Spire Synthesizer

[Hyperbole]

As someone mentioned before - we certainly dont need another super bloated synth as Rapid, Synthmaster, Aveneger, Phaseplant, etc. Simplicity is something we need.

Who is "we"?

There are already a million simple synths but only a handful of super synths.

Every complex synth can be simple but no simple synth can be complex.

I got bored with simple synths more decades ago than I care to admit so bring on the super synths.

Don't dumb Spire down to beginner's level....

In my opinion, the only two "supersynths" worth the added complexity are Omnisphere and Zebra. And it is arguable whether those are truly supersynths. I suppose Falcon is another one. But to me it really only shines as a software sampler, and even then, I prefer HALion.

Regarding Avenger, I wish I had never spent the money on that turd. But it was on sale for 50% off. So like an idiot, I bought it. Avenger takes bloat to a new level. The UI is so cramped and the controls are so tiny, I almost can't bear to use it.

Synthmaster is more usable, but it also suffers from doing too many things and none of them particularly well.

To me, Spire is just about right the way it is. I sometimes wish Spire could import SFZ or SF2 multisamples to use as oscillator sources to make it more like Omnisphere (because Spire's oscillators are a bit thin sounding unless you apply unison to everything). This way, Reveal Sound could sell sample packs that would work within Spire as opposed to standalone packs. But to support multisamples, Reveal Sound would then need to implement some system for categorizing and tagging them and some kind of browser for selecting them, which would make selecting multisamples different from selecting other waveforms. It's not impossible (as Omnisphere demonstrates). But it would require a lot of work.

[vertibration]

The all in one synth trend isnt always that great. I'd rather something simple, but done really well

[vitocorleone123]

The all in one synth trend isnt always that great. I'd rather something simple, but done really well

Spire could use a few updates, including drag-and-drop modifiers, adjustable oversampling, etc. But, overall, it remains an amazingly well-designed, great-sounding synth.

Given how much CPU Serum2 takes, I think Spire is currently a better instrument.

People who need complex synths to entertain themselves have forgotten - or never knew - the joy a well-designed, great-sounding, simple synth provides. It's like they need a video game to stay locked in. My favorite synth is still a hardware synth with 1:1 interface because it's f-ing beautiful, or, if I want, f-ing growly. Near=perfection.

[Gam456]

Avenger is a synth and some people don't use any preset and play with more than 1 finger.

[kraster]

The fact that Avenger can cater to people who like simplicity/immediacy and also people who want to dig deep is a testament to its flexibility.

Avenger is not a "laughing stock" anywhere.

[kraster]

The all in one synth trend isnt always that great. I'd rather something simple, but done really well

Spire could use a few updates, including drag-and-drop modifiers, adjustable oversampling, etc. But, overall, it remains an amazingly well-designed, great-sounding synth.

Given how much CPU Serum2 takes, I think Spire is currently a better instrument.

People who need complex synths to entertain themselves have forgotten - or never knew - the joy a well-designed, great-sounding, simple synth provides. It's like they need a video game to stay locked in. My favorite synth is still a hardware synth with 1:1 interface because it's f-ing beautiful, or, if I want, f-ing growly. Near=perfection.

Serum 2 only uses a lot of CPU when using CPU intensive things like granular/spectral stuff with long releases. If you were to reduce it down to the feature set of spire you'd have similar performance.

Serum 2 like Phaseplant, Dune 3, Current, Pigments, Avenger, Vital etc. is only as complex as you make it.

Current, for example, is a very quick synth to use sice all its sound sources are on their own pages. You can use it as a dual (or single) source wavetable for example and not even see everything else.

[vitocorleone123]

If you were to reduce it down to the feature set of spire you'd have similar performance.

Incorrect.

[swilow11]

You've just proven that Avenger is way over your head and it is you who has the "lack of knowledge". I won't call you a "laughing stock" even though in my mind you've earned the title.

It cracks me up when self-anointed “swelling brains” proclaim that their capacity to understand a stupidly over-engineered turd like Avenger is somehow evidence of their superior intellect. Like it’s on par with understanding the role of probability in the Many Worlds interpretation of Quantum Mechanics.

Avenger was tailor made for smug nimrods like this. Unlike Spectrasonics, whose credo is to develop "powerfully simple" instruments to help real musicians make real music, Vengeance aims for "simply powerful." That's all Avenger is, power without purpose. It's a tool for people who don't understand the role of restraint in music. It allows laptop weenies with their Push controllers (because learning to play piano is so very hard) to create over-produced shlock that is all surface and no substance. And to give themselves a self-congratulatory pat on the back for being oh-so-clever.

By ignoring navel-gazing feature requests from this crowd, Reveal Sound has thankfully managed to avoid ruining Spire.

I like how you're publicly raging against these imaginary Avenger users that exist only in your own angry mind.

You can just dislike a synth without needing to make it seem like you absolutely hate it and everyone that uses it and the society that gave rise to those users. It's just a synth.

