BEST FREE VST SYNTH ... FIREBIRD ?!

[bill45]

UHE Zebrette

[bill45]

Double

[Urs]

the U-he stuff except the presets aren't usable

What's wrong with our presets?

Are there going to be more U-he freeware? sorry dear

Yep, new magware coming up. And maybe some free stuff as well, but not so soon.

[Ingonator]

Firebird? Nope, 32-bit only unfortunately...

Yeah, on the product page it has a logo for 64 bit compatibility, but they apparently mean a 64 bit version of Windows, which is shoddy advertising considering the market they are in. Grrr. Anyhow, not like I was really missing it anyway.

Firebird was never available for OSX/Mac but it is indeed available as 64-bit for Windows.

Concerning logos at their website there are different ones for OSX and also 64-bit OSX so there is no "wrong advertisement". Also in the Specs only Windows is mentioned. You could for example check the logos for Gladiator 2 (at the bottom of the page):
https://www.tone2.com/html/gladiator%20 ... sizer.html

If you want something similar for OSX you should give Gladiator (recentl updated to v2.5) a try. Of course that one is not freeware yet.

[VilianTroy]

To play a devils advocate: there are at least few totally legit reasons to write in all caps - bad eyesight for example, or a broken keyboard.

On topic.
For me it is Xhip.
I can get it to sound kinda like Polymoog (left), kinda like Jupiter 8 (left), kinda like Diva (right), kinda like OB-X (left and in progress).
I have fun using it, and it only crashes or does unexpected things very rarely.
Thats all i need.

Thanks for u opinion - it's about taste - i didn't know about Xhip - just download it and will test it when i have time

[wagtunes]

the U-he stuff except the presets aren't usable

What's wrong with our presets?

Are there going to be more U-he freeware? sorry dear

Yep, new magware coming up. And maybe some free stuff as well, but not so soon.

I'm actually going to answer that question if it's okay.

First off, I love your stuff. You are hands down my favorite synth maker.

I own...

ACE
Bazille
Diva
Podolski
Triple Cheese
Tyrell N6
Zebra 2

I find, in general and with exceptions of course, that your patches fall into one of two categories as far as usefulness for my purposes anyway, which is why I generally design my own patches anyway.

Category 1 - Dull, mundane, been there done that. They just don't excite me. I've heard them all before in other synths. They don't really make use of that particular synths strengths. They're okay but they're just meh.

Category 2 - WTFWIUTF? No, they're not mundane by any stretch but I can't for the life of me figure out what I would use the patch for. It's "musical" usefulness seems limited at best.

All I know is this. On the rare occasion that I'm too lazy to design something from scratch and i know "exactly" what I want, I'll pull up one of your synths and start going through the presets, say pads if I'm looking for a specific kind of pad, and I just don't find it. Either they're too filtered or the releases are too long or the attacks are too fast or I want one with a band pass filter and for some reason none of your pads use a band pass filter and I end up having to create my own pad from scratch.

Now, having said this. I find I have this problem with most synths in general. Maybe I'm too picky. It's hard for me to settle for something that's "close" to what I want. It has to be exact. With so many different parameters to tweak, finding exact is a difficult thing to do.

Ironically, I find your cheaper or even free synths better at giving me what I'm looking for than you more expensive synths, again with exceptions.

Your best preset synths IMO

Tyrell N6
ACE
Diva

As the synth gets more complex (Zebra 2, Bazille) I get harder to please and usually end up just making my own presets.

This is not a knock on the presets themselves but just my pickyness, which I think is probably the case with most people. They're simply looking for a specific thing and they're not finding it.

All I know is this. I don't care if you make a synth with no presets at all. Just keep designing them with the quality that you are famous for and I'll buy them.

What am I waiting for next?

A true open ended modular with no limitations like Zebra has as far as how many modules you can hook up. You make something like Sonigen Modular with all the bells and whistles and fully open ended and I will pay any amount of money for it. That would be my dream synth. So far, nobody has made it with the quality in sound that is U-he.

Give me that synth and I will be in synth heaven.

[chk071]

Firebird? Nope, 32-bit only unfortunately...

Yeah, on the product page it has a logo for 64 bit compatibility, but they apparently mean a 64 bit version of Windows, which is shoddy advertising considering the market they are in. Grrr. Anyhow, not like I was really missing it anyway.

