Synth recommendation for a newbie

[revvy]

OP, I did the opposite move to you recently.

I actually bought a guitar well above beginner level because I wanted to, had the cash and wanted to be inspired.

Result: my fave musical HW is now my guitar, love it and play it to death, much more than any of my HW or SW synths.

Good sound and inspirational. The cost is only as relevant as your own budgetary limits.

[Distorted Horizon]

OP, I did the opposite move to you recently.

I actually bought a guitar well above beginner level because I wanted to, had the cash and wanted to be inspired.

Result: my fave musical HW is now my guitar, love it and play it to death, much more than any of my HW or SW synths.

Good sound and inspirational. The cost is only as relevant as your own budgetary limits.

This is a good move, if you're after a physical instrument.

But..

As soon as you have budget, you'll find yet another "better" guitar, better amp, you NEED this and that pedal combo, one more distortion to get THAT sound..

And with software that is generally cheaper, you are even deeper in that swamp. After few years of hoarding new synths, you'll notice that you have tons of ones and zeros on your hard drive, you only use few of them, devs send you Christmas cards and you don't really make any music and compensate that by hanging at kvr with your fellow GAS victims.

And the time and money you've spent on your software collection? You could have a very good pc, very good mixer, very good guitar, few very good hw synths, very good monitors and probably some finished albums.

[CircuitEYE]

Could anyone recommend me some synth to start but that I would keep and develop on?

Thanks a lot!

TAL-U-NO-LX
Not only is it affordable, you wont outgrow it as it is a classic.

[revvy]

OP, I did the opposite move to you recently.

I actually bought a guitar well above beginner level because I wanted to, had the cash and wanted to be inspired.

Result: my fave musical HW is now my guitar, love it and play it to death, much more than any of my HW or SW synths.

Good sound and inspirational. The cost is only as relevant as your own budgetary limits.

This is a good move, if you're after a physical instrument.

But..

As soon as you have budget, you'll find yet another "better" guitar, better amp, you NEED this and that pedal combo, one more distortion to get THAT sound..

And with software that is generally cheaper, you are even deeper in that swamp. After few years of hoarding new synths, you'll notice that you have tons of ones and zeros on your hard drive, you only use few of them, devs send you Christmas cards and you don't really make any music and compensate that by hanging at kvr with your fellow GAS victims.

And the time and money you've spent on your software collection? You could have a very good pc, very good mixer, very good guitar, few very good hw synths, very good monitors and probably some finished albums.

Zero relevance to my answer and changes nothing about what I was saying.

Use stuff that inspires you is what I said. It's as true of SW as it is HW.

[Kwurqx]

What's your genre? It might influence which synths are good for you, and which aren't.
I for one wouldn't know what to do with a wavetable or granular synth, it just wouldn't match my music in terms of sound, so I won't waste my time learning how to use them.

I currently produce soundtracks for films (documentaries, mainly) and advertisement. This way, I'm not strictly tied to any genre. But usually i record drums, guitars, bass, use orchestra vsts, and am beginning to use synths. So, having a nice sound and good presets is the ideal case, as I wish to use them right away in my current projects. I'm not into EDM and the so-like, but I'm interested in learn more about it and maybe try something around it in the future. Would you have any recommendation?

Soundtracks? If unique "moods" and "soundscapes" and "pads" are more important than "notes" and "melody" you might also want to look towards tools like:

AIR - Loom II (not free but regularly discounted).
https://www.kvraudio.com/product/loom-i ... technology

It's a very unusual beast though and quite a challenge for a newbie. It is based on additive/spectral synthesis. In a sort of linear modular way (chaining building blocks).

Many of the beautiful and often evolving sounds are very hard (dare I say...impossible) to create using other tools. Not only because of the unusual sound generation and transformation building blocks. Also considering the unique modulation options.

It can do more bread-and-butter synthesis stuff too, off course. Like "analog" style subtractive (filter based) synthesis (the "usual" plucks, bass, strings). But it excels in unusual additive / FM-like spectra and crystal clear sounds and unusual complex modulation.

