KVR :: Instruments » Any other recommendations for warm phat VA synth free or commercial [View Original Topic]
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TB4C - Sun May 13, 2012 3:28 am

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Hi everyone

Hope you are all well, I would like to know if you guys can give me suggestions to what phat Soft synths I can use for an 80's / 90's esque project that I am working on. I don't have a big budget and only have a Dual core 3ghz cpu, so Diva is not a consideration. While I know Saurus is another buzz word, but I am rather wary of it,. The synth needs to have a nice thick solid bass sounds to it.

Free or Commercial suggestions would be welcome.

Thank you very much!!

Regards

TB4C

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KBSoundSmith - Sun May 13, 2012 3:35 am

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Have you tried the new Diva version? It is lighter on the CPU with the new multi-thread option, which you'll notice primarily in Divine mode. And I'm running Diva on a Duo Core 2.53 GHz without any problems. Just have to bounce more often than with other plugins; it really isn't as much of an issue as people make it out to be.

edit: by the way, I've heard people praise Tyrell by U-he and Noisemaker (I think that's what it's called) by Tal for free options.

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darsho - Sun May 13, 2012 3:36 am

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Poly KB II

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ariston - Sun May 13, 2012 3:52 am

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Well, taking your limited budget into account, I'd say either Sawer on the commercial, or TAL-Elektro on the free side.

You might also want to pick up Computer Music, which has amassed quite a few killer freebies on the cover CD: Dune CM, PolyKB CM, the underrated but awesome Dominator, Alpha CM, Fabfilter One and on and on and on....

Don't demo Diva, though, because you might just find you won't want to live without it.

Why the caution about Saurus? It'd be a good alternative, and CPU isn't a concern.

edit: The Korg Legacy editions are also worth a shot, especially since you're going for the 80s thing. Mono/Poly is just 50 bucks.

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bronxsound - Sun May 13, 2012 3:57 am

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Dune is solid and 90's & 80's sounds are easily achievable. There's one in the Market section for sale atm.

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pocvecem - Sun May 13, 2012 4:09 am

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As suggested the Korg Mono/Poly is great.
I can strongly recommend u-he TyrellN6, it's freeware. Yes, it's hard on cpu for polyphonic synths, but for mono basses and sequences it's great.
Also you could look for a second hand NI Pro53, still sounding good and very light on CPU. Or a Melohman Minimomsta.

Cheers,
Gerald

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tehlord - Sun May 13, 2012 4:10 am

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That'll be mine, and yes I do recommend it as well. I'm just not using it that much. I'd also recommend the Emerge soundset from mcnoone on these forums, which is literally chock full of warm 80s/90s sounds as well as more up to date stuff as well.

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kbaccki - Sun May 13, 2012 4:10 am

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+1 each for Tyrell and Noisemaker... put those in your VST folder even if you don't have an immediate need for them.

For true "phat" check out Sytrus. No seriously, Image Line's Sytrus is a great sounding hybrid... while you're there check out Sawer and Toxic: http://www.image-line.com/documents/synths.html

U-he Zebra... excellent choice for all around quality and capability (IMO): http://www.u-he.com/cms/zebra

Audjoo Helix... If you want to save CPU cycles and still get killer sounds, this is the synth you need to buy: http://www.audjoo.com/Helix/HelixAbout.html

Synapse Audio Dune... another excellent choice: http://www.synapse-audio.com/dune.html

SynthMaster... another excellent choice: http://www.kv331audio.com

Then there's Lush-101, but that doesn't exist yet.

And so many more... That would be my personal list of must-check-outs... all of the above will run on an old P4, but obviously when you have complex patches w/ lots of filters in any synth, old hardware is going to limit you in terms of polyphony and # of instances. There are certainly ways to trim things back to get CPU cycles back... cutting back on oversampling (quality setting), jiggering some filter settings, changing voice counts/unisons, limiting number of notes played (e.g., instead of playing a 4-note 7th chord on a thick pad, just play the 3rd and 7th... it'll sound better anyway ), etc. etc.

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kbaccki - Sun May 13, 2012 4:21 am

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+10^6... and cheap! ($50USD!!!) Demo that bad boy, and if you get it be sure to pick up this soundset for 70's/80's/90's funktastitude... http://www.electric-himalaya.com/monopoly_funk_retrospective.html

Do check out the demos... http://www.electric-himalaya.com/demos/monopoly/StickyDuke.mp3

Nastiness.

