Decided to finally purchase a couple Synths (VST) and I need some help

[chaosWyrM]

personally my answer to this question is always reaktor.

if you dont have many vsts and youre looking to maximize your bang:buck ratio...reaktor is pretty hard to beat. you get high quality instruments AND effects covering just about every conceivable thing you could want or need. and thats before delving into the depths of the free user library.

[lolilol1975]

If you try Sylenth and Spire, you should definitely try Hive as well.

[cryophonik]

I think Z3TA+2 Is also similar to Nexus as well as Spire. Although Spire is a lot more customizable.

Neither Z3TA+2 nor Spire are really anything like Nexus. As you stated, Nexus is a ROMpler, while the other two are both synths and both are very deep. Either one of those is a good choice for your needs IMO.

I'll also second the vote for U-he Hive. I've owned almost all the synths that you are considering, and Hive has quickly become one of my go-tos for dance music. I highly recommend giving the demo a go - it gets almost as much use as my Virus TI2 does.

[Lejurai]

I can't believe I'm saying this but Sylenth could be an option for you (sylenth is propably the most popular one so it automatically means I hate it) . Sylenth because it has tons of presets available before you start to tweak your own. Another option would be rob papens predator that comes with 4400 presets and is also very simple but has tons of stuff to dig in when you gain more knowledge. Dune2 is supersynth but maybe something you should buy when you know more of synths. Zeta+2 I personally love it alot but IMO it's not something to use in everything. Of course you can make sounds with it normally like with any synth but (imo again) the sound is kinda dark and techy compared to something cleaner.

Synthmaster is also really great synth. Worth to consider if you want some serious bang for buck.

[zerocrossing]

It's not effing per-say!

Per se

I like this post alot.



(Funny how stuff like this still goes one in the age of spell check. Do people just ignore it?)

[zerocrossing]

Maybe it's not as good as it seems?

I don't understand what this means. You have the demo. You can hear it. You can play with the settings. Why would you think there's some flaw waiting to ruin your experience?

I don't have Spire, but it seems like a good synth and I know a lot of people compare it favorably to the Access Virus.

Every synth you listed has it's fans and considered of "professional grade" by anyone who uses software. Even Nexus sounds great and I'm sure can be a great tool for someone who wants to focus on composition and not so much on the sound design front. I know for myself that I'll often use presets when I'm looking for a basic bread and butter tone and tweak it a bit so it works in the mix. Is there much reason to reinvent the wheel? OTOH, if you've got a specific sound in mind or want to just experiment, a preset synth like Nexus could be tedious. This is why I never purchased it.

What I would do if I were you is to find tutorial videos of each synth and watch them. Follow along. A big part of any instrument is how it works with you're workflow. I have z3ta and I can tell you that it's never felt like a joy to program with for me, yet a synth like Serum clicked with me instantly. You might think the opposite. I'm a big fan of Mpowersynth, but I know it's UI drives some people crazy.

Anyway, there's no wrong answer. You'll do fine with any of the synths you listed. The key is digging in and really learning what ever synth you pick.

[Lejurai]

It's not effing per-say!

Per se

I like this post alot.



(Funny how stuff like this still goes one in the age of spell check. Do people just ignore it?)

Perse = Ass in Finnish.

[thecontrolcentre]