We’ve got used to Tone2 releasing excellent plugin synths, but now it’s offering something a bit different. NanoHost is a slimline host application that can load your favourite VST synths and turn them into standalone, playable instruments. What’s more, it’s free.
When we say free, we really mean it: you don’t have to register and you can share the software with others if you wish. What’s more, NanoHost doesn’t even have to be installed - it can run from a USB stick or good old CD if you wish.
Other things to note are that no plugin-scanning is required, latency is said to be super-low, and, because the software is so small, load times should be extremely fast. The output of a plugin can be recorded to a WAV file, and NanoHost can even create random patches for you. There’s compatibility with 32-bit plugins, too.
You can find out more and grab NanoHost on the Tone2 website. It runs on Windows and Linux with Wine.