Soft synths that really sound 'alive'

[JJ_Jettflow]

Are there any software synths that, in our opinion, sound organic/alive/like an actual, acoustic instrument (in terms of livelihood, not timbre)?

For me, honestly, only Spire is half-way there. Others (including the venerable Diva), are somehow not. Unfortunately, there's no real soul in them, I would say. They just aren't there yet.

What's your take on this? (And sorry if there's already been a thread like this.)

The soul comes from the player not the instrument. If you are playing static, non expressive music, then indeed the instruments will sound soulless.

[chk071]

Are there any software synths that, in our opinion, sound organic/alive/like an actual, acoustic instrument (in terms of livelihood, not timbre)?

For me, honestly, only Spire is half-way there. Others (including the venerable Diva), are somehow not. Unfortunately, there's no real soul in them, I would say. They just aren't there yet.

What's your take on this? (And sorry if there's already been a thread like this.)

The soul comes from the player not the instrument. If you are playing static, non expressive music, then indeed the instruments will sound soulless.

Lemme guess, you use Synth1 only, right?

If an instrument doesn't inspire me, it's useless for me.

[JJ_Jettflow]

Are there any software synths that, in our opinion, sound organic/alive/like an actual, acoustic instrument (in terms of livelihood, not timbre)?

For me, honestly, only Spire is half-way there. Others (including the venerable Diva), are somehow not. Unfortunately, there's no real soul in them, I would say. They just aren't there yet.

What's your take on this? (And sorry if there's already been a thread like this.)

The soul comes from the player not the instrument. If you are playing static, non expressive music, then indeed the instruments will sound soulless.

Lemme guess, you use Synth1 only, right?

? Not sure how you get that from my comment. The OP was stating that in his opinion, synths do not sound alive and my answer is that maybe it is not the synth but the music being played on it that makes it static.

So whether it is Synth 1 or a Motif, if you play crap on it, it will sound soulless.

[chk071]

I'm sorry, it sounded like you are implying that he plays static, non expressive music, and that it's ALWAYS the player which decides whether the instrument sounds soulless or not. That is surely not the case, if professional players opt for the, in their eyes, best sounding instruments to play on. Obviously they think their music sounds better when using certain hardware.

[JJ_Jettflow]

I'm sorry, it sounded like you are implying that he plays static, non expressive music, and that it's ALWAYS the player which decides whether the instrument sounds soulless or not. That is surely not the case, if professional players opt for the, in their eyes, best sounding instruments to play on. Obviously they think their music sounds better when using certain hardware.

While some instruments may lean towards being used for one particular type of music or another, any music can be played on any instrument. I interpret the topic about synths being soulless, not about a synth being soulless for a particular type of music. In fact I cant see anywhere any type of music is mentioned.

If you play chopsticks badly on a Steinway, it will not sound great. If a concert pianist plays Mozart on a beerhall piano that is out of tune, it will sound amazing. Whether it is EDM or fusion jazz, soulless playing will equal the instrument sounding soulless.

[musikmachine]

Roland SH-2 plugout sounds quite alive to me. If I understand the question as meant. NI Monark also. I like Spire, but don't really feel the sound is that alive.

Haven't tried the plug-out yet but i'd put Strobe 2 in that category with the transmod system but it's base sound has an organic quality analogous to analog synths and feels like an instrument in it's own right rather than just another VA.

Oh the free Reaktor Blocks ensembles given away recently have a lot of character.

[chk071]

If a concert pianist plays Mozart on a beerhall piano that is out of tune, it will sound amazing.

I have my doubts about that (at least about the "amazing" part), but hey, everyone is entitled to his/her opinion.

[fischkopf]

Are there any software synths that, in our opinion, sound organic/alive/like an actual, acoustic instrument (in terms of livelihood, not timbre)?

For me, honestly, only Spire is half-way there. Others (including the venerable Diva), are somehow not. Unfortunately, there's no real soul in them, I would say. They just aren't there yet.

What's your take on this? (And sorry if there's already been a thread like this.)

The soul comes from the player not the instrument. If you are playing static, non expressive music, then indeed the instruments will sound soulless.

Lemme guess, you use Synth1 only, right?

If an instrument doesn't inspire me, it's useless for me.

Exactly this.

I think a good sounding synth can add a quite lot of soul or liveliness to the sound which again will be an inspiration for the one that's playing the instrument.

[chk071]

Are there any software synths that, in our opinion, sound organic/alive/like an actual, acoustic instrument (in terms of livelihood, not timbre)?

For me, honestly, only Spire is half-way there. Others (including the venerable Diva), are somehow not. Unfortunately, there's no real soul in them, I would say. They just aren't there yet.

What's your take on this? (And sorry if there's already been a thread like this.)

The soul comes from the player not the instrument. If you are playing static, non expressive music, then indeed the instruments will sound soulless.

Lemme guess, you use Synth1 only, right?

