a feeling i get about synths

[original flipper]

HI

Touching on a point that 'Bones' made about a variety of versions of the same synth ...

I remember my Yamaha SY85 had an 'easy edit' mode that offered the option of choosing the ADSR charachteristics of a variety of instruments, so rather than having to manually edit an envelope you could choose from a list that perhaps read ...

Plucked
Brass
Guitar
Bass
Muted .... etc

You could of course revert to full editability but it gave you a starting point.

I know there was a thread recently (by Kevvvvv?) about why (?) there are not more simplified 'front ends' to synths - I really like the idea of having a well thought out yet minimal (ish) set of parametres that give the user a go at editing on a level that doesn't get them too bogged down, yet at the same time opening up interesting possibilities - I said then that IMO 'PLEX' was a good example that had not (unfortunately) been built on by other developers; or indeed the creator of that program.

It still amazes me though, how much character (or lack of) that seemingly similar synths have when compared ... examples being; Exciton V2, Void, Alpha: try replicating some of the sounds that the 2 oscillators that these all have ... very difficult due to the base sound of the oscillator that each synth gives out and the completely varied routing possibilities.

Flipper.

[Sickle]

I really like the idea of having a well thought out yet minimal (ish) set of parametres that give the user a go at editing on a level that doesn't get them too bogged down, yet at the same time opening up interesting possibilities.

Absynth lets you do this with it's quick-access sliders once you have your patch made.

[dover666]

hmmm... somebody said something about cheese... brie sucks when you try and play it, but cheddar ROCKS!
(don't even think about jamming that meunster though, it's out of tune) - I hope people continue downloading my free effects and synths... and i hope that we all find what we're looking for here at kvr... so poo. buy it if you want, download it if you want... it's all quantized anyway.

[bduffy]

There's also the issue of CPU usage. Things like PPG, FM7 and Pro-53 have astoundingly low CPU usage for what they do- FM7 averages .5% CPU per voice on my 3500+, and the other two are even lower...

ew

Not to mention Pro-53 and FM7 can still go toe to toe with damn near anything still to this day. FM7's an incredible sounding instrument and it's HOW old now?

5 years! I didn't think it was that long ago. Yep, there's a lot to be said for these old synths. I reach for PPG Wave all the time (but I remember when running two channels would max out Nuendo )

[ener]

mabey you could compare it with synths with gitair amps. They all do the same, but a lot of gitair players are looking continu for a newer better sounding amp. Someone who is not into gitair music will hear in a lot of cases not the diference......

[grymmjack]

Hey

with all these amazing synths... freeware etc

i get this feeling... most of them are more or less the same arent they? I mean you can get similar if not identical sounds out of all these things, right?

I don't get it. can someone enlighten me?

what makes these others better or worse?

sick of riding upon the back of presets,

RonC

oh man. you're asking for it

[ianweb123]

When you've heard Superwave, you've heard them all

[beej]

I remember my Yamaha SY85 had an 'easy edit' mode that offered the option of choosing the ADSR charachteristics of a variety of instruments, so rather than having to manually edit an envelope you could choose from a list that perhaps read ...

Yeah, my Wavestation had something similar - "Macros", not just for envelopes but in other areas as well, and it was really great for quickly painting broad brush strokes to refine later. Zebra2 should have this when it's finally ready too, from what Urs has said, and it's a real time saver...

[The Chase]

There's also the issue of CPU usage. Things like PPG, FM7 and Pro-53 have astoundingly low CPU usage for what they do- FM7 averages .5% CPU per voice on my 3500+, and the other two are even lower...

ew

Not to mention Pro-53 and FM7 can still go toe to toe with damn near anything still to this day. FM7's an incredible sounding instrument and it's HOW old now?

To be honest I dont find FM7 to be that impressive outside of efficiency and age (and GUI, I guess). However I will always have a soft spot for Pro-53 as it was my first V/A.

[The Chase]

When you've heard Superwave, you've heard them all

My thoughts exactly.

I mean the synth that made THIS was made in SE. Sounds like all the others, right?

[gtg605]

I think one of the problems here is that many free synths are SynthEdit based, and use the same oscillators and the same filters, etc. so they sound the same. (When you've heard Superwave, you've heard them all). Innovative examples are HG Fortune, Algomusic and Ugo.

On the other hand, it also depends on the listener too. I demonstrated my MicrowaveXT and my OB12 to my parents, and they wondered why I needed two of them . Why do you need 5 compressors or 5 reverbs?

Not quite true. Many people think that Synhtedit synths have only one type of filter and one type of oscillator. This is not true. There are lots of different filters and oscillators ( mostly third party modules ). Besides that you can route and mix filters in many different ways to achieve certain peaks in resonance and the overall sound. You can mix several different oscillator types and many other tricks that make your synth sound different.
So in fact Synthedit synths CAN be just as different as any other. I agree that many sound the same, but that's basically the ones that are made in a hurry without too much knowledge and experimentation.
Still, it's true that any synth, hardware or software, is capable of producing more or less the same sounds. Depends on the person who is tweaking it. Some synths are easy to tweak, others are not.
Well, I guess we just love synths, like some people love motorcycles, electronic gadgets, art etc. We know we don't need all those synths, but still.......

Cheers.

Mik.

[dover666]

synthedit allows more creative fusion.... i'll admit cpu usage is an issue for some people, but i'll say it again, whatever you're using, if it's digital it's quantized... midi junkies.

[BONES]

Not to mention Pro-53 and FM7 can still go toe to toe with damn near anything still to this day. FM7's an incredible sounding instrument and it's HOW old now?

Actually, from my very earliest VSTi days I have never rated Pro 5x. It never sounded like anything terribly special to me. When FM-7 came out I didn't find much to like about it either. Which is a good example of why there are so many seemingly similar instruments around. One man's meat is another man's poisson.

[seamoss]

you begin to hear the difference once you step into the SSM, Curtis, etc etc....

that's when things begin sounding different IMO

[smp]

One man's meat is another man's poisson.

I never thought I'd see the day that BONES would add a "fish" option to a thread...

Actually, I agree with BONES' original sentiment as well. I'd like to see more developers leverage their sound engines to create different levels.

Although I haven't used them, I like the idea of u-he and Filterscape - there's a multi-effect filter, a synth and a 6 band EQ using the same technology. Unfortunately, you have to buy the effect to get your hands on the other two, but the idea is there.

What I would want to avoid is just creating a "preset player" of a bigger synth (which is what I understand Ohmforce have done with Symptohm).

I'm still waiting for Fxpansion to reveal Sol (or whatever it's called these days) where they have the complicated engine and have people design front-ends with a minimalist philosophy (I think it was originally going to be no more than 8 knobs allowed). I hope this doesn't become another MindFX

An uber-synth is probably beyond my skill levels. Simpler variations on the theme is less intimidating and more likely to attract my attention.

-s