NI gets my nod for two "overrateds"

Massive - Pretty much for the reasons already noted by others in the thread.

Absynth - As above. I just don't need another evolving pad synth.

Aside: I am grumpily supportive of NI. I anxiously await a bug-free release of, well, anything they release. They are almost like Microsoft (wait for Service Pack 1 before using it!) in that regard. And let's not mention their price points except to say that they should be a good $50US lower than they are for their top-end synths. I have Kontakt 2, B4, and FM8 now, and anticipate Guitar Rig 2 entering my inventory as soon as my credit card breaks my will.

My third choice would almost have to be "everything else coming out or on the near-term drawing board". Honestly, I haven't heard or tried anything recently that I haven't already heard or tried in the past. I'm beginning to adopt the opinion that everything that can be done in a synth has been. I would much rather be wrong about this view than right. I will remain open to being pleasantly proven way off the mark.

I must say that Sonik Synth 2 (Sonic Reality, IK Multimedia)drops the ball like a bad student drops science. When it comes to something of this nature, the emulations and real sampled instruments cannot compare to most free Soundfonts. For something like this I'd choose Cakewalk's "Dimension Pro". (Luxonic's "Purity" also falls in this catagory)

Many people seem to want to discuss Native Instrument's latest additions to their Synth Line. Namely, Massive and FM8. When I hear a patch from Massive I am Instantly reminded of Korg's "Legacy Cell" softsynth. They both have that obese sound to them which many people desire. I do like NI's Patch archiving idea that tries to describe the audible qualities of a sound and labels it acording to their table.

Other 'synths' that kick the bucket like a dump-truck in heat are those who just play pre-recorded loops. Alot of Uberschall and Steinberg products come to mind. I realize that these arn't really in the same catagory as the above. . . but they're both advertised in the same marketplace. My replacements for the steinberg products "Virtual Guitarist" and Virtual Bassist" are MusicLab's "RealGuitar" and Spectrasonic's "Trilogy" respectively.

I also like CakeWalk's "Rapture" I find that one to be especially dope for some reason.

grymm might be skinning it now? (hope so. ) (he might decide its too shite)

Zebra 2 has popped up a few times and I can kind of understand why. The preset banks that are included which help to form your first impression of an instrument's capabilities were pretty disappointing, even to me. Mostly bizarre, sci-fi edginess that occupies most Absynth banks as well. It's a shame because if you start from scratch and really explore what you can do with even just a single oscillator and VCF, it just oozes quality. The wide array of filter types are amazing and very characterful! I suspect that in the future there will be a lot more preset banks released geared towards more familiar types of sounds and a lot of people's impressions will change.

Ha, Gotcha!

They're useful and sound good. Have you even tried them?



So? Producing sounds using oscillators and filters isn't exactly a drawback of SE synths only.



Lack of innovation isn't exactly limited to SE creations either.

Fun to see you so high though

thats true to some degree the presets are quite bland, but even after digging in and building a selection of sounds i was still left really unexcited. shame really as i think the developer (urs?) seems like a decent sort and i wouldnt mind him getting my money (rather him than NI) but the synth just doesnt hit the spot.

perhaps the problem is it 'oozes' the wrong kind of quality...like i said, its too smooth..like kenny g when i want ornette coleman

Could you please explain why you dislike Wusikstation ? It would be interesting, because so many people like it.

I don't have much money to spend on software, so I don't buy expensive synths. But I'd like to get Surge, the demo is impressive.

Zebra - I hate to say it, but I just don't like the sound. Yes, I played with it for a few hours after being dissappointed by the presets just to double-check... I think the problem is I don't get excited over pads...

Vanguard - If you're a hobbiest into dance, yes, this makes those sounds. But that REVERB...

Massive - This is one of those times I felt like I really got taken for my money... This seems like a good $50 synth that would load-up in Reaktor. To have it outside of Reaktor and to have spent so much money on it really seems like a slap in the face. NI *needed* a modern subtractive synth since Pro53 is old, but this isn't what I expect from NI soundwise...



-Ido

if your not totally new to synthesis, by any means get surge !

if you think all zebra 2 can do is pads obviously you need more than "a few hours".

When playing with Zebra, pads are the ***best*** sound I could get out of it. I didn't like the leads that I got out of it. I'm sure the sound is right for others.

There is no overrated synth. The problem is the user. Everybody has his or her skills, tastes etc. Some people only use presets, others like to do their own patches. Some people are patient, some not... .
Massive and Absynth can be great experiences, if you take your time to explore them. They're quite flexible, but not easy to handle. And the sounds are quite organic, much more lifeful than most of our beloved multisamples.

I can't think of any cookie cutter SynthEdit VA's that get significant amounts of hype. I mean, there are lots that aren't very good, but if nobody's getting excited about them they're not exactly overhyped.

The SE stuff that people actually get excited is generally doing things that very few other free / cheap synths do.

1. Massive - terrible presets, "massive" CPU usage - no, thanks
2. FM8 - is there anything that justifies upgrading from FM7, and getting used to a different GUI? I dont see it
3. Reaktor - I would not pay that much to have to build synths on my own

In general I find all VSTS overrated that claim to have anything (sounds, synthesis types) included - I more and more enjoy using good "one-trick-ponies"