Tons of presets and an advanced random patch generator to get you inspired/started.

Check out YouTube for examples/demos.

Random example video (by Production Expert)

AIR Loom Synth Show And Tell - Extended Video

[Russell Grand]

Hi there!

I'm a guitar who is beggining in the world of synths (through Syntorial).

Never thought I would give a recommendation to a guitar.

[DJ Warmonger]

As much as I like AiR Loom, I wouldn't recommend it for a newbie. The modules are enigmatic, and interface is far from intuitive and requires a lot of clicking to get things done.

[peakles]

In your case I would recommend Ana2 or Omnisphere loads of presets available for each and they will sound good.

Thanks! I read about Omnisphere and I can see it is vastly used for soundtracks, but it is very expensive (!!). Maybe it is too much to go for right now. (does it goes on sales often?)

And Ana2 is on sales now, I certainly will check it out.

Thanks again!

[peakles]

I learned the basics with TAL Noisemaker. Worked for me! In the beginning, you need to learn the very basics about oscillators, filters, ADSR envelopes, and LFOs. TAL Noisemaker is very simple, with only the essentials. What you learn there will translate to most other synths. Many of the recommendations are for synths with a lot of distracting and potentially confusing complexity.

I would recommend using some kind of oscilloscope visualization and a spectrum analyzer with it to give you some visual feedback about what your adjustments are doing to the sound.

Then do searches on YouTube or Google for information about what an oscillator is, what the different basic shapes are all about (sine, triangle, saw, and square), what pulse-width modulation is, noise, and so on. Then learn about what a low-pass filter is and what resonance (labeled "emphasis" on some synths) does. Then learn about ADSR envelopes as they are used to modulate filters and amplitude. Then LFO modulation. That will give you the basics!

It is great for learning once you have all that under your belt to do some modular patching in VCV Rack, building a basic synth from an oscillator, a filter, an envelope generator paired with a VCA, another envelope to modulate filter cutoff, and so on.

Also, Serum is fantastic for helping you to see what is happening, especially with your envelope adjustments. I'm not sure if Serum is the best long-term investment these days though, as it might have been superseded by some newer stuff. It might be worth playing with the demo or renting for a month on Splice. But it has some of the best visualizations I've encountered. You can learn a lot editing the waveform in Serum as well.

What you'll ultimately want to use in the long run is something you probably don't have a sense for now, as there are a number of rather different styles of synth. Honestly though, if you end up liking this stuff, you'll probably get GAS and will end up blowing all your money on sorts of different plugins, controllers, and the like! You'll get it all! I have way more than I should have! Try to avoid that temptation though! I think I'd be better off if I had just bought one good synth and focused all my energies into that, rather than wasting endless hours shopping and fiddling with lots of different synths. I'm beginning to think I am more of a collector and tinkerer than a real musician!

Hey thank you very much for the taking the time to write me. When you say Serum is might have been superseded, which would be the synths that superseeded it? Are among them some that you may recommend as well?

And your last paragraph describes exactly what I was thinking about when wrote this post. I'd like a synth to know really well and to continue using it for a long time, making music and learning about it. And I don't have yet the perception of what style of synth would work better for me, hence I asked here to have some hints. I really want to have something to focus on. As many of us, I also "collect" plugins and waist a lot of time and energy in some vsts instead of use the ones that I already have. As I'm concious about it, I'm trying to change, and thinking about just one synth by now is part of this mentality.

[peakles]

OP, I did the opposite move to you recently.

I actually bought a guitar well above beginner level because I wanted to, had the cash and wanted to be inspired.

Result: my fave musical HW is now my guitar, love it and play it to death, much more than any of my HW or SW synths.

Good sound and inspirational. The cost is only as relevant as your own budgetary limits.

Nice to hear about that! I hope you can have a lot of fun and much inspiration by your guitar! =) It is certainly a different world and (once this quarantine nightmare is over) is an instrument which you can carry easily, and I hope this will also make you enjoy it even more. Go to a park or to almost any place and being able to play it is amazing. =)

Have fun!

