Tone2 NEMESIS Alternative? 80s, synthwave

[Caine123]

i demo'ed it and it gave me a 50:50 impression, somehow it lacks the "BAMM" feeling like i have with DIVA, but at the same time the pads, atmos etc. are really nice and you can turn on the NEO knob and change the sounds greatly. im thinking about getting this instead of UVI Vintage Legends as it seems to offer more (and being a synth!). but still is there something as alternative to it maybe?

for basses, leads etc. i got DIVA, NI Monark
and also TAL Uno, OBX Pro 2, Synth1 (a beast!)

i also have FM8 but somehow i dont like it much ?

i think for the analog sounding stuff im set but FM-ish sound?

[animehaus]

Have you given Blue2 demo a try?

[Caine123]

not yet mate thx

[Lotuzia]

Try Fm8 with this bank and you might like it more

FM legends

Beyond Reality

FM Legends 2

Bonus Bank

We also have this one for FM8, with a different vibe

Chakadelic

For 80s analog sounds Xils-Lab Oxium + this bank will give you a lot of vintage sounds

or maybe with this bank for Oxium. Really depends what you're after. There were so much good -and sometimes bad- things in the 80s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3sf-1DTIYU

LtZ

[Ingonator]

FM8 in the hands of a skilled programmer like Lotuzia could indeed sound awesome (his bank for FM8 is great...) but as soon as you are not as skilled in programming FM and try to program your own sounds it is a nightmare IMO.

I participated in the Nemesis beta testing + factoy sounds and also did sounds for the soundsets. Currently also working on new patches. IMO Nemesis seems to be hardly comparable to other synths which does not mean that others like e.g. Blue 2 (mentioned above) are bad.

One major point in Nemesis is that with the NeoFM synthesis modes it uses real FM synthesis opposing to phase modulation like in most other FM synths. This maybe sounds like a "maketing trick" but if you have a closer look could make a big difference.
Phase modulation seems to work best with Sine or "Sinoid" waveforms (waveforms based on mixing Sines with different harmonics like in additive synthesis) while the NeoFM in Nemesis works nicely with all kinds of complex waveforms (which could be imported and exported). Nemesis also includes a simple additive waveform editor to create waveforms from scratch or modify imported ones. Besides editing the first 16 partials there are some more editing options in the advanced editing menu (including e.g. changing phases etc.).

Besides that there are multiple synthesis modes includeing different "NeoFM" modes with additional sub-oscillator or Sync.
Besides a few phase modulation modes (including one that works like the DX) ther are e.g. phase modulation ,Resonance, wavetable (basically wave morphing) and Formant modes.
The NeoFM knob could have different functions in the different synthesis modes like e.g. FM amount in the NeoFM and PM modes or Formant frequency in the formant mode.

Anyway while there are phase modulation modes and the "Classic FM" soundset recreates several of the "typical" FM sounds Nemesis for sure is no direct replacement for FM8 or other 6 OP FM synths. Aynway the additive editor, waveform import and the fact that the NeoFM modes are not limited in terms of the waveforms makes the use of multiple Operators redundant in some cases.
Each of the 2 oscilators besides the carrier and modulator also includes feedback for the carrier (with the "Feedback" knob) which corresponds to the carrier modulating itself which is also possible with other FM synths.


Ingo

[Robmobius]

I really like Nemesis, it's really worth putting the time in. It can do a wide array of sounds.

[Nokenoku]

For the more digital side of retro-sounds I highly recommend the Korg Wavestation.

[Ingonator]

For the more digital side of retro-sounds I highly recommend the Korg Wavestation.

Wavestation is always a good choice and the hardware is also not really expensive...

Anyway i prefer to have both the hardware (EX keyboard) and software version.

[Caine123]

mostly interested in some slap basses, nice bells etc.

check at 20 secs the slap bass and the belly sound

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0jEm4xzYh0

[Nokenoku]

Wavestation has some nice bells (and similar stuff).
Slap basses rather not.

[Examigan]

Try Fm8 with this bank and you might like it more

FM legends

Beyond Reality

FM Legends 2

Bonus Bank

We also have this one for FM8, with a different vibe

Chakadelic

LtZ

I do really like Nemesis a lot, but these FM8 presets sound great

[Karten]

You could have a look at my bank for Ultra Analog VA-2.
http://ghostwaveaudio.com/ultra-analog-memento/

If you have that synth, download the 12 free patches and see if they rocks your boat.

https://soundcloud.com/ghostwaveaudio/memento-01

For FM sounds, have a look at BigTick Rhino (+ the others mentioned above)

[pdxindy]

For a different sort of FM synth... Bazille

[Caine123]

mostly interested in some slap basses, nice bells etc.

check at 20 secs the slap bass and the belly sound

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0jEm4xzYh0

[zerocrossing]

Nemesis's sound did nothing for me.

I downloaded the Blue 2 demo and I was pretty impressed. NIce UI and fun to use. I may pick this one up soon...

...but my favorite all time FM software synths are Octopus and Toxic Biohazard. These two have a warmth to them that sets them apart from the rest IMO.

Then, there's always hardware. You can get Yamaha FM synths cheap as chips these days. They're a PITA to program, but with all the presets floating around the internet you can probably find enough good ones so you'll never need to program one ever again. I have a DX200, which isn't even really programmable via its interface (It came with a software editor that only works with XP) but has a bunch of knobs that make it a joy to fool around with and it has a cool little sequencer as well.