Non-emulation VA synth recommendations.

[Aiynzahev]

TAL-Mod, for sure.

Solid recommendation. Been demoing this one as you mentioned it, it just reminded me it existed. Just bought it now, really impressed with this one. Actually I'm going to get all the TAL synths now.

[Aiynzahev]

People don't talk about Fxpansion synths anymore, or not much anyway. It's a shame they were really good, lots of fun modulation sources.

[Korg Supporter]

I'm with chk071 on Spire. To me still one of the best and it's pretty old at this point. 2nd would be DUNE3 only because I just prefer Spire overall but DUNE kicks ass. 3rd would be tone2 Saurus which just rocks. Great synth.

I think Spire has a nice bright sound and amazing presets. I tried Dune 3 and Hive, but they sounded muddy or dull to me compared to Spire.

[zzz00m]

Tone2 Saurus,Waves element, Unfiltered audio Lion

I was going to mention Tone2 Saurus 3 ($69) and Waves Element 2 ($29). Time limited demos are available.

https://www.tone2.net/saurus.html
https://www.waves.com/plugins/element#f ... h-tutorial

They are great basic synths that ONLY offer VA, on one page, so no deep diving necessary. And they don't even attempt to offer other types of synthesis. They are specialized for VA, so it's easy to focus on what they are. And they both sound big, fat, and totally analog!

[rezoneight]

Tone2 Saurus,Waves element, Unfiltered audio Lion

I was going to mention Tone2 Saurus 3 ($69) and Waves Element 2 ($29). Time limited demos are available.

https://www.tone2.net/saurus.html
https://www.waves.com/plugins/element#f ... h-tutorial

They are great basic synths that ONLY offer VA, on one page, so no deep diving necessary. And they don't even attempt to offer other types of synthesis. They are specialized for VA, so it's easy to focus on what they are. And they both sound big, fat, and totally analog!

I own Element and have NEVER tried it heh. Was a freebie at some point. Now I need to check it out.

Saurus filter can growl like crazy too. Sounds great. Totally underrated synth IMHO.

[Teksonik]

No , because the (virtual) MASTER SYNC oscillator can NOT be chosen as a modsource to modulate the frequency of the sync slave osc .
First version of dune was able to do it , dune 2 and 3 are not .

What Mod Source would that be?

Here's DUNE 1's sources:

Dune 1-1.png

DUNE 3's sources:

Dune 3.png

[gentleclockdivider]

No , because the (virtual) MASTER SYNC oscillator can NOT be chosen as a modsource to modulate the frequency of the sync slave osc .
First version of dune was able to do it , dune 2 and 3 are not .

What Mod Source would that be?

Here's DUNE 1's sources:


Dune 1-1.png


DUNE 3's sources:


Dune 3.png

Like I wrote before .
The hidden mastersync osc is NOT available as a mod source in dune 3
Since the master sync osc is NOT a hidden osc in dune 1 , therefore it is available as a mod source .
Understand now ?

[Teksonik]

I find ANA 2 much easier to program and the sounds always sit great in the mix...

The basic architecture of the synth is similar to DUNE 3,but the programming is much deeper in ANA 2.

Sorry but I have to call you out on this one. I'm not sure how anyone can say the programming is much deeper in a 6 OSC (3 Wavetable 3 Sampler) synth than a 24 Osc synth (16 VA or WT or FM, 8 Sample or VA Oscs). ANA lacks the WT creator and dual FX lanes. ANA does have 45 filter types compared to D3's 31 so edge there but D3 can have 16 different filters in a single patch.

I will agree that ANA 2's Arp/Seq is more advanced than DUNE 3's but the ability to choose Arp 1, Arp 2 or Bypass Both in D3 is a great feature and opens up a lot of sound design possibilities. The Chord Memory Device of ANA 2 is a great feature so points there.

I like ANA 2 a lot and it's in my top 10 working lineup. I like Spire too and it's worked its way into my top 5 but back to the subject of this thread if I want to do VA I'm reaching for DUNE 3 each and every time.

Really the bottom line is all of the recommendations made in this thread are great choices. You can't really go wrong with any of them.

Preferences are subjective and personal so the OP just needs to demo them all and find out which one(s) he prefers.....or stick with what he has.

[Teksonik]

Since the master sync osc is NOT a hidden osc in dune 1 , therefore it is available as a mod source .
Understand now ?

No, perhaps you need to explain yourself more clearly. Upload a Hard Sync patch made in DUNE 1 that can't be made in DUNE 3 and then you'll have a point.

Anyway, I've made a lot of great sounding Hard Sync patches in DUNE 3 so I'm not sure what you're on about.

[gentleclockdivider]

Since the master sync osc is NOT a hidden osc in dune 1 , therefore it is available as a mod source .
Understand now ?

No, perhaps you need to explain yourself more clearly. Upload a Hard Sync patch made in DUNE 1 that can't be made in DUNE 3 and then you'll have a point.

Anyway, I've made a lot of great sounding Hard Sync patches in DUNE 3 so I'm not sure what you're on about.

Are you really that slow ?
Ok here goes , in most synths an oscilator is synced to another osc .
The osc that is synced= slave
The osc that provides the basic pitch = master sync osc .
Now , if the modulate the frequency of the slave osc by the master osc + regular sync ,there are two things happening
1: the slave freq cycles are reset by the master sync osc .(
2: the slave frequency is ALSO being modulated at fm rate by the master sync osc .( frequency modulation)
Now ,in dune 3 , THE MASTER SYNC osc is NOT available as a mod source , because it’s some kind of hidden osc. ( like in zebra) there fore frequency modulation of slave by master is not possible .

If you still don’t understand , I give up

[rezoneight]

I like ANA 2 a lot and it's in my top 10 working lineup. I like Spire too and it's worked its way into my top 5 but back to the subject of this thread if I want to do VA I'm reaching for DUNE 3 each and every time.

Wow Tek, for someone who pooh-poohed Spire for quite a while thats pretty impressive

[_morton_]

None of the osc are mod sources in D1

Do you mean destinations?

[gentleclockdivider]

None of the osc are mod sources in D1

Do you mean destinations?

The are available as sources straight from the panel , at least for the example I gave .
Master sync osc——>sync slave osc
Master sync osc—>FM’ing sync slave osc.
Both can happen at once in dune 1, prophet 5 , jupiter 6 , oddisey etc..

[_morton_]

None of the osc are mod sources in D1

Do you mean destinations?

The are available as sources straight from the panel , at least for the example I gave .
Master sync osc——>sync slave osc
Master sync osc—>FM’ing sync slave osc.
Both can happen at once in dune 1, prophet 5 , jupiter 6 , oddisey etc..

So you're doing the modulation in the host then?

[Uncle E]

I imagine there are modulars that allow such a thing but what would be better than a single sample Osc would be a full on multi-sample Osc. That would open up any sound imaginable without the need for external audio.

Sure, I'd just like to use my existing sample libraries. Also, an external audio in would allow us to mix in other synths, too. Then again, the sample oscillator you're talking about is true polyphonic and an external audio input might need to be paraphonic.