What synth sounds do it for you?

[idobs]

I bought a dance CD today, and really liked the music on it. I realized that there's some very simple sounds I like that always catch my attention in a dance song:

- I like saws, hoovers with rever, pumping kick-drum, filters over the drum-loop, squelching filters on the saws, and rubber-band bases (ala Korg Poly-six)... I'm not too crazy about "atmospheres" and "pads", not sure why... And I'm also not too crazy about distortion (I like stuff clean).


Anyway, just wanted to know what sounds everyone likes. Or, is there something that makes you like a song.


Oddly, I'm a gearhead, and buy WAY too many synths, but all the sounds above can be made with just about any free synth.


-Ido

[SampleScience]

I like the sounds of the fender rhodes passing trough a phaser-flanger type of effect.

I also love the sound of some classic breakbeats; the amen break & james brown's tigh up for examples (the Ike & Tina Tuner one is also pretty cool).

[x_bruce]

I couldn't even scratch the surface!

companies I'm partial to

G-Media - impOSCar, M-Tron, Oddity, perfectly developed, they do no wrong.
Ohm Force - Symptohm Melohman and Performance Player, you will finally get to play the synth and hear what it is possible to do though we are still cracking the surface! And then there's the incredibe plugins and fun or functional interfaces
VirSyn - Every synth they make is a extrodinary one. TERA 2 is one of the most substantial synths on the planet, hardware or software. Cantor is the most misunderstood, but it's pretty damn useful once you actually work with it. Hate it? Download the demo and put some time into it and tell me you haven't changed your mind.
Native Instruments - Love 'em, hate 'em, they still deliver the best CPU, some of the most unique and capable synths and do so for the professional and prosumer market. They get slagged here sometiems but the make very capable plugs. You can easily set up the Komplete 2 package and never need a synth outside of what's packaged. And then there's the extrodinary Guitar Rig. Try to get it's quality for under it's list. No possible way, I have used Pods, V-Amps and expensive delays and multiprocessors like tc electronics M-One XL and other stuff like Line 6 Echo Pro. I love Line 6's Echo Pro but Reaktor can model better stompbox sounds and get vastly cleaner.
Big Tick - Rhino rules, Angelina is great for what it does. My favorite digital synth.
LinPlug - Rob Papen's 1400 patches, all of them useful, some a revalation and Bigtone's Ambient set, if you thought you knew Albino have a listen to these. My 2nd favorite all around synth. And there's also RMIV, a straight forward, easy to use drum sampler with excellent and ever growing library and CronoX, the lead synth that can be your favorite pad synth with a few thoughtful changes.
rgc:audio - Pentagon 1 is still a favorite and by VST standards it's ancient. z3ta+ set the bar for performance and programming, both are the synths most people seem to consider as their reference synth, it's amazing no matter how you think of it and seemingly necessary if you like trance.
ConcreteFX - incredible ideas packed in 2D graphics that make sense once you learn how to use the synths, and there are some beauties! I was hooked on Etherial a couple years ago, Kubik is without a doubt a major advance on concepts like the MicroWave and Prophet VS. If you like the Wavestation but thought it would be cool to have a full featured one that didn't rely on samples, here it is and it is a steal.
WhiteNoiseAudio - taking new ideas and creating fairly simple synths in an otherwis complex and chaotic world. Resynthesis and complexity are part of DoppleMangler, yet a kid could develop a useful patch just playing around. We older children can do considerably more.
FXpansion - if you like drums you can't ignore what FXpansion has done with BFD and it's add-ons, BFD XFL, 22 gig of great live drum sounds done in a studio and impeccably designed, and people will really love the 11 gb 8 Bit Kit which does fantastic African and Latin Percussion along with some of the biggest, fattest TR909 and 808s, some played though monitors and recorded in a room. Even real drum parts sound great with these electronic oriented sounds. And BFD has to my opinion the best GUI available for drum synths.

