What are your current 3 favorite component modeled VA synthesizers?
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 8414 posts since 4 Jul, 2012 from Alesia
Oh yes, it's time for another "what are your favorite" post on KVR.
Anways I'll get the ball rolling..
Mine are (in no particular order) are these.
Fxpansion Strobe - Whenever I need a quick VA sound I often reach for this simple synthesizer. If you dig a bit deeper you'll find that it can cover quite a range of sounds when you start using the transmod system. I often find that Strobe can hold its own in a busy mix which is always nice. Anyhow it's a great one and definitely a synthesizer I'll never be selling! I think the first thing i thought of when testing this was that the presets reminded me of sounds I heard out of classic 90's electronic dance records and that was a good thing! I usually don't use the Fusor instrument but when I do i sometimes like using 3 instances of Strobe to create some very big sounds..
Diva - I was a bit skeptical that U-he could pull this off, but they did and now I am pretty much a believer in their modelling abilities. Nothing sounds as lush as Diva when it comes to polyphonic synthesizer sounds, and the first preset you play called "deep space diva" is proof. The filters in this actually do scream and self resonate very nicely and there is no stepping in the filters at all. I'm not so sure i could make A/B comparisons on the individual components to see if they hold up to their real world counterparts, but i don't really use diva for recreating vintage classics. I really enjoy diva because i can make Frankenstein synthesizers of my own using their parts ! One thing i often test with VA synthesizers is how nice the free running oscillators sound on their own without any FX or filtering and Divas oscillators really sound "alive" much like a analog synthesizer. I have got the chance to play with a Moog Voyager and i did those same listening tests on that and I found that Diva can mimic the behavior of analog components very well.
Saurus - I owned this at one point and sold it, regretted selling it and now I'll be buying it again next. I'm not a Tone2 fanboy by any means and quite often i think their marketing is a bit of a joke. However there is something pretty special about Saurus and I think it can hold its own quite well. I would not say it models any particular vintage synthesizer really well but like Strobe it seems to excel at capturing the "essence" of old synthesizers. It also seems to hold its own very well in the modern VA department as well and can create very good EDM style electro bass and lead sounds. Again I don't think it really mimics or emulates any one particular synthesizer well but for what it can do it does it very well. One of the nicest things about this is that it is very CPU friendly so you can easily use multiple instances of Saurus for backing tracks without having to freeze them and this is always welcome for me as I don't like freezing while I'm jamming.
Anyhow I'm interested to read what others have picked lately.
Anways I'll get the ball rolling..
Mine are (in no particular order) are these.
Fxpansion Strobe - Whenever I need a quick VA sound I often reach for this simple synthesizer. If you dig a bit deeper you'll find that it can cover quite a range of sounds when you start using the transmod system. I often find that Strobe can hold its own in a busy mix which is always nice. Anyhow it's a great one and definitely a synthesizer I'll never be selling! I think the first thing i thought of when testing this was that the presets reminded me of sounds I heard out of classic 90's electronic dance records and that was a good thing! I usually don't use the Fusor instrument but when I do i sometimes like using 3 instances of Strobe to create some very big sounds..
Diva - I was a bit skeptical that U-he could pull this off, but they did and now I am pretty much a believer in their modelling abilities. Nothing sounds as lush as Diva when it comes to polyphonic synthesizer sounds, and the first preset you play called "deep space diva" is proof. The filters in this actually do scream and self resonate very nicely and there is no stepping in the filters at all. I'm not so sure i could make A/B comparisons on the individual components to see if they hold up to their real world counterparts, but i don't really use diva for recreating vintage classics. I really enjoy diva because i can make Frankenstein synthesizers of my own using their parts ! One thing i often test with VA synthesizers is how nice the free running oscillators sound on their own without any FX or filtering and Divas oscillators really sound "alive" much like a analog synthesizer. I have got the chance to play with a Moog Voyager and i did those same listening tests on that and I found that Diva can mimic the behavior of analog components very well.
