9 year old Sylenth1 just keeps kickin

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Is 9 year old Sylenth1 the de facto standard for EDM?

Poll ended at Fri Mar 06, 2015 7:52 am

Of Course
51
45%
Are you kidding?
12
11%
Most top producers use it but I'm just not sure
12
11%
No, synth x,y,z has more features, PWM, is 64bit and has more modulation options.
38
34%
 
Total votes: 113

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Sylenth1

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fluffy_little_something wrote:Tell me a song of the kind you make and for which S1 is not appropriate. Just so I know what you are talking about...

Yes, S1 is a bread-and-butter synth, that is what I was looking for :) While it is 9 years old now (same as Poly-Ana by the way), I think it feels much younger because the developer was years ahead of his time when he programmed it.

I think if one gave it a completely new user interface and name, hardly anyone would guess its age in a blind test.
I do a lot of old school electronic. A particular song of an artist that you might know? Not sure. Don't know what old 70s groups you've listened to. Name me some and I'll let you know if it fits the kind of music I normally do, not that I don't sometimes do EDM. In fact, I'm starting to get more into it now than I was 2 years ago.

As for the sound of Sylenth1, I actually did listen to it a lot the other day after a heavy day of using stuff like Zebra 2, Synthmaster and Blue II. There is a very noticeable difference between Sylenth1 and those 3 synths. But then there is a noticeable difference between all 4 synths. But in general, Sylenth1 has a thinner more plastic sound than the other synths.

Zebra is the fattest of all the synths. I just made a superaw the other day just using 4 oscillators and no filter that would blow you away. The sound is so big it's insane. Sylenth1 simply cannot get that big a sound. If you want, I'll make a quick audio of the patch and upload it if there's a way to do that.

Blue II is in the category of the "plastic" synths but because it's so versatile as far as modulation capability, it makes up for the lack of richness and bite. Still, sound quality wise, I put it a notch or two over Sylenth1.

Synthmaster is great for house and pads. I wouldn't use the synth for classic EDM. Maybe some trance. But it's very difficult to make a supersaw that sounds really good. That's where I think Sylenth1 has a leg up on it as far as ease. But if you take the time with Synthmaster (and yes, it takes a lot of time to program one good patch) you can get some great sounds out of it. The 3rd party libraries are excellent and yeah, even I bit the bullet and bought them until I was more comfortable programming this thing. They cost me $141, almost the cost of Sylenth1. But worth it.

Of all these 4 synths, and again I can only judge Sylenth1 by the demos I've heard, it has the thinnest sound of them all. Blue II next, Synthmaster next and Zebra 2 at the head of the pack. In fact, Zebra 2 is just stupidly powerful. But again, it's not for somebody who wants quick and easy. You have to dive into it and get your hands dirty.

Sylenth1 would be a great $79 synth. I'm telling you. That's the sweet spot for this synth and it would sell like hotcakes. Good sounds, easy to use and great price. That's what this synth needs IMO.

** EDIT ** I just checked the chain on that Zebra patch. I was mistaken. 3 OSC's and 1 XMF Filter. Man, what a sound.

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wagtunes wrote:
fluffy_little_something wrote:Tell me a song of the kind you make and for which S1 is not appropriate. Just so I know what you are talking about...

Yes, S1 is a bread-and-butter synth, that is what I was looking for :) While it is 9 years old now (same as Poly-Ana by the way), I think it feels much younger because the developer was years ahead of his time when he programmed it.

I think if one gave it a completely new user interface and name, hardly anyone would guess its age in a blind test.
I do a lot of old school electronic. A particular song of an artist that you might know? Not sure. Don't know what old 70s groups you've listened to. Name me some and I'll let you know if it fits the kind of music I normally do, not that I don't sometimes do EDM. In fact, I'm starting to get more into it now than I was 2 years ago.

As for the sound of Sylenth1, I actually did listen to it a lot the other day after a heavy day of using stuff like Zebra 2, Synthmaster and Blue II. There is a very noticeable difference between Sylenth1 and those 3 synths. But then there is a noticeable difference between all 4 synths. But in general, Sylenth1 has a thinner more plastic sound than the other synths.

Zebra is the fattest of all the synths. I just made a superaw the other day just using 4 oscillators and no filter that would blow you away. The sound is so big it's insane. Sylenth1 simply cannot get that big a sound. If you want, I'll make a quick audio of the patch and upload it if there's a way to do that.

Blue II is in the category of the "plastic" synths but because it's so versatile as far as modulation capability, it makes up for the lack of richness and bite. Still, sound quality wise, I put it a notch or two over Sylenth1.

