VSTi for 90s synth sounds?

[VELLTONE MUSIC]

I hear you! Name a better decade than the 90's, you can't!

Absolutely agree,but main factor was money - multi billion industry gives a lot of opportunities.
90's are most musical decade imho
You need to be able to play and create something nice before to go to studio and record,now you just need computer to play instead of you

[Uncle E]

Not just music. Best decade to be alive!

[SuitcaseOfLizards]

FYI

My current wacked-out solution to my little issue is a combo approach: layering two free synths!

A combo of Nils K1v Kawai emulation and the Cobalt synth give me what I need and more. Holy hell, Cbalt has an LFO-driven panner - makes for some wild ambient stuff as well.

Thanks to everyone for your help and interesting convo.The Korg stuff would work but it forces you to use the Korg Software Pass and, afte a week, Korgs so-called 'tech support' couldn't get it working on my music machine, so.. pfft.. at least I got my money back. The first thing I tried was the Wavestation, guess if I want that sound, I'll actually have to get a wavetable synth (screw Korg, won't own a Koeg product ever now).

Off to go retro! Everyone party on!

[BBFG#]

Since you like Korg besides the manager, maybe give Full Bucket a walk through.
https://www.fullbucket.de/music/vst.html

[SuitcaseOfLizards]

Since you like Korg besides the manager, maybe give Full Bucket a walk through.
https://www.fullbucket.de/music/vst.html

Will look deeper into those synths when y Copious Spare Time [ha!] returns. Some interesting stuff there!

[Korg Supporter]

Tone2 is great for any 90s genre. Highly recommend Gladiator for Ensoniq-style pads.

[Xenos]

Not just music. Best decade to be alive!

For real! Better all-around quality of life, and the cost of living wasn't like today.


For the OP, you can't go wrong with Korg's offerings for 90s VSTs, specifically the M1, Wavestation and Prophecy.

[paramita123]

No matter the genre I think the U-HE free plugins are all superb : ZebraCM, Podolski ...
Add to that the free Skynet and Solaris reverbs, the free Deelay plugin and you're already onto a great way !
DR84 for free drum kits.
Burier for distortion, TDR Nova and Molotok, etc... All free!

[VELLTONE MUSIC]

No matter the genre I think the U-HE free plugins are all superb : ZebraCM, Podolski ...
Add to that the free Skynet and Solaris reverbs, the free Deelay plugin and you're already onto a great way !
DR84 for free drum kits.
Burier for distortion, TDR Nova and Molotok, etc... All free!

Agree,if there is developer who is absolutely proven leader in 90's hardware emu's it's Urs from U-he.
Diva is best plugin you can use ,if can't find or afford hardware it emulates imho.
I start with few free U-he stuff in 2013,but my sound design skills was more enthusiasm than real deal back then:)
Zebralette and ZebraCM are dope for any 90's related stuff.
Made few interesting presets for Podolski but no idea where are now hahahaha
Cheers

[noiseboyuk]

Interesting thread.

Now I shouldn't start a decade war, but I'm going to because it seems to me most of the synths discussed here are actually 80s not 90s. The 80s were the ultimate decade for ceaseless electronic music innovation imo, starting with the analog classics like the Jupiter 8, and then innovating through the Fairlight and Synclavier (which filtered down to the Emulator, Ensnoiq Mirage and the Akais and Casios). And we had the TB303, DX7, D50 and M1 in the space of a few short years. Drum machines too, from the Linn, 808, 909 vs... well, samples of the Linn, 808 and 909. And in fact the 80s started that too with the MPC and all the low cost samplers.

Seems to me that synth-wise the 90s was entirely built on the shoulders of the 80s, with a few big beasts like the JD800 and Korg Triton that put all the 80s tech into convenient workstations. That's not nothing, but it's not really a comparison innovation-wise, is it?

Music trends were similar perhaps. The 90s felt like a decade of mashing up and reinventing everything that had gone before - Britpop, Indie Dance, Grunge etc. The 80s by contrast birthed totally new genres - synthpop, hip hop, electro and all the dance subgenres of house, techno, acid etc. The music of 1980 was totally different to that of 1989.

Still, the 90s was indeed a good decade to be alive, I'd agree. In the UK the Tories got kicked out in 97. That was a good moment.

[Uncle E]

Bite your tongue! 90’s saw the birth of such classics as the MC-303 and CS1X!

I think the topic is sounds used in 90s music, not instruments developed in the 90s.

[noiseboyuk]

I think the topic is sounds used in 90s music, not instruments developed in the 90s.

Indeed so, but it's interesting so many of the synths / samplers used are actually 80s. In other words, you could recreate pretty much anything from the 90s with the tools from the 80s.

And the real sadness is - that's close to being true with today's music. Tastes have changed, things have been refined and we use the tools differently, but there's not all that much that couldn't be done with a smorgasboard of synths from the 80s. Granular was post-80s I think in terms of commercial production.

Gee I just made myself sad.

[SuitcaseOfLizards]

I miss my old Ensoniq Mirage and Yamaha TG-33!

FFS, I started my electronic music journey on a Roland U-20, remember those? My Ibanez guitar, a U-20, and an Oberheim drum machine with my trusty Teac 2-track..

OMG I'M SO OLD! HHHEEELLLPPPPPP!

Well, the past is gone but it still lives in my memory and my VST collection! Just no gutar, nerve damage from diabetes put a swift end to that.. still making music, though, until I'm dead! And likely beyond, bury me with my studio setup!!

[Teksonik]

In terms of dynamics i'd say popular 90's sound is very flat,you can't deny that Vital beat everything ever made so far with few clicks in that direction.

I can deny that Vital is even in the top 20 softsynths available now.

Sample layering is nice for listening,but technically isn't big deal,especially if you wanna make something more out of box.

Again all you're doing is exposing your limited understanding and grasp of the full range of synthesis.

Agree,if there is developer who is absolutely proven leader in 90's hardware emu's it's Urs from U-he.

Once again we see the myopia, U-he synths only cover a small portion of the sounds that came from the 90's. He's been opposed to full sample import in his synths so that rules out so many synths that could be emulated and so many sounds that could be created.

so that's just my opinion about technology and sound of 90s from today virtual synths point of view,which is probably not entirely right or wrong,there is a lot of good ideas developed at that era,but now we can do a lot more.

Yes I and I responded with my opinion. You give an opinion, you often get one back.

As I said earlier we're certainly living in the golden age of synthesis. I still own some sample based synths from the late 80s through the 90's and they still sound great. I don't often power them up these days because working ITB is so much more efficient for me. Those synths may not be well suited for today's noise fest EDM stuff but that's just one genre. If we expand our definition of synthesis to include all genres then those synths could still serve a purpose today.

But the 90's were a time when people made great music, and used synths in countless film and tv shows. So yes things are better now but they weren't bad back then and certainly not "boring" as you claimed in your post that prompted my response.

[chk071]

Not just music. Best decade to be alive!

Not all that negative BS of the modern age either...