Sorry, long list but these synths blew me away this year. Some are fairly expensive, but some are very reasonable in price and all have great customer service.

[seamonkey]

I couldn't even scratch the surface!

companies I'm partial to

G-Media - impOSCar, M-Tron, Oddity, perfectly developed, they do no wrong.
Ohm Force - Symptohm Melohman and Performance Player, you will finally get to play the synth and hear what it is possible to do though we are still cracking the surface! And then there's the incredibe plugins and fun or functional interfaces
VirSyn - Every synth they make is a extrodinary one. TERA 2 is one of the most substantial synths on the planet, hardware or software. Cantor is the most misunderstood, but it's pretty damn useful once you actually work with it. Hate it? Download the demo and put some time into it and tell me you haven't changed your mind.
Native Instruments - Love 'em, hate 'em, they still deliver the best CPU, some of the most unique and capable synths and do so for the professional and prosumer market. They get slagged here sometiems but the make very capable plugs. You can easily set up the Komplete 2 package and never need a synth outside of what's packaged. And then there's the extrodinary Guitar Rig. Try to get it's quality for under it's list. No possible way, I have used Pods, V-Amps and expensive delays and multiprocessors like tc electronics M-One XL and other stuff like Line 6 Echo Pro. I love Line 6's Echo Pro but Reaktor can model better stompbox sounds and get vastly cleaner.
Big Tick - Rhino rules, Angelina is great for what it does. My favorite digital synth.
LinPlug - Rob Papen's 1400 patches, all of them useful, some a revalation and Bigtone's Ambient set, if you thought you knew Albino have a listen to these. My 2nd favorite all around synth. And there's also RMIV, a straight forward, easy to use drum sampler with excellent and ever growing library and CronoX, the lead synth that can be your favorite pad synth with a few thoughtful changes.
rgc:audio - Pentagon 1 is still a favorite and by VST standards it's ancient. z3ta+ set the bar for performance and programming, both are the synths most people seem to consider as their reference synth, it's amazing no matter how you think of it and seemingly necessary if you like trance.
ConcreteFX - incredible ideas packed in 2D graphics that make sense once you learn how to use the synths, and there are some beauties! I was hooked on Etherial a couple years ago, Kubik is without a doubt a major advance on concepts like the MicroWave and Prophet VS. If you like the Wavestation but thought it would be cool to have a full featured one that didn't rely on samples, here it is and it is a steal.
WhiteNoiseAudio - taking new ideas and creating fairly simple synths in an otherwis complex and chaotic world. Resynthesis and complexity are part of DoppleMangler, yet a kid could develop a useful patch just playing around. We older children can do considerably more.
FXpansion - if you like drums you can't ignore what FXpansion has done with BFD and it's add-ons, BFD XFL, 22 gig of great live drum sounds done in a studio and impeccably designed, and people will really love the 11 gb 8 Bit Kit which does fantastic African and Latin Percussion along with some of the biggest, fattest TR909 and 808s, some played though monitors and recorded in a room. Even real drum parts sound great with these electronic oriented sounds. And BFD has to my opinion the best GUI available for drum synths.

Sorry, long list but these synths blew me away this year. Some are fairly expensive, but some are very reasonable in price and all have great customer service.

I'll say what he said.

[kritikon]

I couldn't even scratch the surface!

