KVR Audio

Sendy · Post by **Sendy** » Thu Mar 27, 2014 3:13 pm

vurt wrote:
Sendy wrote:
BasariStudios wrote:
vurt wrote:only love will set you free.
Nah, Love usually gets you stuck.
That's not love, it's desire. Big difference.
or bondage.

Same thing. OH MY FREAKING GOD I'M LIKE WELL DEEP AND POETTIK AND GOOD.

BBFG# · Post by **BBFG#** » Thu Mar 27, 2014 3:38 pm

Theoretically, anything hybrid with sample import.
So, Alchemy, which has enough presets in it to keep me busy by itself. And because I find it simple and fun to program, I'm not limited to just those. Absynth has been a nice blend to it also, with little CPU demand and plenty of presets, although I haven't delved into any programming with it.
Likewise, although there's no import, ZebraHZ & AAS VA2 have been good well rounded synths, the former being great to program though the amount of presets hasn't made it necessary really.
Love the Tone 2 synths & KV331, but hate the vast majority of included presets (they're probably more of a DJs wet dream than anything useful for me). And Synthmaster I don't enjoy programming or even tweaking much. Hardly anything I would call setting me free with. Tone2 are laid out more logically, but they still can be time consuming.
Still use the Korg legacy presets often. Iris, I use more as a design to add to other synths via Blue Cat's Patchwork, (often with the AAS VA2).

When I opened this thread, I was thinking the other way though.
As in "what synths are you wanting to set free?"
Which would be the last of my 32 bit VSTs and my Novations (V-Synth&BassStation), which I don't even open up anymore.

None of them set you free, they bind you to the box.

(My short list is in my signature.)

Sendy · Post by **Sendy** » Thu Mar 27, 2014 4:05 pm

One of the most inspiring VSTs for me recently has been Icebreaker Audio's Reaktor ensemble BitRate. It's a chiptune sequencer with a hardware workflow, an authentic chip sound and plenty of limitations. I don't know why but half of the loops I've made in it have turned into fully fledged tracks. There's just something about it that sparks my imagination and makes me want to make more music all the time.

BasariStudios · Post by **BasariStudios** » Thu Mar 27, 2014 4:05 pm

foosnark wrote:What about additive, wavetable, physical modeling, FM, phase distortion, granular, spectral stuff?

Exactly that...which is all covered by those 4 machines.

V0RT3X · Post by **V0RT3X** » Thu Mar 27, 2014 4:15 pm

As for software I'm pretty happy with just Reaktor and Max/MSP stuff.

The_Hidden_Goose · Post by **The_Hidden_Goose** » Thu Mar 27, 2014 4:24 pm

..forgot to mention ACE which I use mostly for bass and fm-type things.

Never been that enamoured of wavetable synths that I've fiddled with. The idea sounds great, but I've always been a bit *loud raspberry noise* about the results. Maybe it's me! Likewise with phys. mod. stuff. Prefer samples or well-sampled instruments in the main for real-world sounds. I haven't gone all-out looking for the perfect physical modelling tools though tbh. I remember quite liking the sound of Chromaphone for what it was, but couldn't justify having it with the little I'd probably end up using it.

Ingonator · Post by **Ingonator** » Thu Mar 27, 2014 4:32 pm

The 4 hardware synths i currently use set me free from using my PC with a shitload of plugins: Yamaha Motif ES 7, Wavestation EX, Waldorf Blofeld desktop (+ SL upgrade), Waldorf Pulse 2.

Choosing only 4 synths from my softsynths collection is almost impossible. Many of them i could not sell anyway as they are NFRs for doing beta tests or factory sound design.
Anyway like it should already known at KVR some of my favorite softsynths are from Waldorf, tone2 and Xils Lab (e.g. PPG Wave 3.V, Saurus, ElectraX, Oxium).