Synthmaster is great for house and pads. I wouldn't use the synth for classic EDM. Maybe some trance. But it's very difficult to make a supersaw that sounds really good. That's where I think Sylenth1 has a leg up on it as far as ease. But if you take the time with Synthmaster (and yes, it takes a lot of time to program one good patch) you can get some great sounds out of it. The 3rd party libraries are excellent and yeah, even I bit the bullet and bought them until I was more comfortable programming this thing. They cost me $141, almost the cost of Sylenth1. But worth it.

Of all these 4 synths, and again I can only judge Sylenth1 by the demos I've heard, it has the thinnest sound of them all. Blue II next, Synthmaster next and Zebra 2 at the head of the pack. In fact, Zebra 2 is just stupidly powerful. But again, it's not for somebody who wants quick and easy. You have to dive into it and get your hands dirty.

Sylenth1 would be a great $79 synth. I'm telling you. That's the sweet spot for this synth and it would sell like hotcakes. Good sounds, easy to use and great price. That's what this synth needs IMO.

** EDIT ** I just checked the chain on that Zebra patch. I was mistaken. 3 OSC's and 1 XMF Filter. Man, what a sound.
:dog: No offense, but I think you're talking out of your a** here.

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Nightpolymath wrote:
wagtunes wrote:
fluffy_little_something wrote:Tell me a song of the kind you make and for which S1 is not appropriate. Just so I know what you are talking about...

Yes, S1 is a bread-and-butter synth, that is what I was looking for :) While it is 9 years old now (same as Poly-Ana by the way), I think it feels much younger because the developer was years ahead of his time when he programmed it.

I think if one gave it a completely new user interface and name, hardly anyone would guess its age in a blind test.
I do a lot of old school electronic. A particular song of an artist that you might know? Not sure. Don't know what old 70s groups you've listened to. Name me some and I'll let you know if it fits the kind of music I normally do, not that I don't sometimes do EDM. In fact, I'm starting to get more into it now than I was 2 years ago.

As for the sound of Sylenth1, I actually did listen to it a lot the other day after a heavy day of using stuff like Zebra 2, Synthmaster and Blue II. There is a very noticeable difference between Sylenth1 and those 3 synths. But then there is a noticeable difference between all 4 synths. But in general, Sylenth1 has a thinner more plastic sound than the other synths.

Zebra is the fattest of all the synths. I just made a superaw the other day just using 4 oscillators and no filter that would blow you away. The sound is so big it's insane. Sylenth1 simply cannot get that big a sound. If you want, I'll make a quick audio of the patch and upload it if there's a way to do that.

Blue II is in the category of the "plastic" synths but because it's so versatile as far as modulation capability, it makes up for the lack of richness and bite. Still, sound quality wise, I put it a notch or two over Sylenth1.

Synthmaster is great for house and pads. I wouldn't use the synth for classic EDM. Maybe some trance. But it's very difficult to make a supersaw that sounds really good. That's where I think Sylenth1 has a leg up on it as far as ease. But if you take the time with Synthmaster (and yes, it takes a lot of time to program one good patch) you can get some great sounds out of it. The 3rd party libraries are excellent and yeah, even I bit the bullet and bought them until I was more comfortable programming this thing. They cost me $141, almost the cost of Sylenth1. But worth it.

Of all these 4 synths, and again I can only judge Sylenth1 by the demos I've heard, it has the thinnest sound of them all. Blue II next, Synthmaster next and Zebra 2 at the head of the pack. In fact, Zebra 2 is just stupidly powerful. But again, it's not for somebody who wants quick and easy. You have to dive into it and get your hands dirty.

Sylenth1 would be a great $79 synth. I'm telling you. That's the sweet spot for this synth and it would sell like hotcakes. Good sounds, easy to use and great price. That's what this synth needs IMO.

** EDIT ** I just checked the chain on that Zebra patch. I was mistaken. 3 OSC's and 1 XMF Filter. Man, what a sound.
:dog: No offense, but I think you're talking out of your a** here.
No offense taken. How about backing up your statement with any kind of facts, reasons or at least something.

Don't agree with my assessments of the synths? Fine. I don't agree with people's assessment of Sylenth1 but I don't insult them over it.

So how about a little meat behind your statement?

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Hehe, I am not really into sounds that blow me away, I prefer more basic, pleasant old-skool sounds merely accompanying real instruments. Not sure about 70's electronic music, I like the way synths were used in Fusion, for instance by Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Bob James, Kool and the Gang, etc.
Anyway, just tell me any song you can think of, I am sure it is on Youtube :wink:

Interesting, I find that 4 voices is also ideal in S1, more than 4 doesn't seem to add anything except volume, to the contrary it reduces the definition of the sound. Then again, I am not after the supersaw sound at all, just pleasant background pads etc.