Actually, $200 for the whole Korg bundle is a steal, IMO. Highly recommended.

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TB4C - Sun May 13, 2012 4:25 am

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Thank you everyone for your suggestions and time!! I really appreciate your suggestions and will investigate your recommendations!!!

Regards

TB4C

Ps. If you guyz wanna chat with me on facebook I am Winston Hulley

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Ingonator - Sun May 13, 2012 4:30 am

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Tactile Sounds Substance:
http://tactilesounds.blogspot.de/p/ts-substance.html

U-He TyrellN6:
http://www.u-he.com/cms/tyrelln6

PG-8X:
http://sites.google.com/site/mlvst0/


Ingo

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tehlord - Sun May 13, 2012 4:34 am

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Oh it's you.

I am teh Geoff

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nineofkings - Sun May 13, 2012 4:35 am

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In the free realm there's also GTG 44S, Charlatan, and Minimogue VA

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pocvecem - Sun May 13, 2012 4:39 am

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Got the Korg bundle (MS20 + controller, Polysix, Wavestation) at a blowout sale for 149 Euros in 2007. Then i got the updates to the Analog and Digital bundles (M1 + Mono/Poly). With those plugins you can cover most of 80s and 90s stuff. Just add a FM synth like FM7/8 (DX7, very important for 80s), something like Sampletank for sampled sounds (important: not too many multisamples) for 90s sound and you are almost there.
Just don't forget tons of gated reverb on drums.

No budget synth: Synth1
Almost no CPU, easy to program, solid sound, tons of patches. If someone would program a polished gui for it, it could be a selling hit even today (imho!).

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Peter999 - Sun May 13, 2012 5:26 am

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You too might check OP-X PRO-II which is on sale right now.

Comes with a whooping free library of 1'700 presets including many famous 80ies sounds and classic synth emulations.

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izonin - Sun May 13, 2012 5:35 am

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TubeOhm have a free mono version of their Anti-Transpirant.

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DramaNoMore - Sun May 13, 2012 5:37 am

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Kx-Modulad has amazing bass capacity. It's interface is a chalenge, but once you figure it out, the workflow becomes piece-of-cake. And, it's free.

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Xenos - Sun May 13, 2012 5:44 am

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Like others have said, Korg MonoPoly would be an excellent choice. It really is an underrated gem. Very, very versatile. It can do excellent vintage synth sounds and can also easily do ultra-modern textures as well. Plus it's light on the CPU and CHEAP, too.

Check it out here:
http://www.korguser.net/shop/software/

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TB4C - Sun May 13, 2012 5:45 am

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Thank you all once again.... Nice to see you MR.G !!!

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kbaccki - Sun May 13, 2012 6:05 am

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Almost forgot... grab free version of LinPlug Alpha here: http://www.linplug.com/alpha.html

Even if you don't go for the full version (which is another nice synth, BTW), you'll likely get use out of the freebie...

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TB4C - Sun May 13, 2012 6:24 am

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You guys have been very helpfull, Thank you once again!!!

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thecontrolcentre - Sun May 13, 2012 6:38 am

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You should try Poly-Ana ... my favourite VA, and she's on sale atm.

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Resonator63 - Sun May 13, 2012 6:48 am

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+1 on Poly-Ana

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breakmixer - Sun May 13, 2012 7:45 am

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Op-X Pro II
Synthix(if you can deal with the layer locking function, I couldn't so sold it)
PolyKB II
Synth Squad's Strobe
ACE(quite high CPU too)
Poly-ana(mega complex UI)

These above are the best I've heard along with Diva...

I'm also waiting on D16's Lush-101...

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Alfa210 - Sun May 13, 2012 7:58 am

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warm or phat basslines...

You can look at TAL Bassline or Quiver http://straightarrow.dk/quiver/

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donato - Sun May 13, 2012 8:02 am

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All the Xils Lab stuff is fantastic (XILS 3, PolyKBii, Synthex).

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ghettosynth - Sun May 13, 2012 8:10 am

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So the answer, it seems, is "whatever VA synth comes to mind, they're ALL PHAT"

Given that, then clearly the answer is simply the following two step process.

