What are the best VST instruments that sound "really" analog?

[FapFilter]

of course they do, otherwise lovers of true analogs would not have failed such tests.

and even if they did favor digital, it's not that some ultra extreme conditions tests never at least tried to favor analog in the past.

I won't say that i will pass even such a test anymore though, plugins have become so good.
My favorite analog style plugin synth has crappy filter FM sound quality.
Put something like the Monark filter on it and i can't say for sure that i could consistently pick it out of not sounding perfectly analog under even the most extreme conditions.
And even digital which doesn't even try to mimic analog can sound awesome, so it's not even that important wether something is sounding 100% indistinguishable with all settings, or not.
Analog synths also don't sound exactly the same, so you should at least have 5 Minimmogs (in the hope you have the “right ones“ with “the most awesome sound characteristics“ ) to make sure you truly have “the best“ Minimoog

Also, do blind tests if analogs can sound indistinguishable to something like Massive X, Dune 3, or even a lowly DX7.

This shouldn't be a contest. Use what works for you and what you prefer.

[Urs]

of course they do, otherwise lovers of true analogs would not have failed such tests.

If the tests were in favour of software, they'd be convincing enough that afterwards, regardless of how people succeeded or failed the test, these people wouldn't find a gazillion of nonsense arguments to ridicule the shortcomings of the test and the software.

[TribeOfHǫfuð]

You're all fuld of sht. It is not Repros, but only Repro 1 as far as I am concerned. But none can beat my Polivoks and Altair for analog sounds, not even analog synths. However, they are not really necessary if you are ready to drop down the analog scale a little, and more than a few emus can do the job to an extent where no one cares which synth made what.

[briefcasemanx]

People don't fail the blind tests of good analog emulations (no sampling) vs hardware?

There's some YouTube video where some tests repro vs it's analog counterpart, where they matched patches on software and hardware and I got I think it was 8/10 blind guesses correct using stock earbuds on my phone. I can't speak for other people. Most of the sounds were close enough that you wouldn't notice much if any difference in a dense mix, which, along with space considerations is why I'm software only.

If I had a ton of money and could use an analog as my midi controller that I don't treat particularly well, leaving it on for weeks at a time, I'd use one analog synth, an OB-6 or Prophet 5 rev4, because it would take up the same space my midi controller takes up now.

[Vortifex]

Edited

[chk071]

A genre defining synthwave album was made almost entirely with an early version of Arturia's MiniV. Without knowing you can't say for sure what's generating the sound you're hearing on a record these days and ultimately it doesn't matter.

This may be an argument for some, but, if you play a synth solitary, it can be quite lacklustre if it's bad.

And, excuse me, but, the Arturia Mini V is really one of the worst emulations.

BTW, most of those blind tests incorporate noise, even if the (virtual) synth itself doesn't even have a noise source. And, the sounds are made to sound as close as possible, not just "put the knobs in the same positions and see what's happening". I can see how it's an interesting procedure, but, frankly, I don't really think much of such comparisons. Where analog synths, or synths with a big sweet spots really shine is if you throw any sound at them, and they will have a rich bandwidth of sounds where they sound good. Or, it's simply fun to play them. I have a (half) handful of such soft synths. They're very rare. And, I heard loads of really bad emulations as well. Not because I know their analog counterparts, but, because it's just plain obvious that they don't behave like an analog synth would.

[briefcasemanx]

Kavinsky used all softsynths. Home - Resonance was made completely on Arturia MiniV.

The MiniV being "one of the worst emulations" didn't stop actual artists from making cool sounds and cool songs on it.

I guarantee they weren't opening up plugin doctor or vstanalyzer in self loathing, like half some from this forum.

Arturia Jupiter V2 didn't sound like Jupiter, but while pointing this out people forgot to mention that it sounded REALLY GOOD. V3 was a downgrade, V4 sounds like a Jupiter...but it also sounds less interesting than V2 imo.

[Vortifex]

Edited

[chk071]

And, excuse me, but, the Arturia Mini V is really one of the worst emulations.

Just proves my point, the whole good/bad emulation thing is irrelevant when it comes to making music.

If the analog characteristics don't matter for your sound, then it is irrelevant, yes. Do some wild sounds incorporating lots of resonance, short decay times, feedback, or fast LFO modulations, then it will matter.

Personally, I wouldn't even waste my time with a bad emulation. Why would I buy an emulation, if it doesn't even try to mimic the emulated thing as close as possible.

Not that I think that Arturia don't try. Maybe it would do them good to buy in some external knowledge.

[Vortifex]

Edited

[FapFilter]

A TB-303, Linndrum, TR-808, probably even a Moog initially were also nothing more than “bad emulations of real gear“ until people used them “correctly“

I wouldn't say that a “mediocre“ sounding emulation will have wider sweetspots than a very good analog synthesizer, but as always, in certain contexts / genres, the “worse“ sound can actually be the “better“ one and vice versa

Also, how many would be clamouring the awesome sound quality of an Analog Four if it was a VSTi?
It mostly has it's reputations because it's a) analog, b) hardware, c) expensive, thus desirable, d) elektron, thus desirable and lastly e) people put more effort into it because of most of the prior points and used it's “pretty average sound“ (imo) to it's advantage

[TribeOfHǫfuð]

Where are all these blind tests to be found? Do anyone have some links or references?

[anttimaatteri]

5 posts yay!!!

hahaha, made my day.

[kobal]

i didn t fail one of these blind test yet and obx vs diva it tought me few seconds or minutes to get it right , often the transients are not sounding the same from anyhting hardware it can be even digital ,also plugins tend to have more muddy sound with not really great low mids , then there is some other stuff also.. but these are the major ones, but really it doesn t matter for making music unless you re vintage lover and want that feeling in your soung, then even newer analog won t do it . personally i use plugins 95% and still have one hardware analog synth that i rarely turn up even if the raw sound is better, plugins are great for making veyr complex sound and thats what i m into these days and i like good digital sound as much , the problem is with plugins we tend to sound all the same.. while some guys that still use lot of hardware have a different production, with often more musical transients and depth, thicker low , low mids , it s hard to get this itb but it s possible to some extent , just it s not there from the begining

[chk071]

If the analog characteristics don't matter for your sound, then it is irrelevant, yes. Do some wild sounds incorporating lots of resonance, short decay times, feedback, or fast LFO modulations, then it will matter.

Inaccurate emulation does not equal lack of analog characteristics. An album will not sell more copies if the artist uses The Legend instead of Mini V. I don't think anyone listened to HOME's Odyssey album and thought, hmm this lacks analog characteristics.

I doubt that any of the listeners cares if you play in a symphonic orchestra with a $50 violin, but, that doesn't mean that the person playing the violin doesn't strive for the possibly best quality, either playing or in regards of the equipment.

You can also fart in a microphone, and change the sound so drastically, that it becomes the most beautiful pad sound you ever heard. Does that mean that it doesn't matter if you make music with an instrument, or with your ass?