What synth do you actually USE the most in your own music????

[BONES]

then why don't you fully commit this time, declare your faith and everlasting recognition of its quality, and put it in your signature, I'd see it right in between vacuum and arcsyn perhaps.

No need, that is all contained in my review of the synth, which is there for all to see at any time. How many reviews have you bothered to write, or is it all about what you can get out of this place, not what you might be able to contribute?

[niltonbvfilho]

Union (Soundspot), Fantastic!!!

[_leras]

I said sub 37 as it would be a great synth to have if you only had one hardware synth

No, it would be a terrible synth to have if you only had one hardware synth. It is way too limited. If you only had one hardware synth, you'd want something digital, or an Analog Four/Keys or something with a bit of versatility. Sub 37 is something you might get once you had the basics covered. If I decided to only keep one hardware synth, it would be a toss-up between Ultranova and Analog Keys for me.

This wasn't an if I could only keep one synth question, this was just in the context of already having software synths, so ultranova maybe not needed?. Also guess it depends what music you're making.

Sub 37 can do pretty passable acid, more so than the analog four? and also great bass and leads. The A4 sound didn't really grab me when it came out. Your enthusiasm will make me go and look for some good demos though!

Anyway, this came about from that clearly ott list of softsynths. Could easily keep the best softsynths that were bought and buy a decent synth or two. Sub 37 was just an example, I'm not inclined to sing it's praises too much as I'm not an owner, but if I had some software and no hardware I think it would be right up there as a great synth to compliment software.

[acYm]

No need, that is all contained in my review of the synth, which is there for all to see at any time. How many reviews have you bothered to write, or is it all about what you can get out of this place, not what you might be able to contribute?

you're keeping an exit door open, who's to say what you might think of the synth in 6 months... but it's comforting to know that you will indeed update your review if you ever change your mind again.
cheers for that.

[BONES]

Exactly. It happens all the time - you buy a synth and it clicks straight away, so you use it in half-a-dozen pieces but then start to realise that it's only really good for one or two things and not as versatile as you had hoped it might be. Once you've used it a few times you can't get much more from it so your attitude changes. After a while, you pull it out again and maybe discover something else it's good for that you weren't thinking about before. You'd have to hold onto something for years before you could be absolutely definitive about it.

This wasn't an if I could only keep one synth question, this was just in the context of already having software synths, so ultranova maybe not needed?

I'd suggest that something like a Subsequent 37 is just as easily replaced by software as Ultranova. Analog Keys is a far more unique beast if that's what you're looking for. Plus, of course, all three have excellent DAW integration via VSTi editors. I'm not sure about the Moog but the others can also act as your audio I/O, which can vastly simplify a live set-up - Skulpt/Uno into Ultranova, Ultranova and PC output into AK, AK into the PA.

Sub 37 can do pretty passable acid, more so than the analog four?

I have absolutely no idea and hope never to find out. If you just want to do "passable acid", you can use pretty much any old piece of garbage you like. It's hardly a challenge.

and also great bass and leads.

Unless you want to use a decent amount of resonance in your bassline, of course, at which point the Moog filter will fail badly.

The A4 sound didn't really grab me when it came out. Your enthusiasm will make me go and look for some good demos though!

This is the one that convinced me. You get some small sense of the really crazy modulation they've programmed into a lot of the patches here but it's something you have to experience for yourself to fully appreciate. At first I thought it was lunacy but once you get it, it's incredible.

Perfect Circuit's patch creation videos are worth watching, too, and they all fall into my comfort zone of being around 5 minutes each.

[paulm12]

I am demoing ANA 2. Sounds beautiful and indeed has a certain character to it. But GUI and layout is not looking very convenient to me, at least right now. It's on sale for 44 GBP with code, which is a great price. But I am trying to justify it against my most used synths like Massive, Massive X, and relatively new Pigments 2.

EDIT: Got ANA 2. Sounds incredible and it's a real fun to learn synth programming. It is a lot diverse than it might seem to be. The arp and cmd features are amazing. Thanks to nachenko for his advice to go for it and his free ANA 2 presets.

