Best Multiple Genre Virtual Synth (Not Just EDM)

[Echoes in the Attic]

Although I agree that synths are not genre specific (obviously), it is still a fair enough question about which synths can easily do everything from the modern dubstep wobbles or trance sounds to vintage analog type sounds that might be used in minimal electro to synthwave or whatever. If any old modern synth could give thy vintage vibe then why would developers be putting so much time into recreating classics?

So basicallly my answer would be something with interesting oscillator capabilities, like wavetable stuff, while also having good osc and filters modeled after classics as well as new cool filters and effects. Sample
Mangling would be good too. And Lots of modulation etc. Halion might be one example since it covers a lot if that ground. Ana2 also is very powerful but has the ability to do vintage very well with some nicely modeled components. I tend to enjoy simpler synths with a specific focus but I was surprised that Ana was able to reproduce a lot of the vintage analog vibes I used other synths for, while also having some modern over the top sounds possible with crazy filters and wavetables etc. Reaktor is an excellent option as well due to the breadth of the types of ensembles. Something like Rapid might also fit the bill though I never really got to know it.

[chk071]

TBH, i find MUX pretty overrated. At least around the people who often recommend MUX here. Neither the GUI nor the sound makes me want to use it instead of Reaktor. Don't get me wrong, i think Jo is a great programmer, and creates nice software, but, just comparing, i'd see no compelling reason not to use one of the "big guys".

[Zexila]

TBH, i find MUX pretty overrated. At least around the people who often recommend MUX here. Neither the GUI nor the sound makes me want to use it instead of Reaktor. Don't get me wrong, i think Jo is a great programmer, and creates nice software, but, just comparing, i'd see no compelling reason not to use one of the "big guys".

I don't know, it sounds fantastic if anything else, but tastes and all that, I find it really underrated too.

[chk071]

Admittedly, it's been quite a while since i last demo'd it. Maybe i'd be thinking differently now. Reaktor and Reaktor Blocks are pretty fantastic though, and, i have a hard time believing MUX can sound better, especially since i remember a rather "digital" sound.

[Zexila]

Admittedly, it's been quite a while since i last demo'd it. Maybe i'd be thinking differently now. Reaktor and Reaktor Blocks are pretty fantastic though, and, i have a hard time believing MUX can sound better, especially since i remember a rather "digital" sound.

Can't compare sincerely, have no experience with Reaktor, but one of my colleagues use MuLab and rely on internal MUX, really nice, but yeah, not enough for me to delve into whole modular madness.

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

You'll want two or three products,
Zebra2 with Tantra multi-effects
SampleTank3 with the free or paid Syntronik and Tantra

Best: Zebra2, SampleTank3, the free or paid Syntronik, and Tantra

Why? A synth can't accurately cover all genres,
in a world full of actual music instruments people
expect and want to hear. There are historic emotional
responses to real instrument sounds, and you'll
want to be able to trigger those responses.

Zebra and SampleTank both have excellent
effects, but a multi-effect like Tantra, when well learned,
will give you many alternatives, and a wide range
of presets to use or modify.
You can take even basic waveforms and do wonders.

If you add a DAW like Bitwig/Ableton as just mentioned,
that come with lots of content, you'll have even more coverage.
Bitwig's drag-n-drop effects are simple to use, with great results
quickly at hand.

There is also BlueCat Axiom, or their full suite, which are
far more than just 'guitar stuff', excellent layout, and really
top quality sound and range of effects, spendier than Tantra,
but a bargain for the capabilities, with Destructor and Late Replies
under the hood, and excellent vst hosting and routing capabilities.
Cheers

Thanks for the SampleTank 3 mention. It also happens to be a great deal at the moment since it is on sale for $/€99.99 (or SampleTank MAX for $/€199.99) since the SampleTank Celebration was extended.

[OllyAudio]

Success in synthesizing Moog sounds is achieved by filters and its feedback. To reawaken the sound, a modern synthesizer with powerful filters is needed. Such a possibility is in Dune2. Also to regret Moog sound you need samples of unique waves, If you have a wave table, then you can create the desired analog sounds. Among the non-table-wave very good sounding and modulation is Ace.

[zzz00m]

If I had to have one....for everything, and could only use one, then I’d probably choose Zebra2 or Synthmaster. They cover VA, FM, and wavetable all very well.

That's a very good call. For the money, SynthMaster is probably the best all in one synth. There are over 30 expansions available, for most any genre, but you can get the base factory edition for cheap.

It can do everything from classic rock to EDM, and everything in between based on the program and sound designer. The 'Analog Basics' and 'Historic Synth Giants' expansions cover the vintage synth category well. There are also EDM expansions available.

The oscillator section is very complete, you can even import your own user samples into an oscillator, so that gives a hybrid approach that you can mix with the synth's VA abilities.

The filters are very nice, and they have added 4 new zero delay feedback filters in a recent update.

• Ladder filter, similar to VAnalog filter, is modeled after the famous ladder filter.
  
  Diode Ladder filter is modeled after a well-known analog filter circuit found in synths such as the TB303.
  
  State Variable filter is modeled after analog state variable filters found in synths like the SEM.
  
  Bite filter is modeled after the analog 12 db/Oct lowpass & 6dB/oct highpass filters found in the famous MS20 synth.

They added full wavetable support to v2.9, and you can now drag and drop Serum wavetables directly onto a SynthMaster oscillator.

Modulation is very comprehensive.

I'm finding SynthMaster to be a real bang for the buck. Combined with a sampler like SampleTank, Kontakt, or HALion for the acoustic instruments, you would have most sonic bases covered.

I'm still playing around with the Diva and Zebra2 demos. Maybe one of these days, if money is not an obstacle ...

[lelderkin]

I guess I shouldn't expect a one synth solution, I just wasn't sure whether a wavetable synth like serum/sylenth could create, for example, a minimoog patch at a level like legend/arturia.

Just FYI Sylenth is not a wavetable synth.