If an instrument doesn't inspire me, it's useless for me.

Exactly this.

I think a good sounding synth can add a quite lot of soul or liveliness to the sound which again will be an inspiration for the one that's playing the instrument.

That's what i mean. I just couldn't make music with "anything". Maybe it's also genre dependant. I'm not into music which requires musical skills, or technical abilities like maybe other genres require. The sound creating process and experimentation is important for me, and if the sound of the synth doesn't inspire me, then i'm not too motivated in working with it. As i wrote earlier, there's really few soft synths which really seem inspiring to me, most of the stuff seems like a waste of time.

[braj]

Diva for me has been the most soulful and expressive. I can get lost for days in that Bud Pluck patch on Divine. And that's just one patch. There is a lot of subtle character in Diva. But I don't think she's alone, lots of synths are very playable. But I can consistently count on Diva. Familiarity has something to do with it though, with any synths you need to coax the sweet sounds out of them, plus other effects help. And that doesn't even consider your own playing.

Also, excellent patch design by Howard on Diva is a big draw for me too. A lot of his are right up my alley.

[nineofkings]

People often say Synthmaster doesn't. I think those people haven't tried hard enough. Judicious use of osc drift, along with filter drive & pregain set at about 9 o'clock, really makes it sing. It's in the manner of an analog synth more than an acoustic instrument, but the tone is there.

[pdxindy]

.... I gave you a list of synths that sound "alive" to me.. whatever that means. What about them? Diva doesn't sound alive to you? Xils4? Monark? I say you've got to be joking, or you haven't really worked with these synths ....

Your input is appreciated.

Yes, Diva doesn't feel like a real vintage synth to me. I already said it and it is how it is.

Have no experience with XILS or Monark, TBH.

This is a bit confusing... in your initial post you did not ask for synths that sound like a vintage (analog) synth, you asked for 'organic/alive' and mentioned acoustic instruments as well as a couple analogs.

A synth can sound alive that does not sound like a vintage analog. For me, I am generally aiming for the nuanced organic expressiveness of acoustic instruments.

I think if you are going to ask the question, you should post some audio of a synth that you would consider organic/alive. Then there is some context to what that means to you.

Here is an example from Diva - I played it realtime with notes and knob turning modulation (no automation) I consider this organic and alive.
http://draigathar.org/sounds/Diva-12.mp3

Bazille is my favorite for that quality of alive-ness (as I understand it - organic with vitality, maybe you are not sure how it was made kinda quality) These are a few of my audio examples all realtime.
http://draigathar.org/sounds/B38.mp3
http://draigathar.org/sounds/B44.mp3
http://draigathar.org/sounds/B39.mp3
http://draigathar.org/sounds/B41.mp3
http://draigathar.org/sounds/B42.mp3
http://draigathar.org/sounds/Bazille32.mp3

[Infinite5ths]

I agree with the comments about finding a synth that works for you. After 30 years of playing classical concert violin repertoire (orchestral, chamber & solo), my ears and music making instincts/reflexes simply don't like to deal with crummy tools. And, as I tell my students' parents: Students need good tools to learn. If you give them junk to use, they won't want to play or they will take longer to play expressively.

Fortunately, in many cities, parents can rent good string instruments that have been set up well and designed to perform as a student needs. In the synth world, there is not such an obvious solution. But the basic principle holds: Buy quality; and buy tools that resonate (pun intended) with you. This is ART, people - not drilling for oil.

Yes, masters can make almost anything work; but that's because they have thousands of hours creating good experiences with great tools. I can make a crummy violin sound great; but I hate doing so compared to my world-class concert instrument. People argue that playing anything/everything/all-things makes one better. That's true...but not when that is the majority of your practice time. Having a great instrument is part of continuing to grow as a musician. There is no easy way around that. Find good tools; never give up searching for them; and ignore the voices that call you to less - as an artist AND in your search for top-class tools.

[Aryaroman]

I find old school/trance-(insert sub-genre here)-artists like Delerium, Deep Forest and Klaus Schulze have a very alive sound, not only because of their use of acoustic instruments and vocals, but also because of the synthesizer sound being very rich and organic and using a particular pulsating sound over the drum comp.I've been actually meaning to start a thread dedicated to the hunt for a very soft soft synth, that could do those soft and almost liquid pulsating arpeggios that were somewhat popular during 90s and early 00- trance and world-influenced trance music.

Omnisphere is good and has a few of those liquid pulse sounds (patch: Trance Pulsations) but I find that programming something similar doesn't quite bear fruit, due to my skills and the right type of oscillators and filters (the factory patches use samples) so the synth would need to be more dedicated to a particular sound. I don't know if OP is into trance or even the kind of sound I'm talking about, just thought I'd share this if it could lead to anywhere since we are looking for a soft synth of some kind.

[braj]

String Studio is pretty unconventional and gets very acoustic timbers that resonate and vibrate, I think it is very "alive."