ANA2 is imo the best value per price synth I came across. It's 1/3 of the price of serum, but not too far away quality wise.

ANA2 is a beast and certainly a great deal, but I think SynthMaster/SynthMaster One are even better if you’re talking about price per synth.

[WatchTheGuitar]

IIRC Vacuum Pro cost me £1

[BONES]

I paid $99 for mine and haven't regretted it for a second. I waited and waited for it to go back on sale but eventually decided to just buy it. Two weeks later and it was $7.99 again. I couldn't have cared less - I have paid more than that for a CD.

[Arashi]

passable acid

This would make a good album title.

[BONES]

For an extremely bad album.

[WatchTheGuitar]

I paid $99 for mine and haven't regretted it for a second. I waited and waited for it to go back on sale but eventually decided to just buy it. Two weeks later and it was $7.99 again. I couldn't have cared less - I have paid more than that for a CD.

Just saying I think Vacuum Pro is my best bang-for-buck synth that I paid money for.
Yeah, fully understand the shit or get off the pot nature of purchasing in a domain where eventual sales are inevitable.

What was the super expensive CD?

[_leras]

Exactly. It happens all the time - you buy a synth and it clicks straight away, so you use it in half-a-dozen pieces but then start to realise that it's only really good for one or two things and not as versatile as you had hoped it might be. Once you've used it a few times you can't get much more from it so your attitude changes. After a while, you pull it out again and maybe discover something else it's good for that you weren't thinking about before. You'd have to hold onto something for years before you could be absolutely definitive about it.

This is the one that convinced me. You get some small sense of the really crazy modulation they've programmed into a lot of the patches here but it's something you have to experience for yourself to fully appreciate. At first I thought it was lunacy but once you get it, it's incredible.

Perfect Circuit's patch creation videos are worth watching, too, and they all fall into my comfort zone of being around 5 minutes each.

Thanks for the link. The A4 doesn't really do it for me, seems a bit straight and to me isn't liquidy or squeclhy. Can make some good sounds but I only liked a small part of its range I think. However, I looked up a bit more on the ultranova, and that is actually really nice, some great edgy sounds!

I agree definitely that the more you dig into something the more you can get out of it.

To finally be on topic , recently I've been doing a collaboration and so we can share projects the synths most used have been

Repro and diva.

Both of these are quite limited and I'd not really clicked with Repro,. But after really digging into them across 22 tracks the results have exceeded my expectations, and the cohesiveness across tracks has been great. (Extraweld, booka shade, John Hopkins kind of stuff)

Just shows you can use anything really and that the key is actually making music with a synth, learning how it works and how it fits in the music you are making, which can even change from track to track.

For some of my own tracks - which are generally harder and edgier - this year I've probably dived into Massive X the most which is a great synth. So not really using much hardware this year at all...

[pdxindy]

And you what? Analog 4 over Sub 37.... But yeah fair enough a workstation would cover some ground of 'a lot' but it doesn't have to be completely either or. I said sub 37 as it would be a great synth to have if you only had one hardware synth

The Analog Four has far more sonic range and tons of modulation... plus of course 4 voices and 4 tracks.

I have an Analog Keys (and an Analog 4 MKII) and it is an exceptional synth. Underrated in my opinion. I get some of the most beautiful expressive lead sounds of any hardware synth I have played.

[BONES]

Yes, the Analog Four/Keys are greatly under-appreciated for sure. To be fair, I found it really, really hard to get into and I haven't even looked at the sequencer. Most of the patches I've made for it I've done through the software editor, not on the synth itself, but the depth and breadth of its abilities is truly stunning and the sound is incredibly good. The other thing I really appreciate about it is how different it is from all the other synths. Elektron haven't tried to make a classic analogue sounding machine, they have gone for something thoroughly modern that really pushes the boundaries when it comes to what you think you can do with an analogue signal path.

[Segon]

Aparillo. On almost every session. Super inspiring.