Absynth, Alchemy, Harmor, Iris: Complement each other or overlapping in function (and sound)?

[Zombie Queen]

I suppose that I would not use the additive / spectral / sampling engine a lot

Why not? Mangling sampled content is great way to make soundscape/drone/ambient sound more interesting. Alchemy is very good at evolving sounds, throwing in samples, spectral or custom 'va' waveforms is all the fun.

[pdxindy]

Alchemy's strength is its all-in-one modulation capability within itself.

That's why Alchemy is so interesting for me. Hard to despise Alchemy but I suppose that I would not use the additive / spectral / sampling engine a lot.

Then what part of Alchemy would you use?

[Autobot]

Alchemy's strength is its all-in-one modulation capability within itself.

That's why Alchemy is so interesting for me. Hard to despise Alchemy but I suppose that I would not use the additive / spectral / sampling engine a lot.

Then what part of Alchemy would you use?

Last time I tried Alchemy mostly the subtractive I used sometimes the additive part. Like the hugh modulation possibilities and how the filters sounds. But I think I will buy Harmor and Zebra. And 199€ for Alchemy seems a bit to expensive.

[pdxindy]

Alchemy's strength is its all-in-one modulation capability within itself.

That's why Alchemy is so interesting for me. Hard to despise Alchemy but I suppose that I would not use the additive / spectral / sampling engine a lot.

Then what part of Alchemy would you use?

Last time I tried Alchemy mostly the subtractive I used sometimes the additive part. Like the hugh modulation possibilities and how the filters sounds. But I think I will buy Harmor and Zebra. And 199€ for Alchemy seems a bit to expensive.

I find Harmor interesting, but there is no Mac version. Good choices!

[Zombie Queen]

And 199€ for Alchemy seems a bit to expensive.

Yep, it's some dough. I tend to forget the price tag, since I haven't paid for it.

[EnGee]

I never bought Alchemy and cannot say some useful things about it compared to the others. But I remember that the VA engine was very powerful in combination with the sample manipulation stuff.

Harmor has this "Gol" signature sound, which is the same with Sytrus. It sounds more polished. It shares with Absynth only the idea of the envelopes. IMO the implementation is with Harmor better and smoother compared to Absynth.
Harmor has more this idea to have some stuff working as easy as possible like this "pluck" knob for easy creating of pluck-sounds. It's more a synth from musicians for musicians because some typical and often used stuff is so easy.
With Harmor I program all sounds by myself, for Absynth I use very often presets I think Absynth is for many not such a typical synth where you have fun with programming sounds because stuff is not so easy to understand.
Absynth is IMO a typical soundscapes/effects synth while Harmor is more a synth I use as a "typical" synth for leads, plucks, bass, pads.

Exactly my opinion! No need to put them in other words!

My main focus lies on drone sounds, ambient scapes and evolving textures.

If you have a good cpu, then I suggest:
-NI Razor (for big and in your face sound, but it can do wonderful pads also)
-NI Prism (Very underrated synth, but you will be surprised how good it is for ambient and evolving sounds. It also can do pluck and 'hammer' like sounds very well, I can spend all night just tweaking slightly the knobs or slides)
-Wavestation (Very cpu friendly and IMO the best synth for calm and dreamy pads, also the wave sequences can result in complex long evolving sounds. )
All together (without discount) = $220 (though I got Razor and Prism for $75 during the discount in last Black Friday).
Combining all those together can result in very interesting sounds

[tooneba]

but there is no Mac version. Good choices!

OP IS using Windows. Who cares what OS you are using :\.

[pdxindy]

but there is no Mac version. Good choices!

OP IS using Windows. Who cares what OS you are using :\.

Apparently you do...

[Neon Breath]

For Granular synthesis I use Ableton (Max4Live), Audio Mulch, Hourglas (great tool) and Absynth. And Madrona Labs Kaivo will follow as soon as it is released.

To make things clear I should mention which synth / tools I have so ...

