What are the best VST instruments that sound "really" analog?

[excuse me please]

The element of acceleration of this topic lies in its loudness, I suppose?

[crickey13]

Does that mean that it doesn't matter if you make music with an instrument, or with your ass?

Honestly, it would be more impressive to make your music with just your ass. Kinda hot too.

As long as it sounds right and is processed the right way at the end of the signal chain, nobody cares other than you. Just make sure that it doesn't interfere with making music and doesn't turn into obsession.

Personally, I wish more threads would revolve around finalizing tracks, general mixing principles and getting the right sounds in the mixing/mastering context, as these "best/most analog plugin" threads aren't very constructive. It would be nice to see a dedicated mixing/mastering subforum on here.

[gaggle of hermits]

It would be nice to see a dedicated mixing/mastering subforum on here.

you’d still wind up with the same sterile arguments but with different gear. take a look at the endless compressor shootouts on gearspace.com

[recursive one]

Personally, I wish more threads would revolve around finalizing tracks, general mixing principles and getting the right sounds in the mixing/mastering context, as these "best/most analog plugin" threads aren't very constructive. It would be nice to see a dedicated mixing/mastering subforum on here.

This!

I wish someone would have told me few years ago that instead of looking for the "best sounding synth ever" I need to invest into room treatment, monitors and mixing/production tutorials.

Regardless of the above, the "best sounding synth ever" does exist and I have one right at my desk. But using plugins is far more practical and the end results are almost indistinguishable after all the processing done in the mix.

[kobal]

Where are all these blind tests to be found? Do anyone have some links or references?

https://soundcloud.com/tal-togu-audio-l ... ssline-101

https://soundcloud.com/tal-togu-audio-l ... vs-tal-j-8

if i remember monark vs the moog they emulated is very close even on more extreme settings you can find the comparaison somwhere

[chk071]

Personally, I wish more threads would revolve around finalizing tracks, general mixing principles and getting the right sounds in the mixing/mastering context, as these "best/most analog plugin" threads aren't very constructive. It would be nice to see a dedicated mixing/mastering subforum on here.

This!

I wish someone would have told me few years ago that instead of looking for the "best sounding synth ever" I need to invest into room treatment, monitors and mixing/production tutorials.

Regardless of the above, the "best sounding synth ever" does exist and I have one right at my desk. But using plugins is far more practical and the end results are almost indistinguishable after all the processing done in the mix.

You're probably right. Maybe that's the difference between people mainly into producing tracks, opposed to people who just want to play, and do sessions with their instruments, though.

That way, instruments whose sound don't inspire me are a waste of time for me.

I never produced a full track in my life, but, I often have projects with a few instruments which play along, and then jam a bit to that.

[crickey13]

you’d still wind up with the same sterile arguments but with different gear. take a look at the endless compressor shootouts on gearspace.com

Obviously, but some knowledgeable people still publish highly informative posts every once in a while and share their knowledge on the subject.

Like, you know, there are still people who actually write songs, mix & master them and then can share their experience with others, making others learn. I know, shocking. You conspicuously need to separate the wheat from the chaff, but it's worth it.

A single post sharing different mixing techniques and technical tips with regard to finalizing tracks is worth more than all these "best softsynth" threads combined.

[TribeOfHǫfuð]

Where are all these blind tests to be found? Do anyone have some links or references?

https://soundcloud.com/tal-togu-audio-l ... ssline-101

https://soundcloud.com/tal-togu-audio-l ... vs-tal-j-8

if i remember monark vs the moog they emulated is very close even on more extreme settings you can find the comparaison somwhere

Thanks, but these are not scientific double blind tests. Such would be of this type https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABX_test and the results would have been reported in peer reviewed journals. This would not help anyone beyond anecdotal evidence. You may as well just ask people for their experience.

[FapFilter]

Of course this is not a scientific experiment, but it is telling that on a forum, that mostly consists of hardware aficionados, quite a few seemingly had a hard time telling which is which (or better yet, picked Diva, because it was the “better sounding example“ and thus had to be the real analog

There's also one from the same guy regarding Diva vs Boog.
Don't know about it's outcome, but it's also 23 pages long, so there probably was something to discuss aswell

Of course one might say he has an interest in it, since he designed those presets for Diva, but first, he's a “hardware guy“ himself, who was quite surprised how close it was (and Diva isn't even the absolute pinnacle of 100% accuracy compared to the originals anymore)
and b) there's tons of other videos on youtube who do same patch comparisons of the real thing vs it's plugin (or hardware VA) counterpart

[perpetual3]

Softube Modular, Model 72, and 84

Uhe Repro.

Those are the only ones I own.

[recursive one]

Where are all these blind tests to be found? Do anyone have some links or references?

https://soundcloud.com/tal-togu-audio-l ... ssline-101

https://soundcloud.com/tal-togu-audio-l ... vs-tal-j-8

if i remember monark vs the moog they emulated is very close even on more extreme settings you can find the comparaison somwhere

Thanks, but these are not scientific double blind tests. Such would be of this type https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABX_test and the results would have been reported in peer reviewed journals. This would not help anyone beyond anecdotal evidence. You may as well just ask people for their experience.

Proper tests should also be placebo controlled, e.g. you'd have to ask the same group of people to pick the analog synth of two examples where both are actually softsynths.

[pdxindy]

And yeah, the tests favor the emulations.

Not really.

Actually, I agree with you in the sense that anytime you are trying to exactly duplicate something, you are at a disadvantage. If there is a table, and I am asked to build a table exactly like it, no matter how precise I am, someone can always find ways they are not exact. And if the original is seen as the best, then the copy will always be lacking. In that situation the copy will lose no matter what. When it comes to efforts at 'perfect' emulation, any test is highly skewed towards the original right from the very premise.

My comment was in the context of a more general comparison of analog and digital and finding the places where they differ... not in exact emulation of a specific synth (I used the word emulations but meant that in the sense of capturing the spirit of analog, not in the perfect replication sense). In that way, the tests favor digital because they usually pick types of sounds where digital more closely resembles analog.

[TribeOfHǫfuð]

Of course this is not a scientific experiment, but it is telling that on a forum, that mostly consists of hardware aficionados, quite a few seemingly had a hard time telling which is which

Well, science would disagree as to which you can make this conclusion without 1. the right number of subjects required as samplesize, 2. ensurance that every subject participates in enough trials to determine a 95% confidence level per subject, 3. statistic tests on the final results. There is no "but" in that type of science. Either it complies to scientific standard or not by which it ain't science. Even if a hardware aficionado fails a trial or two or three, you cannot be sure these would not have been the exceptions out of 50 why you have to conduct all of them. That is why scientific methods is required to say anything beyond speculation and opinion.

[melomood]

Have we reached a generation of music consumers where the distinction doesn't matter so much or has the flame been kept alive among producers?

[FapFilter]

Well, how many proper scientific tests do you do before you use an instrument?
Or do you simply use what you enjoy / prefer by feel?

And a truly scientific test could make many of the actual subjective advantages of analog a disadvantage. Purely scientifically, the most clean oscillator combined with the most clean filter would win.
Whoever would actually want to use that POS is another story