Softube CS-80 ? - Model 77 Dual Layer Synth

[slaambo]

Sounds extremely good but no better than the ferocious GX80 from Cherry A. Meanwhile the absence of a proper library is a kick in the head from Softube. The collection of 100 presets provided has very few stellar examples of what can be done with this cosmic beast. I'd like to see someone (Softube? Cherry Audio?) tackle the FS1R but it would need to load the hardware presets.

[Aloysius]

I listened to a presets only video demo while I was looking at another page. Without the seduction of the GUI, the Model 77 seemed like any other VSTi.

It on sale right now but I guess I'm going to pass.

[BONES]

Yeah, even at half price it is still expensive for what it is. I think it sounds really, really good, it's just that it's ultimately a really basic synth, not really a whole lot more useful than their SH101 emulation.

[perpetual3]

I listened to a presets only video demo while I was looking at another page. Without the seduction of the GUI, the Model 77 seemed like any other VSTi.

It on sale right now but I guess I'm going to pass.

Same.

[madsm]

It feels like two CS-60s in a box. And I'm very happy with my purchase. Very fun to program and spend time with.

[trusampler]

Picked this up recently on sale, do they offer more patches for this synth anywhere ? I plan on picking up polydatas patches for it soon.
Are there any particular stand out soundbanks for this ? I also picked up XILS Lab the eighty and they were really generous compared to Softubes patches.

[BONES]

Yeah, I just bought it for US$59, which is a much more realistic price, I think. It's not versatile enough to get a lot of use but it has such a great sound that I'll definitely get my money's worth from it.

[kraster]

Yeah, I just bought it for US$59, which is a much more realistic price, I think. It's not versatile enough to get a lot of use but it has such a great sound that I'll definitely get my money's worth from it.

Yeah. It's definitely not the most expansive sounding synth but what it does it does very well.

For me, the biggest draw is that it's way more usable than all the other CS80 clones that insist on having a million controls squashed together on the interface.

[BONES]

I had a play through all the presets last night and even though there are only three or four that I'd actually want to use, they mostly sound so nice that Id' be happy just to keep it around to play with, even if we never end up using it in anything. And yeah, the red/green layers thing works really well. I am already used to it from Cherry Audio's ARP Pro-Soloist so it feels perfectly natural.

[Hyperbole]

The Softube synth emulations are arguably the most authentic-sounding in the industry, even though emulations from their competitors (e.g., Arturia, TAL, and u-he) also sound very good. My issue with the Softube emulations is that they are incredibly boring. They are almost exact replicas of the original synths, limitations and all. Yes, Softube has added velocity and pressure sensitivity to most of their emulations. But it is always tacked on in an inelegant way, no more so than on the Model 77. That dumb pop-up panel on Model 77 that floats over part of the synth and keyboard is, well, dumb.

And then there is the fact that almost none of their emulations include built-in FX, except on the Model 77 (and the Juno chorus on the Model 84). But even here, all you get is an extremely limited reverb that seems to have been added for the sole purpose of being able to better recreate that Blade Runner brass sound. What a waste. Softube also makes some of the best-sounding effects plugins. And yet they can't be bothered to repurpose some of these effects to include in their plugins. Huh?

That said, I have purchased all of the Softube synth emulations when they have gone on sale because they do sound very good. For instance, I recently bought Model 77 for $39, even though I said I was not buying more of their synth plugins until they step up their game feature-wise. But for $39, I could overlook the lack of better built-in effects and other modern conveniences.

[SebAV]

Thanks to the FXs and added « tweaks » & mod matrix, u-he Repro-5 is still an interesting synth after the « vintage authentic » vibe has lowered. Not possible with Softube’s Models (and that browser doesn’t help)

[seangm]

del

[kraster]

The Softube synth emulations are arguably the most authentic-sounding in the industry, even though emulations from their competitors (e.g., Arturia, TAL, and u-he) also sound very good. My issue with the Softube emulations is that they are incredibly boring. They are almost exact replicas of the original synths, limitations and all. Yes, Softube has added velocity and pressure sensitivity to most of their emulations. But it is always tacked on in an inelegant way, no more so than on the Model 77. That dumb pop-up panel on Model 77 that floats over part of the synth and keyboard is, well, dumb.

And then there is the fact that almost none of their emulations include built-in FX, except on the Model 77 (and the Juno chorus on the Model 84). But even here, all you get is an extremely limited reverb that seems to have been added for the sole purpose of being able to better recreate that Blade Runner brass sound. What a waste. Softube also makes some of the best-sounding effects plugins. And yet they can't be bothered to repurpose some of these effects to include in their plugins. Huh?

That said, I have purchased all of the Softube synth emulations when they have gone on sale because they do sound very good. For instance, I recently bought Model 77 for $39, even though I said I was not buying more of their synth plugins until they step up their game feature-wise. But for $39, I could overlook the lack of better built-in effects and other modern conveniences.

I kind of find their bare bones approach kind of refreshing.

They're definitely synths that I'd be more inclined to build a sound from scratch rather than delve into the presets. None of them are particularly complex so it feels more aligned with how you'd use the originals. I just add my own fx after the fact.

They all lend themselves well to mapping on a controller since there aren't a huge amount of parameters to map and they do sound really good.

[Hyperbole]

I kind of find their bare bones approach kind of refreshing.

They're definitely synths that I'd be more inclined to build a sound from scratch rather than delve into the presets. None of them are particularly complex so it feels more aligned with how you'd use the originals. I just add my own fx after the fact.

They all lend themselves well to mapping on a controller since there aren't a huge amount of parameters to map and they do sound really good.

I think TAL Software and u-he strike the right balance between authenticity and providing enough modern conveniences to make the sounds more immediately playable. And these additional features are not hidden behind an "Advanced" panel like they are on the Arturia synths. Even though the built-in effects on the TAL plugins are extremely basic, adding them to a patch gives me an indication of what the patch "should" sound like when processed by higher-quality effects in my DAW.

And then there is the fact that the TAL plugin and u-he UIs are more sensible and make more efficient use of screen real estate by rearranging controls somewhat. I wish Arturia, Roland, Softube, and Xils-Lab would follow suit.

[Cuauhtli]

How's the ring mod? That's the best thing about the CS-80 imo.