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fluffy_little_something wrote:Hehe, I am not really into sounds that blow me away, I prefer more basic, pleasant old-skool sounds merely accompanying real instruments. Not sure about 70's electronic music, I like the way synths were used in Fusion, for instance by Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Bob James, Kool and the Gang, etc.
Anyway, just tell me any song you can think of, I am sure it is on Youtube :wink:

Interesting, I find that 4 voices is also ideal in S1, more than 4 doesn't seem to add anything except volume, to the contrary it reduces the definition of the sound. Then again, I am not after the supersaw sound at all, just pleasant background pads etc.
For pleasant background pads just about any synth can handle that. Even free synthmaker synths. Have you ever used any of HG Fortunes synths, God rest his soul? Now THERE was a designer with a vision. Nothing on this planet sounded like his stuff. Nothing. And every single one of the ones I got were free.

Let me go check YouTube for a few things and then I'll get back to you on that.

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Okay, listen to this by Tangerine Dream.


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wagtunes wrote:
fluffy_little_something wrote:Hehe, I am not really into sounds that blow me away, I prefer more basic, pleasant old-skool sounds merely accompanying real instruments. Not sure about 70's electronic music, I like the way synths were used in Fusion, for instance by Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Bob James, Kool and the Gang, etc.
Anyway, just tell me any song you can think of, I am sure it is on Youtube :wink:

Interesting, I find that 4 voices is also ideal in S1, more than 4 doesn't seem to add anything except volume, to the contrary it reduces the definition of the sound. Then again, I am not after the supersaw sound at all, just pleasant background pads etc.
For pleasant background pads just about any synth can handle that. Even free synthmaker synths. Have you ever used any of HG Fortunes synths, God rest his soul? Now THERE was a designer with a vision. Nothing on this planet sounded like his stuff. Nothing. And every single one of the ones I got were free.

Let me go check YouTube for a few things and then I'll get back to you on that.
Oh, no, not that kind of background pad, not that atmospheric stuff, but more static, simple pads. I like this song a lot, although it is more modern. The pads are just to my liking, and S1 can do that as well, I have already made three such pads :)



Actually, I can do the entire song with S1, except drums of course, and vocals :hihi:

Yes, I remember one HGF synth, was not my cup of tea. The sound was just not tight and good enough IMHO. I suppose it had to do with the SynthEdit platform, particularly the SE filter.

I have found that unlike what you say very few synths have the sound I am looking for. Element for instance sucks at pads, they sound very raw, thin, and primitive to me. Same goes for all freeware synths I remember, the quality is just not there usually. Especially with pads, which are usually played in chords, there is often grinding noise which I hate. S1 sounds very clean, which may be what you refer to as plastic, I refer to it as polished.

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fluffy_little_something wrote:
wagtunes wrote:
fluffy_little_something wrote:Hehe, I am not really into sounds that blow me away, I prefer more basic, pleasant old-skool sounds merely accompanying real instruments. Not sure about 70's electronic music, I like the way synths were used in Fusion, for instance by Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Bob James, Kool and the Gang, etc.
Anyway, just tell me any song you can think of, I am sure it is on Youtube :wink:

Interesting, I find that 4 voices is also ideal in S1, more than 4 doesn't seem to add anything except volume, to the contrary it reduces the definition of the sound. Then again, I am not after the supersaw sound at all, just pleasant background pads etc.
For pleasant background pads just about any synth can handle that. Even free synthmaker synths. Have you ever used any of HG Fortunes synths, God rest his soul? Now THERE was a designer with a vision. Nothing on this planet sounded like his stuff. Nothing. And every single one of the ones I got were free.

Let me go check YouTube for a few things and then I'll get back to you on that.
Oh, no, not that kind of background pad, not that atmospheric stuff, but more static, simple pads. I like this song a lot, although it is more modern. The pads are just to my liking, and S1 can do that as well, I have already made three such pads :)



Actually, I can do the entire song with S1, except drums of course, and vocals :hihi:

Yes, I remember one HGF synth, was not my cup of tea. The sound was just not tight and good enough IMHO. I suppose it had to do with the SynthEdit platform, particularly the SE filter.

I have found that unlike what you say very few synths have the sound I am looking for. Element for instance sucks at pads, they sound very raw, thin, and primitive to me. Same goes for all freeware synths I remember, the quality is just not there usually. Especially with pads, which are usually played in chords, there is often grinding noise which I hate. S1 sounds very clean, which may be what you refer to as plastic, I refer to it as polished.
I always liked Sting. I would hope Sylenth1 could do a basic pad like that. Any synth should be able to do a basic pad like that as long as it's polyphonic. And if that's what you're into and Sylenth1 does it well then I'm sure you've gotten your money's worth.

When I buy a synth, I buy it for the more unusual sounds or grittier sounds because any synth SHOULD be able to do basic things. The only exception is modular. I'm a sucker for modular synths regardless of how they sound, unless they sound like absolute garbage. But as long as they sound decent, I'll pick them up. I enjoy sound design and modulars give me the most flexibility.

