Best all-round synth with character?

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Very difficult to answer because it does not exist in my mind. That is why I have loads of synths. And the one or 2 that might be jack of all trades master of none are my least used synths cause their character is bland and unexciting.

Nothing does everything well in my mind with possible exception of an actual ACCESS Virus TI, this does the lot pretty much and then some.

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EvilDragon wrote:Zebra 2, beyond shadow of a doubt.

Even better: ZebraHZ, with Diva filters. :love:
+1 for Zebra 2. Rock, Pop, EDM, etc, what ever you want to do you can do it with Zebra 2.
Win 10 -64bit, CPU i7-7700K, 32Gb, Focusrite 2i2, FL-studio 20, Studio One 4, Reason 10

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ariston wrote:I think that "character" and "lots of synthesis types" are probably at odds with each other. I wouldn't attribute "character" to jacks-of-all-trades like Synthmaster, Falcon, Zebra, Avenger, etc. The TAL emulations, Repro, Diva, the XiLS synths... those have character. But maybe you have a different definition of character.

The only one that comes to mind is Bazille, because it is that wild and pretty unique digital/analogue modular hybrid that can go from silky smooth to gnarly and raucous in a heartbeat.
this is kinda true i feel, the workhorse synths all have their character, but... what did the Wolf say to his girlfriend, in Pulp Fiction?...(paraphrasing, can't remember) "you ARE a character, that doesn't mean you HAVE character."
When i read the OP immediately i thought Zebra, then Synthmaster... but (forgive me if I'm wrong) Synthmaster doesn't really have a lot of character, which is probably why it's such a versatile beast.

would be easy to just reel off another KVR list of synths here, the u-he family are all great all-rounders with character.

My vote currently goes to Thorn. It's all i've been using, and I'm loving it.
From one angle it kinda seems to be limited when it comes to modulators, envelope shapes etc... but after spending a few weeks with it, i haven't felt so inspired to make ALL my own patches for a long time.
Thorn also has a shedload of character.
not as 'all-round' feature rich as the obvious list we could all type here. but it definitely has character.

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ATN69 wrote:
EvilDragon wrote:Zebra 2, beyond shadow of a doubt.

Even better: ZebraHZ, with Diva filters. :love:
+1 for Zebra 2. Rock, Pop, EDM, etc, what ever you want to do you can do it with Zebra 2.
I've tried Zebra several times but never liked the interface, so bought other synths like those from Arturia, although I will probably get the Repro bundle from u-he.

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Spire.
This entire forum is wading through predictions, opinions, barely formed thoughts, drama, and whining. If you don't enjoy that, why are you here? :D ShawnG

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Hemmick Reef wrote:In terms of getting to know one synth really well....

Which would you recommend as the best all-round softsynth to cover as many synthesise types as possible, with loads of character?

Did you take a wrong turn and end up at KVR by mistake ?

There is no such thing on this forum as "one" (as in numerical 1) softsynth !

By the time this thread is done you will have been recommended zillions of synths.

Music is much less about the instrument,and more about the character of the person inputing the chops.

Take a look at this guy who uses kitchen knives,a tennis racket and typewriter to do his stuff. How much character do those inanimate objects possess ?

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

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I do have a question for the OP.

What exactly is it that you're ultimately trying to accomplish with this synth? Do you even know? For example, when I look for a specific synth, it's usually for a specific purpose such as when I was looking for any modular synth. I knew why I wanted a modular and what I was going to use it for which was going to be different than what I'd use a non modular synth for.

Maybe if you can give us a more specific idea of what your plans are (music genre for example) we could maybe narrow down the list. Probably not, but it can't hurt.

So let me ask a few specific questions.

1) What main genres do you compose in?

2) Will this synth be a main part of the composition process or will it be an addition to other synths or even other conventional (pianos, organs, guitars, etc.) instruments?

3) Do you have a budget limit?

4) Do you have a limit as far PC specs? In other words, will CPU intensive synths give you problems?

5) Can you give us any other relevant info that might help us help you?

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wagtunes wrote:I do have a question for the OP.

What exactly is it that you're ultimately trying to accomplish with this synth? Do you even know? For example, when I look for a specific synth, it's usually for a specific purpose such as when I was looking for any modular synth. I knew why I wanted a modular and what I was going to use it for which was going to be different than what I'd use a non modular synth for.

Maybe if you can give us a more specific idea of what your plans are (music genre for example) we could maybe narrow down the list. Probably not, but it can't hurt.

So let me ask a few specific questions.

1) What main genres do you compose in?

2) Will this synth be a main part of the composition process or will it be an addition to other synths or even other conventional (pianos, organs, guitars, etc.) instruments?

3) Do you have a budget limit?

4) Do you have a limit as far PC specs? In other words, will CPU intensive synths give you problems?

5) Can you give us any other relevant info that might help us help you?

70's prog (Tangerine Dream - Brian Eno - Air -Radiohead): No: No

All I wanted to do was try a synth that can cover all synthesise types and to see if it could cover such a broad range of sounds that I wouldn't need to bother with umpteen synths? Just get to know one really well.... that's all, just a test.
Sounds like Zebra could do it actually, so I've had my question answered :wink:

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Last edited by egbert101 on Wed Feb 21, 2018 11:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
<List your stupid gear here>

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Hemmick Reef wrote:
wagtunes wrote:I do have a question for the OP.

