If you could have only one synth, what would you choose?

[SamDi]

I am also surprised that Hive didn't get any mentions. It is in my top 3. Also, no love for Avenger, Rapid, or ANA 2?

Hive is a very cool synth and in my top 3. But as desert island synth it's just too limited. No real MSEGs, no samples,

I cannot decide between Pigments and Phase Plant, they are the other 2 in my top 3.

Phase Plant is unlimited, but Pigments has the better base sound and Fx und also seldom leads to situations, where I feel limited and I like the more colorfil GUI more.

But I think I go with Phase Plant to the desert island - I guess my external Fx I may keep

[Teksonik]

Dellboy seems not to remember if DUNE 3 has VA capabilities

Maybe Dune 3 does have VA capabilities, but the presets that Tony kindly posted are too digital sounding for my personal tastes and are much how I remember them. Sort of an "Ana-Dig" hybrid sound with FX applied. Its purely subjective I know, and the synth may well be capable of much better analogue type sound when starting form a vanila patch.

Yet you wrote.....

I am surprised by your choice, because I have just clicked on a number of your tracks (all good) and they all have a distinct 70's - 80's subtractive analogue feel to them.

So it's kind of hard to tell where you stand. Anyway demo periods have been reset at times after major updates so if it's been a while you should be able to download DUNE 3 and try it for yourself again.

[SamDi]

I have 20 soft synths installed. Admittedly, I only use 4 or 5 of those on a regular base.

I have 47 VSTi (without DAW stock) and like ~250 Fx plugins. For synths the same as you, I try to focus on 5 on the max and go deep instead of broad.

[liquidsound]

[duplicate]

[+1]

[Aiynzahev]

Ok for soft-synths, I do want to add something here. I have done work for Arturia's Pigments, I sell a bank for it, so take my bias as you will, but all in all I am very very impressed with Pigments. When I spend time extracting the most out of it's flexibility and processing power, I get production ready sounds out of it, and it can do any genre I've put it to, and really well.

If I had to go to an island and produce a few albums with only one synth, it might well be between Pigments and Omnisphere. I am not 100% familiar with everything on the market of course, but these 2 are so capable when it comes to satisfying results. That said, I haven't tried out Falcon.

[Korg Supporter]

I have over 64 commercial instrument plugins including the KORG stuff and some cheap plugins from Air (I got Loom II from Thomann for $7, and it's amazing!), and I have about 64 commercial FX installed including those that came with synths like the MS-20 and impOSCar 2.

[Biome_Digital]

I haven't looked into it, but if I can play drums in Pigments, that would be it, otherwise it'd be Wavestate Native.

You can add drum samples in Pigments.

[dmbaer]

If I had to go to an island and produce a few albums with only one synth, it might well be between Pigments and Omnisphere. I am not 100% familiar with everything on the market of course, but these 2 are so capable when it comes to satisfying results. That said, I haven't tried out Falcon.

Falcon is a bit like Pigments but considerably deeper. Pigments is *way* easier to learn to program, IMO. Falcon has a formidable learning curve. HALion is quite like Falcon in that regard. Very deep and very challenging to learn, but oh what capability!

[chk071]

Pigments is definitely a good candidate for a "deserted island" synth. Very capable, easy to use, and sounds good. Better take a good PC with you though when your plane crashes.

[martiu]

Pigments is definitely a good candidate for a "deserted island" synth. Very capable, easy to use, and sounds good. Better take a good PC with you though when your plane crashes.

How you gonna power it in the island? You better get some solar panels and batteries

[chk071]

Yeah, and hope for good weather...

[Aiynzahev]

Pigments is definitely a good candidate for a "deserted island" synth. Very capable, easy to use, and sounds good. Better take a good PC with you though when your plane crashes.

How you gonna power it in the island? You better get some solar panels and batteries

No one said anything about crash landing on a deserted island!

[_leras]

I have done work for Arturia's Pigments

..... and it can do any genre I've put it to, and really well.

But I thought you only did trance?


(btw, definitely just kidding. I think your sound design is incredible. Your Youtube is the first place I go to to get an example of what a soft synth (or synth) is capable of. And the AZ presets in synths I own are always incredible)

I think Pigments is a great synth in terms of setup and usage. I didn't get the more pure synth type sounds out of it that I like. I found the organic real instrument sounds to be better.

Even your Expanse demo seems more atmospheric than synthy trancey type stuff though - so can iot really be the only synth?

[chk071]

Pigments is definitely a good candidate for a "deserted island" synth. Very capable, easy to use, and sounds good. Better take a good PC with you though when your plane crashes.

How you gonna power it in the island? You better get some solar panels and batteries

No one said anything about crash landing on a deserted island!

Let's just pretend the deserted island has an always reliable energy source.

[zerocrossing]

Choice between Icarus 2 and Dune 3. Icarus is more versatile but I prefer Dune's interface. Can't decide tbh.

Icarus is more versatile? I’d love to hear your explanation.

Yeah... Icarus has more synthesis possibilities... you can resynthesize audio into wavetables, there are the many morph modes to apply to wavetables, you can morph a wavetable and then resynthesize that into a new wavetable, morph again, resynthesize, etc. You can also use samples in the Osc's. You can do vocoding, timestretching, granular resynthesis, etc.

Yep...plus, it also has a great array of filters, and a drum machine!

I’d still call that a wash, considering Dune has VA, wavetable (including import from sample), FM, and all those sources are available in the mod matrix, multiple layers, dual filters, filter effects, superior effects section, etc.