KVR Audio

MeanMrMustard · Post by **MeanMrMustard** » Sun Jan 29, 2023 8:07 am

Guitarist doing original Prog Rock (Yes, Floyd, ELP, Rush). I'd like to add keys however not being a keyboardist I'm not up to speed on programing my own presets. Who are some of the better companies putting out synth presets for this type/style of music ? I picked up a few synths over BF, including Diva, SM2, as well as a few free synths like Dexed, Surge, ect. I use Studio One which comes with Mai Tai and Presence XT. I'm also looking at Arturia V9, but at this point that many synths would be a bit much.

Thanks....

Fannon · Post by **Fannon** » Sun Jan 29, 2023 8:35 am

Diva is a good choice. It already comes with lots of presets.
SM2 also has lots of presets, somehow I just never got comfortable using it.

If you don't have it already, check out Vital as it's also free and very capable. For this especially, you'll find a lot of free patches (but very disorganized, I'm afraid). For example here: https://presetshare.com/presets?instrument=2

Before you go with V-Collection 9, consider getting Pigments instead. It get's frequently sold for 60-80€ in KVR marketplace or similar places. May be a preference, but Pigments itself is nearly as capable as all synths of V-Collection together. Some things it cannot do, but also a few things that no synth in that collection can do. And imho, it's better to learn a few synths in and out than having a huge pile which you are not comfortable with.

If you want high quality presets, u-he and Arturia usually deliver well.

DCrown · Post by **DCrown** » Sun Jan 29, 2023 8:43 am

I recommend Xpand2
it has all kinds of different sounds and I suppose a synth is not focal point of your music genre, you are not going to spend hours, days, weeks, months to create your own presets, right?
So a rompler could be the best choice, just demo it and find out.
Only to learn the capabilities of Diva...
(have you already chosen and marked
you fav presets?!).
I wouldn't focus on more than 2 synths to get the best out of them.
I am not a big IK Multimedia fan, but I consider their products like Sampletube and Hammond emu superior to Arturia for Rock in general.
No surprise they also have Amplitube for guitarists and more.

BBFG# · Post by **BBFG#** » Sun Jan 29, 2023 11:02 am

For the number of presets you get in a single plug-in package that will fit, compliment in your chosen styles and more, you really can't go wrong with the u-He Zebra Legacy.

MeanMrMustard · Post by **MeanMrMustard** » Mon Jan 30, 2023 6:59 am

Thanks for the recommendations guys, I'll check into those synths. Though what I'm looking for are companies that write the presets for synths, not the synths themselves. Finding presets for a 70's type sound seems a little harder than I'd thought.

J. Smith · Post by **J. Smith** » Mon Jan 30, 2023 7:02 am

Perhaps you could have a look at what Xenos Soundworks has to offer what it comes to presets: https://xenossoundworks.com/

BBFG# · Post by **BBFG#** » Mon Jan 30, 2023 9:51 am

MeanMrMustard wrote: ↑Mon Jan 30, 2023 6:59 am Thanks for the recommendations guys, I'll check into those synths. Though what I'm looking for are companies that write the presets for synths, not the synths themselves. Finding presets for a 70's type sound seems a little harder than I'd thought.

The reason I suggested Zebra is because u-He Zebra legacy is a release of all their preset libraries along with the plugin.

MeanMrMustard · Post by **MeanMrMustard** » Tue Jan 31, 2023 5:45 am

J. Smith wrote: ↑Mon Jan 30, 2023 7:02 am Perhaps you could have a look at what Xenos Soundworks has to offer what it comes to presets: https://xenossoundworks.com/

Thanks J, I bookmarked their website and will go through it over the weekend.

BBFG# wrote: ↑Mon Jan 30, 2023 9:51 am The reason I suggested Zebra is because u-He Zebra legacy is a release of all their preset libraries along with the plugin.

Yes I agree BBFG, I thought about grabbing Legacy when they were running their sale, but I tried to keep it to a minimum and not get overwhelmed with too much as I'm not a keyboardist. But yes, the amount of patches is amazing and given a second thought I probably should have grabbed it.

Fannon · Post by **Fannon** » Tue Jan 31, 2023 6:05 am

Zebta Legacy did not really change the price in the Sale. It's 99€

Biome_Digital · Post by **Biome_Digital** » Tue Jan 31, 2023 11:53 am

MeanMrMustard wrote: ↑Sun Jan 29, 2023 8:07 am Guitarist doing original Prog Rock (Yes, Floyd, ELP, Rush). I'd like to add keys however not being a keyboardist I'm not up to speed on programing my own presets. Who are some of the better companies putting out synth presets for this type/style of music ? I picked up a few synths over BF, including Diva, SM2, as well as a few free synths like Dexed, Surge, ect. I use Studio One which comes with Mai Tai and Presence XT. I'm also looking at Arturia V9, but at this point that many synths would be a bit much.

Thanks....

Hey, check my signature.

MeanMrMustard · Post by **MeanMrMustard** » Thu Feb 02, 2023 8:23 am

Biome_Digital wrote: ↑Tue Jan 31, 2023 11:53 am
MeanMrMustard wrote: ↑Sun Jan 29, 2023 8:07 am Guitarist doing original Prog Rock (Yes, Floyd, ELP, Rush). I'd like to add keys however not being a keyboardist I'm not up to speed on programing my own presets. Who are some of the better companies putting out synth presets for this type/style of music ? I picked up a few synths over BF, including Diva, SM2, as well as a few free synths like Dexed, Surge, ect. I use Studio One which comes with Mai Tai and Presence XT. I'm also looking at Arturia V9, but at this point that many synths would be a bit much.

Thanks....
Hey, check my signature.

Great thanks, I'll check it out over the weekend.

Interesting, now that I've been listening to quite a few presets I'm noticing, at least to my old ears they sound more geared towards 'movie soundtracks' than to songwriting.

synaesthesia · Post by **synaesthesia** » Thu Feb 02, 2023 8:44 am

I make lots of 3rd party synth sounds myself but, I don't think I have anything that'd suit you particularly - my thing is more cinematic.

So, I'd suggest both Swan Audio - https://swanaudio.co.uk/ - and Oblivion Sound Lab - https://oblivionsoundlab.com/

They both do some very lovely retro sounds for Diva that might appeal to you.

MeanMrMustard · Post by **MeanMrMustard** » Mon Feb 06, 2023 5:05 am

synaesthesia wrote: ↑Thu Feb 02, 2023 8:44 am I make lots of 3rd party synth sounds myself but, I don't think I have anything that'd suit you particularly - my thing is more cinematic.

So, I'd suggest both Swan Audio - https://swanaudio.co.uk/ - and Oblivion Sound Lab - https://oblivionsoundlab.com/

They both do some very lovely retro sounds for Diva that might appeal to you.

Thanks synaesthesia, they have some interesting sounds.

vurt · Post by **vurt** » Mon Feb 06, 2023 6:12 am

i don't have it personally, but im sure i remember sm2 has someone who did a bunch of classic prog sounds?
was it nori?

MeanMrMustard · Post by **MeanMrMustard** » Tue Feb 07, 2023 4:50 am

vurt wrote: ↑Mon Feb 06, 2023 6:12 am i don't have it personally, but im sure i remember sm2 has someone who did a bunch of classic prog sounds?
was it nori?

Yes, I believe you're right. Nori does make some excellent presets for SM2, which I recently picked up. I also think he programs for other synths as well. He's one of the few - at least that I know of - who does Classic Prog presets.

3rd Party Synth Presets ?