1) Buy CM magazine.

2) Stop. You were done at step 1.

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TB4C - Sun May 13, 2012 11:12 am

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Thanks everyone for replying to my post, your answers and inputs has been most valuable, I am definitly gonna work thru all the suggestions Tommorrow!!

Take care!!

TB4C

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C-note - Sun May 13, 2012 12:08 pm

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Sylenth - www.lennardigital.com

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braj - Sun May 13, 2012 12:18 pm

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+1!

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Mikelo - Sun May 13, 2012 12:39 pm

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Yep, I'll chime in with Korg Polysix and Mono/Poly too. Fantastic, thick sounding analog. Both sold at a great price. You can't go wrong. Seriously.

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JJBiener - Sun May 13, 2012 12:44 pm

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Poly-ana is a good synth, but it tends to be overly optimistic. But that could just be Forer effect.





Sorry for the puns.

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ruud07 - Sun May 13, 2012 12:50 pm

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+1 for OP-X PRO-II, you should really check out the audio clips on the SonicProjects website!

UltraAnalog and ImpOSCar2 can also deliver the sounds of the 80s and 90s.

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Sendy - Sun May 13, 2012 2:31 pm

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Poly-Ana seems to alias like the dickens even on the highest quality setting.. Funny thing is, it sounds gorgeous anyway. I wonder how much better it would sound if the oscillators were updated?

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IrionDaRonin - Sun May 13, 2012 3:05 pm

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Warm, fat, analog and free

-SQ8L
-Oatmeal
-Tyrell N6
-Krakli K700
-Deputy MK2
-KX-Synth-X16

I can tell.

Have a good day

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Resonator63 - Sun May 13, 2012 3:35 pm

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It's being updated.Don't know if the oscillators will be updated.
It'll be interesting to see how version 2 turns out though.
There's a thread about it here.
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=337172&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=polyana&start=0

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@midnight - Sun May 13, 2012 4:52 pm

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Well just something has aliasing free oscillators doesnt mean the synth wont have aliasing

Fabfilter claims their synths have "aliasing free oscillators" but guess what, the synths have noticeable aliasing in the very high end. Probably comes from the filters or something else im guessing.

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pheeleep - Sun May 13, 2012 5:57 pm

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+1 Sawer

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wwjd - Sun May 13, 2012 5:58 pm

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^^^ This.

Plus
Daedalus
http://www.omnitaur.se/

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Uncle E - Sun May 13, 2012 6:00 pm

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+1. -1 to all the Korg recommendations.

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Uncle E - Sun May 13, 2012 6:02 pm

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+1


They renamed it? I'm buying it whenever it comes out, guaranteed.

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Uncle E - Sun May 13, 2012 6:03 pm

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+1,000,000

It's the only instrument I miss after going Mac.

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braj - Sun May 13, 2012 6:03 pm

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Why -1 to the Korgs? i only hear good things about them.

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Uncle E - Sun May 13, 2012 6:25 pm

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Yes, everyone loves them, I really don't understand it. The sounds don't even inspire me a little bit. I own the original bundle and will probably never use it in anything.

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Shy - Sun May 13, 2012 6:25 pm

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Yes, I can, even though I have NO idea what you mean by "80s/90s esque project".
If this is "phat" enough for you, get The deputy Mark II.

If you go past definitions like "phat" and also care about features, check Aalto, Sonigen Modular, xhip, AnaMark, and if you mean stuff with samples, WaveStation.

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ghettosynth - Sun May 13, 2012 7:17 pm

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Really? Ok, so I get it, these threads are really read as "name a synth that either, someone else hasn't named, or that I really like"

SQ8L could hardly be considered "fat" or "warm." It's interesting, for sure, in a cold and reedy way.

If half (I'm being generous) of the synths in this thread are warm and fat then so is just about any synthedit plugin cranked out in an hour by bored teenagers.

And OPX-99? Cmon, Peter, I know that you've put a lot of sweat in it, and you go out of your way to demonstrate that it sounds very close to the OBX in many ways, but seriously, the OBX is a 12db/oct filter, warm perhaps, fat, not in the same way that Diva or Ace are fat.

To my ears the Korg plugins are THIN, not fat. I've yet to hear a poly6 emulation that captures the sound of the SSM-2044 effectively.

