I know this type of question has been asked a million times - but my computer suffered a corrupted OS last week and I'm reformatting tomorrow ...

SOOO, I am trying to expand my music-making interface and get some MORE () VSTi's and VST fx for dedicated purposes. Here's what I got already (commercial ones only I'm listing) and here's what I need:

Drums: Battery

Leads: z3ta+

Pads: Sonic Synth (need something else here .. anything comparable to atmosphere but cheaper...?)

Arps: z3ta+

Bass: Tau Pro, PlasticZ

ROMpler: Sonic Synth

Sampler: (need something here)

Reverb: Ambience, (need somthething here as a good, LOW-cpu track reverb)

Mastering: need something here

FX bundle: (need some good general fx - the ones in SX just don't cut it)

Unique synths (for lack of better term:)): (need something here - alpng the lines of CronoX, Absynth, etc)

This is all in Cubase SX, BTW. Maybe something like Fruityloops, which I used to use back in the day on a friend's computer would do me some good.

Umm am I missing anything? I don't have many commercial VSTi's, and didn't list the free ones I use.

---> I AM looking to expand my commercial VSTi and VST sound base - add a couple in whatever category besides the ones that I need.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance!

-LZ

I'll only comment on things I have experience with. Much trimming of your quote follows...

Lanstar Zero wrote:

Drums: Battery Leads: z3ta+ Pads: Sonic Synth (need something else here .. anything comparable to atmosphere but cheaper...?) Arps: z3ta+ Bass: Tau Pro, PlasticZ ROMpler: Sonic Synth Sampler: (need something here) Reverb: Ambience, (need somthething here as a good, LOW-cpu track reverb) Mastering: need something here FX bundle: (need some good general fx - the ones in SX just don't cut it) Unique synths (for lack of better term:)): (need something here - alpng the lines of CronoX, Absynth, etc) Maybe something like Fruityloops... -LZ

Drums: Find some sample CDs you like. I'm fond of acoustic drums so I picked up "Superloops 2000 Drums" for $50. I've been very pleased with it. Registered FL Studio comes had tons of electronic drum samples you can download, and you can easily butcher good acoustic samples with its excellent FX for more electric sounds.

Leads: z3ta is a good choice. If you like some grunge for your leads WASP has a great distortion circuit. reFX's upcoming new product (formerly JunoX2) should be interesting too.

Pads:
* Native Instruments Dynamo or Reaktor Session. All Native Instrument's stuff sounds wonderfull to me but these two are the only affordable ones...
* Ethereal 2 isn't the prettiest synth on the block, but it has tons of multipoint envelopes and lots of LFOs. It also has fat oscillators and easy-to-use additive synthesis. Onboard chorus, delay, and phasor are capable though I find the reverb muddy. Extremely capable synth for $40.
* SimSynth Live VSTi has a very thick sound too with a distinctive resonance circuit. It has particularly nice sounding onboard reverb and EQ. A phasor and delay are thrown in too. Great for pads or resonant bass and simple to program. Needs a little more modulation flexibility.

Arps: I'd suggest VAZ Plus VSTi. Very flexible analog style sequencer. And a very "playable" arpeggiator. Tons of modulation possibilities. Unison mode gives a monster stacked tone.

Bass: PlasticZ has that allpowerfull low-end. Never tried Tau Pro. Wasp is killer too for bass. Be sure to get the nanobass samples from modarchive.com

Sampler: VSampler3 looks nice with its multipoint envelopes. If you don't need velocity-crossfading, FL Studio' sampler is dead easy and sounds good.

Reverb: FL Studio's reverb is quite smooth. It was designed by Ultrafunk. Another option is Sonic Foundry's directX reverb. I think you can buy them directly, but I'd rather just get them all by picking up a copy of Acid Pro from Guitar Center for $100.

Verb, Mastering and FX Bundle: Waves Native Power Pack

Unique synths:
Xphrase looks amazing.

Not really a synth but FL Studio is definately a powerfull addition. You have a lot to explore though in order to reap the benefits. The TS404 is the included monophonic bass synth that has the same engine as the WASP (mentioned previously). The Granualizer works great in conjunction with freeware Coagula for making weird pads. The vocoder is top notch, too. The included 3xOSC isn't that exciting when you first play with it. It starts looking better when you realize there's an envelope with tension for Amp, Filter, Resonance, and Pitch and a tempo-synced LFO for each of those plus panning. After you figure out you can use the MIDI pitch-shift delay for pitch-shifted doubling, the stereo detune knobs, the random phase knob, and the SVF filter, it starts to sound a lot better. Then later you figure out how to layer multiple 3xOSCs and the fun really kicks in. Eventually, you start automating every knob in site (and you can do just that) and apply tons of FX. That's just the surface, though. Internal controllers, per-note filter settings... it can get pretty deep. The upcoming release will have FL Keys (pianos, harpsichords, etc) and a version of reFX slayer too.

