I have a small dilemma in which of the above two to purchase.
I am looking to get the best synth for delicious P - A - D - S.
Of particular interest are choral-type ooohs and aaahs and anything that sounds liek that.

They are similarly priced and money isn't really an object (as long as Monsieur Swizzle's arm can be twisted )
Am aware that Atmosphere can't be demoed which ticks me off. Also aware of the large installation requirements and this ain't a problem.
Have lsitened to the audio demos on the site, but it's not quite the same as a hands-on demo, is it ?
Have played with Absynth 1 in the past and was impressed by the pad-ness of it.

Oh look, I am raving on again..... Basically, which gives the nicest pads?
I am into ambient / electronica so pads form the bulk of my audio diet.

Many zangs

if money isn't really an object then i'd go for both..

i own both and wouldn't part with either.. the sounds from both are beautiful.

absynth was even used by Eric Persing to make some of those wonderful atmosphere noises

atmosphere ..what a patch set.. it's huge.. i can't see myself ever getting fed up with what it can do

but.. to have the freedom of being able create your own from scratch.. well absynth wins for me .. hands down..

go for both.. they really are a killer combo

This is a common question, and fitch's advise is the best route IMHO.

Here's more discussion/comparison on the same subject:

http://www.northernsounds.com/ubb/NonCGI/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic; f=3;t=005563#000000

BTW...ABsynth is more of a pure synth, without vocal samples....which Atmosphere has quite a lot of....they are more in the paddish "Enya" ooh/ahh vein and vocal FX than a classical-type choir though.

Good luck deciding!

All the best,

spectrum

PS. You can demo Atmosphere at many dealers around the world...more are being added every day.

I agree with Fitch but if it had to be one or the other my leaning
right now would probably be for Atmosphere .

Quote:

Am aware that Atmosphere can't be demoed which ticks me off

Well actually it can be demoed in store , if you are in the UK you
can email Adrian Clarida @ support@timespace.com he is the support
mannager for Time and space who are the UK distributer for Atmosphere

Adrian will gladly tell you the nearest store to you where you can
try a demo of Atmosphere

Raven / Spectrum,
when you say that Atmosphere CAN be demoed I see what you mean in theory. BUT (and this story is gonna break your heart... )
I get up at 5, I go to work on the train to London, I work until 5pm then I catch the train home. I live in a small town where there are no such dealers.
So the only way I can get to demo the lovely Atmosphere is to take a trip to London at the weekend, just like I do every working day. Imagine that!! Another trip to London on my day off, when the last thing I want to do is climb into a Connex train AGAIN

So, as far as I am concerned I am not likely going to get to demo this beast.
I wouldn't worry too much about that though, coz I think that Atmosphere is the way to go at the moment - I have a track that is currently crying out for some vocal/choral/enya pads. I figure i get Atmosphere and nail that track and then add Absynth 2 nice and soon for the more "wierd" sounds.
What do ya say ?


Errr, I think I've had too much coffee again this morning judging by the length of my posts today

be aware that if you are looking for anything that bpm syncs up to your sequencer, atmosphere won't do the trick. Part of the problem is obviously it relies on inflexible samples, but the other bit is there is still no lfo sync for filter or panning effects. very strange.

absynth is nice, but maybe 75% of the sounds it produces are possible with free Crystal. i haven't heard absynth 2 yet so maybe its a decent improvement. I know they got some sort of sampling in there in v2, but then again crystal loads wavs and sf2's, and can wavesequence or do other cool stuff with them.

but for straight up, non-tempo synced pads, atmo is probably the way to go... a LOT of variety.

Hey Madame Swizzle,

Maybe there be a dealer near your place of work that you could visit
lunchhour/after work

BTW spectrum is an expert on Atmosphere, well actually he is the genious that created it

Hey Raven,
I know who Mr Spectrum is and I know his alias Mr Persing is

I was frequenting KvR when Atmosphere et al were in development and everyone was watching with bated breath
It's only now that I got me a job down the strip joint earning enough cash to afford such aural delicacies as Atmosphere, Absynth and the like

Tatty-bye

Quote:

I got me a job down the strip joint

Quote:

It's only now that I got me a job down the strip joint earning enough cash to afford such aural delicacies as Atmosphere, Absynth and the like

Well now you have to put your pic in your sig

Madame Swizzle wrote:

II am looking to get the best synth for delicious P - A - D - S. Of particular interest are choral-type ooohs and aaahs and anything that sounds liek that.