[vertibration]

Regarding Avenger, I wish I had never spent the money on that turd. But it was on sale for 50% off. So like an idiot, I bought it. Avenger takes bloat to a new level. The UI is so cramped and the controls are so tiny, I almost can't bear to use it.

Avenger is obviously way over your head. That's fine, leave it to those who can appreciate its power and aren't intimidated by complexity.

To me, Spire is just about right the way it is.

Yet.....

I sometimes wish Spire could import SFZ or SF2 multisamples to use as oscillator sources to make it more like Omnisphere

So you're allowed to want improvements but others are not? I and others have been requesting user wave import for quite some time and nothing yet. I would love SFZ support but I wouldn't hold your breath.

I'd rather something simple, but done really well

Simple things amuse simple minds. Something can be both complex and "really well done". Like I said there are a million simple synths. Knock yourself out.

Anyway I think it's safe to say Spire is pretty much feature locked at this point. No news of the future from the developer and nothing but a series of sample packs released.

That's fine but it's also a shame. If you like the sound of a synth it seems logical you'd want that synth to make a wider range of sounds but this is KVR so logic rarely plays a role.

Simple minds also try to sound smarter than they actually are

[BONES]

For a minute there I thought you were having a go at one of my favourite bands, then I went to the top of the page and saw what you were actually talking about, so you're off the hook.

You can just dislike a synth without needing to make it seem like you absolutely hate it and everyone that uses it and the society that gave rise to those users.

You or I can but I don't think he is capable of it any more. He used to be a decent bloke but he's obviously undergone some trauma or other, which has changed him for the worse. It's kinda sad because he has plenty to contribute if he can just get over himself.

[jsp1979]

Gotta be a PBM, right?

[zerocrossing]

The all in one synth trend isnt always that great. I'd rather something simple, but done really well

Spire could use a few updates, including drag-and-drop modifiers, adjustable oversampling, etc. But, overall, it remains an amazingly well-designed, great-sounding synth.

It is, though lack of polyphonic aftertouch and MPE limits its use in my world.

Given how much CPU Serum2 takes, I think Spire is currently a better instrument.

I didn’t realize how crazy CPU intensive Serum 2 was until I started playing with its presets. It’s mostly fine when using basic wavetable oscillators, but holy cow does it burn processor cycles when using the spectral and granular oscillators.

People who need complex synths to entertain themselves have forgotten - or never knew - the joy a well-designed, great-sounding, simple synth provides. It's like they need a video game to stay locked in. My favorite synth is still a hardware synth with 1:1 interface because it's f-ing beautiful, or, if I want, f-ing growly. Near=perfection.

I don’t think of it like that. Of course I’m going to dig into a singularly focused instrument when my goal is narrowly defined. But often it isn’t. Sometimes it’s fun to build the thing on the box of LEGOs, using just the instructions and included pieces. Sometimes I’m off to Cloud Cuckooland, and I’m the Special.

[BONES]

People who need complex synths to entertain themselves have forgotten - or never knew - the joy a well-designed, great-sounding, simple synth provides. It's like they need a video game to stay locked in.

Yup. Sometimes you need a big, powerful synth to get the job done but, if you really know what you're doing, you can bend any half-decent synth to any task you need done. Of course, we're incredibly spoiled these days so it's much easier to decide that this synth is good for that and this other synth only does this thing well, so that's all I'll use them for. e.g. Any two osc synth with sawtooth waves can do good string pads but I tend to always reach for the same couple of synths for that stuff because I've already got some good patches I know will work and if I'm after some gnarly glitch sequency kind of thing, I know that Thorn or Spire have a lot of presets that do half the work for me, so I'll always reach for one of them.

I know that, realistically, I could do it with any synth that has an MSEG but I'd have to do all the work myself, which I have no interest in doing. Thorn's Glitch Sequencer has given birth to several of our best songs and revitalised a couple of old, tired things from our early albums so why wouldn't I keep reaching for a proven performer?

It is, though lack of polyphonic aftertouch and MPE limits its use in my world.

What, you need MPE to make a bassline? Seriously? I still don't see the value of MPE, it's the five dimensions of touch that get the job done for me and you don't need MPE for that.

[Gam456]

What, you need MPE to make a bassline? Seriously? I still don't see the value of MPE, it's the five dimensions of touch that get the job done for me and you don't need MPE for that.

MPE is the next level of expression. Like the velocity and AT.
You can have a fulltouch keyboard like the Polybrute, vibrato per note, pitch per note.

[Jac459]

By ignoring navel-gazing feature requests from this crowd, Reveal Sound has thankfully managed to avoid ruining Spire.

We understand that you are very upset, but exactly what do you hate about the synth itself ?

I am not interested to understand your mental projection about Avenger 2 users but more about what is your problem with the tool.

In particular, when you say "power without purpose", a part from being a sentence we could read on teenagers t-shirts, what does it mean in your mind ? Is it the numerous filter and distortion options ? The extreme level of control on the oscillators modifiers, the powerful unison features ? The fact that the routing is so open ? The high quality effects ? What exactly is without purpose here ?