What effect plugins do you always put on your synth sounds?
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- KVRAF
- 1776 posts since 3 May, 2023 from Norway
Chorus, delay, reverb
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- KVRAF
- 2452 posts since 1 Jul, 2021
Very often Pultec eq for high end,cut low end!, sometimes chorus or a plugin to shape stereo image of pads (stereo widener),
delays sometimes and reverb.
Flanger or Phaser could give synth sound some new colour.
delays sometimes and reverb.
Flanger or Phaser could give synth sound some new colour.
Last edited by DCrown on Wed Dec 10, 2025 12:34 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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- KVRian
- 891 posts since 22 Jan, 2022
I try to do all creative FX within the synth if possible. Then follow with EQ, saturation, compression, a room reverb to position the track within the mix, then another EQ stage to clean up any unwanted highs/lows, and finally a clipper if needed.
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- KVRAF
- 2258 posts since 25 Jun, 2008 from Montreal, Canada
A dry sound can feel unnatural so at least a delay or reverb to place it in a (fake)natural environment. Before that maybe a chorus if I'm not using more than one OSC with some detuning. If it's a long sound, like a pad then maybe a flanger or phaser to create movement and width.
In the end it really depends on the rest of the other tracks. You don't want all the sounds to be reverby and wide or all center and flangy. Some sounds should gel together, and others feel distinct and separate from each other.
Remember in the end it's how they sound in a mix, relative to each other's, not in isolation.
edit: If you're asking about particular plugins, then it really depends, generally I'm ok with FXs from the synths I use (Avenger, Nexus, Current, u-he) so I just need some EQs (from the DAW, in my case Bitwig) or if I need more EQing I use my favorite EQ, apQualizr2. Otherwise we fall into particular sound design and then there's too much to list.
In the end it really depends on the rest of the other tracks. You don't want all the sounds to be reverby and wide or all center and flangy. Some sounds should gel together, and others feel distinct and separate from each other.
Remember in the end it's how they sound in a mix, relative to each other's, not in isolation.
edit: If you're asking about particular plugins, then it really depends, generally I'm ok with FXs from the synths I use (Avenger, Nexus, Current, u-he) so I just need some EQs (from the DAW, in my case Bitwig) or if I need more EQing I use my favorite EQ, apQualizr2. Otherwise we fall into particular sound design and then there's too much to list.
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- KVRAF
- 1791 posts since 17 Sep, 2002
lately for a virtual analog jamming, i like a bit of vpre-562a and a touch of one of tr5 sunset studio's iso booths, to give myself a sense of being in a room with it. though sometimes (often?) this chain doesn't even make it to the mix.
beyond that, who knows.
beyond that, who knows.
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- Beware the Quoth
- 35449 posts since 4 Sep, 2001 from R'lyeh Oceanic Amusement Park and Funfair
no seriously, have you seen what those things go for these days? they must be f**king good.
An idiot on Set Theory:
"In some cases there is an object called red that contains everything that is red. In much the same way a pot is a plate."
"In some cases there is an object called red that contains everything that is red. In much the same way a pot is a plate."
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- KVRAF
- 14184 posts since 20 Nov, 2003 from Lost and Spaced
Crystalline. There's a preset called Synth Hall Controlled that just sounds great.
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- KVRian
- 1034 posts since 6 Nov, 2010
Reverb.On everything. What's that 'convoluted reverb' you say? Throw some reverb on it.
What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us. - Emerson
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- KVRist
- 222 posts since 22 Nov, 2022
Depends on the synth. For a lead synth, usually some kind of stereo tool and W.A. Production Deres early in the chain if it needs it. For chorus, I like UA's Studio D or Native Instruments Choral. I'll always have Three-Body Tech VO-TT, Toneboosters MB Comp and Fabfilter Pro-Q4 later on in the chain. Then I'll route the synth into either a Valhalla or Lexicon reverb and UVI Relayer.
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- KVRAF
- 20789 posts since 22 Nov, 2000 from Southern California
Tape and reverb (Verve and 224, in my case).