Looking for a solid ‘pad synth’ under $50

[Jorgeelalto]

ArcSyn is 40% off right now, three oscillators, loads of different osc modes, two parallel or serial good filters, lots of modulation (sequenced LFOs)... Really cool.

[Schmidi]

Yeah, Air Hybrid 3 or Xpand 2 are amazing for pads if you snag them on a cheap blowout (often as low as $1 on plugin boutique).

[SamDi]

Yeah, Air Hybrid 3 or Xpand 2 are amazing for pads if you snag them on a cheap blowout (often as low as $1 on plugin boutique).

+1

I am every time impressed, when I open Xpand 2, how good it sounds, especially pads, although it is so old. Was one of my first non-stock synths. Buyed it during sale for 1€

[psynical]

VCV Rack can be a pad monster if you're into programming modular.

[tony10000]

Beep Street Sunrizer. For $60, there is TAL Modular.

[SoundPorn]

Yeah I love IRs especially the PastToFuture Reverbs they all got a special vibe. I own Sektor which has a convo reverb that allows u to just drag and drop an impulse right onto the GUI which is really clutch and also another great cheap synths for pads.

All you need...Xpand2...

Also Pad's are all about processing too so it may actually be better to spend $50 on something like ValhallaDelay or Vintage Verb.

https://www.pluginboutique.com/product/ ... 60-Xpand-2

I´d rather use IRs (Convolution Reverb). Even the good old Lex 480L is free/cheap this Way (go signaltonoize.com) and add awesome Weight and Depth with AAs Basstard (free). AA Freebies anyway. It´s all about Frequency Balance

[jzero]

Another AIR gem: Loom II. This one is great for digital pads. The morphing path for modulation works really well. The additive synthesis method and onboard effects yield some really good sounds.

For analog, AIRs Vacuum Pro is also great. It has fat unison options and randomization features that make things sounds unstable like analog synths. Both of these are on sale at pluginboutique.com: 29.99 for Loom II and 9.99 for Vacuum Pro.

Hell, for $50 you could pick up Loom II, Vaccuum Pro and PhoenixVerb Stereo! This is a reverb newly purchased by iZotope from the guy who designed Lexicon's reverbs.







https://www.pluginboutique.com

[GRUMP]

Yeah I love IRs especially the PastToFuture Reverbs they all got a special vibe. I own Sektor which has a convo reverb that allows u to just drag and drop an impulse right onto the GUI which is really clutch and also another great cheap synths for pads.

All you need...Xpand2...

Also Pad's are all about processing too so it may actually be better to spend $50 on something like ValhallaDelay or Vintage Verb.

https://www.pluginboutique.com/product/ ... 60-Xpand-2

I´d rather use IRs (Convolution Reverb). Even the good old Lex 480L is free/cheap this Way (go signaltonoize.com) and add awesome Weight and Depth with AAs Basstard (free). AA Freebies anyway. It´s all about Frequency Balance

Oh I bought Sektor on Sales @PB somedays - I didn´t know that it can load IRs. Great Feature. I´ll maybe try it again one Day. The Rest of it was a little bit shocking to my soiled Ears

If you like IRs: I paid nearly nothing for them yet. Wayback Machine... it´s simply awesome. My HD is full ov Lex, TC and more. I can probably tell you more next Year

[GRUMP]

Another AIR gem: Loom II. This one is great for digital pads.

We should mention that it is quiet difficult in Loom to balance between even and Odd Harmonics. If you like the Odd Side it´s a Nobrainer. Otherwise you´ll probably better take the M1

[jzero]

We should mention that it is quiet difficult in Loom to balance between even and Odd Harmonics. If you like the Odd Side it´s a Nobrainer. Otherwise you´ll probably better take the M1

This doesn't make sense to me. In Loom II under "Basic Modules", the second module in the list is a "Odd/Even". It's a control to "adjust the volume balance of odd and even partials".

[PatchAdamz]

Korg Wavestation?

+1
drop some modern reverb behind it and it is still a pad beast today.

M1 too.

The Polysix can do some nice pads, also bass.

[e-crooner]

Brass pads in particular.
For some reason brass pads are my gold standard when I want to check if a plugin has authentic analog sound.

[GRUMP]

We should mention that it is quiet difficult in Loom to balance between even and Odd Harmonics. If you like the Odd Side it´s a Nobrainer. Otherwise you´ll probably better take the M1

This doesn't make sense to me. In Loom II under "Basic Modules", the second module in the list is a "Odd/Even". It's a control to "adjust the volume balance of odd and even partials".

I know. But unfortunately this Control just makes the Sound thin and flat.

[kgdrum]

While these are Kontakt based and technically not synths,Sound Aesthetics Sampling aka SAS & Hidden Path Audio are both great sources for interesting inexpensive libraries with tons of pads that go on sale often.

https://www.kontakthub.com/label/Sound- ... -Sampling/

https://www.kontakthub.com/label/hidden-path-audio/

[Boone777]

Fathom synth I find has a lot of potential in this price range: https://www.fathomsynth.com/products
There is a free Mono version well worth the try.