Trying to pick top 3's to reduce GAS ;)

[audiojunkie]

As someone who struggles with option paralysis I've thought about cutting it all down to a handful of synths but I just can't do it. Even if I don't use a synth 99% of the time, it would really bug me not to have it for that one time I need the specific thing it does really well. I'm sure I'd complete more tracks if I had less stuff though.

Does your chosen DAW allow you to custom separate and group your plugins? Separate your plugins into tiers and groups. Keep your tools that are essentials in their respective tool groups in your top tier. Everything else goes into lower tiers and groups. You keep everything you want, but you don’t have to see it all unless you want to.

[rod_zero]

LOL you ended with a lot of categories and 3 in each one? still a lot of bloat for me.

Yeah, I'm always amazed by what many people on KVR dare to call « downsizing » & « deep clean », « cutting back to the bare minimum » & « to be finally cured »! What a wonderful “bare minimum” these endless lists are!

In fact, one wonders how these geniuses manage to master such a wide variety of software
My poor brain would have fried long ago if faced with such a task… (And whatever you do, there are still only 24 hours in a day… )

I have to wonder, from how many they mare downsizing that they think they now have a streamlined line up? 200 synths?

If so well, yeah definitely progress but how do you end with 200 synth plugins? seems like a mental health problem, seek help.

I have 8 installed, plus the 8 from my DAW, and I feel I need to cut 2 or 3 cause it feels bloated.

[Igro]

Diva
Zebra 3
Serum 2

[Echoes in the Attic]

Apologies if this comes across as another "What's your favorite" type thread, but I actually did this excercise for myself the other day because honestly I'm annoyed at how many soft synths I have and want to reduce but I get so resistent to letting some go even though I don't use them much.

If you collection is troubling or a hindrance for you then let me give a helping hand:

Top 3 SYNTHS

1
2
3

You’re welcome You are needlessly sabotaging your plans to cut down by al these ‘sub categories’


Edit: and if you just like having a full folder of options then fuggedaboutit! Just enjoy it en stop tripping yourself up with “I should” figments.. everyone has their preferences.

Cool.

[Echoes in the Attic]

I think some of you might be taking this a bit seriously. It was just a fun spring cleaning exercise after 20+ years of slow plugin buying to see where I’ve accumulated a few redundancies and see what doesn't make the cut if I stop and think about it. Never needed to bother because you only have a handful? You have my respect!

[whassup]

LOL you ended with a lot of categories and 3 in each one? still a lot of bloat for me.

Yeah, I'm always amazed by what many people on KVR dare to call « downsizing » & « deep clean », « cutting back to the bare minimum » & « to be finally cured »! What a wonderful “bare minimum” these endless lists are!

In fact, one wonders how these geniuses manage to master such a wide variety of software
My poor brain would have fried long ago if faced with such a task… (And whatever you do, there are still only 24 hours in a day… )

So you cook without spices?
Let me not start with all the dozens of salts I use for a simple dish of ... LOL!

[whassup]

I think some of you might be taking this a bit seriously. It was just a fun spring cleaning exercise after 20+ years of slow plugin buying to see where I’ve accumulated a few redundancies and see what doesn't make the cut if I stop and think about it. Never needed to bother because you only have a handful? You have my respect!

Exactly. I seriously need to lighten up every now and then.
And if you dare to disagree with me... LOL
Just now I remembered a story about a guy sitting in his car on his way home listening to a radio spot about an awesome new shiny car.
At the end of the ad the guy WANTED that car!
Only to find out at the end of the spot that it was the model he is just driving home in right now.
Women have NOTHING to wear, no shoes and such.
Men just want ONE MORE ...

[zerocrossing]

They all have different flavour, different type of synthesis, presets, different ways to inspire. If you just want sounds to write songs use the built in sounds in Logic or Ableton…I think we have synths to have fun and appreciate how one synth may be different from another.

Synths don’t even take up much space as opposed to sample libraries…

The only way I can counter GAS is to stop buying new ones but no way in hell I’m going to delete the ones I already purchased and love for the sake of perceived simplicity or hating myself that I spent money on something. Most of these synths cost less than a dinner or even a meal in McDonald’s still I should feel bad for collecting them???

I feel that this is still a better hobby than wasting money on other things.

Exactly. There was a time in the late 00s when a flood of cool, inexpensive, analog hardware synths came out, and I went a bit crazy. That felt really bad. Claustrophobic. It was giving me actual anxiety to be in my studio.