Let me put it this way... I'd never spend this much time to type about any other software!

Lanstar Zero wrote:

I know this type of question has been asked a million times - but my computer suffered a corrupted OS last week and I'm reformatting tomorrow ... Sampler: (need something here) .... Unique synths (for lack of better term:)): (need something here - alpng the lines of CronoX, Absynth, etc) ... Any ideas?

Sampler: I use VSampler when I want to go beyond what FLS' internal sampler does. Plays soundfonts, wav's, Akai & LM-4 drumkits. I'm sure there's more sophisticated samplers, but I'm not a sophisticated musician yet (-: Vsampler3 is coming out soon

Unique synths: Rhino. Step-sequencer arpeggiator, 6 oscillators, FM matrix, multi-point envelopes, additive synthesis to generate new waveforms, wave-shaping... Cronox2 is a good choice too, but from a different perspective. I have it (Linplug bundle) but admit I seldom use it.

I didn't see keys in your post, I'm assuming you're using sonic synth and/or freebies (mda piano, dirtbag, etc) for those. If you're using FLS, then the 4.12 upgrade coming out (it's in beta now) comes with Fruity Keys. Very powerful as a VSTI, I use it for my host.

Doug

Lanstart Zero quoth Pads: Sonic Synth (need something else here .. anything comparable to atmosphere but cheaper...?)

I assume you've got Crystal?

Arps: z3ta+

Anything Vaz. Energy/Pro/XT

Sampler: (need something here)

For 'accurate' playback of samples, or for mangling?

Reverb: Ambience, (need somthething here as a good, LOW-cpu track reverb)

Silverspike?

Mastering: need something here

Voxengo's stuff.

FX bundle: (need some good general fx - the ones in SX just don't cut it)

SpinAudio for delay-based effects.

Unique synths (for lack of better term:)): (need something here - alpng the lines of CronoX, Absynth, etc)

Reaktor. Tassman.

OK, thanks guys! Good stuff to think about!

Vaz Plus definitely looks like its on my to-buy list.

I actually also need a more simple, standard VA - and I like the sound of the Synapse synths, so it looks like Scorpion is on my list.

Silverspike's reverb looks the best option.

I DID like Rhino alot when I tried it - and that could fill the "unique synth" and "pad synth" categories. So I'll add that...

Voxengo's stuff looks good for mastering to start off with. Maybe i'll add Ozone 2 later on.

SpinAudio looks good, but what else for non-delay based fx?


Thanks! I'll be thinking some of this over, and triying out some demos.

-LZ

Non-delay based effects are fairly well-covered by the freeware stuff, IMHO.

The 'high-end' of distortion plugins (ie Amp simulation) is kinda busy; Amplitube seems to be a fave, but its expensive. Trash as well. And Revalver for a cheaper, more generic sound.

Dont forget the OhmBoyz, either. QuadFrohmage is one of the most flexible filter plugins out there, Predatohm is a great (non-amp) distortion, and Mobilohm is the phaser to spend money on.

Other filters to consider : ZapFilter and SuperCamelPhat

Generic 'effects bundle' : Reaktor

But effects are one area where you can save a few bucks and still get some of the best stuff out there. Cyanide2 and SupaPhaser will do more than enough distortion and phasing for most people...

Arp - Another voice here for Vaz. It has the sound that is perfect for arps. It cuts through and has some life. One of the most analog sounding synths for arps that I have heard.

Pads - ABSynth, FM7 (some surprisingly good pads for FM)

Special sounds - Rhino (I use it for sounds you don't hear in hardware)

Sampler - Kontakt and get the cross grade to SonicStation.

Filler - Albino.

Robert

Quote:

I DID like Rhino alot when I tried it - and that could fill the "unique synth" and "pad synth" categories. So I'll add that...

Score one for Big Tick! (Rhino)
Minus one for Jonathan (Ethereal2)

I think it's Ethereal's GUI. It's better than the old one but it still doesn't make me say "kick-ass!"... I much prefer Ethereal's additive synthesis and the sound of its waveforms. Rhino having been out longer is more stable, though...

Ignore me if necessary... I'm just thinking out loud.
Also ignore my superflous use of smileys