Best VST instrument for relaxation, Ambient, sounds

[Silaris]

The following options are worth consideration, IMO:

* Spectrasonics Omnisphere 2
* Rob Papen Blue 2
* iZotope Iris 2

[jancivil]

synth1 and some reverb

sure, this is the best for this purpose. I imagine you saying it doesn't particularly matter the reverb if you haven't already.

[nichttuntun]

Padshop comes with a limited number of samples. Eventually, you'll run out of source material and you'll end up just making the same sounds over and over.

Padshop Pro allows you to import your own samples. So the possibilities are endless.

That difference alone makes Padshop Pro a necessity. If you're not going to get Pro, you might as well not get Padshop at all and get something else.

Yes the possibilities are great with own samples, if you like to make sounds which keep the main character of the original sample and you recorded that sound because you know what you want to achieve.

But granular synthesis can totally de-construct the original nature of a sound and if you go for that in a mix than it hardly does matter what sound source you are using. Because of the veeeery deep modulation matrix of PADSHOP you nearly have "endless" (I think there is no such a thing as endless in this universe) possibilities alone with that.

If you want to go really individual (and are not into field-recording) and make things no one can reproduce I recommend this procedure: Take a complex Synth and program crazy stuff. Record a sequence/ sound into your DAW and than use this exact sample and re-sample it. I recommend re-sampling using the absolutely fantastic PPG INFINITE PRO. Programm a patch in e.g. PPG INFINITE PRO than and than record this patch again in your DAW and use that sample in PADSHOP PRO afterwards. Of course you should do all these steps without processing the samples with effects. The recorded Samples should be "dry" so you are completely free in the mix to spice it further with weird delay/ shimmer or reverb-madness or whatever you want. Sometimes it makes sense to keep the samples mono. Or convert the sample into mono. You can use the great and totally free wave-editor and recorder AUDACITY for that. You always should mono-test your stereo samples in your mix because very often stereo provides many phase-problems. There are several free VST tools out there for that purpose.

Happy modulation

[wagtunes]

Padshop comes with a limited number of samples. Eventually, you'll run out of source material and you'll end up just making the same sounds over and over.

Padshop Pro allows you to import your own samples. So the possibilities are endless.

That difference alone makes Padshop Pro a necessity. If you're not going to get Pro, you might as well not get Padshop at all and get something else.

Yes the possibilities are great with own samples, if you like to make sounds which keep the main character of the original sample and you recorded that sound because you know what you want to achieve.

But granular synthesis can totally de-construct the original nature of a sound and if you go for that in a mix than it hardly does matter what sound source you are using. Because of the veeeery deep modulation matrix of PADSHOP you nearly have "endless" (I think there is no such a thing as endless in this universe) possibilities alone with that.

If you want to go really individual (and are not into field-recording) and make things no one can reproduce I recommend this procedure: Take a complex Synth and program crazy stuff. Record a sequence/ sound into your DAW and than use this exact sample and re-sample it. I recommend re-sampling using the absolutely fantastic PPG INFINITE PRO. Programm a patch in e.g. PPG INFINITE PRO than and than record this patch again in your DAW and use that sample in PADSHOP PRO afterwards. Of course you should do all these steps without processing the samples with effects. The recorded Samples should be "dry" so you are completely free in the mix to spice it further with weird delay/ shimmer or reverb-madness or whatever you want. Sometimes it makes sense to keep the samples mono. Or convert the sample into mono. You can use the great and totally free wave-editor and recorder AUDACITY for that. You always should mono-test your stereo samples in your mix because very often stereo provides many phase-problems. There are several free VST tools out there for that purpose.

Happy modulation

And that is pretty much what I do. Thanks. Great tip!

[nichttuntun]

You're welcome

[chaosWyrM]

as far as im concerned the answer to this question (and nearly all similar ones) is reaktor.

its a no brainer. along with all the "normal" kinds of things you can do with it....it has a TON of generative ambient instruments like skrewel, metaphysical function, and space drone. plus all the instruments that are based off those....PLUS things like grain cube and stella, not to mention the absolutely magnificent dron-e, .....the list just goes on and on and on.



its reaktor. the answer is always reaktor.

[vurt]

didgeridoo and a massive cave.
anything more is frivolous and unnecessary

[thecontrolcentre]

Sugar Bytes Obscurium

[tatanka]

Hi thecontrolcentre,

I have Obscurium and I love it but apart from the name I have not brought it together with relaxation, ambient so far, I use it more or less in the opposite directory to make wild arps and sequences

So would be really interested about how you use it for ambient kind of things, maybe depends on the inside used vst instruments or do you have really an Obscurium workflow for these kind of stuff ?

[PatchAdamz]

A couple more very different examples:

SERUM - DARK AMBIENT EXAMPLE:
https://soundcloud.com/vintage-synth-pa ... rk-ambient

Lush101 - Vintage Pads:
https://soundcloud.com/vintage-synth-pa ... fe-song-by

[larslentz]

U-he Triple Cheese, Eventide Blackhole, Fog Convolver, and Dust. These all make nice ambient sounds, with Blackhole being the shining star in that field. Absynth is nice too as is Serum if patched correctly.

[martinjuenke]

U-he Triple Cheese, Eventide Blackhole, Fog Convolver, and Dust. These all make nice ambient sounds, with Blackhole being the shining star in that field. Absynth is nice too as is Serum if patched correctly.

What makes fog convolver so special for you?

[aMUSEd]

Padshop comes with a limited number of samples. Eventually, you'll run out of source material and you'll end up just making the same sounds over and over.

Padshop Pro allows you to import your own samples. So the possibilities are endless.

That difference alone makes Padshop Pro a necessity. If you're not going to get Pro, you might as well not get Padshop at all and get something else.

Yes the possibilities are great with own samples, if you like to make sounds which keep the main character of the original sample and you recorded that sound because you know what you want to achieve.

But granular synthesis can totally de-construct the original nature of a sound and if you go for that in a mix than it hardly does matter what sound source you are using. Because of the veeeery deep modulation matrix of PADSHOP you nearly have "endless" (I think there is no such a thing as endless in this universe) possibilities alone with that.

Exactly - the factory content is just raw material, you can process it in so many ways so it's not as limiting as it seems.

[elipsis1]

Valhalla DSP Shimmer is great for making almost anything sound ambient

+++ for Lunaris

Gravity is great as well!

[fmr]

didgeridoo and a massive cave.
anything more is frivolous and unnecessary

This reminds me the Paul Horn records

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GXcr_Me7yI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acHvsBEUaH4