KVR Audio

ddeez · Post by **ddeez** » Mon May 05, 2014 10:58 pm

lemme know!!!

Nokenoku · Post by **Nokenoku** » Mon May 05, 2014 11:17 pm

Korg Wavestation for example.

What exactly are you looking for?
Thinking back to the old days I remember stuff like "Pentagon", "Albino" and "Vanguard".

yessongs · Post by **yessongs** » Mon May 05, 2014 11:26 pm

We had moogs oberheims, arps and prophets and yamaha and roland and kurzweil came out with the k series. We did not have vsti's back then you had to spend real money on hardware and that was the way it was. You kids today are spoiled rotten. Fender Rhodes, CP70's, clavinets and wurlitzers were all still in use somewhat. But you were always wanting to save up to get the Hammond B3. Also trons were still popular a bit and emu and ensoniq were around as well.

Bronto Scorpio · Post by **Bronto Scorpio** » Mon May 05, 2014 11:35 pm

Diva has a nice emulaion of the JP-80x0 oscillator with some extras.
Discovery (Pro) and Synth1 are inspired by the Nord lead afaik.
JP6k is an emulation of the supersaw part of the JP-80x8 oscillator section.

Cheers
Dennis

ddeez · Post by **ddeez** » Mon May 05, 2014 11:37 pm

lol yeah i meant what vst synths have 90's synth sounds? like the korg m1 has a 90's sound to it. What else out there does?

planetearth · Post by **planetearth** » Tue May 06, 2014 12:30 am

ddeez wrote:lol yeah i meant what vst synths have 90's synth sounds? like the korg m1 has a 90's sound to it. What else out there does?

By the early '90s, many hardware synth manufacturers had pretty much moved to ROMplers, which played back samples. Most of them pretty much sounded the same; there was not as much innovation as there was in the mid- to late-'80s. The only real difference was in the filters and D/A converters. Other features (such as sequencers or sampling options) didn't make these hardware synths "sound" any different from other ROMplers.

The Korg Wavestation (from 1990) is a sweet wavetable/wave sequencing/vector synth available as a VST, but if you have the M1 VST, you probably already know that.

The Ensoniq VFX came out in 1989 and was relatively popular in the '90s. According to Vintage Synth Explorer, it "allows for PPG-like synthesis using a sort of wavetable synthesis". The VFX series was one successor to the Ensoniq SQ-80. You can get a free VST "version" of the SQ-80 (http://www.buchty.net/ensoniq/), and it will even read SQ-80 SYSEX files, I believe. I think the VST version sounds great; it even offers "authentic" Ensoniq amp and filter emulation in certain areas.

Others on KVR have mentioned that the Wusikstation VST sounds like the VFX or the TS-10, the successor to the VFX. The TS-10 was basically a ROMpler, though it offered "transwave" capability.

So, if you're looking for unique synthesis methods that became popular in the '90s (as the Roland D-50, Yamaha DX-7 and the Korg Wavestation did in the '80s and early '90s), you probably won't find too many--and even fewer as VSTs. By the end of the '90s, analogue gear was making a comeback, with "more knobs!" the designer's mantra.

I created a piece based upon synths available in the early '90s. Everything on it was available by 1991, and it uses pretty much all the synthesis methods I've mentioned here.

https://soundcloud.com/shdesigns/90s-rock-piece

(I'll be replacing the drum sounds with more obviously '90s-sounding samples now that I have better samples, but this gives you an idea of what was available.)

Hope this helps!

Steve

ghettosynth · Post by **ghettosynth** » Tue May 06, 2014 12:54 am

The 90s "sound" is largely all about weak samples (by today's standards) combined with weak synth engines, weak to strong effects, and a lot of skill. So, if you want that sound, just use any old soundfont engine, add some samples that don't take up too much memory, a few good effects, throw in some skill at getting it to sound "good", and you're there.

Don't use anything with ZDF filters or anything fancy in terms of VA ability. In fact, you don't even need resonant filters.

I'd say that Kontakt's anemic, but reasonably large, factory library pretty much nails anything that I could get out of my Yamaha TG-500.

