So, with it's release, is SynthMaster 3 the new reigning Super Synth?

[ThomasHelzle]

It's interesting how different we all are.
I had almost all the big monster synths and this is the first I fully gel with, soundwise and featurewise.
I can't even say why, since not everything would be my first choice (like the right-click multi-level-menus for sample selection) but kv331 is onto things and constantly improves features during beta and since release, so my feeling is, that now that the basic infrastructure is there, adding features is much quicker and we're only at the start of a whole new game for Synthmaster with version 3.

As for additive: you can also edit the spectral composition for wavetables, so this I would count at least as semi-additive
But yeah, a worthy heir for LoomII would be great, that one sounded amazing but is almost unusable these days guiwise.
I don't like the sound of Pigments somehow so that wouldn't be my personal role model but I used to enjoy Harmor a lot in the past with its special approach to additive and great GUI.

For me it boiled down to watch the SM3 tutorials and understand the overall structure and how everything is thought out.
Some things are different, many are better IMO, some not, but overall it somehow ticks all the boxes for me, especially soundwise.
I also love the filters, only the comb filter feels different from most others I used and I still struggle with it.

Good stuff

Tom

[Charlie Firpo]

Yes, the comb filter sounds like a string in the lower region, and in the upper region it starts to go into the flute territory?

[kv331]

Yes, the comb filter sounds like a string in the lower region, and in the upper region it starts to go into the flute territory?

So, that's a bug ? It's a fractional delay filter (with feedback) basically.

[trusampler]

The filters in SM3 sound pretty incredible. Great job !

[bmanic]

I'm diving in a bit and here's the things about Synthmaster that I find super unintuitive or oddly implemented. I init a patch and I get a sine wave. Fine, I guess, though the standard is sawtooth, but OK, easy enough to change. Then I want to see what other types of sound sources I have... but there's no real label of what sound source I'm using, so I'm going to assume VA, eh? Nope, because I can switch to VA and get totally different controls. OK, well VA... so how about a square wave... no. That was in the other oscillator type... what was it? No idea, it wasn't labeled in the UI. OK, process of elimination shows it's Basic Osc... which give me all the basic analog waveforms... and a ton more of very not basic single cycle wave forms, and samples. So what's VA? I see a triangle wave graph but I'm hearing and seeing a filtered sawtooth. I see I can click on nodes and change the shape... and morph between three versions, totally unlike any analog I've ever worked with. Cool, but shouldn't this be called something else?

Granular seems to work as you'd expect, but then we hit Additive and I'm back to being confused. Only 8 partials, but you can use any type of waveform, so not really what we think of as additive, but cool multi mixing of waveforms. I don't see any way of modulating the different waves, so that makes it a bit of a fail. Why not just use a cool single cycle waveform? The Vector Osc seems similar but way more useful. Wavetable osc works as expected, until I tried to make a custom wavetable and all of the sudden, I'm lost. I've made custom wavetables in Serum, Icarus, and Dune and never had to really crack a manual to figure out what to do, but I'm looking at this interface and I have no idea of what I'm doing. I'm sure I can read the manual and figure it out, but it's really not intuitive at all.

Oh, and my demo version expired mid note and hung on a single note until I deleted the plugin. That's stupid. Just go silent.

Onto filters, good, not really what I'd call good analog emulations, but they're fine and get the job done. If you crank the quality the distortion is very clean, which I appreciate.

So I come to a bass preset that's polyphonic and I want to change to to mono... I don't see any way of setting that. Ah, it's buried in the Track View. OK.

Now I'm messing with the routing... and I can get a feedback loop, but I can't seem to add a filter into that loop... and a lot of things you'd think would be possible are not possible. The feedback loop doesn't seem to really sound like what you'd expect actual feedback to be. I tried swapping the the filter while I had a feedback loop and the plugin just crashed.

I bought it, because I think there's a lot there to play with, but I still do feel like there's a UX issue with Synthmaster that's never been fully addressed. When I put it up next to other plugins like Pigments, it's a mess. Oh, and for some unknown reason, my credit card wouldn't work and I had to use Paypal. (credit card is fine)

This unfortunately pretty much sums it up perfectly.

Yes, it's yet another synth from the same developer that has HUGE potential, but the polish and consistency is missing. If this was a movie, it'd be an indie movie with a great plot, mediocre actors, mediocre lighting and very well done yet obviously low budget CGI.

