Your favorite "versatile analog-modelled/emulation" synth plugin?

[zerocrossing]

Not that it actually matters, but this thread is a clear indication that a lot of people have no idea what analog character actually is.

Agree,never played hardware analog synth,just like warm sound and nonlinearity i hear
Could you explain it,please,what gives d analog synths their analog character?

Well, I don’t know enough about electronics to explain why analog sounds like it does, and to go a bit further, not all analog sounds alike, even though there are some hints that a synth is analog. Usually it means lack of digital artifacts in all situations. If I were to generalize, I’d say that overall software sounds a bit more polite, focused and polished compared to software. A bit “smaller.” None of that is bad, though. Often it can work better, especially if you have some other instrument that’s a mix hog.

Basically, no one “needs” analog. It’s just a flavor. It’s like buying expensive ketchup but liking good old Heinz better. You might notice that on a cheeseburger the Heinz is better because it has a lot of other flavors to cut though, but alone on a French fry, the Sir Kensington’s is noticeably better. It’s always about context. Still, you might always like the Heinz more. It’s good ketchup. I’m just saying that you should spend the extra couple of dollars and try the actual analog synth and see if you like it. Buy it used. If you find it was a waste of money, sell it and make most of your money back. Warning: you might get hooked on it and then it can become a habit.

[hesnotthemessiah]

Beepstreet Dagger

This one is so nice, such an underrated plugin. Sounds beautiful.

Totally agree. This is one of those plugins where I can create a sound I really like quite quickly but then spend the next hour "tweaking" because it has fabulous modulation options that can take a sound into a different direction and make me go "Oooooh!! That's nice" Looks like such a simple plugin but there is so much power right there infont of you in it's well designed single page GUI. Those filters and modulation options make this the best sounding plugin for meaty, juicey synth bass. Must try using it more for other stuff.

[zerocrossing]

But I'll admit: I'm not a big fan of the "only one" question. It presupposes there is any value in having only one of anything. I am convinced there is not.

Yeah, I don’t know why these things keep coming up. Even if you spent all your money on your computer and have no extra money for software, you’d still end up with more than one free analog synth emulation, so… yeah. I guess they sort of make you think about what specific things you like, but I know what I like. A lot of synths, including hardware.

[LoveEnigma18]

Half the answers are synths that aren't even an emulation of analog.

That's because the OP wasn't clearly in what he was asking.

If he was asking for an analog modelled soft synth, then my answer would be Super 8. A bit limited, but, all the analog modelled stuff is really.

Indeed I was asking analog modelled. Please check my post again, I did use words analog/emulations/sample-based.

[LoveEnigma18]

I am not familiar with their hardware counterparts…

Maybe you should get acquainted. It’s not like it’s 2005 when analog synth manufacturing was fairly rare and everything was pretty expensive. It’s not like most of your choices have to be vintage collectors items. There are plenty of sub $500 choices. Hell, the Monotron Duo starts at $70. Go figure out which one sounds best to you and buy one.

I appreciate the advice, but unfortunately, it is isn't that easy for me where I am located. I really do not have that much time too.

[LoveEnigma18]

With so many analog synths instrument plugins around, I wonder what is the only synth (vintage or not) that is most versatile/general and useful to have in your arsenal for music production. One that you could use for all purposes.

Plugin instruments by their very nature are purely digital, not analog. So do you mean the plugin emulations of real analog hardware synths?

Most versatile/general all purpose synth (vintage or not) is yet another thing. You probably need to rethink your question or present them as clearly separate ones.

Yes, correct. Please see my post below for more clarification.

I am not familiar with their hardware counterparts, so it would be useful for me to know this. Of course, there are many special synths or sampler type plugins that do specific sounds, but I am asking from a typical synth point of view.

What is a typical synth point of view? What you really seem to be saying is, I don't have any experience of real analog synths and was wondering which of their plugin emulations are the most versatile?

Exactly.

