All synths sound the same to me now...

[Jace-BeOS]

Make sounds out of presets and effects, since you are an effects person. That's really a good place to make your mark if you don't feel comfortable programming.

Me, I'm not a synth programmer either, though I've tried some "from scratch" patch making. Mostly I will modify patches. I think everyone telling you to get familiar with the patch structure of one synth you like is correct. Even just to get better at tweaking presets.

I've many soft synths and a few hardware synths. I feel the same: it all sounds the same to me. In my case, I thought it was the psych drugs I got off of had ruined my ability to feel moved by sounds. I'm a sound whore. Only sounds make my brain create music. If no sound inspires me, it's very difficult for me to create tunes and melodies. It's a point of personal frustration and I'm trying to learn synth programming in between continuing to mess with presets and play with randomizers in synths that offer them. I also try to sample stuff and manipulate it. But yeah, I feel it's all samey these days. The most character-filled sounds are lost to the 80s because everyone wants to avoid dated sounds. No one makes any new characterful sounds because all anyone wants synths for is the same old thing in dance music. That's not why I'm attracted to synths. Those highly recognizable sounds from classic rompler keyboards are what got my interest originally.

[Lotuzia]

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I'd love to be flexible in genres. I like chipsound material (if pulled off well), I do like good electronic, trip hop, trance, pop music, etc. I also like Rock of course, HipHop (oldschool and the so called "new school"). Heard a bit too much of Dubstep (so no FM8 or Massive for me, please). So I think it's really down to "how to use your presets, and how to extend them".

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FM8 :



Massive :

Waves Grooves Step 3

This was the second free update of our commercial Wave Grooves soundbank for Massive

No Dubstep here.

See, a synthesizer is mainly what you make of it, like you do with your effects. Some urban legends associate some synths with a particular type of music, because of two of three tutorials floating on youtube, but its just that, poor information based on hype or dominant thought.

There are a few exceptions, like some dedicated dubstep instruments lately, but globally, a capable synth will be good in all genres, but with its own color and merits, while less capable synths will be avarage in all domains. Men behind the machines make the difference imho, more than marketing mantras : They make decisions that marketing sill can't do atm.

LtZ

LtZ