I want you to hear one of Erv Wilson's scales within a minute of installing, so this page is the shortest path to sound. Everything here uses the built-in "simple synth," which I include so you can audition scales and confirm your other synths are in tune. It is deliberately basic, and the real payoff comes later, when Wilsonic retunes the synths you already love inside your DAW.
1. Open the right app
The installer puts two applications on your machine, and their names differ by one word:
- Wilsonic — has the built-in simple synth. This is the one that makes sound by itself.
- WilsonicController — a MIDI effect for driving other instruments. It makes no sound on its own, by design.
Open Wilsonic, the one without "Controller" in the name. If you want the full story on the difference, read Which Wilsonic Is Which.
2. Play the keyboard
Click the colored keyboard along the bottom of the window with your mouse or trackpad. Each key you click plays through the simple synth. On a touchscreen you can play the keys directly.
If you have a MIDI keyboard attached, open Options → Audio/MIDI Settings and enable it as a MIDI input, and then it will play the simple synth too.
3. If you hear nothing
- Confirm you opened Wilsonic, not WilsonicController.
- Open Options → Audio/MIDI Settings and check that your audio output device is selected.
- Check your system output volume.
If it is still silent after that, please tell me about it on GitHub Issues with your OS version and what you tried, because that likely means I have a bug or another gap in this manual.
4. Pick a scale
- Open the Scale Design menu at the top left.
- Choose Wilson's Garden.
- Step through the Curated Presets menu and play as you go. These are scales curated from Erv Wilson's designs, and it is the best first tour of what the app is about.
5. Where to go next
The simple synth is a reference tone. The reason Wilsonic exists is to retune your other synths — every MTS-ESP-aware synth in your DAW follows Wilsonic's tuning in real time, with no routing or setup. That is covered in MTS-ESP and Your DAW. If you do not have a synth that supports MTS-ESP yet, Surge XT is free, sounds great, and supports it natively.