[peakles]

AIR - Loom II (not free but regularly discounted).
https://www.kvraudio.com/product/loom-i ... technology

It's a very unusual beast though and quite a challenge for a newbie. It is based on additive/spectral synthesis. In a sort of linear modular way (chaining building blocks).

Thanks! I'll check it out, even being a little apprehensive by the "challange" and the "enigmatic interface"

[cyrb]

Like others are saying, go for the free synths.
The two (free) synth plugs I recommend to beginners are:

Synister: https://the-synister.github.io/
TAL-NoiseMaker: https://tal-software.com/products/tal-noisemaker

They're some of the most easy to understand synths out there. After you get your feet wet, you'll be ready to tackle any other synth out there.

Also, I disagree with the whole 'buy one, stick with it for life' ideology others have mentioned.

My go-to synth was never my first synth, it took me a lot fiddling with other synths to know what I was into (variety is the spice of life), and eventually the one that I stuck around with the longest ended up doing the most with.. kinda like women,

[Kwurqx]

If you wanna go simpler and faster then Surge (my top FREE recommendation), I would actually recommend (brace yourselves...)...

Ichiro Toda (Daichi Lab) - Synth1
https://www.kvraudio.com/product/synth1 ... chiro-toda
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synth1
http://daichilab.com/

Yes, it is a dinosaur, but has been topping many free VST virtual instrument charts for many, many years for a reason. It has stood the test of time (introduced in 2002...).

Still No.1 here at KVR in 2020 (most popular, not best ever).

Not only for the FREE instruments
https://www.kvraudio.com/plugins/instru ... st-popular

But even over paid instruments
https://www.kvraudio.com/plugins/instru ... st-popular

Though does actually also tops the BEST FREE instrument chart...

Sure, being old (around since 2002) and free helped to create a huge user/fan base. Even the latest update (v1.13) dates from 2014. Still in beta...adding 64-bit support, a 24 dB/Oct Ladder (LPDL) filter and some more internal precision. But still, quite an achievement, considering the ever faster growing competition and technological developments.

Some general pros:

• It is deceivingly versatile, while having a very simple and fast workflow.

• It has a huge user base, and tens of thousands of free patches to get you on the way.

• Given its age, it was optimized for the limited system resources of the day. Nowadays it will hardly show up in your CPU load.

You will get a lot of basic but very usefull stuff to experiment with (even for todays standards), without getting lost in complexity or GUI:

• 2 oscillators and 1 sub oscillator

• Oscillator Sync, very basic AM and FM

• Pulse Width control and modulation on OSC1

• Detune on OSC1 will actually add a detuned copy of OSC1

• Detune on OSC2 will just detune OSC2 (note increments and fine)

• OSC2 can act as a noise source (not true random noise, but now you can even use it as a AM source)

• the SUB can be at the same octave as OSC1, acting as an extra oscillator.

• great Unison section

• FX unit with Phasers, Distortions and more

• Basic EQ

• A Delay unit

• A Chorus unit

• An Arpeggiator

• Poly (max 32 note), Mono and Mono Legato with Portamento

• 2 LFO's with several destinations (freerunning or tempo synced)

• 2 MIDI modulation sources (e.g. Mod Weehl or Aftertouch).

• Dedicated ADSRs for AMP and Filter, and an AR for some other destinations

• And....pretty convenient mousewheel support: will increment Knob values by +1/-1.

[peakles]

If you wanna go simpler and faster then Surge (my top FREE recommendation), I would actually recommend (brace yourselves...)...

Ichiro Toda (Daichi Lab) - Synth1

Thanks! I already downloaded different synths and both are among them. =) I'm now playing and watching tutorials/reviews to narrow down my list. =)

[JO512]

Hey thank you very much for the taking the time to write me. When you say Serum is might have been superseded, which would be the synths that superseeded it? Are among them some that you may recommend as well?

