The best sounding analog synth of all time?

[zerocrossing]

The Dominion 1 is truly a modern classic. I’d put it up against anything from any time.

Do you own one ?

I do. It took me forever to find one, but I finally found one 5 years ago.

[zerocrossing]

Plus, the resonance on all of the different Omega 8 filters sounds incredible. That's where synth plugin emulations fall apart for me. Their resonance sounds totally artificial and often gratingly digital.

There are some really good ones out now, though. The Softube emulations sound especially good at high resonance levels.

I have so many hardware synths (analog, hybrid, and digital) that it's hard to justify spending that much money on an Omega 8. But that synth would be a keeper for me. I. would use it on everything for the rest of my life.

Same. I have an ATC-X, though. It sounds fantastic and it comes equipped with the Moog, ARP, SEM and 303 filters.

[EvilDragon]

Best sounding analog synth of all time? IMO:

[EvilDragon]

Andromeda too is definitely a great sounding synth when you get to know it well. Disable background tuning and temperature compensation and you're back in 70s vintage synth era sound.

[zvenx]

Andromeda is good for CS80 sounds, and modular style patches.
....

I knew at some point someone was going to bring up the Andromeda.
It is probably the synth with the biggest reputation that I don't get.
When they were still being built, I would go into music stores and play with them for hours, hoping to hear what the hype was about.
Not Once did I 'get it'.

It would definitely get my vote for most overhyped analog synth.

I know in the 80s the one that most appealed to me was the Oberheim OB series (OB-8 in my case), but I haven't played much with any modern analog synths.

For sure based on software emulations, though I really liked the Jupiter 8, I would like to go back in time to re-hear them to see if it was I really loved them, because based on modern software emulations it is the one that my ear most gravitates too.

rsp

[EvilDragon]

Just listen to Don's demo above. It's a seriously great sounding synth. But yeah, background tuning and temperature compensation make it quite clinical/polite/too straight sounding (and these things are enabled by default, so if you tried it out in a shop without knowing about those options...).

Like, that basslined at 2:00 is just a single voice from Andromeda. Thicc af!

[zvenx]

I definitely didn't know about those things.. but listening to Don's demo above hasn't changed my opinion.
It always sounds 'mushy' to me.

Different strokes for different folks..

[EvilDragon]

Mushy? That's a pretty weird descriptor, I don't think it fits Andromeda's sound at all...

[zvenx]

Yeah it sounds to me like noise, like if you have a synth and you turn up the pink noise generator.
But yes.. different strokes for different folks.
Difference of opinion.

But back on topic, what I would love to hear in person is the Knifonium.
rsp

[trusampler]

MKS-70 = when Roland actually ruled the universe and had real synth lovers directing their path, unlike today's Roland which would rather destroy their legacy with cheap clones of undesirable synths and plugins that can't even come close to the greatness they once owned.

[zerocrossing]

I’m one of the people who don’t quite understand the hype of vintage synthesizers. Don’t get me wrong, I love the sound of those legends, but to me they have a stiff sort of feel due to lack of velocity and aftertouch. The 90s and 00s got me totally hooked on those features, and I’d trade them for “authentic vintage sound” anytime. I think my Dominion 1 and ATC-X sound as good as any Minimoog or Odyssey. I wouldn’t trade my REV2 for any Juno. My RYTM blows away any X0X box of old. The thick per-voice saturation and feedback of my Analog Four screams and sings better than anything I’ve heard on an old record. My PolyBrute can sound as fat as anything, its parameter morphing blows pretty much everything else off the table for analog polyphonic experimental sounds. I wouldn’t take a trade for my Prophet 5 for an OG Prophet 5, because I think the 6 sounds just as good and the dual filters, sub oscillator and voice panning extend the sonic range by an order of magnitude.

[Uncle E]

MKS-70 = when Roland actually ruled the universe and had real synth lovers directing their path, unlike today's Roland which would rather destroy their legacy with cheap clones of undesirable synths and plugins that can't even come close to the greatness they once owned.

JD-XA is great but probably not for the things most people are looking for in an analog. It’s everything people love about classic Roland digital synths (D-50, JD-990, JV-1080, etc.) except analog.

[vurt]

"the one you have in front of you"

[cryophonik]

Holy shynth, that sounds glorious!

Serious question - what sounds so good about that demo? To me it doesn't sound special at all, it's stuff you could probably do with any synth, really.

Well, that's the beauty of subjectivity, isn't it? As I stated in my last post, everybody has different tastes and we all respond differently to each synth. Nothing wrong with that.

OTOH, after I heard this preset walkthrough, I went out and bought an Analog Keys. It's got such a great bottom end and sounds really "creamy" in some of the quieter patches. The real thing sounds even betterer but I'd still rather use bx_oberhausen or GForce's SEM.

I've never owned or used an Analog Keys, but I own an Analog Four mk2, which I agree sounds amazing. However, I've read that the Keys sounds a little different than the A4 and maybe even has more bottom end, but I have no idea how true that is. That demo does sound great!

[cryophonik]

I’m one of the people who don’t quite understand the hype of vintage synthesizers. Don’t get me wrong, I love the sound of those legends, but to me they have a stiff sort of feel due to lack of velocity and aftertouch. The 90s and 00s got me totally hooked on those features, and I’d trade them for “authentic vintage sound” anytime. I think my Dominion 1 and ATC-X sound as good as any Minimoog or Odyssey. I wouldn’t trade my REV2 for any Juno. My RYTM blows away any X0X box of old. The thick per-voice saturation and feedback of my Analog Four screams and sings better than anything I’ve heard on an old record. My PolyBrute can sound as fat as anything, its parameter morphing blows pretty much everything else off the table for analog polyphonic experimental sounds. I wouldn’t take a trade for my Prophet 5 for an OG Prophet 5, because I think the 6 sounds just as good and the dual filters, sub oscillator and voice panning extend the sonic range by an order of magnitude.

And, again, it's like we share a brain or something. Just replace "Dominion 1 and ATC-X" with "SE-1X" and that would be my experience/perspective. Regarding the Rev2, it's become rather cliché for people to bash it, but I'm a huge fan of that synth. It may not be a "character" synth, but it's definitely a workhorse and so much synth for the money. Butttttt, if someone offered me a trade for a Juno, I'd probably say sure. Then, I'd sell the Juno to some fool for some stupid price, buy another Rev2, and spend the leftover profit on a new camera lens and some carnitas and margaritas for our pool parties.