You can only play so many pitched up guitar samples, orchestra hits, scratches, vocal hits designed to sound like James Brown, hoovers, triangles, and piccolo snares before you throw in the Seinfeld slap bass and call it a day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlpLAMLq1U4

cytospur · Post by **cytospur** » Tue May 06, 2014 2:11 am

TubeOhm Vintage is good for Roland D50-type sounds.

robotmonkey · Post by **robotmonkey** » Tue May 06, 2014 6:25 am

E-MU Proteus VX and Emulator X3 have all the sounds of all the E-MU synths and sound modules. Emulator X3 also has most of the sampling and editing capabilities of E-MU samplers and modules from the 90's.

robotmonkey · Post by **robotmonkey** » Tue May 06, 2014 6:34 am

planetearth wrote: The Ensoniq VFX came out in 1989 and was relatively popular in the '90s. According to Vintage Synth Explorer, it "allows for PPG-like synthesis using a sort of wavetable synthesis". The VFX series was one successor to the Ensoniq SQ-80. You can get a free VST "version" of the SQ-80 (http://www.buchty.net/ensoniq/), and it will even read SQ-80 SYSEX files, I believe. I think the VST version sounds great; it even offers "authentic" Ensoniq amp and filter emulation in certain areas.

Others on KVR have mentioned that the Wusikstation VST sounds like the VFX or the TS-10, the successor to the VFX. The TS-10 was basically a ROMpler, though it offered "transwave" capability.

I'm a huge fan of Ensoniq gear (they were one of the greatest synth companies around) but I never liked the VST version of SQ-80. Even though it uses original ROM waveforms it still does not sound as good as the hardware.

TS-10 was not just a ROMpler. It was a very powerful synth having several synthesis methods including Transwave, Wave Sequencing (like Wavestation), Wavetable synthesis and Sample playback. It also had an excellent FX section based on the Ensoniq DP series processors.

SODDI · Post by **SODDI** » Tue May 06, 2014 6:37 am

Didn't someone do a freeware version of the Casio CZ phase distortion synths? De La Mancha?

Aloysius · Post by **Aloysius** » Tue May 06, 2014 6:43 am

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jez.price/synths.htm

Phase Distortion Synth - Kassiopeia! 2.0

planetearth · Post by **planetearth** » Tue May 06, 2014 6:38 pm

robotmonkey wrote:E-MU Proteus VX and Emulator X3 have all the sounds of all the E-MU synths and sound modules. Emulator X3 also has most of the sampling and editing capabilities of E-MU samplers and modules from the 90's.

The E-MU Proteus VX is great, and I'm sure the X3 is too--but they don't work on 64-bit systems. The OP didn't specify what he was using, but new, 32-bit systems are becoming increasingly rare. I used the Proteus VX in many projects and now that I've gone to 64-bit, I'm stuck. And the sounds ported from the Proteus VX to other softsynths like Dimension Pro and Kontakt do not sound the same once they're ported, so beware if you're considering buying them.

Sure, the SQ-80 may not sound quite as good as the original hardware, but it brings that hardware's sound-creation capabilities to your DAW...for free. That being said, if I had the original, I would probably use it.

Steve

robotmonkey · Post by **robotmonkey** » Tue May 06, 2014 7:12 pm

planetearth wrote: The E-MU Proteus VX is great, and I'm sure the X3 is too--but they don't work on 64-bit systems. The OP didn't specify what he was using, but new, 32-bit systems are becoming increasingly rare. I used the Proteus VX in many projects and now that I've gone to 64-bit, I'm stuck. And the sounds ported from the Proteus VX to other softsynths like Dimension Pro and Kontakt do not sound the same once they're ported, so beware if you're considering buying them.

Actually X3 was fully 64bit way before everything else and is supposed to work fine in 64bit systems. As I'm personally still on 32bit for compatibility reasons I can't confirm personally. And obviously X3 is not around anymore anyways.

But I do agree that E-MU Dimension Pro libraries do not sound as good at all. It has lot to do with E-MU filters. Dimension Pro libraries sound more dry, thin and lifeless compared to their counterparts on Proteus VX/Emulator X3.

Numanoid · Post by **Numanoid** » Tue May 06, 2014 7:41 pm

ddeez wrote:lemme know!!!

Just to be pendantic, M1 was released in 1988 right?

Otherwise, I think the recently re-released Ravity S is a hommage to that 90's rompler sound

What are the 90's vst synths besides The Korg M1?