And your last paragraph describes exactly what I was thinking about when wrote this post. I'd like a synth to know really well and to continue using it for a long time, making music and learning about it. And I don't have yet the perception of what style of synth would work better for me, hence I asked here to have some hints. I really want to have something to focus on. As many of us, I also "collect" plugins and waist a lot of time and energy in some vsts instead of use the ones that I already have. As I'm concious about it, I'm trying to change, and thinking about just one synth by now is part of this mentality.

You're welcome!

Regarding synths that may have superseded Serum, there are a number of possibilities. First of all, I'd point out that Serum is a specific type of synth geared toward a certain type of music, though it can do a lot of things. It is a wavetable synth, and is very digital in its character, some describing it as cold, sharp, and precise. It has been used a lot for dubstep and other electronic styles with fairly aggressive and cutting sounds. That isn't to say it can't sound warm or soft. It certainly can! With some know-how, it can be made to sound quite analog. But it lends itself to certain styles more than some other synths. On the other side of the spectrum are the virtual analog synths like Diva, which aim to be warmer and perhaps less precise but more rich and tonally complex and variable.

As far as wavetable synths go, Phase Plant is one that a lot of people seem to like. Some object to the business model of Kilohearts though. I have never used it myself, so I can't comment on it. Some people seem to love RAPID. I only just now tried it briefly, and it seems buggy to me. I get some pops and clicks, stuck notes, delayed notes, and so on. There are mixed opinions out there about Massive X. It can do a few things Serum can't. Serum can do a few things it can't. While sounding pretty good and having some interesting features, I don't think it is nearly as user-friendly and suited to learning as Serum though. Another possibility is Pigments. It is pretty powerful and also has granular synthesis and some good visualizations. Some really seem to love Dune. I haven't used it. Some like VPS Avenger. I haven't used that either. I'm not much help here, am I?

The question of what kind of synth you'll ultimately want to use depends a lot on your taste. And as you explore all this, you will likely find that your taste will evolve and you'll explore new styles of music. There isn't much of a way to know now what you'll have a taste for several years from now!

In my own case, I played a lot with Serum early on and then shifted more toward the virtual analog and modular stuff. I learned a ton with Serum though! I still come back to it often. It is like my primary, basic tool. But I came to appreciate high-quality, characterful filters. Serum's filters, for me, do the basic work of a filter, but lack the hard-to-define magic of the better emulations of analog filters. I spent some time with Synapse's The Legend, a great emulation of the Minimoog Model D, which is maybe the most iconic subtractive synth in existence. The Legend's filter just had some qualities I loved that I couldn't replicate in Serum. Then I discovered the u-he stuff. Some great, but slightly different, filters there as well! NI's Monark has a nice filter too!

There are other things out there too, like the additive synths: Harmor, Razor, Loom, and so on. And there are the FM (frequency modulation) synths, like FM8 and DX7. There is also physical modeling, like Chromaphone and Kaivo, which attempt to simulate things like vibrating strings, bars, tubes, membranes, and so on. There is also granular, which Pigments does pretty nicely. Then there is the weird and interesting stuff the Soundemote does with their oscilloscope music synths like Radar Generator, which is a whole other thing!

There are synths which try to do it all, like Falcon and Halion. I have Falcon, and honestly, I don't find it very inspiring. It is a jack-of-all, master-of-none sort of thing. It is pretty good for what it is, and is pretty powerful. You can layer a lot of stuff and develop some complex sounds. But all of its tools seem somewhat lacking and basic. For each type of synthesis it does, I'd rather use some specific tool specialized and more powerful for that focused purpose. I can layer sounds and effects in my DAW if I want. One thing I like about Falcon is that you can apply effects per-voice! This is very useful, especially when it comes to distortion. Per-voice distortion behaves quite differently than distortion applied after all the polyphonic voices are already mixed. Some other synths like Repro-5 have per-voice distortion, which is pretty cool! Then you have the option, as you can always add distortion afterward as well. I am a distortion afficionado myself, as I grew up listening to thrash metal and grunge in the 80s and 90s.