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Uncle E - Sun May 13, 2012 7:43 pm

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heh, yeah, you're right. I guess I was just +1'ing (or in that case +1,000,000'ing) anything that sounds good, given how many awful sounding synths are getting mentioned here.


Agreed.


It's not clear that the OP is asking for fat in the way that DIVA and ACE are fat. The OP needs to quit resisting DIVA.


Agreed. DIVA does better Korg than any of Korg's softsynths.

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chj - Sun May 13, 2012 8:16 pm

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80's 90's? = FM8
Warm, fat? = Sylenth
80's, 90's warm & fat? = Minimonsta, Diva

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kbaccki - Sun May 13, 2012 9:05 pm

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The OP isn't going to run DIVA on a 3GHz P4. At least not w/ any cycles left to do anything else.

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Mikelo - Sun May 13, 2012 9:32 pm

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Shame on you!
May you be spat on by a thousand camels and licked to death by a hundred pregnant goats!

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Uncle E - Sun May 13, 2012 10:03 pm

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You call that a curse, some people call it ecstasy.

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Mikelo - Sun May 13, 2012 10:27 pm

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Peter999 - Sun May 13, 2012 10:57 pm

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If you mean OP-X PRO-II with OPX-99: This one has not just a 12db filter, but a dual switchable 12/24db lp/hp/no state variable multimode filter, just to correct that. Only the basic OP-X has just a 12db filter.


Listen: OP-X PRO-II - Holiday Bass
Listen: OP-X PRO-II - Floyd Signs Bass
Listen: OP-X PRO-II - Fretless Bass
Listen: OP-X PRO-II - Minimoog Dry Bass
Listen: OP-X PRO-II - Minimoog Reverb Bass
Listen: OP-X PRO-II - Taurus Bass

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mcnoone - Mon May 14, 2012 12:27 am

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There are lots of warm and phat va synths.
I have something better though.
It's hot, and obeshe.
No need to name it, as you only want warm and phat

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George - Mon May 14, 2012 12:29 am

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Hello, any of our synths could do - http://www.discodsp.com/

I'd also recommend Asynth if you want to go the freeware route - http://antti.smartelectronix.com/

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replicant X - Mon May 14, 2012 6:08 am

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So many people mistake it.
In that age, thick solid bass sounds ware made by DX/TX.
Even minimoog is not solid like that especially low end.
SCI Pro-One is solid but not used so much.
Simple FM's modulated sounds are just like analog.
Sometimes a layer of analog and FM technique was used.

So you need FM and VA.
I recommend Saurus and DX10.
Because Saurus is the best analogue emu VA and DX10 is enough to fill low end.
If you can afford more, buy Saurus and Sytrus.
But Sytrus's GUI is terrible.

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breakmixer - Mon May 14, 2012 11:05 am

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Meant to be this month, seriously - read that on some forum, maybe D16's.

Yes, they renamed it to Lush-101 because of the soundalike name for a slang UK word for a toilet.

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Bronto Scorpio - Mon May 14, 2012 11:17 am

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Has no one mentioned ACE yet?
It's very affordable and is perfect for analog-ish sounds

And +1 for Tryell!

Cheers
Dennis

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Lotuzia - Mon May 14, 2012 1:09 pm

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You might want to test the Xils3 LE is a FULLY modular VA synthesizer, and it cost only ..... 30€

Then you can upgrade ar any time for its big brother Xils 3 with a special price.

Sound examples of the Xils 3 [url]here[/url] : two players with sounds in isolation in the first one, then minitracks in the second one. LtZ

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ghettosynth - Mon May 14, 2012 1:46 pm

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ACE is a cpu killer, I think that's why people haven't mentioned it. Actually, I thought that I did mention it, but maybe I deleted the part that did.

Don't get me wrong, I love ACE and Diva, but neither is appropriate for a system with limited CPU.

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wwjd - Mon May 14, 2012 1:54 pm

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Yes, REALLY. Have you personally tested Daedalus? No, it's not the best VA out there - no DIVA killer, but it still great sounding basic synth for free.

I guess every one hears differently. to me, OPX stuff is as good as Diva, just a lil different.

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TheoM - Mon May 14, 2012 2:00 pm

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Korg, OP-X Pro, Poly KB II and DCAM are my suggestions.