It's clear that a lot of passion and time went into developing this but it feels very disjointed. That was already an issue I had with version 2.0.

[kv331]

The filters in SM3 sound pretty incredible. Great job !

They are the same as SynthMaster One and 2

[kv331]

Yes, it's yet another synth from the same developer that has HUGE potential, but the polish and consistency is missing.

Did you check out SynthMaster 3? Would you care to elaborate on your comment "polish and consistency is missing" ?

[bmanic]

Yes, it's yet another synth from the same developer that has HUGE potential, but the polish and consistency is missing.

Did you check out SynthMaster 3? Would you care to elaborate on your comment "polish and consistency is missing" ?

There is so much.. no I don't have the time nor the strength to do so right now. But you could start by reading the post by @zerocrossing to get a general idea of things.

It's not a lot of "big issues" but instead tons of small ones. It all adds up to give a less than stellar user experience.

[kv331]

There is so much.. no I don't have the time nor the strength to do so right now. But you could start by reading the post by @zerocrossing to get a general idea of things.

I will.

Thanks for bashing a product that you have not tried

[bmanic]

There is so much.. no I don't have the time nor the strength to do so right now. But you could start by reading the post by @zerocrossing to get a general idea of things.

I will.

Thanks for bashing a product that you have not tried

Eh? You having a hard time understanding what I wrote? This part: "no I don't have the time nor the strength to do so right now" was an ANSWER to THIS PART: "Would you care to elaborate on your comment "polish and consistency is missing" ?"

Sorry for not being clear but gees.. the attitude.. very nice.

[kv331]

As for additive: you can also edit the spectral composition for wavetables, so this I would count at least as semi-additive

and you can add spectral filters to a wavetable inside the wavetable editor.

[Charlie Firpo]

Yes, the comb filter sounds like a string in the lower region, and in the upper region it starts to go into the flute territory?

So, that's a bug ? It's a fractional delay filter (with feedback) basically.

I like the filters in synthmaster 3. And really like the VA Osc. Like Thomas said above, the comb filter just sounds a bit different to what i'm used to. It can be user error by me also. But i was expecting the (noise impulse+comb) string sound to keep the tone in the upper ranges also. But instead it gets a bit hollow tonewise. But every synth is different ofcourse it can also be a feature depending on what you're after.

[kv331]

Like Thomas said above, the comb filter just sounds a bit different to what i'm used to. It can be user error by me also. But i was expecting the (noise impulse+comb) string sound to keep the tone in the upper ranges also. But instead it gets a bit hollow tonewise. But every synth is different ofcourse it can also be a feature depending on what you're after.

Let me look into this. Increasing the engine quality might help with that by the way.

[ThomasHelzle]

Sorry for not being clear but gees.. the attitude.. very nice.

Cuts both ways, doesn't it?
A single/small developer working for years on a very complex product may not in every moment react in total Zen mode to people dismissing it with a wave of the hand in typical KVR fashion.
Very easy to do, not always easy to stand (and yes, I've been guilty too ).

Bulent is listening and reacts very quickly to constructive comments for months now.

It's not one of the big corporations promising the stars and delivering a turd with not hope for it to ever get fixed or somebody constantly being an ass.

And: Not everybody is a native english speaker (me included) and one may miss a meaning sometimes, especially when the general attitude hints on it possibly being a slide.

So: I am absolutely sure that SM3 isn't for everybody, but that's true for every synth.
I didn't gel with many that on the outside looked good but on deeper inspection didn't work for me.

And I'm simply thankful that somebody like Bulent still invests the energy to surf the emotional rapids and gives us alternatives to the corporate bloodsuckers

[zerocrossing]

I can somewhat echo your experiences zerocrossing. The sounds that can be had with Synthmaster are great and it sounds good. But, for me, the whole UI and UX is a horrible experience so I just wont buy because I know I won't use it if it's a pain. But everyone has their own preference, I know.

It's not unlearnable, just unintuitive. It's actually not far off from being fine, but it would take relinquishing final say on UI decisions, and from my experience as a UI/UX designer and artist, that is what accounts for most of the bad UI in the world. It's very hard to convince someone who's crafted the underlying systems that the interface level makes no sense, because they are so intimate with it. Another thing I deal with constantly is thwarting people's urge to do things a new and "better" way, which even if it does have advantages, is so different than everything that's come before that it fails. It's like me saying, "I've found a much better word for "magazine," and from now on we'll all call it "monthalodical."" Good luck with that.