Absynth
FM8
Xils-3 Le (I-Lok shame)
Ogun
Aalto
VAZ Modular
TAL Bassline
TAL U-No

and some freeware stuff

DAW / Host

Ableton Live 9
Audio Mulch
FL Studio (but don't use it anymore)
Hourglass

Wow imo that's one hell of an overkill setup! You already have plenty of stuff

[BBFG#]

I already have more than enough also. I feel it's more important what I use than what I have. But this thread got me looking at Iris and of course, it being on sale doesn't help.

I spent a few hours playing with the demo today and doing some comparisons with Alchemy and a couple of Reaktor synths. Soundwise, it's not that much different from what I get out of Reaktor. And the whole trial time gave me more love for Alchemy yet again in comparison. (I also got some good stuff out of WusikStation in the process.)

But here's the thing, Iris is fun. I can't find a single justification in needing it. But I think I may want it anyway, just for the therapeutic value of fingerpainting sound.

[Autobot]

For Granular synthesis I use Ableton (Max4Live), Audio Mulch, Hourglas (great tool) and Absynth. And Madrona Labs Kaivo will follow as soon as it is released.

To make things clear I should mention which synth / tools I have so ...

Absynth
FM8
Xils-3 Le (I-Lok shame)
Ogun
Aalto
VAZ Modular
TAL Bassline
TAL U-No

and some freeware stuff

DAW / Host

Ableton Live 9
Audio Mulch
FL Studio (but don't use it anymore)
Hourglass

Wow imo that's one hell of an overkill setup! You already have plenty of stuff

Seems like an overkill but it doesn't because almost every synth have more or less its own sound / synthesis mode / workflow. Now with Harmor and Zebra I will complete my setup.

[BBFG#]

Well, bought Iris. Really enjoying, it has a different feel and charcter to it and mixes/blends well with Alchemy and completely different from Absynth (at least for what I use for it). Still scratch-padding with them all though.

Anyway, the sale over at Audiodeluxe got me to consider IL Sakura and see if it compliments AAS-SS(VS1) in any way, but while I was at IL to get the demo, downloaded the full line of ILine demos to get them off my 'should give it a try list'. At this point, I have to put Harmor in a different class of synths to compare to. But it doesn't mean I'll buy Harmor. It is very nice for what it is though. JMO, but I have to say I like it better than massive, spire, helix, & z3ta that hit in those same sound types for me.

Alchemy & Iris seem to be a good compliment to each other though.

[matteogk]

For those who migt be interested, I just shared here on Kvr nine soundscapes for Iris, derived from originally recorded choir samples and field recordings. Hope you enjoy. Any feedback is very welcome

[BBFG#]

For those who migt be interested, I just shared here on Kvr nine soundscapes for Iris, derived from originally recorded choir samples and field recordings. Hope you enjoy. Any feedback is very welcome

Thread dredging?
Seriously though, thanks for the notice, will definitely give them a try.

And to this old topic, I have to say that I eventually passed on Harmor even during a sale for $73.00.

Settling in with mostly Iris, Camel, Zebra for my palette (as well as a couple of Tone 2 synths that I think blow ILine out of my radar.)

If Harmor comes up in a SDOTD I might reconsider it then.

[Phorous]

You can't go wrong with Alchemy for this type of thing. Even though people say the sound engine is dated, it still sounds very good to me. IMO, its granular engine is still one of the best if not the best out there. Its VA engine is also nothing to joke about for these types of uses, not to mention its additive and spectral modes. There is amazing synergy between the various modes for making soundscapes and drones.

Out of all my synths, I am able to make soundscapes / drones fastest in alchemy. Its a combination of both workflow and the characteristics of the engine, effects, and modulations.

In terms of overlap, I can only speak for Absynth but I don't find myself using Absynth besides for FX much anymore, so I would say they do overlap alot unless you want absynths signature sound.

Perspective:

My other synths are Komplete 9 and Omnisphere.