Particularly the latter two for 80's and 90's bass funk!

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kbaccki - Mon May 14, 2012 3:35 pm

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All your phat bass are belong to the Funkmaster General... His Highness of Funkitude... Baron von Funkenstein.

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TheoM - Mon May 14, 2012 3:47 pm

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i always forget about poly ana,

that's actually a very decent little (well big) synth

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megapiano - Mon May 14, 2012 5:31 pm

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Hi...haven't had the time to read all the posts on this thread, but I heartily recommend DUNE...its architecture is built on PHAT! And its big smooth sounds are proof of it.

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megapiano - Mon May 14, 2012 5:56 pm

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Uncle E...what about the Korg MonoPoly?? It may not always sound phat, but I always find it pleasant and inspiring...I was composing songs seconds after starting up Korg MonoPoly...which is hard to say about many other synths...I love it!

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mcnoone - Mon May 14, 2012 6:54 pm

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I think Uncle E's skills may be lacking or his patience short.
There are ways to make OnePingOnly sound phat and warm if one was so inclined to work enough at it.
If using the Korg LegacyCell, finding yourself uninspired? That's impossible.
That would mean you simply don't like synths or something.
Some of those presets are the most inspiring sounds I've heard.
...and I've heard a lot.
The Korg analog collection does have very warm, phat...whatever that is, basses which can be done with it. It really needs the eq, and some limiter, exciter from the korg mdx(whatever it's called) fx plugin used though.
The korg synths are not as thick as Diva, but they still are great products.

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ghettosynth - Mon May 14, 2012 7:13 pm

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That can be said about anything then we're down to saying that products simply aren't distinguishable. If out of the box it's easy to get "phat" sounds out of one synth, but not another, then that says something about the product.

I interpret "phat" and "warm" as being not too distant from higher quality analog synths. In that setting, the korg synths are not phat. If one requires effects, then it's no longer the synths that we're talking about.

These threads seldom mean anything, but, no matter how good or bad it makes some devs/owners feel, there are noticeable quality differences in plugins.

And yes, i've heard Dadelus, it's ok, it sounds like every other average synth to my ears.

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mcnoone - Mon May 14, 2012 8:18 pm

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Well thanks for the honest reply.
You pretty much summed it up there.
I think the problem starts with language and adjectives to describe the phat or warm.
I guess the "easiest" to produce phat or warm seems to be the key point.
Most don't wanna bother to seek those sounds, if it's too much trouble.
The Korg MonoPoly can do thick basses. It does take some effort, and the eq, but they are there, regardless of whether one is not capable of producing that using it.
It's so subjective anyway, and I can't help thinking the op had some other ideas besides opinions, given the title.

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braj - Mon May 14, 2012 8:33 pm

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Regarding effects, I can't imagine too many classic synths ever have or ever will be put into a mix without some eq and effects

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ghettosynth - Mon May 14, 2012 8:45 pm

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I remember playing live once with my Roland System 100 model 102. I had brought along reverb because in my little practice room it sounded cool. After a few seconds of playing I realized that I did not need it in that huge room. I just turned the send all the way down.

A roland System 100 will sound fat and warm all by itself through a large sound system in a huge room. Many of the reedy thin synths mentioned in this thread, will not.

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braj - Mon May 14, 2012 8:47 pm

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Yes but that huge room is a 'reverb' effect all by itself, after all just look at the controls on any effect module.

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ghettosynth - Mon May 14, 2012 9:04 pm

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Of course it is, and while we're at it, the speakers are, at minimum, an eq. Have you ever heard a system 100 in the flesh?

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braj - Mon May 14, 2012 9:10 pm

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Yes, long ago, there was a music store in my hometown that had tons of old analogs when I was first getting into synths and I would go there and play with everything, and my first synths were an SH-101, Juno, and an Akai analog, I know there is a difference just the point that using EQ and effects doesn't count 'doesn't count' to me not the greatest argument there I'm afraid. If a small amount of EQ and a wee bit or reverb makes a decent plugin sound suitably fat, I see no problem.

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ghettosynth - Mon May 14, 2012 9:14 pm

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Of course I was telling a story. The room didn't make the 102 sound fat, the 102 makes the 102 sound fat. All the EQ in the world will not turn a reedy sounding half-baked synthedit plugin into a 102.

