KVR Audio

brok landers · Post by **brok landers** » Mon Jul 14, 2025 12:42 am

Hi all,

the title actually says it - whats the synth(s) you actually settled on since a longer period of time, if so?
Many of you who have been a longer time here on KVR know, that i do sound design for my living since quite a long time.
The reason i am asking is, that i've decided to slowly build up my own shop. Nothing big or fancy, but due to the fact i every now and then, when i have some time in between my jobs i am hired for, i screw around on synths, creating a few presets here and there just for fun. So i might do that as well concentrating on synths where i know they are being frequently used by you guys out there.
So i would be interested in which these synths are.
Thanks in advance.

mixyguy2 · Post by **mixyguy2** » Mon Jul 14, 2025 3:27 am

I bounce around a lot but the ones I use the most are:
- Absynth
- Vital
- Hive
- Full Bucket's FB3200 for retro sounds

morphex · Post by **morphex** » Mon Jul 14, 2025 7:20 am

Hey Brok, your eclectic patches have accompanied some of my favorite synths though the years. So it's nice to see you check in. I think creating your own personal shop would be a great idea if you have the time. Obviously, Serum 2 and Pigments 6 are on a lot of people's radar right now. For those two, I'd be interested in patches that were created through pure synthesis and without any multi-samples. But custom wavetables or samples for the granular engines would be welcomed.

I would also highly-recommend that you consider the synths developed by Dawesome Music. There's some excellent potential for really exotic and edgy sounds with Myth and Kult. Novum and Abyss are the other two synths that I use almost exclusively for cinematic sci-fi and ambient styles of music. Evolving pads and atmospheres are definitely their specialty.

I also really enjoy playing and programming Current 2 and Icarus 3.1. I'm addicted to Current's effect rack, and the X/Y pad can alter the sound in fantastic ways. Icarus 3 is simply brilliant! I love it's high-definition sound, the 30 different synthesis methods, over 60 different filter types, and its infectious glitch sequencer. It's one of the most inspirational-sounding VST's that I'm using at the moment, and I think it's the kind of synth that you could make shine with your level of programming knowledge and experience. It's really great to see you on the forum again, and I hope that you get some good ideas. Cheers!

billinder33 · Post by **billinder33** » Tue Jul 15, 2025 3:47 am

I hate using Serum 2 because everyone uses it. But it's just so darned good. After that - mostly Phaseplant, Diva, Kontakt (I know there's a big debate on whether it should be considered a synth), and on rarer occasions Massive X and Dawesome Myth. I lean towards edgier sounds, so might not be representative of your target buyer.

Dawesome synths may not have huge market penetration, but I agree with the poster above - they are great for cinematic styles if that's your target market.

If also consider that Serum's user base is so huge, some percentage of those wub wub producers could use a good cinematic/ambient preset pack, and Serum 2's granular, spectral, and sample oscs give you a little of tools to design flexibility.

sunthief01 · Post by **sunthief01** » Tue Jul 15, 2025 5:06 am

For me these days its largely

Icarus 3 (agree with everything said above and elsewhere - its truly a monster and goes as deep as you like)
Massive X
Phonec 2 - so good for retro and vibey sounds. You can get very creative with the HFO and the logic mix too....

anoise · Post by **anoise** » Tue Jul 15, 2025 5:15 am

Rapid (very few 3rd party presets for it, never understood why), Spire, Massive X.

zerocrossing · Post by **zerocrossing** » Tue Jul 15, 2025 5:20 am

brok landers wrote: Mon Jul 14, 2025 12:42 amthe title actually says it

It honestly sounds like Japanese run through Google Translate, but I can guess that you're asking what synths we've been consistently using for a long time. Is that true?

brok landers · Post by **brok landers** » Tue Jul 15, 2025 7:00 am

zerocrossing wrote: Tue Jul 15, 2025 5:20 am
brok landers wrote: Mon Jul 14, 2025 12:42 amthe title actually says it
It honestly sounds like Japanese run through Google Translate, but I can guess that you're asking what synths we've been consistently using for a long time. Is that true?

What's not to understand? What did i phrase wrong? Please educate me. And yes, that's exactly what i was asking for...

zvenx · Post by **zvenx** » Tue Jul 15, 2025 7:06 am

Yes I too noticed this and the other subject title was a bit hard to understand, but I know English is not your native tongue.. I believe German is..
I am not sure sure what the "if so" at the end means to convey but it is superfluous (unnecessary).
Using Gemini AI, either of these three work better to me:

Here are a few ways to rewrite that question, making it clearer and more natural:

"What synths have you stuck with for a long time?" (Direct and concise)

"Which synths have become your go-to instruments over the years?" (Emphasizes regular use)

"Are there any synths you've settled on and continued to use consistently?" (Asks directly about "settling" and "consistency")

I would just ammend it and add older..
So I would go with 2.
Which older synths have become your go-to instruments over the years...

rsp

brok landers · Post by **brok landers** » Tue Jul 15, 2025 7:22 am

zvenx wrote: Tue Jul 15, 2025 7:06 am Yes I too noticed this and the other subject title was a bit hard to understand, but I know English is not your native tongue.. I believe German is..
I am not sure sure what the "if so" at the end means to convey but it is superfluous (unnecessary).
Using Gemini AI, either of these three work better to me:

Here are a few ways to rewrite that question, making it clearer and more natural:

"What synths have you stuck with for a long time?" (Direct and concise)

"Which synths have become your go-to instruments over the years?" (Emphasizes regular use)

"Are there any synths you've settled on and continued to use consistently?" (Asks directly about "settling" and "consistency")

I would just ammend it and add older..
So I would go with 2.
Which older synths have become your go-to instruments over the years...

rsp

Thanks Zvenx,
i edited the subject accordingly. Indeed english is not my native tounge. But i was under the impression that my english was actually not too shabby. And i thought my question was clear. Well... There you go. One never stops learning.

Thanks again.

Michael L · Post by **Michael L** » Tue Jul 15, 2025 7:37 am

Alchemy
Helix
Iris
Rhino
Tassman, Chromaphone, String Studio
Z3ta
They shaped my idea of what a soft synth is. I still think of their development as the 'golden era' of software sound design

db3 · Post by **db3** » Tue Jul 15, 2025 7:49 am

If a business decision, I might be considering what are the good sounding newer synths, which a lot of people have, but there are not already hundreds of banks available for. i.e. perhaps something like UAD PolyMAX or GForce Axxess which have previously been given away for free.

Otherwise Current 2 might be worth exploring, lots of potential, but not many sounds that I associate with your sound design.

El°HYM · Post by **El°HYM** » Tue Jul 15, 2025 7:59 am

Dawesome - Abyss
KV331 - SynthMaster 3
HY-Plugins - HY-POLY
Daichi Laboratory - SYNTH1
Synapse Audio - DUNE 3
Ableton - Wavetable
TAL - BassLine-101
Arturia - Pigments
GForce - Axxess

carrieres · Post by **carrieres** » Tue Jul 15, 2025 9:03 am

Vital, Hive, Dune, Pigment, PhasePlant and Serum

Rastkovic · Post by **Rastkovic** » Tue Jul 15, 2025 9:29 am

Waldorf Largo. Since 2010.

*But sorry, no interest in presets here. I create all my sounds by myself, since forever.