That's complete BS, and you've been proven wrong before.chk071 wrote: ↑Sat Apr 20, 2024 3:32 pm Frankly, I'm one of those which don't need any FX on soft synths. The only thing they do really is that they could get embedded with the synth's preset, and, even then, it's a disadvantage, if you can't change the order of the FX in the synth, as is the case on many synths. Not to talk about the usual quality of onboard FX.
I see only disadvantages, and very little actual advantages of onboard FX.
1) Many companies, such as N.I and u-he, who produce both exceptional effects and synthesizers, incorporate versions of their effects into their synths. Take, for example, Repro, which boasts fantastic effects. Some of these effects are so outstanding that they've even inspired standalone versions like Colour Copy. It's highly unlikely that N.I developed all the effects in Massive X from scratch; they likely utilized some of their already stellar effects.
2) Repro 5 and other synths feature polyphonic distortion, a quality that external effects simply can't replicate. Monophonic distortion often falls short in comparison, especially in many cases.
3) The ability to route envelopes and LFOs to the effects is another significant advantage of using internal effects. Many standalone effects lack these features altogether, and even if they do include them, they're often not as advanced. While some, like FabFilter, offer these functionalities, many others do not. Additionally, most external effects aren't synced to MIDI events at all, a feature I sometimes find crucial for synthesizer sounds.
4) It's far more convenient to handle everything within a single plugin (synth) rather than juggling multiple plugins.
5) Incorporating effects within presets, as previously mentioned, provides an excellent additional benefit.
While it's true that internal effects can sometimes serve as a marketing gimmick, this shouldn't overshadow the fact that end users can still access amazing effects that genuinely enhance the possibilities for synth sound design.