Absynth 6

[Satch1]

Thanks ED, I hadn't read the full changelog. Good to know that these things will be fixed or added at some point.

If unison spread is there, then I don't know how to access it. I'm pretty sure it's not though, but would love to be proved wrong.

[EvilDragon]

I guess it depends if you mean pitch spread or stereo spread. Pitch spread is there, on Uni tab, regardless of which oscillator mode you're in.

IIRC channels are all mono until they hit the Main FX chain where they can be panned, so asking for stereo spread is a bit taller order as it would require some significant changes to the DSP engine.

[Satch1]

I meant stereo spread. It would be a nice option, but I can live without it. Panning channels is good if I want some width before the effects.

[Echoes in the Attic]

I'm not super interested in Absynth itself, but it's promising to see they apparently developed a new, modernized framework for releasing synths. Which hopefully means there is potential for updates to other classics as well using the same underlying platform -- or am I reading too much into it?

..or NEW synths?!

I’d much rather see them improve their current lineup before new synths are released. Absynth still has areas where it can improve. Massive X is an excellent sound engine that could be so much more with better workflow and improvements that have been talked to to death. Kontakt needs love in its actual edit UI, which itself is actually a great hybrid synth/sampler and not a bad rack UI concept if it would just get a high dpi update. And of course Reaktor is infinite but needs modernization. Being able to export ensembles to plugins would be way better than any single new synth!

[DCrown]

Honestly I am really surprised this synth release gets so much attention.

[EvilDragon]

You shouldn't be.

[VariKusBrainZ]

Are you a noob?

[Shabdahbriah]

nvm

[zerocrossing]

I did end up getting it, even though I wish they had added more enhancements, even if they were the same algorithms from Massive X's filter selection. My updated wish list...

Unison spread for oscillators.
Filter algorithms from Massive X
Two more effect slots with some bread and butter effects.
MPE response curves, as well as bipolar slide.
UI enhancements to communicate interaction cues.

I would include:
Larger edit window for editing samples.
Bring back saved presets for the Effects, filters and the waveshaper.

I’ve not used the sample editor yet, but it’s always better to have a good UI for editing samples. I’m all in on presets for individual modules. Melda really gets this.

[zerocrossing]

Filter algorithms from Massive X
Two more effect slots with some bread and butter effects.

These two things are likely never gonna happen. First because Brian wants to use his DSP only and second because Absynth is never gonna be a bread and butter synth, nor was it intended to.

This is small minded thought, IMO, and demonstrably flawed. Absynth comes with plenty of bread and butter presets, many sounding quite good. Clearly it can do them, and NI thinks so too.

Also, it’s almost universally accepted that often a filter with nonlinear behavior, ie. some analog modeled distortion, sounds really good. Why else would Hans Zimmer request Diva’s filters in Zebra? You’re also doing that thing that fanboys love to do by declaring their favorite baby is flawless, as if we can’t all see that a trip to the orthodontist would do the child some good. Don’t want a bit of saturation on your sounds? Don’t use it. Simple as that. I’m not saying that I’d use it every single time either, but there absolutely are some sounds that benefit from it a lot. I’ve been running Satin and Arturia’s Dimension-D Chorus after Absynth, and they universally improve every single sound I’ve gotten from it. Of course, that’s just my opinion, but I would encourage anyone to try something similar. It takes that flat digital vibe right off.

[dayjob]

"everything is amazing, no one is happy"

[zerocrossing]

Honestly I am really surprised this synth release gets so much attention.

Before Absynth, plugin synthesizers were pretty lame. Not only was Absynth good, it was interesting. It was a lot of our first forays into plugin synthesizers. It gained a huge following during its development, and rightly so. I still kept my hardware for a decade after it, but it was still interesting because it was different than anything else.

Now… it’s still pretty different, and honestly, if you’re looking to make the types of sounds heard on most popular tracks, you don’t need it. That said, there are a lot of great plugins for experimental types of sounds that Absynth was once the champion of. You could probably make a patch in MSoundfactory that would do similar things, and in some cases be better, but it wouldn’t be Absynth. It’s like science cloned Freddy Mercury and now we have 20 year old Freddy back, with a few improvements due to modern dentistry. Maybe he’s not your ideal rock front man, but there’s no denying he’s a legend.

[zerocrossing]

"everything is amazing, no one is happy"

I really enjoy being cranky, though. I’ve been watching Pluribus (Apple TV) and I heard them talking about the main character on a podcast, and how unlikable she is. I love her! I’d rather have someone who can appreciate bitter and sour than a human Thomas Kinkade painting.

We’re ultimately talking about a commercial product that cost me $99 on top of the initial price of Absynth and every single update. I can’t remember how much I spent although, but it would not surprise me if it’s in the neighborhood of $400-500. I think that gives people the right to point out what the competition is doing that they are ignoring. I’m sure it was posts like mine and many others that spurred NI to bring it back with improvements. Think of me as the sand that starts the pearl.

[jancivil]

I can be cranky. "this is flawed thought" or it's coherence of vision. You're imposing thought that from all of this seems antithetical to the spirit and it's not like you don't get that spirit.

"a lot of sounds benefit from..." - I've never used somebody else's patch, I wouldn't know. I'll put saturation on a lot of things, to me this is part of mixing, though. On this, one might call it bloat.
It seems like you want some filters from Massive?

all in all, I find a synth that doesn't give a f**k about other synths like that refreshing. That said, I can get it to sound fat and analog without a lot of sweat.

I don't look to Franz Kline to be more like Leroy Neiman, which sums up what your basic tack feels like to me.

[revvy]

Needs a 303-style filter.