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braj - Mon May 14, 2012 9:26 pm

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Yeah but that doesn't refute my statement:



There is no reason to say a VA can't use some effects to achieve a suitable end result IMO, it just isn't very fair. Of course some plugins mentioned may be half-baked but that isn't the case with many or even most of them.

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mcnoone - Mon May 14, 2012 9:29 pm

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I'll bet I can make the Roland System 100 sound thin and reedy, and those other synths mentioned in this thread sound phat.
To say not, is to say that sounds of synths (of which there are many different kinds) aren't determined by one designing sounds for it, "and" by the synth developer.
Those both play a part in making something phat or warm, or the hundreds of other adjectives you can think of.
It's not "only the synth, but the one who twiddles it's knobs, as well.

That's why I don't understand when someone says...I don't like this synths sound, or similar.
My reply will always be..."which sound"? You mean the guitar emu, or the slap bass, or the freaky lfo spaceship...which sound is it?
How could you not like "the sound". An init patch doesn't show a synths potential. Potential becomes shown only through doing many sounds on it.
So all opinions about some character from an init patch are really only subjective, and can't be taken seriously.
I could post an mp3 of a great sound, and ask people what synths they dislike.
Then ask whether they like the sound posted.
I guarantee that it is possible, most would say they like the patch, from the exact synth they said they didn't like, because it can't do such and such sound, like the exact one posted.
That's a good idea actually. Then we'll see if the experiment would be predictable or not.
A good sound is a good sound, no matter if it's one ping only or a R-system 100. Most would be hard pressed to know the difference if enough effort and time went into the patch.
Well maybe more between comparable synths anyway.

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ghettosynth - Mon May 14, 2012 9:41 pm

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Your statement doesn't mean anything, which was why I was blowing it off. There is a wide variety of effects used from drenched to almost none. The point of my story was that there was very little in the way of effects being used, other than the room and the limited eq on the mackie 1202. That same day I also played an MKS-50, sounded good, but not huge, not FAT, now WAARRRRRM. It's the same guy doing the programming.

So if you just want a little room reverb and basic eq, a VERY common recipe, and frankly, I have quite a few underground techno tracks with dry synths, the quality of the synth will be very evident.



We're talking about the quality of synths. If your secret effect sauce makes a good synth great, then explain why it doesn't make a great synth greater.

Cmon convince me, record a bass line with SQ8L and make it sound like Diva. What effects are you going to use to make that happen? Reverb? EQ? Really, what EQ?

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braj - Mon May 14, 2012 9:44 pm

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Yeah I'm done talking with you, you have your mind made up so I won't waste my time. I think I'll blow you off instead.

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ghettosynth - Mon May 14, 2012 9:44 pm

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Of course you can make the System 100 sound thin and reedy, just process it with one of the VSTs from this thread. No, seriously, that's not the point, how close can you get to the 102 at its fattest with SQ8L, now with Diva, or Ace?

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ghettosynth - Mon May 14, 2012 9:46 pm

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So you can't convince me then? Because, I'm willing to try whatever effects that you think will make SQ8L sound like Diva.

Anyone then? Do any of you think that EQ and Reverb will make SQ8L sound like Diva? Because maybe I should just sell my Diva, right? I mean, if all I need is EQ and reverb to make any old synth sound like Diva, then why do I need Diva?

Can I make a toy piano sound like Diva with just Reverb and EQ, or will I need more sophisticated effects?

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Aiynzahev - Mon May 14, 2012 10:01 pm

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As has been said, Tyrell. But there is also Ultra Analog which I quite liked and can be picked up cheap here. I have been working with Largo a lot lately. Its not my first recommendation for a faithful analog sound, since its not designed for that anyway, but it can be warm and it can certainly be phat.

So many options. Many have been suggested already.

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TB4C - Mon May 14, 2012 10:33 pm

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Thank you every one once again for all your replies and recommendations, I have read through it all!!

So here
is the list.....

Diva -as I said my Cpu won't handle it effectively and it is out of my Budget range

Alternatively Tyrell, use it for bass layerd with another synth like Dune (Tyrell for the "Warm rounded bass" and Dune for the bass "punch"

Korg mono/poly or Korg Legacy cell for layerd bass and Pads...will investigate.

OBX pro... Listened to it, quite like the sounds...will investigate further.