Firebird was never available for OSX/Mac but it is indeed available as 64-bit for Windows.

I don't know if you forgot a "not" there, but no, Firebird is definitely NOT available as a 64-bit VST version. http://www.tone2.org/forum/index.php?to ... 50#msg3150

[wickfut]

So are there any sonic differences between 32bit Firebird and 64bit Firebird 2 when using the same patch settings?

[VilianTroy]

the U-he stuff except the presets aren't usable

What's wrong with our presets?

Are there going to be more U-he freeware? sorry dear

Yep, new magware coming up. And maybe some free stuff as well, but not so soon.

I'm actually going to answer that question if it's okay.

First off, I love your stuff. You are hands down my favorite synth maker.

I own...

ACE
Bazille
Diva
Podolski
Triple Cheese
Tyrell N6
Zebra 2

I find, in general and with exceptions of course, that your patches fall into one of two categories as far as usefulness for my purposes anyway, which is why I generally design my own patches anyway.

Category 1 - Dull, mundane, been there done that. They just don't excite me. I've heard them all before in other synths. They don't really make use of that particular synths strengths. They're okay but they're just meh.

Category 2 - WTFWIUTF? No, they're not mundane by any stretch but I can't for the life of me figure out what I would use the patch for. It's "musical" usefulness seems limited at best.

All I know is this. On the rare occasion that I'm too lazy to design something from scratch and i know "exactly" what I want, I'll pull up one of your synths and start going through the presets, say pads if I'm looking for a specific kind of pad, and I just don't find it. Either they're too filtered or the releases are too long or the attacks are too fast or I want one with a band pass filter and for some reason none of your pads use a band pass filter and I end up having to create my own pad from scratch.

Now, having said this. I find I have this problem with most synths in general. Maybe I'm too picky. It's hard for me to settle for something that's "close" to what I want. It has to be exact. With so many different parameters to tweak, finding exact is a difficult thing to do.

Ironically, I find your cheaper or even free synths better at giving me what I'm looking for than you more expensive synths, again with exceptions.

Your best preset synths IMO

Tyrell N6
ACE
Diva

As the synth gets more complex (Zebra 2, Bazille) I get harder to please and usually end up just making my own presets.

This is not a knock on the presets themselves but just my pickyness, which I think is probably the case with most people. They're simply looking for a specific thing and they're not finding it.

All I know is this. I don't care if you make a synth with no presets at all. Just keep designing them with the quality that you are famous for and I'll buy them.

What am I waiting for next?

A true open ended modular with no limitations like Zebra has as far as how many modules you can hook up. You make something like Sonigen Modular with all the bells and whistles and fully open ended and I will pay any amount of money for it. That would be my dream synth. So far, nobody has made it with the quality in sound that is U-he.

Give me that synth and I will be in synth heaven.

You just kind of explain how my enthusiasm about Firebird and Subtractive synthesis begin - why to pay hundreds of whatever currency you use for commercial synths and not to find right for you patch when you can download free one and make it - of course it takes time and effort and there is absolutely no guarantee for success

[chk071]

So are there any sonic differences between 32bit Firebird and 64bit Firebird 2 when using the same patch settings?

ASFASGHE%UJSEJGJSGJAEUAE%UTRKFZL(F

Again, in case i am wrong, and that hasn't been a joke, Firebird is NOT 64-bit, neither version 1 nor version 2 nor version +, version - or anything. And 32- or 64-bit also never has an influence on sound.

[VilianTroy]

So are there any sonic differences between 32bit Firebird and 64bit Firebird 2 when using the same patch settings?

i think there is no difference - it's 32bit native and if under 64 say some parameter cannot be loaded it's not about differences in the sound ,but more about windows things ..no idea actually

[mutantdog]

The 64 bit version is more quiet.

[wagtunes]

the U-he stuff except the presets aren't usable

What's wrong with our presets?

Are there going to be more U-he freeware? sorry dear

Yep, new magware coming up. And maybe some free stuff as well, but not so soon.

I'm actually going to answer that question if it's okay.

First off, I love your stuff. You are hands down my favorite synth maker.

I own...

ACE
Bazille
Diva
Podolski
Triple Cheese
Tyrell N6
Zebra 2

I find, in general and with exceptions of course, that your patches fall into one of two categories as far as usefulness for my purposes anyway, which is why I generally design my own patches anyway.

