Syntronik [update March 2018: New T-03 Bonus Content & 4-for-1 bass synth promo] available

[Saukar30]

1 thing that always gets me about IK is the implementation of aftertouch. In ST3 I tried to raise a stink about it, but I guess it was a nonissue. Seeing how Syntronik is marketed as a synth (ish)... I really feel they need to take the time to implement aftertouch as a control somewhere in ST3, Syntronik or both.

It's baffling but they haven't implemented it in the SampleTank engine after more than a decade of people asking "why hasn't it got aftertouch?" so I guess it's never going to happen.

I've taken the approach of mapping it to something like CC11 either in the controller (a Linnstrument) or a MIDI converter tool in the DAW. That's OK in Cubase and Logic, but it's a royal PITA in Live because most of the M4L gadgets for mapping controllers assume you will map directly to a parameter in the plugin and not convert to a MIDI CC.

But, that's where you run into the second catch: IK only makes macros available for mapping. They are selected by the sound designer and often aren't set up for useful real-time playing control but more for mixing. So, half the time, you can't map to the filter or the LFO rate or LFO->Filter knob because it's not available.

Exactly. You have to do such a workaround for something that should've been just a knob. At this point Im just curious why they have obmitted it. Even if aftertouch would be available as a spurce in S3's mod matrix that would be sufficient. I just dont understand the lack of love for a common control.

[Gamma-UT]

So, is it a sample library, rompler or a synth?

Is it Groundhog Day again?

[chili beans]

So, is it a sample library, rompler or a synth?

Neither and all of thee above.

[Doc Brown]

I installed and authorized but I'm having an issue with downloading the library content. For example the syn 99 is a two part download and the first part was zipped and I unpacked it where I wanted it and all is well. The second part is syn_99_Part_2.dmg and is not zipped. Where is that folder supposed to go? I'm assuming with the first Syn99 but how do they merge? I didn't see anything in the manual or installation instructions.

Thanks

Each part should be a zip file (for Windows) - did you download the Windows version for one and the Mac version for the other? You should download the correct version for your OS and then once you unzip/uncompress the file you run the installer in each and it will put the files in the correct location.

Something was amiss. I tried it again and it worked. Thanks Peter.

[ghettosynth]

This thing is awesome. This is the best $70 (Jam Points) I have spent on this game!!!!!!!! It's nowhere as limited as people are saying. I was able to get a new sound from the synth page that sounded nothing like the original with just adjusting envelopes and filters and on top of it sounded fantastic!! A++

It's EXACTLY as limited as people are saying. They have been telling you precisely what the limitations are and your ability to get something that sounds different with envelopes and filters doesn't change that. All it does, in fact, is label you as a beginner. If you haven't done that a few thousand times with other synths already, then you lack the experience that others here have. It shouldn't surprise you at all that you can change the sound with "filters and envelopes", but, at some point you might start to realize that to get specific sounds you need specific features. In that moment, you'll realize that Syntronik is limited, as a synthesizer, just as people have described.

[Dewdman42]

So, is it a sample library, rompler or a synth?

I installed it, played with it a bit and browsed the manual. I am now on the side of calling it a "rompler" without question. Its a very very nice sounding one though...I think well worth more than what I paid for it pre-order+Jampoints. Its a preset player though, a very nice sounding one...but that's about it.

It has a lot of sonic potential don't get me wrong and the sound quality is fantastic. I've only played around with sampletank in the past and this thing sounds WAY better then anything I ever heard from Sampletank. There is virtually no ability to really construct new timbres as you would in a synth. You can get a little traction with the filters, but beyond that about all you can do is create movement in the sound with LFO's, Envelopes and arp. And you can layer them. This is very rudimentary stuff, but for a lot of people that is the beauty of it. Pick a preset, tweak a little bit and make your song. It does that beautifully, has an EXCELLENT fx section.

Call it whatever you want, but honestly what it is, is sampletank3 with a few extra fx and a few extra filters, and an arp.....then a really awesome sounding sample expansion pack that was captured from a big collection of analog synths. They definitely did a great job on the sampling...and the new filters sound good too. It sounds really good...and you can layer around and make some cool sounds but this this is NOT a synth.

[IncarnateX]

So, is it a sample library, rompler or a synth?

Ha ha. Pretending you are serious, I'd say this:

If you know about different synthesis type, you know it is limited and that the variations that matter will depend on the sample library. However, knowing this and and still wanting it should make you pretty insensitive to whatever criticism the semantic-riders put forward: Yes, it's a sample player, I know that, now go screw yourself or somebody else while I am playing with my new toy. Better to make some music with a sample-player than having a studio full of synths but nonetheless spend all your time nitpicking in random threads on the internet

Now, if anybody does spend ther time making tracks with it, plz post some examples. I like to hear what people get out of it before my personal verdict.

[Numanoid]

So, is it a sample library, rompler or a synth?

Is it Groundhog Day again?

