Which soft synths have good/simple presets to learn sound design from?

[Cluttie]

Lately I've been trying to learn sound design by going through Sylenth1's presets, hearing them, describing them and trying to recreate them.

Although I'm learning a whole lot, I think it might be slightly too advanced for a beginner, because of the amount of variation of the sounds. I was wondering if anyone has any other recommendations of synths that might serve this purpose well, that might be even more basic?

I assume wavetable synths are way, way too advanced for this sort of thing, at least early on - simply due to the infinite number of waveforms that might be used. But yeah, open to opinions

And yes, I'm fully aware of Syntorial. It's something I'm currently working through.

[chk071]

Monark might fit the bill. If you can live with the fact that it's only monophonic.

[cryophonik]

+1 for Monark. Synth1 (free) is another one to consider. A simple subtractive synth with all/most parameters on a single page is probably the best. Some synths let you see the parameters being modulated at a glance (e.g., by a colored ring around the knobs), which makes it pretty easy to learn.

It might be helpful if you list the subtractive synths you already own, particularly the simpler subtractive ones, so we can help you learn on the ones you already own.

[Cluttie]

Thank you, I'll have a look into those. My DAW is Logic Pro.

I like the sounds/presets of Sylenth1, because it seems to cover a lot of basic sounds and fundamental EDM sounds, but the fact it has 4 oscilators I think maybe creates too much potential for variation.

However I also like how it has predetermined waveforms you can use.

[Cluttie]

As for other subtractive synths, I have Spire as well - but I feel that's even more complex than Sylenth1?

I'm not exactly sure what options would be good for Logic Pro, but their interfaces seem quite complex.

[chk071]

As for other subtractive synths, I have Spire as well - but I feel that's even more complex than Sylenth1?

It is.

I think you really have a nice synth to learn with Sylenth1 already though. I would stick to it. Rather grab some tutorials about subtractive synthesis.

[CinningBao]

Alchemy would be a good, free starting point for you. It's powerful (virtual analog, granular, additive, spectral), flexible and has a zillion presets.
Fully documented and to show you around.

[Cluttie]

Alchemy would be a good, free starting point for you. It's powerful (virtual analog, granular, additive, spectral), flexible and has a zillion presets.
Fully documented and to show you around.

Oh, I think Alchemy would be far too hard starting out, precisely because it is so powerful.

For me, it's not that I don't understand how to create a sound, especially using a tutorial. Where I struggle is hearing a sound, and knowing how to create it. That's why I think having something with less moving parts might be handy, because then there's less guessing.

[CinningBao]

Fair point. Still, you've got all the presets you can deconstruct in Retro Synth and the other EFM, ES1/2, Sculpture synths. Some of the built-in synths are very simple and have a diverse enough palette of presets to work backwards from.

Just trying to save you money

[aMUSEd]

If you are using Logic Pro I would recommend Retro synth - it's got very simple design but one that covers 4 synth engines - including subtractive, wavetable and FM. Has some decent presets too but the main thing is it's very simple but you can learn about more than one synthesis type from it.

[chk071]

For me, it's not that I don't understand how to create a sound, especially using a tutorial. Where I struggle is hearing a sound, and knowing how to create it. That's why I think having something with less moving parts might be handy, because then there's less guessing.

On the other hand... it limits the possibilities you have to recreate a sound.

Give it some time. Especially recreating sounds requires a lot of experience you only get by experimenting and creating your own sounds. And, some sounds will still be a mystery to you. At least that's how it is for me.

Again, I think Sylenth1 is a great starting point, and, depending on the music you're after, will probably do a lot of sounds you could think of already.

[CHOOS]

my 2cents.

the best way to learn in my humble opinion is by using Serum or Vital.
They are the two most easy to understand VSTs because of the visual layout.

You can see the modulation happening to the sound so when you hear a pluck sound you see the filter quickly closing.

Visually I think Serum wins but it's $180
Vital is FREE and a very close runner-up (you can donate and/or subscribe to show some appreciation)

Any type of sounds you have difficulty with making at the moment?

[Cluttie]

the best way to learn in my humble opinion is by using Serum or Vital.
They are the two most easy to understand VSTs because of the visual layout.

I think I was trying this approach, which was fine for creating sounds, but in terms of learning to recreate presets it was a bit of a nightmare, just because everything was so complex in terms of LFO interactions, I wasn't quite sure how to approach it.

Any type of sounds you have difficulty with making at the moment?

Way, wayyyy too many

I think the issue I was having is that I'd try and recreate these really complex sounds, and I'd find tutorials for them, but it's like I didn't really end up learning anything from it, if that makes sense? I think because when someone tells you how it's done, you don't actually critically engage in the process, nor "hear" how it's done.

I think that's why I've decided I need to understand how to make sounds by understanding the fundamentals and more important, being able to have a language/description that I personally can relate to, in regards to what I'm hearing.

And recreating patches from simple synths has helped me in that regard, but I'm definitely open to suggestions.

[DNnX]

For the commercial sound patching, Sylenth1, Spire should be nice for learning the basic. Vital and Serum are nice too, but some of their presets contain complicated WaveTable magic.
Another choice is RobPapen synths (Predator, Blue, Go2). They have lots of presets by several designers. RobPapen team adds new factory patches frequently.

[Chris-S]

+1 for Synth1