely to change a lot!

SnareRush plugin interface

Features

  • Dual-oscillator body synthesis with pitch sweep, waveshaping, and phase modulation
  • Click transient and secondary oscillator with independent decay and tuning
  • Multi-mode noise source - Noise9, Velvet, Crakl, and Flip - for the snappy wire character
  • Per-section envelope shaping with curve controls
  • Stereo spread via an independent noise tap
  • Subtle snappy swell on repeated hits, like real hardware capacitor accumulation
  • Envelope ceiling, choke, and output clipper
  • Keyboard tracking and deterministic noise mode for repeatable renders
  • Microtonal options
  • Real-time waveform display and VCA envelope visualisation

Download & Install

macOS

The easiest way to install SnareRush on macOS:

1. Open Terminal

Use Launchpad to open Terminal (or search for it in Spotlight).

2. Copy and paste this command

3. Press Return

Wait for it to finish. You'll see a success message when done.

4. Restart your DAW and rescan plugins

If your DAW was running during the install, a full restart is needed — a rescan alone won't reload a plugin that's already in memory. Formats: VST3, Audio Unit (AU)

1. Download and unzip the archive

Download SnareRush macOS zip

Then unzip and copy the plugins into your user plugin folders. Remove any previous copy first — copying over an existing bundle can leave your DAW's plugin scanner thinking nothing changed:

rm -rf ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/SnareRush.vst3 ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/SnareRush.component
cp -R "SnareRush.vst3" ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/
cp -R "SnareRush.component" ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/

2. Remove the macOS quarantine flag

xattr -rd com.apple.quarantine ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/SnareRush.vst3
xattr -rd com.apple.quarantine ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/SnareRush.component

3. Re-sign locally so Gatekeeper accepts the plugin

codesign --force --deep --sign - ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/SnareRush.vst3
codesign --force --deep --sign - ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/SnareRush.component

SnareRush is ad-hoc signed rather than notarised with an Apple Developer ID. On macOS 14 and later, Gatekeeper blocks downloaded ad-hoc binaries even after quarantine removal. The codesign step re-applies the signature locally, which macOS treats as trusted. This is a one-time step.

4. Restart your DAW and rescan plugins

If your DAW was running during the install, restart it before rescanning — a rescan alone won't reload a plugin that's already in memory. If the AU still doesn't appear, reboot macOS.

Formats: VST3, Audio Unit (AU)

Windows

Download for Windows

1. Close your DAW if it's running — Windows locks a loaded plugin file, so updating SnareRush while the DAW is open can fail.

2. Unzip the archive.

3. Copy SnareRush.vst3 into your VST3 plugin folder, replacing any existing copy:

C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\

4. Start your DAW and rescan plugins.

Format: VST3

Roadmap

Todo and possible features

If there is something specific you'd like to see, submit a feature request at https://github.com/ryandorward/SnareRush-releases/issues or get in touch

Credits

SnareRush is free to use.

Built with JUCE, the open-source C++ framework for audio software.

Circuit research drawn from the Sound on Sound Synth Secrets series and the work of Electric Druid on vintage drum synthesis.

Inspiration taken widely from the sound design, DSP, electronic community. Thank you to all the forums, discussions, and sharers of knowledge.