Who has Sonik Synth 2?

[pheeleep]

So, who has purchased and received Sonik Synth 2? What are your impressions please?

I have tested sound libraries for Sonic Reality in the past, but not Sonik Synth 2. I wasn't approached to test this one. All beta testing must have been done internally.. hmmmm... Hey Squids, if you read this, can I test Sonik Synth 2 even though it's finished?

I haven't seen SS2 in action, haven't heard it aside from the mp3 demos on esoundz.com.. I am considering getting it as I have Sampletank 2 xl and would only pay $199.00 for the upgrade... but this offer is apparently ending in a few weeks so I will have to decide soon..

I am mostly interested in how it compares to Ultrafocus or Atmosphere? Do some of you own those programs as well?

What makes SS2 better or not as good? Do these programs compliment each other, or do you think they are all very similar?

Just looking for some feedback here, as Sonik Synth 2 has been out ( granted not for that long ) and I haven't read much feedback about it yet.

Even if you don't own Atmosphere or Ultrafocus, I am interested in your impressions.. good or bad.. I want the real deal.. give me some feedback please.

[One]

Get it!

Its got great sounds in it. More than you'd believe and all of a good quality. I like the new piano and the assorted keys. I wish I,d had a bit more time with it during the holidays I'm sure thats why we haven't heard more about it.

Anyway best 200 bucks I spent last year for sure. I feel like I'm set for awhile.

[bluedad]

check out the comments of jeez in this thread

[progfusion74]

I have it .. still going through it. I love the various elements included. That's the best part for me and the organization of the instruments. Its definitely more of a sound sculpting tool than ST2 etc. Some of the included combis give you a good idea of how it can be used. I am going to have fun getting my own combis going, although I plan to use it in ST2. One comment: The SS2 engine seems to respond faster than ST2 for some reason.



prog

[DevonB]

I am mostly interested in how it compares to Ultrafocus or Atmosphere? Do some of you own those programs as well?

I'm HOPING to have it Monday in the mail box, but I do have Ultra Focus and Atmosphere. I'll let you know how it compares.

Only thing that won't be fair is SS2 covers other elements that UF and Atmo don't go into at all. I'm assuming you're wanting to know how good of a synth/pad machine it is?

Devon

[Squids]

I guess because all three are the same price ($399).

I hope you get yours tomorrow, Devon. I'd be curious how you'd compare the product since you have all of the cool stuff.

Sorry to our beta testing friends about SS2. We didn't do any outside beta testing as this was just too big! Too much to ask. But, next time maybe (next capsules perhaps).

Cool thread.

[pricer]

i'm expecting mine from tmrw too, EWQL Gold shouldn't be too far after that either. What current steps have been taken for a community patch area, are IK or SR still going ahead with the user library idea mentioned a while back?

[pheeleep]

Cool.. replies.. Yes, please come back to this thread.. don't forget about me.. I know you will be too busy messing around with it once you receive it!

DevonB, yes I would like to know how the synths/pads in SS2 compare to the ones in Atmosphere and Ultrafocus..

Please give us a run through of those types of sounds if you have the time, once you have messed around with Sonik Synth 2..

[Squids]

i'm expecting mine from tmrw too, EWQL Gold shouldn't be too far after that either. What current steps have been taken for a community patch area, are IK or SR still going ahead with the user library idea mentioned a while back?

What do you mean? The patch sharing thing I mentioned? We'll do that on www.esoundz.com for members some time this year. There's also a site someone made: www.sampletankx.com and actually if they'll post the whole disclaimer thing about what sound file types you can and can't share (basically child patch and combis are ok and parent patches/samples are not... unless they are your own samples that you made of course, except they'd be better off making it just sharing the child and combis to be safe) then I think IK would even promote it a little (put it in their newsletter or something). But, that seems to have some potential for that as well if it is still going.

I am working on a freebie set of patches for all SS2 users. I have a few fun things in mind that I know you will like Pricer like a virtual drawbar B3 sound set... in fact, since I just let the cat out of the bag on that, which CC#s should I assign the 9 channels of drawbars to? Any preference? I have a Voce midi drawbar controller. Maybe I'll map it to that.