I did demo Saurus, as many said the sound is not bad at all, but how can one test it in a mix when the demo times out so fast and the fact that it was opening my internet explorer to the Tone 2 website at the end of ten minutes of testing is a big " lets rush into a sale" scenario.... I NEVER GET PUSHED INTO SALES...that Kinda thing just puts me off...

Electrax was not bad....had a much better Analogue type sound than Saurus.... in the little while I was allowed to flick through the presets

Ultra Analogue.... will investigate futher....


Now I know we use cliche word like phat, warm, thick etc... let me suggest some songs that will illustrate the sounds....

The songs for the bass sound..... Haddayway- what is love

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TB4C - Mon May 14, 2012 10:43 pm

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Nice warm pads: Alphaville- forever young

sorry another Bass sound Lipps inc- Funky town and Snap- Rhythm is a dancer

combination of lead and bass - Axel F

Most of the Italo disco type sounds... leads, bass and pads....yeah I Know I am an Atari 80's kid

ohhhh Let me chuck another type sound example.... Sigue Sigue Sputnik, Love missle F1-11... Sigue Sigue Sputnik- Space Cowboy.....

I know they were wack...but I loved their Synth Sounds!!!

Thank you once again for taking the Trouble to comment and Suggest, I really am priviledge to be a KVR-member and to have all your input!!


Regards
TB4C

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mcnoone - Mon May 14, 2012 10:45 pm

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Yep.
One Ping Only, put through the best fx processing money can buy, and a world class producer to mix it.
It's not the synth in that mix.
It's the processing and person doing the mix.
edit:
For the rest of those...you might need synth1, and repeat the above.
edit2:
You might wanna invest in a sound design course too, cuz your gonna need either a good sounddesigner, or become one yourself to pull any of those sounds off yourself, with any synth mentioned in this thread and not mentioned in this thread.

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bpblog - Mon May 14, 2012 11:00 pm

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not sure if it's been recommended already (6 pages to read through now ), but i'd also mention Charlatan.

a pretty simple synth, but the filters are great and the oscillators sound very nice... overall, it can work very well for simple yet fat sounds. i often use it for basses and screechy leads with lots of resonance (the 12db filter in Charlatan is fantastic for these).

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TB4C - Mon May 14, 2012 11:30 pm

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Mcnoone...You are a brilliant preset designer!! Let us see what you can do???

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Peter999 - Mon May 14, 2012 11:59 pm

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Listen: OP-X - Axel F.

Was still done with the basic OP-X. Should be re-worked with OP-X PRO-II...

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mcnoone - Tue May 15, 2012 12:27 am

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and you are a nice guy, and I'm sorry for my noisy posts here, but a lot of the sounds we like to hear, mostly sound good to us, due to the playing, production, processing, and such, not so much the sound itself.
If you get those kinds of sounds alone to play around with, and nothing else, they will sound bland, flat, with a feeling of heard it before, all over them.
The only productions that get anywhere into some new ground, are the ones that don't use heard it before sounds imo.
Then after some new ground is made through great effort, people will post here, looking for something that sounds like your music.

So maybe if you can get the latest (non-special) issue of CM magazine. There is quite a number of included synths there that are capable of these sounds you seek. At least close to them.
ZebraCM, and DuneCM for starters, are both able to do something similar to what you need, and I might even be able to try doing some of them, for fun...but the production and processing needed, is something few are really able to do.
That you'd really need to go over and above with, to get anything good using those sounds.
If you just need some similar sounds, I'd be up to trying with ZebraCM or DuneCM if you can get those with the CM magazine disk.

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Lotuzia - Tue May 15, 2012 2:02 am

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In my experience it's false. Good synths have a sonic character and unique signature, and no FX will ever make an ARP Odyssey sounds like a DX7, a Korg M1 or a Fairlight sample.

Sound design matters, its true, production matters also, and how to play an instrument does also certainly matters ( if not the most) but saying that synths would be merely identical and that you can change synth X for Y in a mix without affecting the results is wrong. Also, some synths do sound less good than others, of course preception of said synths tend to differ from an user to another. Thats what we call diversity.

