The most underestimated synths...

[D-Fusion]

Voyager
Ableton Synths

I had to stop using Voyager because it was crashing Live 7 and seems to be abandoned by the developer. Anyone else had that problem? It did sound good when it worked though. I really wish developers would make their stuff open source when they decide it's no longer worth developing for themselves. Especially with free stuff. Unless they're somehow using their code in a commercial project I don't see the harm in it.

So my vote (based on the whim o' the moment) is Image-Line's Toxic III.

well it might be hard to get Voyager open source since the developer died last year

[EuropeanOnUranus]

The Ensoniq Esq-1 is the most underated synth in the world

+1

What can't it do? Yes it makes some nasty 80s digital sounds if you LET IT. But stick to the squares and saws and use those beautiful Curtis chip filters and it still sounds as "analog" as anything. (Now THESE were digital oscillators... and damn useful ones).

Performance worked great on the ESQ-1. Monophonic worked great, the portamento felt great, and it had one of the first velocity sensitive keyboards that actually felt semi-weighted. Mine is still a dream to play and my go-to synth sound controller due to the fast but responsive feel and the excellent Moog-style pitch and mod wheels.

And something I've never done, but hope to someday... it would be a perfect synth to control from a guitar controller, because it's easy to set up 6 "tracks" of monophonic synths responding to 6 different MIDI channels.

It's sequencer was great all around actually (if you can live with quantization).

I just remembered that it used to get hot as hell too and went over and checked it and yep... the metal behind the power supply is almost too hot to touch. Hmmm, maybe I shouldn't leave it on all the time.

[zerocrossing]

well it might be hard to get Voyager open source since the developer died last year

I did not know that. That's super sad indeed.

[cryophonik]

Another vote for RP Blue. It's one of my favorites.

is dat any better than albino? or predator? or whats the difference between them?

Albino and Predator are subtractive synths (w/rudimentary FM capabilities), whereas Blue is a FM-hybrid synth that also does subtractive, waveshaping, etc. synthesis. It's got 6 oscillators and one of the nicest, most intuitive layouts I've used in a soft synth.

Ready for a good laugh? I'll add that another underappreciated "synth" is Nexus. I only say that because all the Nexus haters always want to perpetuate the same tired old myths: Nexus is a preset machine, you can't alter the sounds, you'll sound EXACTLY like everybody else, etc. That's a bunch of BS derived from people with no creativity, little understanding of synthesis, and/or who haven't actually used Nexus (or bothered to look at the interface). Don't get me wrong - I'm NOT saying that Nexus is an incredibly deep synth - all I'm saying is that its synthesis capabilities are unnoticed or imcomprehensible to many, so for that reason, I consider it to be an underestimated "synth." And, you CAN very easily alter the presets very dramatically and beyond the point of recognition using only Nexus' onboard parameters.

Lastly, if we're also considering hardware, I'd say the Dave Smith Mono Evolver is an underestimated synth.

[ew]

Rob Papen Blue

+1
One of the best out there.

is dat any better than albino? or predator? or whats the difference between them?

Blue's first and foremost an FM/PD synth (even though you can use it as a VA synth if you wish). Albino's what became of LinPlug's Delta, and Predator's more in the modern VA vein.

Podolski's essentially the same as Zebralette.

ew

[The Chase]

Morpheus, the free FM sampler. Capable of making some fantastic pads and atmospheres. I would pay good money for a super version of it.

Toxic has always been a favorite of mine. It's a fat, ballsy V/A with a full FM matrix.

And +1 for Voyager. The GUI is a headache but it's great sounding and very usable.

Most of Odo and xoxos synths as well.

[exxxy]

'pink'

[setAI]

void modular

[mod edit: screenshot advertising a software piracy Website deleted -- don't do that again]

[Urs]

Podolski's essentially the same as Zebralette.

NEIN!

Podolski is to FilterscapeVA what Zebralette is to Zebra2. They're quite different, i.e. Podolski has filters with FilterFM and stuff, Zebralette is more of an additive curvemorpher.

Urs

[Kriminal]

curvemorpher

good name for a band that

[xuoham]

V-e-m-b-e-r A-u-d-i-o S-u-r-g-e




That's what you could call estimated...

[dreaddd]

my answer would be like :
every vst very creative but, god forbid us, built with the evil Synthedit

Peace

[ew]

Podolski's essentially the same as Zebralette.

NEIN!

Podolski is to FilterscapeVA what Zebralette is to Zebra2. They're quite different, i.e. Podolski has filters with FilterFM and stuff, Zebralette is more of an additive curvemorpher.

Urs

Oops... sorry, Urs.

It's what I get for posting when I first wake up...

ew

[lotus2035]

Softplug Adventus.

+1

...you don't hear much about V-Station either which is in a class of its own I think...

[funky lime]

nusofting daHornet - great for quirky leads (that envelope repeater thing is the tits!)

ugo string theory - definately not a rhodes emu by any means, but more than half the time i find myself reaching for this thing instead of scarbee classic electric piano. the harmonics it creates arouse me in pretty much a sexual way.

tal uno-62 - very much a niche synth but i find myself using it in pretty much every track regardless... lovely filters, but a bit high cpu.