What exactly is it that you're ultimately trying to accomplish with this synth? Do you even know? For example, when I look for a specific synth, it's usually for a specific purpose such as when I was looking for any modular synth. I knew why I wanted a modular and what I was going to use it for which was going to be different than what I'd use a non modular synth for.

Maybe if you can give us a more specific idea of what your plans are (music genre for example) we could maybe narrow down the list. Probably not, but it can't hurt.

So let me ask a few specific questions.

1) What main genres do you compose in?

2) Will this synth be a main part of the composition process or will it be an addition to other synths or even other conventional (pianos, organs, guitars, etc.) instruments?

3) Do you have a budget limit?

4) Do you have a limit as far PC specs? In other words, will CPU intensive synths give you problems?

5) Can you give us any other relevant info that might help us help you?

70's prog (Tangerine Dream - Brian Eno - Air -Radiohead): No: No

All I wanted to do was try a synth that can cover all synthesise types and to see if it could cover such a broad range of sounds that I wouldn't need to bother with umpteen synths? Just get to know one really well.... that's all, just a test.
Sounds like Zebra could do it actually, so I've had my question answered :wink:
FWIW to you. I grew up in the 60s and 70s. Recently did a 70s prog rock CD. No way was one synth going to cover everything I wanted to do. For the Mellotron stuff, I got GeForce's M-Tron because nothing else comes close. For the RMI piano (Genesis) forget synths. I got a sample based keyboard VST. And so on with all the other "specialty" sounds. I spent a good 2 or 3 grand to be able to do this project as authentically as possible.

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wagtunes wrote:
Hemmick Reef wrote:
wagtunes wrote:I do have a question for the OP.

What exactly is it that you're ultimately trying to accomplish with this synth? Do you even know? For example, when I look for a specific synth, it's usually for a specific purpose such as when I was looking for any modular synth. I knew why I wanted a modular and what I was going to use it for which was going to be different than what I'd use a non modular synth for.

Maybe if you can give us a more specific idea of what your plans are (music genre for example) we could maybe narrow down the list. Probably not, but it can't hurt.

So let me ask a few specific questions.

1) What main genres do you compose in?

2) Will this synth be a main part of the composition process or will it be an addition to other synths or even other conventional (pianos, organs, guitars, etc.) instruments?

3) Do you have a budget limit?

4) Do you have a limit as far PC specs? In other words, will CPU intensive synths give you problems?

5) Can you give us any other relevant info that might help us help you?

70's prog (Tangerine Dream - Brian Eno - Air -Radiohead): No: No

All I wanted to do was try a synth that can cover all synthesise types and to see if it could cover such a broad range of sounds that I wouldn't need to bother with umpteen synths? Just get to know one really well.... that's all, just a test.
Sounds like Zebra could do it actually, so I've had my question answered :wink:
FWIW to you. I grew up in the 60s and 70s. Recently did a 70s prog rock CD. No way was one synth going to cover everything I wanted to do. For the Mellotron stuff, I got GeForce's M-Tron because nothing else comes close. For the RMI piano (Genesis) forget synths. I got a sample based keyboard VST. And so on with all the other "specialty" sounds. I spent a good 2 or 3 grand to be able to do this project as authentically as possible.
2-3 grand.... :o .... I suppose if you buy the best sampled instruments it would, but that seems more than I would of thought necessary?

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ArcSyn has lots of character :)
(It will be on sale on the 25th.)
But it surely doesn't cover all kinds of syntheses.

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I will agree with others: character and do-it-all are kind of juxtaposed, filters and oscilatorios are what gives a synth its character so when you try to cover a lot developers tend to go towards generic filters and oscillators.

ALso "character" is quite more attached to particular instruments, some synths that are full of "character" are limited: TB303, Juno, Jupiter, Prophet5, Cs80, Minimoog, etc.

So if you want a "all in one synth" I think either Falcon, Reaktor or Zebra would be the best, falcon being, for me, the easiest to use. Omnisphere could also qualify but it is limited in FM, but it has granula which Zebra doesn't.

But if you want a SYnth which has its own character while still doing a lot: Largo, Bazille, ACE and Serum.

Largo has its own character, uses little CPU and has a good amount of options.

ACE has analog like sound, with a modular architecture, sounds great and it is cheap.

Bazille is pretty unique, probably one of the most characterful plugin synths ever made and complex too.

Serum, it has various filter models which help a lot in getting sounds with character, it also comes with lots of waveforms from analog synths which also helps. It is flexible enough, easy to use.
dedication to flying

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egbert101 wrote:
Hemmick Reef wrote: All I wanted to do was try a synth that can cover all synthesise types and to see if it could cover such a broad range of sounds that I wouldn't need to bother with umpteen synths? Just get to know one really well.... that's all, just a test.
Sounds like Zebra could do it actually, so I've had my question answered :wink:
It's really not that simple. But Zebra 2 is a good choice if you're an expert at sound design and want to craft a broad range of sounds.
or be willing to buy preset packs

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Zebra 2 definitely.

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