[Frunobulax]

I've had SS2 for about 10 days now. I also have Atmosphere. I've discussed both synths in a long SS2 thread in the SR forum, but I'll hit the main points again here.

I don't have Ultrafocus, so all I can really say about comparing SS2 to UF is the obvious point that UF focuses solely on synth samples, whereas SS2 also includes other keyboards and various other instruments, including guitars, strings, ethnic instruments, drums, etc. So SS2 is kind of like a cross between Sampletank and UF.

Atmosphere has a narrower focus compared to SS2, as many people probably know. Atmosphere is also a closed system, and you are limited in the amount of tweaking you can do. You only have two layer combination patches to work with in Atmosphere (compared to 16 in SS2), and all of the effects are burned into the samples, unlike SS2. So the big advantages of SS2 over Atmosphere are the much greater breadth and variety of sounds in SS2's library, and the programming flexibility that you have in SS2. I've been having lots of fun programming my own combi patches, and I have had good results coming up with Atmosphere-type patches, both in terms of pads as well as one-note atmospheric drones.

I love Atmosphere and I would buy it again in a second, but I think SS2 has replaced it as my favorite synth. The reason is the programming flexibility and the variety of sounds in SS2. Plus I plan to pick up Sampletank soon so I can combine SS2 sounds with all the Sampletank formatted sounds, and if I also buy the Chicken Systems Translator I could then import my Kontakt and Giga libraries and use these with the SS2 sounds in Sampletank as well. So the SS2 sounds are capable of being used in kind of an open-ended system, which I think creates almost unlimited possibilities.

As for the sound quality, some of SS2's patches out of the box sound like they could have come out of Atmosphere, as there are some lush moving pad presets. However, these are just a fraction of the presets contained in SS2 (even though there are quite a few of these sounds). I prefer SS2's leads and basses over those in Atmosphere, and of course SS2 has tons of different types of sounds that are not found in Atmosphere. But if like me you want more Atmosphere-type sounds than are contained in SS2's presets, it's easy enough to program them yourself as you have thousands of sounds to draw from, and plenty of good effects. I've been creating a lot of my own Atmosphere-type combi's over the past few days and I think they sound like they could have come right out of Atmosphere. But while SS2 can certainly compare to the sounds in Atmosphere, if you're really into lush pads and evolving atmospheric sounds, I would say it's still very worthwhile to also get Atmosphere, because Eric's programming is top-notch. Plus hearing how he's done it has influenced my own patch-making.

I would also like to say that SS2 is really a completely different animal than SS1. Sure some of SS1's presets are carried over to SS2, but these are just a small fraction of the total sounds in SS2. The overall quality of the sounds is substantially improved, and the quantity of material that you have to work with is immense. As I have learned over the past 10 days, you really cannot appreciate everything SS2 has to offer until you start programming your own sounds.

For those who already have SS1 or Sampletank, I cannot imagine anyone would be disappointed with what they got for their money by picking up SS2 at the upgrade/crossgrade price. Even at the full price, I think it's a terrific bargain for all that you get. I really like this plugin.

[Squids]

I'd be curious to hear some of the patches you made. It sounds like you are the ideal user for something like SS2 because you'll use the presets but also use the 5,000+ elements for making your own sounds which is where it can become very customizable to your tastes.

[Kim Lajoie]

check out the comments of jeez in this thread

Yep.

Basically, I can't imagine anyone buying this and being disappointed. Even at the full (non-upgrade) price, it's top stuff. Seriously.

Forever,




Kim.

[Alfalfa]

edit

[Frunobulax]

I'd be curious to hear some of the patches you made.

As soon as I get a some more finished I'd be happy to upload a bank of patches to KVR and the Sampletank patch site you mentioned.

[Kim Lajoie]

How long will the upgrade from SS1 to SS2 be available? I probably won't be able to afford the upgrade for quite a while, so I hope it doesn't go away.

I think it'll be around for a week or two, then the price will go up (but not all they up to the non-upgrade price).... but I'm not certain.

Forever,




Kim.