Yeah, I wonder too

[plexuss]

Now, if anybody does spend ther time making tracks with it, plz post some examples. I like to hear what people get out of it before my personal verdict.

I already did. But posts of actual music seem to get overwhelmed by KVR whining, complaining and fighting. Very few people reply to posts of actual music created. Go back some pages to find my post with a soundcloud link to a track with 4 different layered patches I made.

[IncarnateX]

I already did. But posts of actual music seem to get overwhelmed by KVR whining, complaining and fighting. Very few people reply to posts of actual music created. Go back some pages to find my post with a soundcloud link to a track with 4 different layered patches I made.

Ah. Thats more like it. Very nice...especially the lead. Though these particular patches do sound similar to what I can achieve with my moog lib for Sampletank iPad version, so no surprises at this point.

[plexuss]

I already did. But posts of actual music seem to get overwhelmed by KVR whining, complaining and fighting. Very few people reply to posts of actual music created. Go back some pages to find my post with a soundcloud link to a track with 4 different layered patches I made.

Ah. Thats more like it. Very nice...especially the lead. Though these particular patches do sound similar to what I can achieve with my moog lib for Sampletank iPad version, so no surprises at this point.

Yes. what you have with Syntronik are essentially pre-created patches on all the synths samples. I think they did a pretty good job of making patches that have character but are still generic enough that they benefit from futher filtering and envelope contouring. However they are still samples of full bore sounds on the synths. This allows the user to get good sounds quickly, but limits those that want more sound design control. For me its a sound library of vintage synth patches and I'll use it when I want a vintage vibe quickly or a specific sound included in the patches.

Having owned many of the synths sampled in Syntronik I do think it captures, as they say, the DNA of those synths. At this point I am not able to say Syntronik is "great"... there is something about it I need to work through from a sound quality perspective...

[dmbaer]

by the way, Peter, the ensemble effect. it's not anywhere in Amplitube and T-Racks series as far as i can tell - does that mean a chorus similar to what we have in Syntronik is coming to T-Racks? please please let that be true!

Don't you think that Amplitube would be a more likely place for this type of effect to end up?

[ghettosynth]

I already did. But posts of actual music seem to get overwhelmed by KVR whining, complaining and fighting. Very few people reply to posts of actual music created. Go back some pages to find my post with a soundcloud link to a track with 4 different layered patches I made.

Ah. Thats more like it. Very nice...especially the lead. Though these particular patches do sound similar to what I can achieve with my moog lib for Sampletank iPad version, so no surprises at this point.

Yes. what you have with Syntronik are essentially pre-created patches on all the synths samples. I think they did a pretty good job of making patches that have character but are still generic enough that they benefit from futher filtering and envelope contouring. However they are still samples of full bore sounds on the synths. This allows the user to get good sounds quickly, but limits those that want more sound design control. For me its a sound library of vintage synth patches and I'll use it when I want a vintage vibe quickly or a specific sound included in the patches.

Having owned many of the synths sampled in Syntronik I do think it captures, as they say, the DNA of those synths. At this point I am not able to say Syntronik is "great"... there is something about it I need to work through from a sound quality perspective...

I meant to comment on your patches, and frankly, the patches in the Jordan Rudess videos which I liked much better than the original IK videos. I think that the IK videos are way too busy and the individual samples don't stand out. Listening to your sounds and the Rudess videos I do think that they did a good job of capturing some of the character of some of these synths.

Although the Jordan Rudess patches are quite good in places, you can clearly see that the filter settings are quite often wide open with a little bit of resonance so much of that character comes down to the samples themselves. Another thing to note is how much difference the effects make. You can hear this clearly in the Rudess video when he turns the effects off.

This product very much reminds me of Omnisphere in the sense that the value isn't in the synth engine but in the sampling and (original) patch design. Unlike Omni, of course, that patch design is largely baked into the original samples.

However, none of this should be too surprising. As I said very early in this thread, full samples will be necessary in order to capture any depth of the original synths. This was obvious to anyone who understands the architecture of some of these synths as soon as we saw the limitations in the front panel.

All of this drama and at the end, it's exactly as was described by a few of us in the beginning. It's not just luck that my assessment was spot on.

Props to IK for the free version. That will allow those of us who aren't really into this to evaluate IK's ability to create a modeled filter.

[Teksonik]

It's not just luck that my assessment was spot on.

Have you played with Syntronik at all ? Do you plan to buy the full version ?

[Teksonik]

Anyway I'm having a blast with Syntronik because I am a true synth aficionado. I like synths of all kinds even sample based synths with limited editing capabilities. If you can't have fun with Syntronik you should take up fishing or needlepoint...

Someone must have already asked by now but I would love an FX version of Syntronik.

Or how about a version that provides the four layers, per layer arp/seq and FX but allows us to load third party VSTi's.........

One thing that helps navigate Syntronik is to assign buttons on your midi controller keyboard to Mute/Solo the layers. Otherwise having to drop down the mixer tab gets old pretty quickly...