Ultimately, you and I have very different needs in a synth and that's fine. If Sylenth1 works for you, great. But there's just nothing in it that, for me, is worth spending $158 on.

Just out of curiosity, how much did you spend for yours? Did you get it on sale?

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wagtunes wrote:Okay, listen to this by Tangerine Dream.

Hm, I am not so sure those sounds can't be made in S1. I have not tried it, yet, because those sounds are for the most part not my style (they are too dominant for vocal music), but I think it is possible, especially when using the effects. But S1 sounds more polished, so it is not simple to recreate that raw sound of that music, which however has more to do with the recording equipment I suppose.

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wagtunes wrote:I always liked Sting. I would hope Sylenth1 could do a basic pad like that. Any synth should be able to do a basic pad like that as long as it's polyphonic. And if that's what you're into and Sylenth1 does it well then I'm sure you've gotten your money's worth.

When I buy a synth, I buy it for the more unusual sounds or grittier sounds because any synth SHOULD be able to do basic things. The only exception is modular. I'm a sucker for modular synths regardless of how they sound, unless they sound like absolute garbage. But as long as they sound decent, I'll pick them up. I enjoy sound design and modulars give me the most flexibility.

Ultimately, you and I have very different needs in a synth and that's fine. If Sylenth1 works for you, great. But there's just nothing in it that, for me, is worth spending $158 on.

Just out of curiosity, how much did you spend for yours? Did you get it on sale?
I wish, but I have found that very few synths, and so far no freeware, offer the sound quality S1 offers. OBXD sounds very good, but it also doesn't have that fine yet dense, almost digital touch to it. On the headphones one can hear how beautiful those Sting pads sound.
Among cheap synths the Superwave P80 is the only one I know which does such pads. If only it were not SynthEdit and thus plagued by the crappy filter :P

Oops. forgot your question. I paid about 100 euros for it. That is also the price range in the market place on KVR.

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fluffy_little_something wrote:
wagtunes wrote:I always liked Sting. I would hope Sylenth1 could do a basic pad like that. Any synth should be able to do a basic pad like that as long as it's polyphonic. And if that's what you're into and Sylenth1 does it well then I'm sure you've gotten your money's worth.

When I buy a synth, I buy it for the more unusual sounds or grittier sounds because any synth SHOULD be able to do basic things. The only exception is modular. I'm a sucker for modular synths regardless of how they sound, unless they sound like absolute garbage. But as long as they sound decent, I'll pick them up. I enjoy sound design and modulars give me the most flexibility.

Ultimately, you and I have very different needs in a synth and that's fine. If Sylenth1 works for you, great. But there's just nothing in it that, for me, is worth spending $158 on.

Just out of curiosity, how much did you spend for yours? Did you get it on sale?
I wish, but I have found that very few synths, and so far no freeware, offer the sound quality S1 offers. OBXD sounds very good, but it also doesn't have that fine yet dense, almost digital touch to it. On the headphones one can hear how beautiful those Sting pads sound.
Among cheap synths the Superwave P80 is the only one I know which does such pads. If only it were not SynthEdit and thus plagued by the crappy filter :P

Oops. forgot your question. I paid about 100 euros for it. That is also the price range in the market place on KVR.
Well the Sylenth1 web site shows 139 euros. Are you saying it can be purchased for less?

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Not at the moment, I assume they will do a summer sale later this year.
Or check the KVR market place from time to time, currently someone is selling it for 100 euros:
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 3&t=432393

But since you already have all those other synths, I don't think it makes sense to buy it...

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wagtunes wrote:
First of all, I am not cheap. I have spent over $10,000 on my music studio including all the plugins I've purchased.
That's all ?
wagtunes wrote:Secondly, developers should lower the price of their plugins when they are clearly outclassed by other plugins that are way cheaper.
"Clearly outclassed" ? Your opinion not shared by everyone.

Anyway if Sylenth 1 is too rich for your blood then.........see ya later. :shrug:
None are so hopelessly enslaved as those who falsely believe they are free. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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Teksonik wrote:
wagtunes wrote:
First of all, I am not cheap. I have spent over $10,000 on my music studio including all the plugins I've purchased.
That's all ?
wagtunes wrote:Secondly, developers should lower the price of their plugins when they are clearly outclassed by other plugins that are way cheaper.
"Clearly outclassed" ? Your opinion not shared by everyone.

Anyway if Sylenth 1 is too rich for your blood then.........see ya later. :shrug:
Too rich for my blood? That's funny.

I bought Omnisphere that costs $500 because it's worth it.

Sylenth1 is NOT worth $158.

Yeah, yeah, I know. My opinion. You can save your response.

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wagtunes wrote:Sylenth1 is NOT worth $158.
Yes it IS........you can save your response........ :wink:
None are so hopelessly enslaved as those who falsely believe they are free. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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