Free synth with best Osc Hard Sync?

[TIMT]

Anything based on the CEM voice chips will probably meet ya requirements for dark and softer sync. I don't know of any for free(i'd assume most things based on Oberheim models), but Arcsyn is cheap and has tables modelled on the sync from those chips

[e-crooner]

Indeed. You are right here. But on the other hand quality is worth the price.

Yeah, but it's Sylenth 1 so you aren't even getting quality. It sounds good enough but it's missing some very basic functionality, it's a Dog-awful thing to work with and it seems pretty much like abandonware at this point in time, yet it's price remains stupidly high. It might have been worth what they're asking a decade ago but these days I don't think they should be charging more than about $50 for it.

Yes, way too expensive by now. I wish he would add at least simple things such as a pitch randomization knob like the one in Retrologue. Just turning in a bit of that makes pads etc. sound so much better as playing the same notes again creates a slight offset, instead of overlapping notes completely, which sounds harsh.

However, I still love it for monophonic sounds, especially bass sounds. After watching an instruction video yesterday I tried to make a famous synth bass on a few synths yesterday, and Sylenth1 did it the best.
The reverb still sucks, but other than that I still like what it does.

And I don't know why you think it is awful to work with. It is super solid, the GUI is intuitive, controls are all there (unlike in Hive, where you have to dive into the mod matrix for certain parameters).

[BONES]

I've tried a few times to get to grips with it but it annoys the hell out of me. e.g. If you use the mod matrix to modulate filter cutoff, with the cutoff knob at zero, maxing out the MM setting doesn't open the filter fully, so you have to add it in twice to get the full range of values. Of course, it's not the only synth that is like that but I'll bet it's the most expensive synth that's like that. The filter itself doesn't really do much for me and I certainly don't hear anything special in its sound to justify the asking price. It's better than Superwave P8 but DUNE, for example, sounds way better and offers so much more for not much extra coin.

[ericbaez]

Charlatan seems like a good contender