I have a $100 and want a deep synth that I won't grow out of for a very long time. I like synths with very good FX, clean GUIs, lots of pad sounds, filter resonance that doesn't squeal when cranked. I'm seeking something that has complex routing. Thoughts?

rhino

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I was going to say Discover2, but I forgot the price of Rhino.

I've never used it, but folks here love it, and the specs look tasty.

cheers

dw

vaz 2010 or vaz+

If you prefer a more traditional synth architecture, you could look at LinPlug Delta III, or Pentagon 1.

jzero wrote:

I have a $100 and want a deep synth that I won't grow out of for a very long time. I like synths with very good FX, clean GUIs, lots of pad sounds, filter resonance that doesn't squeal when cranked. I'm seeking something that has complex routing. Thoughts?

I would wait and see what Sytrus is going to be like from ImageLine, I think that is going to be under $100 and by the looks of it is going to be very impressive.

The Pentagon is another synth I can recommend, Though very different concept to Sytrus.

Best regards,

Spe3d

:O)

I was going to say the same thing as Spe3d. I'm not totally sure, but I would assume that it will function as a native FL generator: meaning slides and all of the other features.

I also read that Tim Connardy is working on some of the presets, and pretty much anyone can tell you what he has done with other synths

I already know what I am going to be asking for, for Christmas. Sytrus

Rhino

Rhino. It's the best value for the money I've ever spent.

Fette Töle

I still don't think that I have found the sonic limits of rhino and I have had it for about a year now... its a great synth. I actually just tried the dash sig eve last night, and was pleasantly surprised. While the rhodes and wurly sounds are not quite realistic(I have both to compare to) you can get some amazingly lush and soulful pads and instruments with it, and the mellotron strings sound great as well.

For the price bracket - another vote for Rhino.

and another one for: RHINO

look at the updates man, `Tick is doing nothing else then making Rhino bigger and bigger....

Rhino!!

jzero wrote:

$100 (...) deep synth (...) very good FX (...) lots of pad sounds (...) complex routing (...)

you'll find all this in Rhino

I say what’s the harm in waiting for Sytrus as its due out very soon; here is the gui that was posted by JMC so you can get some idea about it from that:

http://www.kvr-vst.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27996&highlight=sytrus

Best regards,

Spe3d

:O)

you've simply provided rhino fans an opportunity to come forward.

try the demos. let your ears decide.

the rhino demo only works with the factory bank as far as I can recall, but just be aware that one of the great assets of this synth is the number and range of banks available. Tim Conrardy has 4 rhino banks now. His last one is not only cpu light, but a little more 'generic' while still revealing Tim's and rhino's personality. Big Tick has noted that Daniel is working on a set of 4 new banks -- available when???. Rhino's latest version has a beta sysex dx7 import function that needs a little user intervention on some envelopes, but that will be cleaned up in next version. Big Tick's also working on a feature to import sound fonts ala Crystal as a waveform base.
Big Tick's support and responsiveness and the fact that Tim C keeps coming back to it to create new banks says something about rhino's capacity to continually fascinate its fans.

Non conformist as I am - Rhino.

ksn wrote:

jzero wrote: $100 (...) deep synth (...) very good FX (...) lots of pad sounds (...) complex routing (...) you'll find all this in Rhino

Another vote for Rhino (although with the current exchange rate it set me back closer to US$120 when I bought it last month).

Great banks, great support, serious depth, multi-point envelopes, additive, FM, effects, etc.

If you want more like a traditional VA, Delta III or Pentagon I are good choices as well (I have Delta III).

Doug

At that price point, yep, I'd say Rhino.

You know I have not got Rhino yet and reading through this lot makes me want to buy it eeeeek!

Maybe I should have another look at the demo

Best regards,

Spe3d

:O)

I think Discovery is an amazing synth at that price point, and I reccomend it.

I'll agree with Rhino though - that's one hell of a synth for the money. It depends on the type of synth you're looking for. What type of synthesis is the best for you. I find Discovery to have very high quality and I use it pretty often. I don't own Rhino, but I have tried the demo and thought it was great. See for yourself which will be the best for you to program and for music making.