companies I'm partial to

G-Media - impOSCar, M-Tron, Oddity, perfectly developed, they do no wrong.
Ohm Force - Symptohm Melohman and Performance Player, you will finally get to play the synth and hear what it is possible to do though we are still cracking the surface! And then there's the incredibe plugins and fun or functional interfaces
VirSyn - Every synth they make is a extrodinary one. TERA 2 is one of the most substantial synths on the planet, hardware or software. Cantor is the most misunderstood, but it's pretty damn useful once you actually work with it. Hate it? Download the demo and put some time into it and tell me you haven't changed your mind.
Native Instruments - Love 'em, hate 'em, they still deliver the best CPU, some of the most unique and capable synths and do so for the professional and prosumer market. They get slagged here sometiems but the make very capable plugs. You can easily set up the Komplete 2 package and never need a synth outside of what's packaged. And then there's the extrodinary Guitar Rig. Try to get it's quality for under it's list. No possible way, I have used Pods, V-Amps and expensive delays and multiprocessors like tc electronics M-One XL and other stuff like Line 6 Echo Pro. I love Line 6's Echo Pro but Reaktor can model better stompbox sounds and get vastly cleaner.
Big Tick - Rhino rules, Angelina is great for what it does. My favorite digital synth.
LinPlug - Rob Papen's 1400 patches, all of them useful, some a revalation and Bigtone's Ambient set, if you thought you knew Albino have a listen to these. My 2nd favorite all around synth. And there's also RMIV, a straight forward, easy to use drum sampler with excellent and ever growing library and CronoX, the lead synth that can be your favorite pad synth with a few thoughtful changes.
rgc:audio - Pentagon 1 is still a favorite and by VST standards it's ancient. z3ta+ set the bar for performance and programming, both are the synths most people seem to consider as their reference synth, it's amazing no matter how you think of it and seemingly necessary if you like trance.
ConcreteFX - incredible ideas packed in 2D graphics that make sense once you learn how to use the synths, and there are some beauties! I was hooked on Etherial a couple years ago, Kubik is without a doubt a major advance on concepts like the MicroWave and Prophet VS. If you like the Wavestation but thought it would be cool to have a full featured one that didn't rely on samples, here it is and it is a steal.
WhiteNoiseAudio - taking new ideas and creating fairly simple synths in an otherwis complex and chaotic world. Resynthesis and complexity are part of DoppleMangler, yet a kid could develop a useful patch just playing around. We older children can do considerably more.
FXpansion - if you like drums you can't ignore what FXpansion has done with BFD and it's add-ons, BFD XFL, 22 gig of great live drum sounds done in a studio and impeccably designed, and people will really love the 11 gb 8 Bit Kit which does fantastic African and Latin Percussion along with some of the biggest, fattest TR909 and 808s, some played though monitors and recorded in a room. Even real drum parts sound great with these electronic oriented sounds. And BFD has to my opinion the best GUI available for drum synths.

Sorry, long list but these synths blew me away this year. Some are fairly expensive, but some are very reasonable in price and all have great customer service.

I'll say what he said.

.......only shorter

[x_bruce]

What? Was I a bit long winded?

[crimsontider]

My favorite synths are: Korg Legacy with Wavestation, FM7, V Station and absynth2.

Guitar modular Slayer and Slayer2.

[ew]

What? Was I a bit long winded?

You long winded,Bruce? Surely you jest...




ew

[origami]

my favourite synths are:

Synth 1 - 0 euros, incredible sound, incredible cpu low usage, better than most substractive synths you have to pay for.

Junatik (from Reaktor)

Wusikstation

[bluedad]

I think the original question, was what synth SOUNDS do you like.
I don't know, I like so many..bleeps, blurps, gurgles..

[jens]

Rhino

Cameleon

Kubik

Rock

ZeroVector

Bazzoid

Solo


(luckily) rarely anything else these days...

[BONES]

Fat resonant bass like only WaspXT can deliver, hard-sync leads and arpeggios and anything with loads of distortion on it - drums, loops, arp's, anything - especially vocals. Oh, and metal guitar a-la DIE KRUPPS or RAMMSTEIN.

[jens]

Rhino

Cameleon

Kubik

Rock

ZeroVector

Bazzoid

Solo


(luckily) rarely anything else these days...

I guess I didn't understand the question...

I love sounds which are a bit weird (and usually ideally sound somehow organic) but have a strong pop-appeal nonetheless - unique sounds with a high recognizing-factor

[bluedad]

[jens]