KVR Audio

fgimian · Post by **fgimian** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 11:58 pm

hey all, I know that apart from Powercore, the Virus synth can not be obtained as a VSTi. So I was wondering ... what synths do you think match the quality of hardware synthesizers such as the Virus.

Personally out of the synths I've tried, the main synth that sounds as good as hardware is the Minimonsta.

Everyone I speak to says the Korg stuff does too but I can't vouch for this having never heard hardware equivalents. Do you agree ?

I would really love to hear from people having used many hardware synths, I can definitely hear a difference in sound between something like Minimonsta and Synth1 ... and definitely can hear a difference between Synth1 and Reason's Subtractor which I must agree, sounds very bad compared to most VSTis.

Synth1 is my main synth currently and I find it very good, but there's a certain magic in some sounds that I hear in commercial tracks that I can't quite match with Synth1. These especially include osc sync sounds, huge pads and atmospheres and highly resonant distorted leads (those leads where the cutoff is slowly raised and you all these beautiful harmonics coming through). The best distortion I've heard in synths has to be synth1 I must admit. The distortion in Filterscape for instance isn't to my liking, it's not aggresive enough.

Anyway, I'm just trying to match the quality of the best trance productions, and before I save up for a Virus, I want to be sure I've tried everything that may possibly do a similar job in the VSTi world.

Huge thanks for your help
Fots

Jeremy_NSL · Post by **Jeremy_NSL** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:01 am

soundpalace wrote:
Anyway, I'm just trying to match the quality of the best trance productions, and before I save up for a Virus, I want ot be sure I've tried everything that may possibly do a similar job in the VSTi world.

I don't know how you feel about samples, but I think you should consider my new product:

www.viraloutbreak.net

Hybernation · Post by **Hybernation** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:02 am

I can certainly vouch for the Korg Legacy Collection DIGITAL edition, since I used to own both an M1 and a Wavestation. If you like the sounds of these digital synths, you will love KLCDE. For $150 it's a no brainer. Only downside is the dongle of course, but it's been problem free for me.

Can't speak to the whole "virus" question. sorry!

Ildon · Post by **Ildon** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:04 am

I like Albino 3. Actually, I adore Albino 3. I was floored the second I heard the demo. Download the demo and see for yourself... I'm not sure it'll sound like a Virus, but it's definitely a high quality piece of software.

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:04 am

That's weird because I think one of Synth 1's big strengths is its cross-mod, especially hard-sync. If your tracks don't have that commercial polish you hear in other stuff, its probably down to your skills rather than the tools you are working with. We use top quality hardware synths on stage but I don't hear anything in them that makes me want to record them, I'm perfectly happy with my roster of included instruments and free plugins. TBH though, I've never so much as touched a Virus because they are so ridiculously overpriced for what they offer and I've not heard a demo that made me think that maybe they might be worth it.

Dunno abou tAlbino 3 but I played with the first one for a while and there wasn't a single preset I thought I might be able to use and I hated the GUI.

george · Post by **george** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:08 am

Discovery is worth a try.

http://www.discodsp.com/discovery/

And all the synth lineup, of course.

By the way, the following demo has got a selection of 64 new presets for the next update: http://www.discodsp.com/mp3/discovery2_60_Plus.mp3

Mr Smith · Post by **Mr Smith** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:11 am

zero vector is the VST synth that sounds most like my virus. It is also fairy similar in signal flow and functionality to the virus. Tone2 firebird has some potential too. But if your into trance, get yourself a virus.

jplanet · Post by **jplanet** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:15 am

Kjaerhus Spectra is the first soft-synth I've owned that I would have paid to have in hardware form -- it's that good! The sound quality is truly amazing for any synth, software OR hardware...

The Chase · Post by **The Chase** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:18 am

There is freeware that surpasses the Virus' sounds for the most part. The virus' merit is in it's interface moreso than the sound.

Try xhip (free). It's interface is bollocks but it's better than most payware I've used and many hardware synths. For bread and butter V/A sounds (without unison) try the freebie Asynth. If youre going to buy anything I highly recommend demoing Pro-53, Toxic, Discovery, Vangaurd, Albino, and Sytrus.