First, I would like to welcome you as a new member to KvR.
It is always difficult when someone asks for advice on what to purchase since it is such a subjective and personal decision. I guess we can just share our experiences with the software you are considering purchasing.
You have done a good job zeroing in on what type of sound you are looking for.
I have Atmosphere and like you had to decide from the audio demos and not a hands on demo. The audio demos serve to show the broad range of the instrument. Atmosphere is full of lush, gorgeous pads, many which create soundscapes the longer the pad is sustained. It is also capable of short edgy sounds.
You have the option of combining sounds and of course filtering. I believe Abysnth requires more in depth programming to alter sounds. Out of the box Atmosphere offers a large palette of sounds. I found the Abysnth demo presets to be exciting on their own but I had trouble finding a place for them in any songs.
In conclusion, from your repeated emphasis on the term "pads" I vote for Atmosphere, I really don't think you would be disappointed.

Yessir, I think Atmosphere is the way to go
Thanks for the advice on this.
Swiz

90% of everything i do is absynth created ...

imo , absynth2 sounds even better ...
improved filters , sample driven oscillators , granular sampling ...

it's not for eveyone , and it still has some bugs a/o 2.01 release ...
if you want instant gratification , atmosphere will satisfy you ...

if you want to explore serious sound design , i recommend absynth ...

check my thread in the cafe , " looking for mars " ...
all absynth generated , using about 50% stock presets , 50% custom patches ...
( piano NOT absynth )

good luck ...
and welcome to KvR ...

Atmosphere does make beautiful noises,but the lack of programmablity(as well as the price)'s kept me from getting it.
Absynth 2,OTOH,is a tweaker's paradise;especially now that you can save whole channels of oscillators/filter/ring mod and import them into other patches.
It would be nice to have both,but Absynth fit my needs more(besides,it was a semi-cheap upgrade ).
ew

I own both, and hands down, I'd say get Atmosphere. It's the pad machine dream! Absynth is cool, but I know what I reach for more often to find pads.

Devon

If I had to choose 1, I'd say absynth. You can make sounds with this which you just can not hear anywhere else.

Atmosphere is great too (I own both). I really don't see why people think it's expensive? For over 3gb of sounds it is an absolute steal. It is also a lot more flexible than some people make it out to be (although tempo sync'd LFO's are long overdue).

If you can afford it, buy both

OT - America may have its problems, but at least our strippers can sleep until 6.

Well, on Friday I took the plunge and rode on the Underground to Tottenham Court Road on the offchance that Turnkey would have a copy of Atmosphere.
Sure enough, they didn't ! Nor will they have a copy for about two weeks !!

OT that place is one of the most stressful shops I've ever been in. It's like the January sales in there and, boy have you got to be a pushy mother to get some service

I guess that if I wanna indugle in Atmosphere, I'm gonna have to order online and take my chances

Madame Swizzle wrote:

I have a small dilemma in which of the above two to purchase. I am looking to get the best synth for delicious P - A - D - S. Of particular interest are choral-type ooohs and aaahs and anything that sounds liek that.

I use atmosphere, never tried the new absynth 2.0. Personally I'd go for atmosphere because I'm more productive with the presets (I'm not very good at programming softsynths).

Also, check out softsynth big tick angelina if you are into pads and landscapes.

Mach

How about Angelina? It's supposed to be very good and doesn't cost you an arm and a leg.

I had quite a considerable play with Angelina. She's lovely, ain't she ?
We just didn't get along - couldn't produce anything satisfactory

I do own Rhino and that thing has squeezed out some lovely pads. It's just such hard work to program - or maybe I have not talent in that area (more likely... ).
I also own Spacesynth, which has served me well with its pads, but they are now sounding kinda samey and I need to expand my sonic pad palette so avoid sounding the same in each track. Gotta keep the listener on its toes throughout the album

Atmosphere looks to be the best, as I don't have a lot of time to get involved in sound design (believe me I'd like to, but it's all I can do to find a couple of hours a week to write the music...sigh!!)

Thanks for all the input

Hi Swiz,

Sorry aboout your wasted trip to Trunkey!
I amazed the guy behind the counter told you it would be 2 weeks before they would get anymore in stock, when they have weekly devilerys from us!!

Anyway, if you can email me direct with your details, I'll tell you the nearest store to your home that does have it in to demo, or maybe onne close enough to reach during your Lunch hour!
BTW, did you get to demo it at Turnkey?

Regards,

Adrian Clarida
Technical, Distribution
& Development Manager
___________________________

Just e-mailed you now !!
Thanks for the proactivity