So, what's the best-sounding subtractive, non-uber synth?

[Odd Fella]

I still know the older ones, but lost track of all the more recent stuff.

So, what is the most pleasant-sounding, subtractive synth these days?
I mean, bread and butter polysynths, nothing crazy, no wavetables, no modular cables dangling all over the screen, etc.

A musical, nice-sounding synth with an intuitive, efficient user interface.

I really like the sound of the new Charlatan 3, unfortunately the user interface and operation suck in my view. But the sound is very appealing to me, even the reverb and chorus sound great. Although I like the subtractive sound, I don't care about any specific hardware synth. It doesn't have to sounds like 40 years ago. In fact, I like clean sounds, no aliasing, grinding, distortion etc.

[chk071]

Hm... I would say Spire. Doesn't have very analog sounding filters, but, it's pretty much my go to subtractive stuff, or big unison pads. Musical, yes, and, it also has an intuitive user interface.

I also can only recommend to check out the Virus TI emulation from the DSP635 project: viewtopic.php?t=559359

The thing sounds seriously amazing. Very CPU heavy though. And, of course it can do much more than bread and butter subtractive.

[Echoes in the Attic]

Maybe ob-xtreme or the softube emulations. For simple analog style.

Or maybe Ana2 or viper for a little more complex.

I still think sylenth1 sounds great too.

[egbert101]

u-he Diva is still the best bread and butter subtractive synth imo. u-he Repro-5 best Prophet 5 emulation. GForce OB-X best Oberheim emulation. Roland Cloud best Roland emulations. Korg Collection 4, best Korg emulations. You get the picture.

[chk071]

Maybe ob-xtreme or the softube emulations. For simple analog style.

I first wanted to suggest the Softube Model 80, but, then I thought that it might be a bit too limited for the OP.

[chk071]

I still think sylenth1 sounds great too.

Yeah, for bread and butter polysynth, that's still a great suggestion. I only wished it had a bit more bottom end. Compared to the more current line of soft synths, it's a bit weak in that department, unless you work on it, of course.

[Daru925]

My new go to is drift.

[Nug Wrangler]

PG8X

[mholloway]

Softube's Prophet 5 (Model 80) and Juno 106 (Model 84) fit your request: high quality, great sounding Polysynths with no frills at all.

But honestly, I still think overall DIVA is the best VA polysynth plugin, as others have said before me.

[Benedict]

I use Subtraktor (in Reason) a lot as it sits so well in the mix. If not in Reason and wanting to explore something new I would suggest that the new Charatan 3 Beta is well worth a poke. It has its limits (as everything does) but has a real charm that stands out - but mixes well.

[kraster]

Diva still rules, imho.

It has a pretty rich feature set but it's not trying to be all things to all people.

It's still very much focused on the bread and butter virtual analogue side of things so your less likely to get choice paralysis down while programming.

Every component within it is really well executed and you have the option of super high quality fidelity when needed.

[Korg Supporter]

TAL stuff and impOSCar 2. Tone2's Saurus, Rayblaster, and Warlock are all fun to use.

[zerocrossing]

Here’s the truth. Everything is awesome. It’s come down to personal taste and what type of features are important.

[Nielzie]

This plugin is amazing

[GaryG]

for simpler, no nonsense sounds then i'd check out E-phonics Invader 2.

https://www.e-phonic.com/invader.html

Has a warmth about that makes it great for basses and pads but still cuts through when required. Pay what you want starting at €5.