Like Bones pointed out, saving up for a virus wont help you match the quality of the best trance productions.

the_nihilist · Post by **the_nihilist** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 1:02 am

BONES wrote:Dunno about Albino 3 but I played with the first one for a while and there wasn't a single preset I thought I might be able to use and I hated the GUI.

Albino 3 to me is an insane pad and texture machine. Ditching the presets (oh how I wish I could figure out how to load up albino with a big, inviting, empty bank to be filled) and programming something for myself makes me just want to program big, evolving sounds. It's almost more versatile than the virus in that respect, with the nicely laid out mod-matrix, the different filter types, and the spectral waveforms for the oscs...

That being said, I haven't heard a single novakill song with anything remotely resembling a pads, textures or atmospheres. I can totally sympathise from where BONES is coming from. But damn, I'd kill for one of his killer's with a couple more LFO's and maybe 2 multibreakpoint envelopes...

Anyways, I think the virus is unfairly pegged as a trance synth, because if it's anything like albino, it's got to be versatile as hell.

Ildon · Post by **Ildon** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 1:11 am

the_nihilist wrote:That being said, I haven't heard a single novakill song with anything remotely resembling a pads, textures or atmospheres. I can totally sympathise from where BONES is coming from. But damn, I'd kill for one of his killer's with a couple more LFO's and maybe 2 multibreakpoint envelopes...

Yup. Albino's definitely not for BONES, both with its sound and with its GUI (multipage GUI... grr...), but I've been able to get some wicked trance leads and basses out of that thing by just tweaking some of the presets. I never use the word "wicked," too. We're talking... sound that's nearly made me shit myself.

I also love Albino's pads and bell sounds... they're to die for. I just love Albino to death, hehe...

hitman8081 · Post by **hitman8081** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 1:12 am

BONES wrote:That's weird because I think one of Synth 1's big strengths is its cross-mod, especially hard-sync. If your tracks don't have that commercial polish you hear in other stuff, its probably down to your skills rather than the tools you are working with. We use top quality hardware synths on stage but I don't hear anything in them that makes me want to record them, I'm perfectly happy with my roster of included instruments and free plugins. TBH though, I've never so much as touched a Virus because they are so ridiculously overpriced for what they offer and I've not heard a demo that made me think that maybe they might be worth it.

Dunno abou tAlbino 3 but I played with the first one for a while and there wasn't a single preset I thought I might be able to use and I hated the GUI.

hehe bones i see you have realized the same thing i did and that in the right hands freeware and payware are equal in terms of quality. you can eather have a few monster synths and fx that do everything and take a hell of alot of time to program due to tons of parameters or you can have a colection of synths and fx that fill a sound palete. let just say this, i have numerous payware synths and i find myself being much more productive with alot of small free synths and fx instead of one giant do all cpu monster. but to each his own

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 1:13 am

Multi-point graphical envelopes are on the way for the next round of new killerz but I can't see there ever being more than two LFO's and the Gate effect.
The probable reason taht I have been unimpressed with Virus is that I have WaspXT so you might want to check out the VSTi version of that you can get from the FL website.

riley4reason · Post by **riley4reason** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 1:18 am

Jeremy_NSL wrote:
soundpalace wrote:
Anyway, I'm just trying to match the quality of the best trance productions, and before I save up for a Virus, I want ot be sure I've tried everything that may possibly do a similar job in the VSTi world.
I don't know how you feel about samples, but I think you should consider my new product:

www.viraloutbreak.net

I can vouch for his samples, I have them in all formats and they are most splendid indeed.

Now, I can spend my money on something else!
Riley

fvwelsh · Post by **fvwelsh** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 1:18 am

As far as pay synths go I'd recommend trying impOscar for fat and gritty. For free synths I'd check out Mik Sybrandt's GTG stuff. The K1 in particular but they are all killer plugs:

http://miksybrandt.panicnow.net/plugins.htm

VSTis as good as hardware? Similar to Access Virus Quality?