All it took was for me to take a hard look at all of it and make a few decisions. Sold about 1/3 of them and that felt right. I’m not sure why the sweet spot of synthesizers for me is between 8 and 10, but that’s what it is. Software? It’s basically invisible until evoked, so it’s not a problem.

[Monsieur_FyP]

So you cook without spices?
Let me not start with all the dozens of salts I use for a simple dish of ... LOL!

I'm French. Dont get me started on the very few spices that authentic cooking requires. It all comes down to the quality and balance of just a few select ingredients. Besides, wine doesn't go well with spices

[Morty-C-137]

I think some of you might be taking this a bit seriously. It was just a fun spring cleaning exercise after 20+ years of slow plugin buying to see where I’ve accumulated a few redundancies and see what doesn't make the cut if I stop and think about it. Never needed to bother because you only have a handful? You have my respect!

Sure, but you’re the one that started out apologizing for starting this thread and “honesly I'm annoyed at how many soft synths I have and want to reduce” ?

[kritikon]

So you cook without spices?
Let me not start with all the dozens of salts I use for a simple dish of ... LOL!

I'm French. Dont get me started on the very few spices that authentic cooking requires. It all comes down to the quality and balance of just a few select ingredients. Besides, wine doesn't go well with spices

There is plenty of very authentic cooking that requires a large amount of spices. Just not French. Tell any decent Indian chef he only needs 3 spices and I suspect he'll tell you to f**k off. And yes, wine very definitely does go well with spices. I drink it all the time with a shitload of spices and quite enjoy it, reds, roses and whites.

[kritikon]

As for soft synths:
Korg Collection
Wavestate
Opsix
ABL3
Phoscyon 2
ImpOSCar

That's pretty well it for me. I do occasionally use the stock Cubase Halion, but the others don't get any juices flowing. TBH Padshop is one of the biggest wastes of time I have come across.

As for the types of synth:
Samplers - stopped using them decades ago
Wavetable - haven't heard a single one I like. Wavetables just sound horrible and metallic almost always
Spectral - haven't found a use for any of them (though they can make interesting sounds, just useless for me)
Mega synths - I seriously can't be arsed with the huge learning curve and most of their modes sound nasty digital metallic
Modular - doesn't do it for me, probably never will

I'm obviously just a softsynth heathen

[kritikon]

I forgot to list granular synths. Which are shit too.

[Vortifex]

You can always reinstall it if you need it that one time. But you probably won’t need it by then. And, if you do, you’ll use it and then delete it again.

True. But that could mean also having to reinstall a bunch of custom wavetables or samples. Annoying. I'd rather just have it or not.

Does your chosen DAW allow you to custom separate and group your plugins? Separate your plugins into tiers and groups. Keep your tools that are essentials in their respective tool groups in your top tier. Everything else goes into lower tiers and groups. You keep everything you want, but you don’t have to see it all unless you want to.

I use FL Studio which does let me do something like that. The way my brain works though is just knowing the stuff is there is enough to cause choice overload.

I was just looking through some projects and it seems there's 7 synths I use consistently: TAL-Bassline-101, TAL-U-NO-LX, Viper, Massive X, GForce SEM, Invader 2, and PolyMAX, with the rest being occasional 'flavour' uses. I'll see how many of those I can cut out. Korg M1 is a keeper though, that's irreplaceable.

[audiojunkie]

You can always reinstall it if you need it that one time. But you probably won’t need it by then. And, if you do, you’ll use it and then delete it again.

True. But that could mean also having to reinstall a bunch of custom wavetables or samples. Annoying. I'd rather just have it or not.

Does your chosen DAW allow you to custom separate and group your plugins? Separate your plugins into tiers and groups. Keep your tools that are essentials in their respective tool groups in your top tier. Everything else goes into lower tiers and groups. You keep everything you want, but you don’t have to see it all unless you want to.

I use FL Studio which does let me do something like that. The way my brain works though is just knowing the stuff is there is enough to cause choice overload.

I was just looking through some projects and it seems there's 7 synths I use consistently: TAL-Bassline-101, TAL-U-NO-LX, Viper, Massive X, GForce SEM, Invader 2, and PolyMAX, with the rest being occasional 'flavour' uses. I'll see how many of those I can cut out. Korg M1 is a keeper though, that's irreplaceable.

That's the way to do it! Keep what you use.