Then there are modular synths like Reaktor, Softube Modular, Voltage Modular, and so on. These are very, very powerful, especially when it comes to novel and complex modulation, but you might end up spending most of your time fiddling and figuring-out and experimenting and never making music! That can be fun and you learn a lot, but for just making music, I don't think they are the best option.

Honestly though, most of this is just a distraction right now. If you are just beginning with synthesis, I would recommend focusing at first on the most basic form of synthesis (perhaps still the best too!), and that is simple subtractive synthesis with basic waveforms like sine, square, saw, and triangle, a filter, an envelope generator, an LFO, and so on. Once you master the concepts of subtractive synthesis, then, if you are so inclined, start to explore other more advanced forms like FM and additive. And don't bother too much with wavetables just yet. Most of the wavetables out there are generated with the more basic methods like sync modulation and filtering anyway. If you just use the wavetables, you might never learn what is actually going on in them.

You want to understand what the fundamental frequency is and what harmonics or overtones are and how different waveforms yield different overtone structures. A sine wave, for example, is a pure tone, with no overtones or harmonics. A saw wave produces a long series of tones reaching way up into the high frequencies, these frequencies being both odd and even multiples of the fundamental. A square wave produces a similar series of overtones, but with only the harmonics that are odd multiples of the fundamental.

And then you want to understand what a low-pass, high-pass, and band-pass filters do to what you hear and to the series of overtones that you see on a spectrum analyzer. Then learn what happens when you mix multiple oscillators and detune them, what happens when you use oscillator "sync" and use it with some modulation of one oscillator's frequency, and so on.

Understanding white noise and what happens when you filter it is essential too. Many sounds that you will synthesize will involve both pitched tones and noise.

Another big topic in synthesis is modulation. You use low-frequency oscillators (LFOs), envelope generators, and so on, to modulate pitch, volume, and other parameters.

And then there is the whole topic of effects like reverb, delay, phasing, flanging, chorus, distortion/saturation, and so on. Distortion/saturation itself can be a primary component of synthesis, as it adds harmonics. You can modify a sine wave with distortion and generate a series of overtones. So understanding this topic is important.

Interestingly, you already use a subtractive synth everyday! It is your voice! Your vocal chords are your oscillator, which produces a saw wave. Your mouth and nose is the filter, with which you sculpt the spectrum by subtraction and resonance. Manipulating air with your teeth, tongue, lips, nose, and so on, you also work with noise. And by controlling the activation of the vocal chords and your mouth, you generate something like an ADSR envelope! Your consonants are mostly shaped noise, while your vowels are filtered pitched tones.

You'll want to learn how to produce both musical tones and percussive noises, maybe as well as wild and fun sound effects.

Honestly, Serum is one of the best learning tools I've encountered and it is still a top-notch synth. You can even do some FM and additive with it when you are ready for that. And it has a good basic effects rack. One thing to be aware of though is that if you buy it, you are stuck with it. Xfer does NOT allow license transfers. Some of the other options, you can buy from people on KVR at a significant discount and sell later for a similar price if you decide to do something else. If you decide to go with Serum, the rent-to-own plan on Splice is the way to go, as if you decide three months in that Serum isn't your synth, you are only out $30.

A great, free subtractive synth I had forgotten about, which would be excellent to learn the basics on is Xhip. The main downfall is that the interface is small and rather ugly. But it can yield pretty fat tones, not so far from The Legend. And its filter is really not too bad and has some saturation and some useful modulation options! It does seem to suffer from a bit of aliasing though, but no big deal. Really, this is probably a better synth than TAL Noisemaker that I recommended earlier. And Xhip is pretty clearly laid out and seems to have all the essential features to learn subtractive synthesis.

Diva is one of the best virtual analog options around. Really, it might be a great option as long as you just leave alone all the advanced bells and whistles while you learn the basics using the oscillators, filters, envelopes, and whatnot. And you can sell it later if you want.

TyrellN6 is surprisingly good for a free synth as well! One pf the problems with it though is no pure sine option for the oscillators. You need a pure sine to experiment with as part of your learning. It is the most basic element of all.

Lots of options out there! And you don't really need to spend money at this stage unless you want to!