The "I don't get it" or your 3 overrated synths thread

[John Vulich]

I can never get used to using any of them. No matter how nice the cardboard is painted, and how carefully the Scotch tape is applied. They just yuck me out... big time.

Sorry.

wow there isn't a single one that you like the sound of?

Not that I hate the sound of SE. I just don't think they're any better sounding than anything else that's already been out there for years already. Anyway, it's really just the "feel" of the instruments that I don't care for.

Ironically, my 3 favorites synths are probably Reaktor, Absynth and FM7/8.

[John Vulich]

There are about a dozen SE synths that probably no one could guess were made in SE without the tag on the interface or KvR page.

Oh yeah? The 10-20 or so folders and files, that most SE creations barf into their root directories when you first activate them, is a dead giveaway.

[John Vulich]

I thought John's point was well explained, he doesn't like them because it always feels like it was made in SE, and SE on surface feels clunky to him. You don't have to agree that that is a problem, but he was at least clear on why he doesn't like them, which is more than what was seen in a lot of past SE pile-ups.

You're my new favorite human being.

[SARcazm]

Yeah, I've never clicked with Crystal. Never like the sound, the gui - well, anything really..!

Tut, tut! Remember that this thread is about paid-for synths, not freebies. When you shell out money for a synth, you have certain expectations that may or may not be met.

It is interesting that many synths crop up again and again. I might edit the first page to reflect the numbers.

There's a couple more that I don't rate (not really overrated tho). All GM banks. When I first started PC recording I enthusiastically loaded up the GM banks thinking I could start orchestrating symphonies Boy, was I disappointed. I just pretty much stay clear of GM altogether. Another is Mach V: pretty GUI but buggy as hell in Windows; ludicrous load times and a promise of Ver 2 that, after 2 years, has yet to be met. I rarely use it now, but it does have a good sounding piano in it, as well as some usable effects.

Some synths that I own that have been mentioned in this thread. Z3ta was my first bought synth, and, TBH, it initially underwhelmed me. However, the Virus mod really showed off its potential, and it is a go-to synth for me now, especially for unpredictable rhythmic phrases. I bought Cameleon 5k to add an additive synth to my collection, and overall it's OK. I like the resynthesis possibilities (sampled my cat and 1 yr old baby!), but I agree that the effects could be better (which is odd, seeing that Camel have two great effects in CamelSapce and Phat). FM7 was great to program new stuff with, tho there were times when I wished that it was less limited in the modulation department.

P.S. To those asking about Modulars, the easiest to examine and also to knock up something is the Nord G2. If they'd release it as a poly VST, they'd have a big hit on their hands. I have Tassman, but figuring out existing patches is a nightmare and the GUI just plain sucks. Sounds great tho, so it's not on this list.

[bduffy]

I forgot to mention physical modelling synths. What a snore-gasm.

Sad thing is, i've tried 3 PM synths: Tassman made quite decent flutey sounds, Modelonia made some ok brass sounds, and String studio makes some nice plucked string sounds. WHEN YOU PRESS ONE KEY.

if you try to play a legato line with a keyboard, there's nothing in the synths to simulate the transitions between notes that would be characteristic of those instruments - something that should happen automatically with a physical model.

What's the point in physically modelling a trumpet if you're not going to model the fact that a trumpet is not played with a keyboard??

Listen to these then... this is what physical modeling can do

http://www.geocities.com/tonyostinato/m ... tonyo2.mp3

http://www.soundfonts.it/store/MilesTone_Stella.mp3

http://www.gregjazz.com/upload/milesjazz.mp3

http://www.soundfonts.it/store/sax_model_20.mp3

Meh. They sound like synths (the sax is not bad, though). I'm just not sold on this technology yet.

And (so far) incredibly civil also. I kind of expected all-out-war by page 2...

Pretty simple IMO. The OP solicited negative post to begin with. This is a much different dynamic then a regular discussion, where somebody (often me ) spouts off some negative comment and immediately receives a public stoning from all the resident sycophants, for being a, gasp... "hater". Hardly seems fair to do so when the original intent was to make negative comments to begin with, now isn't it?

It's kind of like one of those Medieval holidays, where you are allowed to make fun of the King, for just one day. Sort of a social mechanism for letting off steam.

John Viluch is a dickweed! John Viluch is a dickweed!

Ah, holidays; so therapeutic...

[autloc]

1. ImpOscar - I loved the demo, and have enjoyed playing around with it on its own, but when it comes time to put it in a mix it always sounds wrong somehow, and I end up using something else instead. I wouldn't say it's over-rated exactly, but for some reason it just doesn't work in my mixes. Love Oddity and Minimonsta, though.

