Is Sylenth1 still under active development for *new* features?

[ionekvr]

Hi guys -- long-time Sylenth1 owner, was curious to find out if Lennard is still developing new features. I appreciate the 64-bit version, and various recent bugfixes, etc... but I mean any significant NEW features? And let's face it, Sylenth1 is a very special plugin and is fine the way it is, and so maintenance for current hosts and OSes is important and appreciated. But it would be very exciting to see what Lennard comes up with in the future, either as a feature enhancement of Sylenth1 or perhaps a completely new plugin. Has there been any hints or news about any of that?

[chk071]

I'm wondering too. Sylenth1 was such a big success.

[keel]

I recently asked on Lennard about new synth, answer was no new synth is coming. Current Sylenth is keeping them busy or something like. I would love to see new synth too!

[phreaque]

Sylenth1 is a complete & unique product, any new changes would make it critical.
Some few changes perhaps might be great, like some new waveforms for both oscillators and LFO. But that's it, if things like: FM, new filters, etc. are requested to be added, then it's better to make another VST.

[starflakeprj]

Sylenth1 was a unique synth 10 years ago, now, not so much.

[Delta Sign]

I think the simplicity is a big part of its appeal, so I agree that just throwing features at it would be a bad idea. But yeah, small improvements can always be done, nothing is ever perfect.

[ionekvr]

Agreed not to just "throw" features at it -- but refinements can be added to it without impacting its current elegance. And it can remain 100% patch compatible if done carefully, so there's no need to be locked permanently to these specific features and never add anything. I think most people who love it would agree that it's already a very balanced, elegantly designed synth as-is. So I understand any hesitation to change it... but there are definitely refinements/additions that can be added to increase its magic.

But I'm personally not asking for specific things. Enough people have given Lennard great ideas over the years, including most likely some very well-known artists and sound designers. So I'm mainly just curious if Lennard has mentioned or hinted that new features are being developed or if he's working on a new synth. Or perhaps if he's said that this is it, period, there will be no new features? He seemed to disappear for a long time and then came back with updates. Will he disappear again? I never knew the story of what happened -- if he was ill, changed jobs, got married, had kids, lost interest, etc... But I'm sure he realizes that there is great pent-up interest in any work he does right now. He's had a big impact on softsynths for sure! I just haven't heard if there were any plans announced or hinted at.

For example, I just found out that Urs Heckmann is working on a series of very interesting updates to Hive. I actually finally just bought Hive because of those updates that he's working on. And as a fan of both Urs and Lennard (and I'm a customer of both of them), I was curious if Lennard had announced any plans too. I'm sure you know the many similarities between Sylenth1 and Hive, but now it looks like things are changing/evolving. So it just made me wonder what was going on with Sylenth1.

[fluffy_little_something]

I get the impression that U-he is a very different type of enterprise. LD is a one-product mini enterprise, probably just a legacy hobby for the developer these days, who does god knows what for a living.
U-he on the other hand is an active plugin factory with a number of employees, which automatically forces a company to grow and keep up with the competition.

[ionekvr]

I think you're right. U-he seems to have rapidly expanded in recent years. I think I read that he now has 15 employees. Lennard seems very mysterious and private, and clearly has another life. I respect both approaches! But it would be very nice to have some more magic from Lennard one of these days. He's obviously very gifted.

[keel]

Yeah, even Sylenth is much older than Hive, it still sounds much, much better than Hive does. Lennard clearly is gifted and I really hope to see new synth from him. Maybe one day

[fluffy_little_something]

I don't think that will ever happen, not even new features for his existing synth.
I would already be happy about the subtle optimization of what is already there.
I had big hopes for Hive, wanted to get it as my new go-to synth, but it just didn't cut it sound-wise...

[Yorrrrrr]

To me, Hive made Sylenth1 completely irrelevant, but I wouldn't mind if Lennar Digital added some more features to Sylenth1. If a Sylenth2 would Be released, I am sure the internet would break. I don't get why Lennar Digital hasn't exploited this huge gold mine yet, it’s such a waste.

[blue monk]

Hive is great but it's a different sound. Hive should be cool for Pop music. Sylenth1 has that authentic EDM sound.

What I would love to see is for Sylenth1 to mostly keep it simple but stepping up the sound quality. Sylenth1 was typically the software replacement for the Access Virus, the JP8000, and the Nord Lead.
It did not reach the Nord Lead or the Virus, but that was OK, nobody would have expected that from a software synth at the time.
Today I wonder, if it wouldn't be possible to get a few steps closer to the original analog modelling hardware synths.

[anoise]

Sylenth1 has that authentic EDM sound.

Yeah, maybe because they all use Sylenth1?

Today I wonder, if it wouldn't be possible to get a few steps closer to the original analog modelling hardware synths.

It is possible. Viper is very close to the Virus.

[fluffy_little_something]

There are a lot of people who don't use Sylenth1 for EDM at all. One can use it for R&B or Pop just as well.

And once the aliasing bug is fixed, I don't understand what's wrong with the sound quality as such...