XILS Lab CS-80!!!!!!

[hey212]

I definitely prefer the sound of the Xils to the Softube. It sounds simultaneously smoother and more alive to me, which are qualities I've noticed with Xils synths in general. They seem pretty proud of their zero delay filters, which they say don't alias so they don't need to oversample. I'm not 100% certain but I believe Softube does oversample, so among other things, the absence of Xils oversampling, and the quality of the filters themselves, probably have something to do with why I think it sounds better. I also think the features Xils added like the effects, third layer, and XY mixer, are extremely well thought out and give it much more range than the Softube.

[masterhiggins]

XIls does have great-sounding synths and plugins. RAMSES filters sound gorgeous. No brainer when on sale.

[Darilla]

i do like sound that XILS manufactor, it pleases my inner ears.

[Echoes in the Attic]

Yeah I don't know what it is about the Softube emulations but they really do sound "right" in a strange way and also seem to fit in a mix exceptionally well (and take EQ very well etc).

Exactly what is "good" about the sound in the Softube version (only tried the demo, never bought it though) is completely missing in the Arturia version. That "something" that is missing in Arturia's synth is probably what people call the "Arturia plastic fake" sound. I have absolutely no idea what it is or why it bothers me so much, especially in the CS-80 V. It's worse here than in any of the other emulations in my opinion. Maybe they just had a neutered too polite sounding hardware CS-80 that they emulated?

Couldn't agree more. Except that I think the Jupiter is the most disappointing one once you get to know it. I have the collection and some of it I really like, especially the digital emulations. And I like some of their analog emulations, even if I don' tfind them the most convincing, like the Mini, the ARP2600 and the SEM. But they are absolutely missing something. There's a hollowness, lack of body and a strange almost phasy kind of sound that is pervasive across the range of instruments, even the digital ones at times. And I'm not sure if it's an issue with envelopes but they have a hard time having any kind of punch that is easy to get not only in analog gear, but virtual analogs and digital synths the 80's. Some of them I think of like how the 303 was supposed to emulate a bass guitar. Missed on that but turned into something of it's own.

But yes sometube seems to have that in hte body of hte sound that something that arturia misses.

[hey212]

[Uncle E]

"It does offer that brilliance, that high end that will make it stand out in a mix, and I haven't hear that in other emulations."

This. Exactly this.

[bmanic]

The only thing that really bothers me about this version other than the UI, is that there seems to be no way to make this emulation "less vintage". I mean it's oscillators are incredibly unstable. Also that instability sounds very much artificial.. like a simple sample&hold LFO doing the instability behind the scenes.

I have a hard time imagining the original being this worn out when it was released back in 1977.

[starflakeprj]

"It does offer that brilliance, that high end that will make it stand out in a mix, and I haven't hear that in other emulations."

This. Exactly this.

It doesn't really matter since "nobody" owns the original anyway, so no users will be able to tell, especially not in a mix.

[Uncle E]

"It does offer that brilliance, that high end that will make it stand out in a mix, and I haven't hear that in other emulations."

This. Exactly this.

It doesn't really matter since "nobody" owns the original anyway, so no users will be able to tell, especially not in a mix.

You can hear that extra brilliance in a mix, though.

[starflakeprj]

"It does offer that brilliance, that high end that will make it stand out in a mix, and I haven't hear that in other emulations."

This. Exactly this.

It doesn't really matter since "nobody" owns the original anyway, so no users will be able to tell, especially not in a mix.

You can hear that extra brilliance in a mix, though.

Of course not, because you don't know what to listen for, especially in this case. If you would dial in the "same" sound on all available emulations, as well as the original, possibly a few owners of the real CS-80 could tell them apart.

[Uncle E]

Personally, the XILS gives me a brilliance that I've been lacking in all my plugins and even most analogs. My Andromeda has it, my Juno-106 and ATC-1 don't, etc.

[starflakeprj]

Personally, the XILS gives me a brilliance that I've been lacking in all my plugins and even most analogs. My Andromeda has it, my Juno-106 and ATC-1 don't, etc.

The Andromeda A6, I had wet dreams about that synth when it was released. Still waiting for a real emulation

[Cuauhtli]

Someone needs to make a standalone version of the ring mod, both hardware and software versions.

[kraster]

Personally, the XILS gives me a brilliance that I've been lacking in all my plugins and even most analogs. My Andromeda has it, my Juno-106 and ATC-1 don't, etc.

The Andromeda A6, I had wet dreams about that synth when it was released. Still waiting for a real emulation

I have an Andromeda too.

It's an absolutely ridiculous synth. The best synth I've ever used for pads.

I don't think any emulation could do it justice.

[starflakeprj]

Personally, the XILS gives me a brilliance that I've been lacking in all my plugins and even most analogs. My Andromeda has it, my Juno-106 and ATC-1 don't, etc.

The Andromeda A6, I had wet dreams about that synth when it was released. Still waiting for a real emulation

I have an Andromeda too.

It's an absolutely ridiculous synth. The best synth I've ever used for pads.

I don't think any emulation could do it justice.

Maybe not, but there are a couple of really advanced synths out there. Even though I don't own Omnisphere, I believe it's one of the best plugins for pads, for example. Other synths (workstations) like Avenger, Falcon and HALion are really advanced, technically. Maybe a bit more "sterile" sounding.

UVI and IK Multimedia did sampled instruments of the A6, but I never use them because they are just sampled.

When I finally could afford a synth in the early 2000, I went for the "Oberheim" OB-12. It was half the price of the A6, and and broke the bank doing so. I fell in love with the OB-12 eventually, but had to sell it a couple of years later.

Anway, wrong thread