So, can someone tell me what softsynth has the most possibilities. even if it's standalone.

Im talking pure brute knobs. and no stupid plugin things in, I just wanna tweak knobs till kingdom come.


-R bert

I'd hazard to offer that Vaz Modular has a ton of knobs to twiddle. It's also I think the most powerful virtual analogue softsynth out there.

If twiddling is your thing, you can't go wrong with a modular kit (Tassman, Reaktor, Bidule (not a lot of knobs exactly, but still lots to do), etc).

A less popular response might be Synthedit. Ignore the plugins out there if you hate them: just using it as a standalone, it has a lot of options to fiddle about with.

Cheers,
Steve

Robert Randolph wrote:

So, can someone tell me what softsynth has the most possibilities. even if it's standalone. Im talking pure brute knobs. and no stupid plugin things in, I just wanna tweak knobs till kingdom come. -R bert

Rhino would be my candidate. If Rhino didn't exist I'd probably say z3ta+ .

Another choice is Absynth, if it didn't have a reputation for bugs and quirks on some platforms.

Doug

another vote for rhino

you would have to settle for sliders instead of knobs, though. ive tried just about every synth demo out there, and rhino has got the most -- literally layers upon layers of adjustments; many of which are infinitely variable graphic spline envelops (as opposed to one dimensional knobs / sliders).

Virsyn TERA for sure.

When I heard the word "knobs" the first synth that came to my mind was RGC's Pentagon.

Quote:

Im talking pure brute knobs. and no stupid plugin things in, I just wanna tweak knobs till kingdom come.

FL Studio VSTi, you can construct there any kind of sounds you need. Even layerize various types of generators, for example an additive synth and a sf2 pad, or granulized sample, or sliced stuff, anything!, and in terms of automation is the winner.

SuperwaveP8 is the fattest sounding warm analog FREE vst out there! Oh and it has a lot of knobs too

lol, funny recommendations here...

tera
rhino
z3ta

cover the widest range of sounds with proven
quality. I especially like tera's drumsounds which
are usually a challenge for an "all-in-one"-synth.

reaktor emulates lots of synths/sounds and has more
than 1000 ensembles in the userlib - but it's
themost expensive of the a.m. synths.

regards, PM

Im with Dr.W, Virsyn Tera, best sounding softsynth out there, bar none, looks sexy and soon to be the most intuitive soft synth with the coming upgrade, ignore what the others suggest

CreepJoint wrote:

Im with Dr.W, Virsyn Tera, best sounding softsynth out there, bar none, looks sexy and soon to be the most intuitive soft synth with the coming upgrade, ignore what the others suggest

Tera has a different mix of features than Rhino or z3ta+. I considered it for the list, and if one is using a Mac, it would probably be one of my first choices.

As I already have z3ta+, Rhino, and Albino, Tera is my next lust.

Doug

you could have all of the above for the price of tera; then again, if cost matters not...

Tera has more knobs than any of them. And, it is also the deepest synth. The weakness it has is that it is so deep/complex that it is not for the faint of heart. But with Tera 2.0 ready to hit the streets, even that issue may be solved. The UI should be more accessible with 2.0

Is tera a closer match to something like triangle II or more like crystal?

I really hate trying to program sounds with crystal, but absolutely adore triangle.. an for that matter the 02sm grok, that one is just amazingly fun for me (perhaps because im used to olg korg/roland synths?)... wishing to branch out to something big.

Price isnt a matter really, i shouldnt be spending anymore money... and since i dnot make money using these synths I think its not in my best interest to go for too much. If its gonna give me 100's of hours of fun and inspiration i dont mind dropping a few hundred on it... but it better be damn good since im probably not evenin the position to spend 20$ after last nights spending spree... whichi should have done either lol.

-R bert

just save yoursef some money and get rhino. the best overall compromise, and in fact the best sounding anyway. i used to love virsyn last year, but, and i'm not talking version2, i'm talking what tera is now, i wouldn't even classify it in the same LEAGUE as rhino. it's just no comparison.

plus, to say again, rhino is less than half price, and downloadble with a file used to turn the demo into the full version. with tera you'll need a cd, etc etc

If you like T2, you'll love z3ta. Download the demo, at least...