[LoveEnigma18]

Thanks a lot everyone for the mentions, I appreciate it. It's interesting to some new names that I have never heard/seen before. And I do own some of the synth plugins mentioned.

Sorry if my question wasn't clear. I tried my best to concisely frame it the way I wanted, but I can understand it being a tricky one.

Let me explain again: There are lots of companies making analog modelled/sampled (I did mention emulations or sample-based in my OP) synths these days. On top of that there are some hardware synths that are being emulated by multiple companies increasing the options even more. While you could surely have more than one for sure, I realized that I do not need many of such synths but probably only one or two which were versatile enough for a broad type of usage and sounded good.

I could take time to get familiar with hardware synths, but I do not have time for that, not to mention it is impossible to find music hardware stores where I am located to try hardware synths out in person, especially the classic/older ones.

While I understand the each analog hardware synth had its own sound character, there should be some synths that were versatile enough to use in modern context. I am not intending to make specifically make 80s/synthwave stuff where I would need "authentic" sounding synths to make it easier. One could argue I can use VA synths, which is fine and I have plenty of them, but the idea is to have something that was modelled after an analog hardware synth.

Hope this clarifies things a bit.

And to summarize, these are the ones that got multiple mentions: Repro, Diva, Super 8 (owned), Dune 3 (owned), Viper, Obsession.

Based on my own inexperienced judgement, I think Super 8 would indeed be a great contender for what I am after. Also, Obsession/OB-Xa V and a Juno emulation would be great in terms of versatility. I think Model 84 from Softube is a Juno emulation? Since I own Super 8, which might not be specifically a Juno emulation, would it be redundant? Perhaps between Repro, Diva, and Model 84, I could consider one.

[vata44]

FabFilter Twin2

[LFO8]

Not that it actually matters, but this thread is a clear indication that a lot of people have no idea what analog character actually is.

Agree,never played hardware analog synth,just like warm sound and nonlinearity i hear
Could you explain it,please,what gives d analog synths their analog character?

Well, I don’t know enough about electronics to explain why analog sounds like it does, and to go a bit further, not all analog sounds alike, even though there are some hints that a synth is analog. Usually it means lack of digital artifacts in all situations. If I were to generalize, I’d say that overall software sounds a bit more polite, focused and polished compared to software. A bit “smaller.” None of that is bad, though. Often it can work better, especially if you have some other instrument that’s a mix hog.

Basically, no one “needs” analog. It’s just a flavor. It’s like buying expensive ketchup but liking good old Heinz better. You might notice that on a cheeseburger the Heinz is better because it has a lot of other flavors to cut though, but alone on a French fry, the Sir Kensington’s is noticeably better. It’s always about context. Still, you might always like the Heinz more. It’s good ketchup. I’m just saying that you should spend the extra couple of dollars and try the actual analog synth and see if you like it. Buy it used. If you find it was a waste of money, sell it and make most of your money back. Warning: you might get hooked on it and then it can become a habit.

It’s all inherently subjective. There have been many threads on many forums where most everyone, even the most diehard hardware guys were not able to consistently pick out the analog hardware in blind tests where samples were uploaded of a hardware analog synth playing a patch and then the same patch programmed in a plugin.

And yes, a lot of plugins (even the ones that are not meant to be ‘analog emulations’) can be programmed to sound like analog synths.

As you have pointed out; many analog synths differ a great deal fro each other in sound. So it’s almost a moot point.

[AcrossTheSky]

Repro is indeed a great synthesiser.
I was surprised how many different sounds it can produce.Ill get it at some point..
In the meantime I enjoy Retroloque 2,
very capable synth too.

[LoveEnigma18]

Repro is indeed a great synthesiser.
I was surprised how many different sounds it can produce.Ill get it at some point..
In the meantime I enjoy Retroloque 2,
very capable synth too.

Retrologue 2 is indeed a good one. I do have it but I forget about it since I am not used to it (relatively new to it compared to my other synths).

