SONICALLY Best VST Synth

[e-crooner]

Is this thread about best analog emulations now?

I like the sound of digital synths as well, I still prefer the punchy smooth DX7 bass to many "analog" basses. Also silky pads, for which analog synths are just too harsh. So if a plugin does those sounds, fine with me.

I don't have that much time spent with FM. But you mentioned that FM can do silky pads, I will try it. Always thought that FM has this "metallic" sound more suitable for basses, leads and so on.

I suppose that depends on what one considers 'silky'
I know that some Brazilians used to use the DX7 for soft background pads in the 80s.
Here from 3:24 that sounds nice, despite the more brassy envelope settings:


I guess the key to "analog" pads on the DX7 is emulating a filter, like he does here, from 6:45 you can hear the result:

[GRUMP]

Believe it or don´t - but asked like that I´d say that the MSoundfactory has a supeiour OSC Quality.

I’ve always thought his strength was in the oscillators and drive effect, but his filters are a bit sterile sounding.

I was speaking about the OSC, didn't I? But nothing against the OSC. Not creamy, but pristine

[e-crooner]

Was just demoing Retrologue 2 again, it sure has lovely-sounding filters
I remember I tried it before, like two years ago, but noticed an ugly grinding noise back then, but today accidentally I found out that unselecting the default Tube setting as the filter distortion mode is not the same as keeping that option and turning it to zero When having no distortion mode selected at all, the sound is very clean and pleasant. How they achieve that sound quality at such a low CPU load is impressive. I think it sounds as good as Repro etc.

If its GUI were not so small, I would buy it

[chk071]

I find Retrologue pretty mediocre sounding, TBH. RePro's, and other good emulation's filters are definitely superior in terms of analog modelling. And, Retrologue 2 has a really weird thing going on when you use osc unison. There's a loud transient, which wasn't there in version 1. I don't know what they did to it.

As you also have it: I find Sylenth1 miles better. At least, I really wouldn't know why I'd choose Retrologue over it.Pretty similar in terms of architecture, while Sylenth1 sounds much better.

Disclaimer: Just IMHO. YMMV. Etc.

[e-crooner]

I find Retrologue pretty mediocre sounding, TBH. RePro's, and other good emulation's filters are definitely superior in terms of analog modelling. And, Retrologue 2 has a really weird thing going on when you use osc unison. There's a loud transient, which wasn't there in version 1. I don't know what they did to it.

As you also have it: I find Sylenth1 miles better. At least, I really wouldn't know why I'd choose Retrologue over it.Pretty similar in terms of architecture, while Sylenth1 sounds much better.

Disclaimer: Just IMHO. YMMV. Etc.

What do you mean by unison? The Multi mode?
That works fine here, no transient, unless of course you select a specific phase instead of free-running. It is the same in Sylenth1, though.

I disagree, to me it sounds superior to Sylenth1. I just spent half an hour on a pad, with chorus etc., lovely sound.

[chk071]

Play a couple of sounds with OSC multi mode, some plucks especially. If that sounds the same to you as Sylenth1, then I need to have my ears checked. There's some really strange, thick (in a bad way) attack in Retrologue 2 for such sounds. Wasn't there in version 1, but, it is in version 2.

Unfortunately, it doesn't let me trial it again, because I already trialed it once for 30 days...

[e-crooner]

Sorry, can't confirm that. I have been playing around for 15 minutes now...

[chk071]

Could you post an example? Set OSC 1 to multi, 8.0, detune it a bit, set some plucky filter envelope, and then do the same with Sylenth1, and post the examples here?

[gondii]

that attack in unison thing certainly sounds like a reset/synced phase

[chk071]

Yep. It's just that it isn't (it's also there with free running osc's). I really don't know what they did there.

It isn't there in Retrologue 1. I assume that it's a bug in v2 which noone ever reported.

[Halonmusic]

Could maybe change it in settings if there is a settings page?

[e-crooner]

Could you post an example? Set OSC 1 to multi, 8.0, detune it a bit, set some plucky filter envelope, and then do the same with Sylenth1, and post the examples here?

I don't hear anything wrong...
https://app.box.com/s/cjbs7ow2nszq0nywuf10wwbnin3cw04l

[chk071]

Doesn't sound too bad actually. It's been a while since I demo'd Retrologue 2. Maybe I was tripping.

Retrologue was never my favorite synth though. I still own version 1, which I can't sell because of the dongle.

[e-crooner]

Maybe there was some bug in it and they fixed it by now...

There are a few things that might be perfected:
- Changing envelope settings is not processed in real time, one has to play another note in order to hear the changed sustain level.
- Sometimes when switching to another osc mode (e.g. from single to multi), the waveform is switched to another one, like from saw to triangle, so one has to re-select saw.
- Sometimes the value readouts seem to disappear (after dragging a control?).

[DJErmac]

- Thorn
- Rapid
- Zone
- Avenger
- Dune 2/3
Then it becomes less interesting to my ears.