I don't have a ton to spend, up to $150 as stated, but I really need a good synth.

Right now I do acoustic music, and I'll continue to do so. I don't do trance, dance, trip-hop, house, or anything electronic. Mostly just acoustic.

But I'm in need of a good synth that can make pads and atmospheres and some string like sounds. Mostly filler sounds, but some lead. It doesn't have to be physical modelling.

I've read alot about Rhino, and I've been impressed with the reviews and what seems to be enormous flexibility. And patches seem to be constantly released for it, as well as wave forms, etc. I'm really leaning towards this, unless someone can tell me something better or why I shouldn't get Rhino.

Anyway, does anyone have any ideas? Is Rhino a worthy option for this? What else should I consider? If you have any more specific questions about what I'm looking for, please ask, and I'll answer. Thanks for all your helps guys. Cheers!

Koolkeys

Well you cant go wrong with Rhino, thats for sure.
ImpOSCAR is another good choice for a synth.
The Dash Bundle with EvE has some outstanding sounds (with the new SoundSet)... I dont think you could go wrong with any of these...

EVE is the ultimate pad device for its price.


(that even rhymes, how can you go wrong )

EVE is tops (and koolkeys I know you'll appreciate--it even sounds biblical!!)

The whole DASHsignature line is a good package deal still, I think.

Tom

Rhino rocks my world.. probably the best soft-synth I've bought, above VAZ 2010 and most everything else.. BUT.

You'd better have a host with freeze or be prepared to bounce, it's a CPU hog. Oh, and be prepared to spend hours lost in the presets.. not in a BAD way.. but the damn thing is soooooo powerful it's scary.

I do soundtrack/new-age/jazz/ambient/atmospheric and I could NOT do what I want without either Rhino or about US$5K in hardware synths and samplers. Rhino is good for sound design, which you may not care about though.

White Noise Additive is decent for the price, does some excellent pads, and works well on mid-spec PCs (like my poor lame 2.53Ghz P4 system).

Download all the demos and try them! Buy the best, lose the rest.

Get Superwave P8, Crystal, Synth 1, all capable of Pads, Strings, and Leads. All free too.
Good Luck

Hey koolkeys, interesting choice

I like EVE quite a bit but Rhino is unbelieveable for it's price and meet all the criteria.

For $150 you might be able to find VirSyn's CUBE, it's normally about $200 street price but it's an exceptional sounding synth and the most sophisticated.

For more analog-like sounds EVE might be better but from what I've seen in another thread you can get VirSyn TERA 2 for $160 and that is about as deep as you can get without going the Reaktor route. It's also multitimbral as is CUBE. I think things like that matter. As for TERA 2, I can't think of anything under $200 that comes close, plus they are always working on new ideas at VirSyn.

Check the other thread, TERA 2 is usually about $230 so you'd be getting a bargain in your price range and one of the most flexible synths - period.

VAZ sounds great but unless you go the modular route which is expensive I'd pass. VAZ MOD 3 is awesome sounding and very, very flexible but TERA 2 does mostly the same thing and is near your price point. Try the demo, it'll hook you. So will the 1000+ patches that come with it.

Eve - If you don't want it after 2 minutes of use with the demo I'd be very suprised. It truely is an amazing synth.

Or you could get one of ConcreteFX synth packs and have cash left over. Do not be put off by the interface design or the low price.

Mirage wrote:

Get Superwave P8, Crystal, Synth 1, all capable of Pads, Strings, and Leads. All free too. Good Luck

Knowing what I know now, if I was just starting out, I would get these synths first in order to work out what works for you. Then try demos of commercial synths before parting with the cash.

Mirage wrote:

Get Superwave P8, Crystal, Synth 1, all capable of Pads, Strings, and Leads. All free too.

And throw in ConcreteFX Ensembler and LightIndustry, both great freebies (thanks Jon!) Add these to Rhino and you should be set. Jon's got some good bundles too, for down the road if not for now.

If you like the vintage sound, you can't go wrong with Eve, either - but it's like the "anti-Rhino" (in a good way).

Doug

koolkeys
if you're a keyboard player at all, EVE will be a delight.
on the other hand, most everything has a demo, and I suggest you try these things out and see if they have a place in your music. I can't tell you how many things I've bought because of some sort of appeal, and haven't really been able to fit them in regardless of how great they sound.

EVE is a good choice, as is Rhino. Be on the lookout for Sytrus VST too which has a nice plucked mode.

The sound is the first thing I test to choose a synth.
I try the demo of minimoog V, and I am waiting for it A little more expensive than $150, but the sound, the polyphony, the modulation matrix, make me choose this VSTi.

The new Rhino (2.0) and a demo will be available soon. It will come with a new bank to show off what type of sounds are in the other sets and some selections from upcoming banks, also.

The big news is users can now have any .wav file as an osc waveform. Take a big CPU hungry sound and save it as a sample. Simply add it to your waveform folder with a text file and you have the same complex sound with low CPU drain.

Two other banks will be available upon release, also. One of DX7 imports and one using the new features. I think the update will be free. Stay tuned.

Have you looked at ensembler? And how about angelina? Try the demo.