[EnGee]

Thanks a lot everyone for the mentions, I appreciate it. It's interesting to some new names that I have never heard/seen before. And I do own some of the synth plugins mentioned.

Sorry if my question wasn't clear. I tried my best to concisely frame it the way I wanted, but I can understand it being a tricky one.

Let be explain again: There are lots of companies making analog modelled/sampled (I did mention emulations or sample-based in my OP) synths these days. On top of that there are some hardware synths that are being emulated by multiple companies increasing the options even more. While you could surely have more than one for sure, I realized that I do not need many of such synths but probably only one or two which were versatile enough for a broad type of usage and sounded good.

I could take time to get familiar with hardware synths, but I do not have time for that, not to mention it is impossible to find music hardware stores where I am located to try hardware synths out in person, especially the classic/older ones.

While I understand the each analog hardware synth had its own sound character, there should be some synths that were versatile enough to use in modern context. I am not intending to make specifically make 80s/synthwave stuff where I would need "authentic" sounding synths to make it easier. One could argue I can use VA synths, which is fine and I have plenty of them, but the idea is to have something that was modelled after an analog hardware synth.

Hope this clarifies things a bit.

And to summarize, these are the ones that got multiple mentions: Repro, Diva, Super 8 (owned), Dune 3 (owned), Viper, Obsession.

Based on my own inexperienced judgement, I think Super 8 would indeed be a great contender for what I am after. Also, Obsession/OB-Xa V and a Juno emulation would be great in terms of versatility. I think Model 84 from Softube is a Juno emulation? Since I own Super 8, which might not be specifically a Juno emulation, would it be redundant? Perhaps between Repro, Diva, and Model 84, I could consider one.

You can do analogish sounds in some capable "digital" synths. For this I suggest Massive and Massive X. Both are massively capable of analog sounds if you take the time and effort to do it.

Here is a video I like a lot that explained how to obtain such sounds in Massive. You can translate this to other synths of course. Personally, I think Massive/Massive X are great synths to invest learning them deeply.



Anyway, for fast results I believe that Diva is still the king of analog synths because it has different oscillators and filters and it sounds great For hardware, I love the DeepMind 12. It has great sound for the price and the polyphony helps a lot in achieving great results.

[ecristian]

Korg Odyssey and Repro

[Introspective]

Based on my own inexperienced judgement, I think Super 8 would indeed be a great contender for what I am after. Also, Obsession/OB-Xa V and a Juno emulation would be great in terms of versatility. I think Model 84 from Softube is a Juno emulation? Since I own Super 8, which might not be specifically a Juno emulation, would it be redundant? Perhaps between Repro, Diva, and Model 84, I could consider one.

Super 8 is not actually modeled after any given hardware. It has oscillators that remind one of a Juno or Jupiter (more the latter) and it has a filter that reminds one of a Prophet ... VAGUELY. (IMO the resonance is totally different.)

Model 84 is a straight-up emulation of a Juno 106. Period. ...right down to its flaws.

It's not "redundant" with the Super 8. It sounds better ("more ananlog" ), but it is far less flexible. "A sweeter but narrower sweet-spot," one might say. IMO it's well worth owning for pretty much anyone who doesn't already own a Juno-106. (And I say that as someone with Diva and Super 8 and System-8 and RC Juno-106 and RC Juno-60 and Omnisphere. ...Yes, I like the Juno sound. I think perhaps TAL JU-NO-X is the only emulation I don't own. Softube's is the best.)

RePro, OTOH, is also totally worth owning. It is, IMO, the very best "analog sounding " VST available, and you get TWO synths for the price of one.

And Diva is just hands-down great. Totally versatile and a load of fun to use. A great way to learn about classic analog synthesis, too: all of the big-name classics are represented, and well. Diva belongs in everyone's collection.

So: sorry. They're like potato chips. You can't stop at one. ...nor should you.

[LeVzi]

I simply couldn't choose 1. I own loads and love them all, all have their quirks and characters.

As was said, why narrow it down to one.

I am really interested in Repro now after reading a lot here about it.