KVR Audio

ckam03 · Post by **ckam03** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 5:27 am

I definitely want Omnisphere 2 for the massive library and the updated synthesis features look great but some other choices would be maybe Dune 2, or Zebra. Thoughts?? I've tried both and they sound great. The only synth I'm using right now is Electra 2 and since I have Cubase I use a little bit of Retrologue and Padshop pro to get some variety.

EnGee · Post by **EnGee** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 6:14 am

What kind of music will you make mostly?

ckam03 · Post by **ckam03** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 6:16 am

Kriminal · Post by **Kriminal** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 7:08 am

Any synth can made sounds for dance music.

Demo stuff and buy what you prefer, not what you are told to buy.

EnGee · Post by **EnGee** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 7:26 am

I don't do EDM exactly but my choice would be (in additional to your synths):

Sylenth 1, because of it's low cpu usage compared to the quality of sound. I think for Trance it is a king. There are other synths of course like Dune 2, Hive ...etc.

Serum, especially for dubstep. Although, I don't like this synth, but if I do dubstep, this would be my first choice. It has elements of both Massive and Razor and that made it fit very well for this genre.

for House, I think many synths would do especially if you are going to tweak/design your own sounds.

If you take the combination of (sylenth1 + Massive), they would cover at least 60% of the main sounds in the song. Spice it with some analog sounds from Retrologue and some effects/Pads from Padshop and some nice arpeggio/sequence from Electra 2. You can replace the combination of (Sylenth1 + Massive) with (Dune2 + Serum) or (Hive + Largo) ...etc. It is just an opinion of course and you (or others) might disagree completely. For me, few good synths means a better control/knowledge and productivity.

Passing Bye · Post by **Passing Bye** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 7:56 am

What you exactly want in new one that Omnisphere, Electra and that Cubase ones doesn't cover?

What specific genres of EDM are you into?

Lejurai · Post by **Lejurai** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 10:08 am

I'd almost say get U-He Hive. Easy synth and great sound with low cpu hit (sylenth killer). Also master code music t-force alpha plus (freeware) is nice even though it's a synthedit synth. Of course if you get dune 2, it'll make pretty much any sound you'll need, especially those super massive wall of sound chords.

fluffy_little_something · Wed Mar 25, 2015 1:54 pm

ckam03 wrote:I definitely want Omnisphere 2 for the massive library and the updated synthesis features look great but some other choices would be maybe Dune 2, or Zebra. Thoughts?? I've tried both and they sound great. The only synth I'm using right now is Electra 2 and since I have Cubase I use a little bit of Retrologue and Padshop pro to get some variety.

Depends on what you are still missing with what you already have. Retrologue alone already covers the whole subtractive sound palette...

garryknight · Post by **garryknight** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 2:04 pm

ckam03 wrote:EDM

If you like presets, go for Sylenth1. It has a large number of presets.

If you want to go beyond Sylenth1 in sound quality and want a massive number of modulation options, get Hive.

If you want more options in the kinds of sound you can make, plus a truly ridiculous number of unison voices, go with Dune 2.

But, everything considered, including the fact that it's on sale for a few more days, is easy to program, and can sound almost as clean as Dune 2 and dirtier than Sylenth, Hive could be all you need.

wagtunes · Post by **wagtunes** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 2:23 pm

Kriminal actually makes a good point. Ultimately you're going to get everybody naming their "favorite" synths for EDM. Demo a few, see what you like the best.

Questions you should consider asking and answering.

What's most important to you? Sounds, presets, deep programming ability, ease of use?

How much money do you have to spend? That could rule out certain things.

Are you 32 or 64 bit Windows or are you MAC? That can also rule out some synths.

Is future support important to you? Synths like Sylenth1 haven't been updated in years and others like Alchemy aren't even sold anymore.

What features do you want with your synth? Sequencer, FX, Mod Matrix, etc.?

If you have no idea what you want, other than you want to do EDM (almost anything can) you're going to end up swimming through an ocean of possibilities.

BERFAB · Post by **BERFAB** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 2:37 pm

Omnisphere is pretty great. Very deep. Covers all the bases, synth wise, and has an incredible pool of sampled source material.

I said this in another thread: For me, the "vox" presets use an incredible vocal library in ways that other vsti just don't touch. And the PRS guitar lead is the icing on the cake. But there is a ton of stuff in there. And then O2 will add another, what? 5,000 presets or so?

Got mine at JRR with a nice deep discount off the MSRP.

Good luck.
-B

zerocrossing · Post by **zerocrossing** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 3:43 pm

I hate to say it, but it's a bit of an all or nothing thing. Either get all the VSTs or none of them. That is the way of Kvrians.

Seriously though, while it's no great secret that I'm a VSTi horder (maybe I can get on the TV show!) it seems to me like you're trying to make up a need that you don't know you have yet. Many different synths give you slightly different features, sonic character, etc. But considering what you already have including Omnisphere, you've got subtractive VA (Retrologue) Wavetable (Electra 2, Omnisphere 2) Granular (Omnisphere 2, Padshop Pro)

Maybe you might like a dedicated FM? FM8 and Nemesis are good, though programming FM isn't a walk in the park. Maybe a dedicated additive? Have a look at Harmor. Really though, you should wait until you get your hands on Omnisphere 2 and become intimate with all the plug ins you have and then see what holes need plugging. By then, it'll be close to Christmas and you might get some good deals, though U-he synths never go on sale.

spaceman · Post by **spaceman** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 3:45 pm

ckam03 wrote:EDM

Have you tried farting into a microphone and putting an arp on it?

ckam03 · Post by **ckam03** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 3:56 pm

Kriminal wrote:Any synth can made sounds for dance music.

Demo stuff and buy what you prefer, not what you are told to buy.

Thanks for your worthless input.

ckam03 · Post by **ckam03** » Wed Mar 25, 2015 3:57 pm

spaceman wrote:
ckam03 wrote:EDM
Have you tried farting into a microphone and putting an arp on it?

I was thinking of trying that so I could get into the beatport top 100 and make it big. Lol

What synth should I get next??