Category 1 - Dull, mundane, been there done that. They just don't excite me. I've heard them all before in other synths. They don't really make use of that particular synths strengths. They're okay but they're just meh.

Category 2 - WTFWIUTF? No, they're not mundane by any stretch but I can't for the life of me figure out what I would use the patch for. It's "musical" usefulness seems limited at best.

All I know is this. On the rare occasion that I'm too lazy to design something from scratch and i know "exactly" what I want, I'll pull up one of your synths and start going through the presets, say pads if I'm looking for a specific kind of pad, and I just don't find it. Either they're too filtered or the releases are too long or the attacks are too fast or I want one with a band pass filter and for some reason none of your pads use a band pass filter and I end up having to create my own pad from scratch.

Now, having said this. I find I have this problem with most synths in general. Maybe I'm too picky. It's hard for me to settle for something that's "close" to what I want. It has to be exact. With so many different parameters to tweak, finding exact is a difficult thing to do.

Ironically, I find your cheaper or even free synths better at giving me what I'm looking for than you more expensive synths, again with exceptions.

Your best preset synths IMO

Tyrell N6
ACE
Diva

As the synth gets more complex (Zebra 2, Bazille) I get harder to please and usually end up just making my own presets.

This is not a knock on the presets themselves but just my pickyness, which I think is probably the case with most people. They're simply looking for a specific thing and they're not finding it.

All I know is this. I don't care if you make a synth with no presets at all. Just keep designing them with the quality that you are famous for and I'll buy them.

What am I waiting for next?

A true open ended modular with no limitations like Zebra has as far as how many modules you can hook up. You make something like Sonigen Modular with all the bells and whistles and fully open ended and I will pay any amount of money for it. That would be my dream synth. So far, nobody has made it with the quality in sound that is U-he.

Give me that synth and I will be in synth heaven.

You just kind of explain how my enthusiasm about Firebird and Subtractive synthesis begin - why to pay hundreds of whatever currency you use for commercial synths and not to find right for you patch when you can download free one and make it - of course it takes time and effort and there is absolutely no guarantee for success

The problem with most (not all) free synths is that the sound quality of the oscillators and filters is poor, especially most synthedit synths. U-he's are an exception because their free synths aren't short on sound quality, just features. Of course with that short list of features comes the restrictions of the kind of sounds you can make. While I like Tyrell N6 presets better than Zebra 2 presets, I'd much rather be programming Zebra 2 because I can do more with it. Tyrell N6, in comparison, is limited. And it should be. I mean we're comparing a $200 synth to a free synth.

So no, I don't agree that you can just download any free synth and get any sound you want. What I'm saying is that you can take a premium synth and even if the presets don't do it for you, program that synth so that you can get what you want.

In short, no way will I trade my Zebra 2 for my Tyrell N6, even if I do like the latter's presets better.

[wickfut]

So are there any sonic differences between 32bit Firebird and 64bit Firebird 2 when using the same patch settings?

ASFASGHE%UJSEJGJSGJAEUAE%UTRKFZL(F

Again, in case i am wrong, and that hasn't been a joke, Firebird is NOT 64-bit, neither version 1 nor version 2 nor version +, version - or anything. And 32- or 64-bit also never has an influence on sound.

The download link had a 64 bit logo near it. I can't remember the install procedure but I assumed, because of the logo, that version 2 give you the option to select 32 or 64 from the installer, and not that the logo just meant it'll work on both 32/64 bit DAWs.

Also, I asked if there was a sonic difference between versions 1 and 2, not specifically if there was a difference between a 32 bit and 64 bit.

You can untwist your knickers now mate.

[Ingonator]

Firebird? Nope, 32-bit only unfortunately...

Yeah, on the product page it has a logo for 64 bit compatibility, but they apparently mean a 64 bit version of Windows, which is shoddy advertising considering the market they are in. Grrr. Anyhow, not like I was really missing it anyway.

Just checked the latest download and you indeed seem to be correct.I really thought that when they released v2 it was also 64-bit...

I admit i have not used Firebird for a while here but i got all other Tone2 synths installed here including Gladiator which more or less is an advanced version of Firebird. All others except Firebird indeed seem to be 64-bit and also available for OSX.

Recently an updated version of Gladiator (v2.5) was released.