Get the demo of Rhino than try than buy !

Pentagon or Rhino - best synths under $100 IMO

I'm with Laserguided on this one - if $100 is a hard limit, then Pentagon it is - amazingly thick, versatile, and powerful little toy that it is! The sucker does it all and the sound quality is excellent. It's even reasonable on CPU consumption.

If you can stretch a little, get Rhino - I used to download and play with a VSTi every week until I bought Rhino! Now when I need a particular sound, I know I can find something either very close or just what I want in one of the killer banks out for it! You'll need a fairly powerful machine to take full advantage of it, but it's fine on my P4 2.53Ghz. box. I haven't downloaded a VSTi in a couple of weeks now.. lol.. and no withdrawl symptoms (hee hee).

Before you do any of this, you might want to check out Crystal - it's *free* and it has some pretty decent patches. I end up using Rhino+Crystal in almost everything I've done lately (lol) since they seem to compliment each other fairly well. There are a number of excellent banks out for Crystal, too.

There's plenty out there to make anyone happy!

for versatility at that price point, [url]rhino[/url] -- after experimenting with various demos for four months, rhino is the one i picked as my do everything workhorse. but what i would really recommend is getting the demos and performing your own tests.

in addition to rhino and whats already been mentioned in this thread, i feel compelled to add [url]hydra[/url] to your list; it is easy to overlook since it falls a tad short on versatility and VFM. But, some might consider hydras simplicity a virtue; and its uniquely powerful, punchy sound quality is second to none.

[url]sytrus[/url] is likely to be very good, because imageline sets very high standards for themselves. the trouble is, it is not here yet and more importantly (to me), they have no plans to support DX7 sysex load.

while i am on that subject, rhino's current beta DX7 import will make usable patches (with reasonable CPU load) out of the tens of thousands of patches available on the web. they will not sound as originally intended, however. ive learned that most do not care if "male choir" sounds like a clarinet -- (after all, its still useful as a clarinet). the trouble is, ive heard the original DX7 "male choir" sound, and damned if i am not going to restore it (and others) to its original glory !!!

Thanks for the feedback guys. I've been around Looptalk and here for a while so I've tried Rhino. While I love the multipoint envelopes, I've not been a fan of its FX. I'll definately give it another look, considering all the rave reviews.

Ok for a real steal check out the synth packs from ConcreteFX

http://www.concretefx.com/Download.htm

difficult to resist

Why buy one when you can have 4 for 100 bucks

for something different check out Brush synth, you get a comb filter effect and a synth for under 40 bucks

jzero wrote:

filter resonance that doesn't squeal when cranked.

Dunno about Rhino but you won't get that from Pantygone 1. If you want a man's filter you need HYDRA. It's maybe not as deep as others but with it's clever 3-op FM possibilities there is a lot more there than meets the eye. Try the demo.

IMO, it depends on what you are going to use it for, but I'll echo some of the same sentiments:
Workhorse/Leads - Delta III is great-sounding and very easy to use, and easy on the CPU. Itend to use this a lot.
Pads - Rhino is amazing for complex pads - a little heavy on the CPU, and a little steeper learning curve.
I also demoed Pentagon and was very impressed with its sound and versatility - definitely has a unique sound.
Tough decision!
God Bless
JB

Casio SK-1.

Best synth for the money.

-S.

and another vote here for.................






RHINO!

Pentagon is great, but I never got into it for some reason like I have with z3ta+, which is well worth the extra $50 if you can swing it.

I'll agree with Bones on Hydra though - it's pretty damn good I found after playing with the demo version.

Discovery is definately one hell of a nice synth top. It just sounds so pure to me. I'd demo Hydra and Discovery while your at it with Rhino (which I think is great as well)

Sorry, fellers, Discovery is no longer $100...its more like $129 now.

I've just downloaded the demo of Rhino and I must say it's absolutely amazing for ambient landscapes Probably my next 100€ will also go there, good recommendation guys...

Sahul

You're probalby sick of this by mow, but my vote goes to Rhino.
No question. No hesitation.