Best VST instrument for relaxation, Ambient, sounds

[AAX-VST]

Didn't read all the thread but Arturia V collection, can get pretty much everything & anything out of that. - its very special for ambient stuff. as you can be unique and be creative (if thats your thing)

[aMUSEd]

Just let us post our favorite self made ambient/chill track since we should know what we have used for this. It´s easy to talk in "music"

https://soundcloud.com/kymeia/ethernity

Alchemy -> Reaktor -> Metasynth

I've heard this before, I think that I've listened to several of your works. I'm curious about the role that Metasynth plays here? It's expensive, mac only, has an old school website etc. What do you think that is unique about it and how were you using it for here?

It's a while since I made that piece so can't remember exactly but I probably used the fx room and spectral processing for this as the original audio was already created in Alchemy and Reaktor. For other pieces I can use Metsynth more as a composition tool. It has very high quality time stretch and spectral tools but it's not unique, I could probably get similarish results with Paulstretch for the time stretch aspects at least.

[ghettosynth]

Just let us post our favorite self made ambient/chill track since we should know what we have used for this. It´s easy to talk in "music"

https://soundcloud.com/kymeia/ethernity

Alchemy -> Reaktor -> Metasynth

I've heard this before, I think that I've listened to several of your works. I'm curious about the role that Metasynth plays here? It's expensive, mac only, has an old school website etc. What do you think that is unique about it and how were you using it for here?

It's a while since I made that piece so can't remember exactly but I probably used the fx room and spectral processing for this as the original audio was already created in Alchemy and Reaktor. For other pieces I can use Metsynth more as a composition tool. It has very high quality time stretch and spectral tools but it's not unique, I could probably get similarish results with Paulstretch for the time stretch aspects at least.

Thanks. Are there aspects to metasynth that you think justifies the price today?

[aMUSEd]

I got it on sale, probably wouldn't pay the full price

The timestretch is not unique but some of the spectral tools I have not seen elsewhere (or some are scattered within a number of GRM/Soundhack plugins) and the microtonal composer and image synth are still unique (although the interface is a pain at times, as is lack of undo history)

[digitalboytn]

You can use any VSTi to get superb relaxation sounds....

Just insert the instrument and then turn the volume down to zero....

Or better still...

Hit the power button on your computer and walk away....

I find that very relaxing

[nichttuntun]

and don't forget to mediate a while

[Cinebient]

You can use any VSTi to get superb relaxation sounds....

Just insert the instrument and then turn the volume down to zero....

Or better still...

Hit the power button on your computer and walk away....

I find that very relaxing

...not if you go on a Saturday before Christmas in a shopping hall

[nichttuntun]

I'm hoping to make some relaxation music with ambient, pads, soundscape type musical noise, I wondered what the best VST instruments would be, what do people think ? Really looking for mellow sounds.
Hope that's not too vague/general, I'm just doing it for fun !

Again.

Consider buying a hardware Synth.

The Waldorf BLOFELD offers an incredibly big variety of sounds including wavetables and the sound of Microwave / Waldorf Q / Wave. It is perfect for veeeery looooong evolving ambient pads and all kinds of strange sound alike. It features the legendary PPG as well as a comb (!) filter. It has one of the deepest modulation matrix I know which leaves no wishes unforfilled You really can´t do anything wrong here. And the desktop version is a no brainer due to its price. As a big PLUS it comes along without a dongle, a serial or an online registration

Watch this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXvQs4Nq06c

All other Non-Ambient orientated Synth-Nerds watch this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdXWsv41lx8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9rbprK_EpA

I own a BLOFELD myself and it is true. This machine IS great sounding and shoots you directly in sound design heaven.

Have fun

[nichttuntun]

I'm hoping to make some relaxation music with ambient, pads, soundscape type musical noise, I wondered what the best VST instruments would be, what do people think ? Really looking for mellow sounds.
Hope that's not too vague/general, I'm just doing it for fun !

Hi Timfarman,
I know you asked for a VST and here I come along with the second hardware suggestion...BUT I think you not only will progress in your Ambient Music Production but you probably will draw some real joy out of this process...

...when you buy a little field recorder (there are some very good and really affordable pieces out by Sony), go out record sounds and noises and process theses in your DAW and take them as a foundation for a GRANULAR sampler/ synthesizer. I recommend PADSHOP PRO (its great and cheap!). You will get endless options here and a neverending source of inspiration....and first of all you have made your own sounds!