Tera is uberpowerful, but it's approaching Reaktor...

Robert Randolph wrote:

.... I really hate trying to program sounds with crystal, but absolutely adore triangle.. -R bert

If you adore Triangle, you'll be orgasmic over Pentagon (Triangle's big brother).

Incidentally, it's rumored that the original name planned for Pentagon was Obi-Wan K-nobby, but George Lucas put the kibosh on that.


JD

Quote:

So, can someone tell me what softsynth has the most possibilities. even if it's standalone.

the question focuses on possibilities, not necessarily knobs. by possibilities i would think means greatest variety of sonic possibilities.
it may never be as varied as one might hope. every synth at its base has a characteristic sound, but

sight unseen and new, but looking at the web site etc, I'd go with the new VirSyn Tera 2.0.
analog, fm, pm, wavetables

or Reaktor Sessions with all those ensembles available one should expect a wide variety

maybe new Camel morphing synth since neither of the above manages morphing

Ive been toying with z3ta+ for a while now (since my last post) and i really love the sounds, but it is a bear to program... i hate clicking the mouse to move through options and menus... irrational perhaps, but thats hwo i work

Rhino... time to look into that, who makes it again?

-R bert

I have to recommend VAZ Modular also- manyy have mentioned Tera/Rhino/Z3ta- those synths are versatile- and they have a multitude of generation possibilities- but a truly versatile synth must also be able to patch a mutitude of SIGANL PATHS for audio/control: ie a MODULAR- and at the end of the day Rhino/Tera/Z3ta only offer a few basic variations on the olde VCO>VCF>VCA patch scheme-

so for real versatility in generation AND signal circuit design- I would recommend any of the more powerful modulars- VAZ/ Tassman/ and Reaktor

Robert Randolph wrote:

Rhino... time to look into that, who makes it again?

Big Tick does.

Changing your name is a neat trick...

OT, I know...

Robert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wrote:

Ive been toying with z3ta+ for a while now (since my last post) and i really love the sounds, but it is a bear to program... i hate clicking the mouse to move through options and menus... irrational perhaps, but thats hwo i work

Cute new name

For the z3ta+ choices with the solid triangle beside them (like WAVE), if you click the triangle, a menu pops up, you don't have to left/right click to step through them.

The ones with the up-and-down triangles (like TRANSP) seem to only step with left/right click.

Doug

again ot, but:

Quote:

I am now accepting donations for RobOS now with C64 optimizations.

If you want detailed control Reaktor is the way to go - if you miss a knob just add it yourself... or you can build your synths from ground up... or use any of >1000 synths in the user library...

I tried Eve VSTi last night and it sounds really freaking nice, lots of sounds to make, and easy to program but not as expansive as I want. Rhino is too uhh... modern? Im gonna go gander at vaz modular.



-R bert

Rob and the amazing changing name...

it's like reality TV

Robert consorts with various contestants and puts some aside to try out others, while out and out rejecting some.

if we're here to be entertained we need more details than --'too modern'
the comment on Eve was good, concise, but descriptive

who's still in the running?
are the z3ta shortcuts enough to put it back in contention?
oh, the drama.

kvr could sponsor this sort of event once a week or so
a few weeks ago there was that fellow looking for a certain effect (I can't remember which) and he claimed he'd tried them all, and a lot of people got involved sending in new suggestions. he rejected them all, but if he'd offered just a little commentary on the relative qualities of each from his deeply opinionated mind, well that's info-tainment, as they say.

hahah. captainmark, and he had every right... vst compressors that are decently usable are damn hard to find.

I must sya I havent tried them all, only about 3 so far... and I really do enjoy z3ta, it will take a large change in how my mind works when trying to acheive a specific idea.


-R bert

p.s. Ill change my name back by end of day hehe

I'm not changing mine back until you've changed yours back.