2. Cameleon5000 - I actually use it in most of my tracks now and I quite like it overall (definitely don't regret buying it), but it has some flaws that make it in many respects my most frustrating VSTi to use.
(i) The resynthesis doesn't work so well on sounds that are barely harmonic/quite noisy. I can resynthesize a guitar played dry, but post-distortion all Cameleon5k can hear is noise, it seems - which is especially frustrating because it's Cameleon5k's quirky (and, in my experience, rather innacurate) resynthesis of partials that I find so attractive.
(ii) The GUI really, particularly for editing envelopes, is incredibly painful and non-standard - maybe easier to program, but not at all intuitive to use.
(iii) The effects really are weak - especially the distortion (as many others have said).
(iv) It screws up when I run two instances simultaneously. I haven't downloaded the latest update yet, though.

3. ? not sure.

[pdxindy]

Listen to these then... this is what physical modeling can do

http://www.geocities.com/tonyostinato/m ... tonyo2.mp3

http://www.soundfonts.it/store/MilesTone_Stella.mp3

http://www.gregjazz.com/upload/milesjazz.mp3

http://www.soundfonts.it/store/sax_model_20.mp3

Meh. They sound like synths (the sax is not bad, though). I'm just not sold on this technology yet.

It is the playability and expressiveness, not perfect emulation that is compelling and sets PM synths (potentially, cause not all PM synths are such) apart.

And the Sax is fantastic! Try playing a sample based sax live in such a creative and expressive manner. Of course it is not exactly sounding like a Sax, but show me synths, played in realtime, that are as nuanced and expressive!

This is why gigging musicians are still buying the Yamaha VL-70. Physical modeling has got something lovely about it.

[Caleb]

I haven't bought that many VSTi, but of those I've actually bought:

1) JXSynth
2) VAZ
3) Pentagon

I found JXSynth unusable for me, VAZ oscillators sounded shitty to me and Pentagon is undoubtedly good, but for me it was a terrible purchase. I got nothing out of it

Regards
Caleb

[bullshark]

I haven't bought that many VSTi, but of those I've actually bought:

1) JXSynth
2) VAZ
3) Pentagon

I found JXSynth unusable for me, VAZ oscillators sounded shitty to me and Pentagon is undoubtedly good, but for me it was a terrible purchase. I got nothing out of it

Regards
Caleb

Why did you buy them then? Seems counterproductive to buy soft synth you don't like...

[fgimian]

The worst that I own is the Subtractor. As soon as I switched to Synth1, my tracks started sounding so so much better. I only wish I hadn't been using Subtractor all these years.

The granular synth rocks though, I use it everywhere now !

Fots

[spa]

I haven't bought that many VSTi, but of those I've actually bought:

1) JXSynth
2) VAZ
3) Pentagon

I found JXSynth unusable for me, VAZ oscillators sounded shitty to me and Pentagon is undoubtedly good, but for me it was a terrible purchase. I got nothing out of it

Regards
Caleb

Why did you buy them then? Seems counterproductive to buy soft synth you don't like...

The obvious answer: "It seemed like the right thing to do at the time"

[Caleb]

Why did you buy them then? Seems counterproductive to buy soft synth you don't like...

Sorry I thought this thread was about softsynths you bought and were disappointed with. Did I miss something?

Or are you reacting to my post for some other reason?

I mean of course it was counter-productive. If the things were productive for me they probably wouldn't be in my post.

These were all purchases that were mistakes for me - part of the reason I'm almost totally immune to hype over new VSTi softsynths now.

Any gear lust I have is directed elsewhere these days.

Regards
Caleb

[FaX]

Anything made with Synthedit.

Pick any 3.

Well they don't have to be made with Synthedit buddy or payware...


1.Xhip


2.Crystal


3.Synth1



Honestly three of the most overated synths freebies here IMHO of course.

[Cabinfever]

1. ImpOscar - I loved the demo, and have enjoyed playing around with it on its own, but when it comes time to put it in a mix it always sounds wrong somehow, and I end up using something else instead. I wouldn't say it's over-rated exactly, but for some reason it just doesn't work in my mixes. Love Oddity and Minimonsta, though.

Very interesting. I didn't put imposcar on my most overated list, but it would certainly be number one on my "bought but don't use" list. Like you, I like playing it and creating presets, but it just never seems to fit with anything else...

[bullshark]

Why did you buy them then? Seems counterproductive to buy soft synth you don't like...

Sorry I thought this thread was about softsynths you bought and were disappointed with. Did I miss something?

Or are you reacting to my post for some other reason?

I mean of course it was counter-productive. If the things were productive for me they probably wouldn't be in my post.

These were all purchases that were mistakes for me - part of the reason I'm almost totally immune to hype over new VSTi softsynths now.

Any gear lust I have is directed elsewhere these days.

Regards
Caleb

Was just curious that's all; sounded like you didn't like the sound of the synth at all, not the same as buying a synth and then not using it because of workflow reason or incompatibility with a new host or somesuch. Like me with Tassman, I love the sound of this thing, but I always hit a hurdle somewhere when trying to use it in a real project; like now, I want to automate a parameter in it, but my host is blind to those parameters, piss me right off.