KVR Audio

Mike20 · Post by **Mike20** » Sun Jul 21, 2013 9:20 pm

Hey guys,

So basically i've been producing for almost 3 years now and i know my way around various soft synths and what i can get from them

I used to own a virus and i want another one, i just think the leads offer something that you cannot get from say sylenth1 or other kind of virus emulators,

But i also want something for bass, i want something that i can use to fill out the low end in say a nice filtered deadmau5 style saw, but also something that you can overdrive with white noise to create that nice gritty saw/ noise sound, an example 0.29 :

I know that sound could probably be emulated with some overdrive saw and noise but i want to venture a bit into anologue to try and get a more harmonically pleasing sound,

I would also like it for sub underneath my breakdown pads/ chords/ pianos just to fill the low end a bit more than what i am getting from my soft synths

I've looked at moogs, i could afford a moog voyager if i really wanted one but i'm guessing that's venturing in to a whole new world of analogue synthesis,

I would prefere something that i can also get a vst version for, which i know can be tricky but none the less it would be a bonus,

I've compared the moogs, and obviously the little phatty/ slim or the new bass model are way cheaper, in which case would be better considering i could spend the money on other things like omnisphere etc.

But i'm open to any synths

Any advise would be hugely appreciated!

Thanks

bytheriver · Post by **bytheriver** » Thu Jul 25, 2013 3:04 pm

Seriously, don't do it.

I'm sat next to...

1) a dave smith evolver (analogue)
2) Roland JP8080
3) Nord lead

They offer nothing over software, except you have to get them into your DAW with a multi-in audio interface, or keep plugging/unplugging them or buy a mixer, power them, find space for them, dust them and make sure you don't spill coffee on them and then try and compensate for latency to get it all in time when you finally do get sound into a project.

Well thats not entirely true, the nord has a nice easy to program hardware layout which is cool, but compare it to massive.. you have to record 2-3 copies of a part, transpose them around, effect them all differently etc to make it sound half as good as massive... then you cant automate it!

I use my hardware a lot less than software, and half the time I take ages doing it on hardware then try a software preset and end up using that anyway because it sounds better.

The ONLY exception imho is specific items for a very unique sound, if you really want a hardware synth I'd go for broke and get a moog or something real analogue and really nice.

spacecult · Post by **spacecult** » Sat Jul 27, 2013 8:38 am

You can read all this 'analog... meh!'/'analog... yay!' stuff forever on the internet but you won't ever know which is true for you unless you get your hands on one for yourself and all to yourself for a while.

Obviously it's bit more involved than loading a project full of vsts especially with the regression in sysex support and to some degree outboard midi support in general in software. But, ya know.

Like the other guy said, go big is a good way to go. Or... buy used so you can dump it for little to no loss maybe a little profit if ya hate it. Just be careful about synths that have a reputation for being unreliable if you do buy used stuff.

(Most people who get a hardware synth love it but end up rarely using it. Kind of like those George Foreman grills. Unless you are an actual keyboard player... do they still make those?)

bronxsound · Post by **bronxsound** » Sat Jul 27, 2013 8:50 am

MS-20 MKII

Halma · Post by **Halma** » Sat Jul 27, 2013 10:05 am

I know I repeat myself a lot but you won't get more bang for the buck if you get a KORG DSS-1 for cheap. One of the most underrated hybrids ever...

- bad ass saw? check
- analog 12db & 24db resonant filter controlled by a 6-stage envelope? check
- unison to make an already fat sound even more FAAAATTTTT (eg for pads, choir...)? check
- your fav dance sounds from the 90s (aka M1 piano, organ, strings, choir, brass etc) for free? check
- oldschool sampler with sp1200/mpc60 12bit glory? check

Or to quote wikipedia:

The DSS-1 is a 12-bit sampler with analog sound shaping circuitry. Therefore, the internal structure of a DSS-1 sound is set up much in the same way as on a standard subtractive analog synthesizer and will not cause confusion with people already familiar with subtractive synthesis. To phrase it another way, the DSS-1 is essentially an analog polysynth with the conventional VCO or DCO oscillators ripped out, and replaced by the sampler. The subtractive analog engine on the DSS-1 allows for two oscillators to be combined and/or detuned just like on a conventional synth. But instead of choosing from between just 3 or 4 different waveforms, you can choose from up to 16 single-cycle waveform loops or full-blown samples as your oscillator sources. These digital oscillators are then fed through a fully resonant VCF and a VCA section. The DSS-1 has the same VCF as on the Korg DW series and the Poly-800 (Korg custom filter # NJM-2069). It is a very lush, aggressive filter, very close in sound to a classic SSM-2044 filter found on such synthesizers as the Korg Mono/Poly and Polysix.

I paid 120 € for mine. I will buy the SD card upgrade soon for another 100€ approx. You won't get more lowend for that money. Just turn up the internal eq.

Perhaps not easy to program for some people and pretty slow and sometimes complicated because of the multisample save disk thingy. But every sound has its price.

Only real drawback is the size and weigth. Good thing: I have another weapon to slay any burglar who is trying to rip me off in my house.

Edit: for your money (~1.5k) you could buy a DSS-1 in mint with the mighty new upgrade from Tom Virostek (eg USB upgrade, much more memory etc). Damn, I wish I could afford that.

Regards
Sebastian[/url]

anmlsrmnml · Post by **anmlsrmnml** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 1:30 pm

I would try the roland 101 its great for low end and so nice tight lead sounds.

But best way is to just start buying stuff play with and see if you like it. Then try a other. You will soon with what suits you work flow and needs

electro · Post by **electro** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 1:37 pm

Dave Smith Tempest is a nice piece of hardware.

e@rs · Post by **e@rs** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 2:10 pm

Got a few VA hardware synths. They're nice to look at and play with but I haven't opened any of them for half an year I guess. My advice: work ITB.

Wait, forget what I just said! Get that Voyager!!!

electro · Post by **electro** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 5:10 pm

e@rs wrote:Got a few VA hardware synths. They're nice to look at and play with but I haven't opened any of them for half an year I guess. My advice: work ITB.

Wait, forget what I just said! Get that Voyager!!!

Have you tried NI Monark and U-he DIVA?

faun2500 · Post by **faun2500** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 6:21 pm

Moog slim phatty is very nice for deep bass.

e@rs · Post by **e@rs** » Fri Aug 02, 2013 7:59 am

electro wrote:
e@rs wrote:Got a few VA hardware synths. They're nice to look at and play with but I haven't opened any of them for half an year I guess. My advice: work ITB.

Wait, forget what I just said! Get that Voyager!!!
Have you tried NI Monark and U-he DIVA?

Tried them but I have no use for CPU hogs. Except Aalto.

Advice on a Hardware Synth