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mcnoone - Tue May 15, 2012 2:44 am

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I know, I was just posting hypothetically. I mean...one ping only. ?
Even so, many synths are capable of imitating, in "as close a timbre as possible, or needed", using other synths.
Not all sounds, but certainly enough, and close enough to the original sound as needed.
Yes other synths can do the DX7 ep, that aren't fm7/8 or even FM synths. What might not be possible for one user with a synth, may be possible with another user using the same synth, in an emulation thing.
It might not be the same, but in a mix, most would be hard pressed to tell the difference, from a real Moog bass, and Diva, or Zebra doing an FM ep, or a DX7.
So therefore, what I'm saying is not "completely" false.
I mean using One Ping Only, might just make that DX7 ep tone, slightly out of reach...ya think?
What's the matter Lotuzia. You can't get a good Fairlight sound out of OnePingOnly?
Me neither...but it was a joke.
Just saying. certain synths can emulate other synths pretty damn good sometimes, and there's nothing false about it. They just might do so to some purist, but the majority of people can't tell the difference, given enough skill, effort, and time, used in doing said emulation.

edit:I forgot to mention to the OP.
The CM magazine also includes another great free synth called PolyKB II Player, by Xils Labs.

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TB4C - Tue May 15, 2012 4:27 am

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Mcnoone,Thank you for your reply...I will go and Look for a CM mag here in South Africa.... let me see what I can achieve with the Software that is there. Lotuzia thank you also for your reply!

Guys I think I can close this thread, I am sure that there is no more info to add, all you guys have been very Helpfull and have opened my mind to a few ideas and also directed me to Synths that are very appropiate.. I checked all the Synths audio demos out and will be buying what is necessary. Maybe when I am done with the project I might come back here and post it!!

Thank you all for your time, help and effort in helping me

Have an awesome day further!

Regards

TB4C

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replicant X - Tue May 15, 2012 4:55 am

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As I mentioned before.
It's YAMAHA DX. NOT ANALOG.
The bass sound of "Haddayway- what is love" is very famous DX sound.
"Lately Bass" or "Solid Bass".
Not only euro or pops, even UR use to use many DX sounds in '80s - '90s.
DX is not for only fake rohdes.

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thecontrolcentre - Tue May 15, 2012 5:20 am

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I used to have a Yamaha PSS-680 for that DX bass sound ...



It was my first midi keyboard.

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kbaccki - Tue May 15, 2012 8:16 am

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That's what you think. This thread is just getting started.





Please do! Would be interested to hear how you got your phat on.

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ghettosynth - Tue May 15, 2012 8:52 am

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JX8P according to some. So, the character of that filter is interesting in that it works well there but, to my ears, it has a dark quality and is a bit nasaly if you will excuse the non-technical description.

Synths with that particular roland filter design don't sell as well as synths with the more popular IR3109 based filters.

I don't think that this sound is that hard to nail, a lot of the synths in this thread will do it ok.



As has been said, a lot of the bass sounds are FM. Lips Inc. maybe a moog, multi/micro etc. Songs from the 90s are a lot about samplers and sampler abuse.

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1-2-Many - Tue May 15, 2012 9:13 am

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This example gets at the point for me...I've always felt a certain fuzz/blur factor when hearing VSTi trying to emu hardware sounds. The bass sound in this example pulls that out. The original bass sound conjures an image in my mind of a glossy black rubber ball, this example conjures that same ball rolled through lint.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Wgsj4eEd3Q&feature=related

The other day I was listening to New Order - Morning Night and Day, from their 2005 album....some great synth sounds there, especially diggin the rubbery arpegiatted bassy sound during the verse. Had me wondering if they were using hardware or VST for their synths on this album. If pressed for a guess I'd say hardware due to how clean the synths sound

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Peter999 - Tue May 15, 2012 10:03 am

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One should not forget that in 80ies productions the synths went over analog mixers onto analog tape, which has added a lot of (good sounding) micro-distortions and compressions as well as frequency shaping in the highs and the lows

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mellotronaut - Tue May 15, 2012 10:07 am

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PolyAna

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kbaccki - Tue May 15, 2012 10:31 am

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Or for that matter, nothing says you need to record direct into the board. Plug your DX into a beefy power amp and put a mic or two in front of the speaker(s). You can do the same in the digtal realm... either literally or virtually. Try a combo of super clean and a bit dirty... like a Roland Jazz Chorus + Fender Twin.

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