Saurus - I owned this at one point and sold it, regretted selling it and now I'll be buying it again next. I'm not a Tone2 fanboy by any means and quite often i think their marketing is a bit of a joke. However there is something pretty special about Saurus and I think it can hold its own quite well. I would not say it models any particular vintage synthesizer really well but like Strobe it seems to excel at capturing the "essence" of old synthesizers. It also seems to hold its own very well in the modern VA department as well and can create very good EDM style electro bass and lead sounds. Again I don't think it really mimics or emulates any one particular synthesizer well but for what it can do it does it very well. One of the nicest things about this is that it is very CPU friendly so you can easily use multiple instances of Saurus for backing tracks without having to freeze them and this is always welcome for me as I don't like freezing while I'm jamming.
Anyhow I'm interested to read what others have picked lately.
Last edited by V0RT3X on Sat Oct 25, 2014 11:53 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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- KVRist
- 213 posts since 10 Sep, 2014
DCAM: Synth Squad and U-He DIVA for sure. Don't know about Saurus.
AIR Vacuum Pro, AAS Ultra Analog 2, Fabfilter Twin 2 are worth considering.
AIR Vacuum Pro, AAS Ultra Analog 2, Fabfilter Twin 2 are worth considering.
My latest crazy track "The Quick Brown Fox sampled the Lazy Dog": http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 4&t=425647
15 Free DIVA Presets: http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 8#p5892108
15 Free DIVA Presets: http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 8#p5892108
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 8414 posts since 4 Jul, 2012 from Alesia
I see the AAS Ultra Analog 2 show up quite often, i might have to demo it.Synchanter wrote:DCAM: Synth Squad and U-He DIVA for sure. Don't know about Saurus.
AIR Vacuum Pro, AAS Ultra Analog 2, Fabfilter Twin 2 are worth considering.
**Updated**
Well i demoed it, and tbh I didn't really like it. First off it sounds like there is some kind of brickwall limiter on the output so the sound that comes out on louder patches sounds squashed. I can't find a way to turn that off..
Next off the resonance in this sounds really "sharp" and not in a very convincing way either. Maybe i'm just spoiled with the likes of Diva and Cytomic the Drop. I really thought the layout was nice, but the GUI screams for a resizing option!
It's not bad, but I wouldn't be reaching for this over something like Synthsquad or Diva for realistic analog synthesis emulation. The oscillators sound pretty good though, they sure did a good job with that!
Last edited by V0RT3X on Sat Oct 25, 2014 9:08 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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- KVRAF
- 7728 posts since 28 Apr, 2013
AAS Ultra Analog VA-2 is my low CPU solution for Diva, (they share a common sound character in many respects). And it's usually the first I open and use for straight analog. (I haven't made the jump to buy Diva - just play with the demo still).
- KVRAF
- 25252 posts since 3 Feb, 2005 from in the wilds
Diva, Synth Squad, Monark
Saurus I like the feature set, but the sound is not there for me. IMO, it needs an HQ mode. It's currently like a draft mode... works fine for some stuff but falls apart for others.
An analogue synth never aliases... to me then, that needs to be one of the marks of a good emulation, that it is hard to make it alias.
Saurus I like the feature set, but the sound is not there for me. IMO, it needs an HQ mode. It's currently like a draft mode... works fine for some stuff but falls apart for others.
An analogue synth never aliases... to me then, that needs to be one of the marks of a good emulation, that it is hard to make it alias.
- KVRAF
- 5790 posts since 17 Aug, 2004 from Berlin, Germany
Diva and Strobe.. yes!
Saurus.. hmm... I own it but rarely use it. Something I don't like with the sound, IMO it's a bit too generic for a "true analog" synth. I have always the feeling with Tone2 synth there is some psycho-acoustic effect/enhancer added instead of some deep modelling of analog behavior. The good thing is only the low resource usage.