Recently i am very picky about purchasing new synths. Last one was PPG WaveGenerator for PC which is great.
Finally also want to sell some synths (both hard- and software)

Ingo

BBFG# · Post by **BBFG#** » Thu Mar 27, 2014 5:01 pm

Hardware?
Kronos; V-Synth-GT.
Software?
Camel; ZebraHZ; Gladiator2; VA2
But I love and use the modelers too. (VS1; Chromaphone; AK).

el-bo (formerly ebow) · Thu Mar 27, 2014 5:16 pm

oh !! this thread again

farlukar · Post by **farlukar** » Thu Mar 27, 2014 5:22 pm

OnePingOnly isn't getting much love these days.

zerocrossing · Post by **zerocrossing** » Thu Mar 27, 2014 5:32 pm

foosnark wrote:
BasariStudios wrote:In my current understanding, knowledge, experience and liking i think having Diva, Zebra, Blue 2 and SynthMaster (i own them all) will Set you free to actually start making music and stop testing Demos and Presets on hundreds of VSTis.
I spend 42.5 hours per week at work, roughly 5 hours commuting and getting ready for work, 40 hours a week sleeping, 8 hours or so going out to dinner or shopping with my wife, about 20 hours playing video games and 8 hours reading books.

None of those things stops me from making music, so why should the 1-2 hours I might spend in an average week trying demos of synths and effects stop me?

Freedom is an illusion. So is lack of freedom.

The four synths you mentioned hold zero interest for me. VAs are merely one kind of synthesis among many. What about additive, wavetable, physical modeling, FM, phase distortion, granular, spectral stuff? What about alternate interfaces and quirky little one-offs?

I'm with you, though Zebra and SynthMaster do wavetable, eh? And Blue 2 is FM. Zebra does some FM too... but yes, I'd not be happy until I had at least one good representative of all the synthesis types you mention, and honestly I enjoy synths that may not have much in the way of specs, but offer and interesting take on a synthesis type.

Xenos · Post by **Xenos** » Thu Mar 27, 2014 5:38 pm

None would. My G.A.S. is out of control lol. At least being a sound designer, I have an excuse to feed it, plus I'm more of a "sound effects technician" than a musician anyways. That said, I really don't believe more or better tools make for better music. So many folks here make way, way better music than I ever could, and with much simpler setups. IMHO, being set free means to stop buying more gear for a while and just get acquainted with the goods you already have. Cakewalk Z3ta+ is a perfect example. At first, I was like "meh", but I forced myself to get to know it well, and now I love Z3ta. It's great for any genre of music - techno, dubstep, trap, ambient, even retro 80s. It can be had for dirt cheap, or even free these days. That one cheap synth is really powerful and covers HUGE territory, but it definitely takes a little time to get to know well.

BBFG# · Post by **BBFG#** » Thu Mar 27, 2014 5:55 pm

Having too many synths is just a matter of trying to use all of them at once. A losing proposition from the start. It's nice to have something you haven't used or used in awhile to spark new ideas during what otherwise could be a dry time.
That said, most of us have a range of timbres we like to address and there as many ways to go about it as there are the musicians doing it. But something out of the blue (or black if you prefer) can be the very thing to inspire something completely different from us.
For that reason, it's much harder to let go of a synth owned, than it is to pick up another.

vata44 · Post by **vata44** » Thu Mar 27, 2014 5:56 pm

LinPlug Alpha 3 = Freedom IMO

foosnark · Post by **foosnark** » Thu Mar 27, 2014 6:04 pm

BasariStudios wrote:
foosnark wrote:What about additive, wavetable, physical modeling, FM, phase distortion, granular, spectral stuff?
Exactly that...which is all covered by those 4 machines.

I'd call it sort-of-covered. A semi-modular with "FM oscillators" is really not like a 6-op FM synth for instance. (To be honest, I will admit some ignorance about Blue 2; but reading descriptions of it, it doesn't seem to fit the same mold as FM8.)

But anyway, your choice of those four kind of illustrates my point. Why would you need Diva, a VA synth, when you have two different modulars that can do VA stuff? Because Diva offers something they don't, right?

Well, so does Monark, and so does Chromaphone, and so does Alchemy, and so does Chipsounds, and so does FM8, and so does Spectral, and so does WaveGenerator, and so does Synplant...

What Synths will set you Free???