And finally some VST-recomendations
As mentioned before by many people...Ambient Music really breathes through good EFX-machines. These are veeeery good and cheap and perfect for your purposes:

- Valhalla - SHIMMER
- VAlhalla - UBERMOD

And "the greatest of them all":

- U-he - MFM2 (More Feedback Machine 2). Not so cheap but a fantastic tool for sounddesign, where you can enter combfiltering and synthesizer territority using 4 delay units in one and combine them with a huge and deep modulation matrix. It´s sheer delay madness and its capable of producing a big variety of sounds and styles even some glitch and granular kind of sounds - awesome.

Cheers and happy producing.

[hotmitts]

Interesting ! Something like that could be handy all round. I see what you mean, having unique found sounds as inspiration would make the whole thing nicer.
For more conventional stuff, I suppose one could use the Field recorder for dictating, song lyrics ideas, recording song ideas generally too ?

[sqigls]

whatever synths you use, do yourself a favour and get yourself a preset bank by Hollo. His pads are the best in the known universe, reverse engineer a few of those bad boys and you'll be on your way to ambient heaven!

[SciFiArtMan]

...go out record sounds and noises and process theses in your DAW and take them as a foundation for a GRANULAR sampler/ synthesizer. I recommend PADSHOP PRO (its great and cheap!). You will get endless options here and a neverending source of inspiration....and first of all you have made your own sounds!

I'd love to hear some examples of this process!

[CrystalWizard]

You need to spend a ton of money, get my favorite synths or better yet get the exact synths i use.
There's a lot of good info in this thread. I agree with the posts on page 1 that it's about how you use the synths as much or more than the actual architecture. That said i do also agree with the post on page 1 stating that a synth with either a large (ambient) preset bank and/or a synth with a large and good effects section is a good start. However, if you have a DAW with a good selection of effects than you are ready to make ambient music. The comment on using field recordings is spot on.

As an example i and my friends made lots of ambient music using a guitar, bass guitar, and percussion through a bunch of effects pedals for years. One percussionist used bells, sheets of plastic and metal, buckets, kitchen utensiles, and muffler parts. I don't agree with the whole 'this synth does this style of music' thing. Glad that concept was never applied to guitar (or piano.) Presets, yeah, architecture, no.

[nichttuntun]

Interesting ! Something like that could be handy all round. I see what you mean, having unique found sounds as inspiration would make the whole thing nicer.
For more conventional stuff, I suppose one could use the Field recorder for dictating, song lyrics ideas, recording song ideas generally too ?

Yes of course. You can use it as a dictating machine and - if you play an instrument - you can record yourself to find out where to improve

A nice idea is (in a DAW) to send some of your samples (or synth) into MFD2 and create a mad soundscape. Than render a certain part to audio. Than take this new audio file and feed it into a granular sampler. After that process add some nice reverb

I am also experimenting with droning Amp simulations. Brainworks has some really excellent VST guitar amps and it is amazing how they sound and what they can do to a signal...even in non-distorted mode. That can result in very thick atmospheric sounds combined with the tube delays of the amps. Also nice are tape-delay echos in general. They have much character and somehow sound kind of "old". You can get some results you cannot easily achieve with other delay units.

U-he Satin is fantastic but expensive and
SK-Notes Roundtone is cheap and has a great and organic sounding tape delay build in

...go out record sounds and noises and process theses in your DAW and take them as a foundation for a GRANULAR sampler/ synthesizer. I recommend PADSHOP PRO (its great and cheap!). You will get endless options here and a neverending source of inspiration....and first of all you have made your own sounds!

I'd love to hear some examples of this process!

I am making music since the early 90th but I only had 1 track released out from my ex-project "Vincent´s Ohr" on a sampler and one album with a slow-motion-psycore guitar band where I made noises/ sounddesign/ samples and played Synthesizers (in the 90th). Now I am concentrating on playing the piano and diving deeper into harmonic music theroy. And I am still programming synth and experiment with all kind of soundsources and synthesis. BUT this is all just a hobby and I am doing it for the joy I am having when I listen to sound in general. Maybe one day I will get something out again. I am collecting ideas now. Who knows what will happen?
If you´d love to hear some examples of the described process...just get some tools and simply just do it by yourself...it is such a joy, you´ll love it for sure. Can´t encourage and recommend enough...

...here is some more inspiration for you all:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0ztmM1tpeE&t=564s

[vurt]

absynth
reaktor
/end thread.