Saurus.. hmm... I own it but rarely use it. Something I don't like with the sound, IMO it's a bit too generic for a "true analog" synth. I have always the feeling with Tone2 synth there is some psycho-acoustic effect/enhancer added instead of some deep modelling of analog behavior. The good thing is only the low resource usage.
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- KVRAF
- 10260 posts since 19 Feb, 2004 from Paris
Xils 4, PolyKB II, Syn'X. They dont cover all my needs though so I'll add Monark, Aalto, ImpOscar, SEM V, Ultra Analog ( Doesnt sound that analog btw, but can make pretty unique things I like ), and the Korg LCAE. Syn'X has vintage DCOs also, so thats also a very specific sound.
http://www.lelotusbleu.fr Synth Presets
77 Exclusive Soundbanks for 23 synths, 8 Sound Designers, Hours of audio Demos. The Sound you miss might be there
77 Exclusive Soundbanks for 23 synths, 8 Sound Designers, Hours of audio Demos. The Sound you miss might be there
- KVRAF
- 10169 posts since 7 Sep, 2006 from Roseville, CA
Those three get my vote as well, but Saurus would be a close runner-up.pdxindy wrote:Diva, Synth Squad, Monark
Logic Pro | PolyBrute | MatrixBrute | MiniFreak | Prophet 6 | Trigon 6 | OB-6 | Rev2 | Pro 3 | SE-1X | Polar TI2 | Blofeld | RYTMmk2 | Digitone | Syntakt | Digitakt | SX7
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 8414 posts since 4 Jul, 2012 from Alesia
Yah i have noticed something very unique about the tone2 sound, i wonder if maybe there are parts of AkustiX implemented in Saurus and their other synthesizers?4damind wrote:Diva and Strobe.. yes!
Saurus.. hmm... I own it but rarely use it. Something I don't like with the sound, IMO it's a bit too generic for a "true analog" synth. I have always the feeling with Tone2 synth there is some psycho-acoustic effect/enhancer added instead of some deep modelling of analog behavior. The good thing is only the low resource usage.
I personally like the generic tone of saurus and i think it makes a decent bread and butter style VA. Yes I don't think it is anywhere as convincing as DIVA or synthsquad in the actual modelling department, but i guess i like it because it's a nice mix of modern and vintage. My most liked aspect of Saurus is definitely the low CPU usage!
I don't think i've ever heard drastic aliasing in saurus at least not when I owned it. It might have also been because I never really pushed it for anything other than basic sounds. Yes higher oversampling options would be nice!pdxindy wrote:Diva, Synth Squad, Monark
Saurus I like the feature set, but the sound is not there for me. IMO, it needs an HQ mode. It's currently like a draft mode... works fine for some stuff but falls apart for others.
An analogue synth never aliases... to me then, that needs to be one of the marks of a good emulation, that it is hard to make it alias.
Someone mentioned that Saurus has 2x oversampling built into some of the modules so maybe it only happens when you run it at low sample rates?
Last edited by V0RT3X on Fri Oct 24, 2014 8:56 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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- Banned
- 18651 posts since 2 Oct, 2001 from England
TAL 101
Thats it. Its the only one i have physically A/B'd. Its very close.
Lots of stuff prob sounds quite close, but there's more to it than the sound. Its about the physical interaction. The fun factor!
Currently im only playing a guitar....
Thats it. Its the only one i have physically A/B'd. Its very close.
Lots of stuff prob sounds quite close, but there's more to it than the sound. Its about the physical interaction. The fun factor!
Currently im only playing a guitar....
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- KVRAF
- 35231 posts since 11 Apr, 2010 from Germany
After watching this video, i would definitely say yes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ402ruluRoV0RT3X wrote: Yah i have noticed something very unique about the tone2 sound, i wonder if maybe there are parts of AkustiX implemented in Saurus and their other synthesizers?
I wasn't aware of AkustiX before, but it reminds me much of "that" Tone2 sound, so i figure they have those effects in most if not all of their synths too.