Wow Me! (Synth Suggestions...Dune 2 Winner Prize Ready...Update 5/5)

[Passing Bye]

Well, I just measured the area where my PC is and the largest monitor I have room for is about 21 inches. I currently have a 17 inch so I doubt that extra 4 inches is going to make much difference at all

It makes huge difference, I went back from 21.5 to 17 (Samsung S22A300 to 720n) and it's huge difference, really huge

[wagtunes]

Well, I just measured the area where my PC is and the largest monitor I have room for is about 21 inches. I currently have a 17 inch so I doubt that extra 4 inches is going to make much difference at all

It makes huge difference, I went back from 21.5 to 17 (Samsung S22A300 to 720n) and it's huge difference, really huge

Well, I just did some research. 21 inch monitors are at least $125. I only have $250 to spend on synths as it is. That would only leave me $125 which wouldn't be enough to buy anything anyway. So a new monitor is not the solution.

Here is a novel thought.

How about synth designers make their GUIs big enough for today's standards?

[spaceman]

Poppycock!

[wagtunes]

Poppycock!

That what? That 21 inch monitors are SIGNIFICANTLY less than $125.

Do I need to post all the links? Some are as much as $140 to $150.

ALL besides the point.

How about synth makers increase the size of their GUIs so that people can ACTUALLY READ THEM?!!!!

[1wob2many]

How about synth makers increase the size of their GUIs so that people can ACTUALLY READ THEM?!!!!

The problem is you are judging this by the size and resolution of your monitor.

I find a that a lot of newer GUIs don't fit my laptop screen (13 inch screen, 1600x900 resolution). Anything much bigger than 700 pixels high is too big. Some older ones are too small.

There was a thread recently (http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 1&t=431461) asking how big should a GUI be. The answer was...not resolved.

[wagtunes]

How about synth makers increase the size of their GUIs so that people can ACTUALLY READ THEM?!!!!

The problem is you are judging this by the size and resolution of your monitor.

I find a that a lot of newer GUIs don't fit my laptop screen (13 inch screen, 1600x900 resolution). Anything much bigger than 700 pixels high is too big. Some older ones are too small.

There was a thread recently (http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 1&t=431461) asking how big should a GUI be. The answer was...not resolved.

Then they should be made resizable like U-he's Zebra and Bazille and other synths like that.

There is no reason for me to have to use a magnifying glass to see my Arturia V Collection on a 17 inch monitor with a resolution of 1280 x 720, which is actually not that big a resolution by today's standards. I can't even imagine what people running res over 2000 do with Arturia's stuff besides not use it.

[1wob2many]

Then they should be made resizable like U-he's Zebra and Bazille and other synths like that.There is no reason for me to have to use a magnifying glass to see my Arturia V Collection on a 17 inch monitor with a resolution of 1280 x 720, which is actually not that big a resolution by today's standards. I can't even imagine what people running res over 2000 do with Arturia's stuff besides not use it.

Some developers use re-sizable vector graphics (but then you lose the eye-candy, if that matters to you). Some developers give you separate GUIs of different sizes. Some developers don't have the resources to do this. Some VSTs allow user skinning where you can decide on how big a GUI you want, if you have the ability or time or will-power to make your own skin (99.95% of users understandably don't want to do this).

I haven't tried the U-he products so I can't comment on them.

The only Arturia product I've tried is the Minimoog V Original which I got when they gave it away on World Music Day, or whatever the occasion was. Horrible, horrible GUI. Too small for me, too blurry and with stupid perspective. I've hardly ever used it because of this.

I entirely understand your frustration over GUI size and I have the same frustrations. But it's always going to be difficult for developers to keep everybody happy.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

Some developers use re-sizable vector graphics (but then you lose the eye-candy)

u.i is 66% of g.u.i, so it frustrates me to see so many developers prioritise the eye-candy over functionality. props to u-he, valhalla and apple (logic has scaleable plugins)

[pdxindy]

I haven't tried the U-he products so I can't comment on them.

The GUI resizing is a thing of beauty. From 70-200% in 10% increments and it never looks blurry and the GUI's are pretty.

Monitor resolutions vary too much these days for any single size to work well.

[chk071]

Well, I just measured the area where my PC is and the largest monitor I have room for is about 21 inches. I currently have a 17 inch so I doubt that extra 4 inches is going to make much difference at all

It makes huge difference, I went back from 21.5 to 17 (Samsung S22A300 to 720n) and it's huge difference, really huge

It really depends on the resolution... i have a 17" 5:4 monitor with a resolution of 1280x1024, and a 21.5" 16:9 monitor with a resolution of 1920x1080. The pixel density is exactly the same. So, if you have a 17" display with 1280x1024, i'd recommend to get at least a 24" display with 1920x1080 resolution. I should have done so too actually. The fonts get pretty tiny when your eyes are like 1-1,5 metres from the monitor.

[Ah_Dziz]

I didn't see any dedicated drum synths on your list. Grab uTonic or Tattoo or both. I have, or have had, pretty much everything on your list and aside from Alchemy there isn't much going that'll give you sounds you can't already make, and you said you weren't interested in alchemy. I guess maybe granite would be fun.

[wagtunes]

I didn't see any dedicated drum synths on your list. Grab uTonic or Tattoo or both. I have, or have had, pretty much everything on your list and aside from Alchemy there isn't much going that'll give you sounds you can't already make, and you said you weren't interested in alchemy. I guess maybe granite would be fun.

Drums to me have always kind of been a necessary evil. I've got Battery 4 and that's enough for me. Though a great drum sequencer that didn't cost a fortune (like Geist) would be nice because my playing in beat is terrible and being able to enter beats into the pattern generator real time would be nice. Nothing I have can do that and Geist is $250 and that's just too much to spend for drums.

[Passing Bye]

It really depends on the resolution....

Of course, I use 1680×1050 on 21.5 and 1280x1024 on 17, actually for my personal space first one is perfect

[Deist]

Unfortunately I just noticed your thread and have no time to go through the 20 pages it runs for.

Based on your requirements from the 1st page, which I'd sum up like follows:
- Sound is unique and HQ
- Vast Modulation possibilities
- Not too demanding on CPU
- 200$ max (apologies if some in the list below have a higher price tag -- couldn't check them all)

here are a few suggestions along with short explanation, in the hopes that at least a very few of them haven't been mentioned already (highly unlikely) and you may find some of them enlightening+inspiring for your next choice of purchase...

> Blade from Rob Papen: essentially additive with substractive architecture. Very good mod possibilities (as with all RP synths) + the same programmable XY Mod Pad than BlueII. Can sound pretty different thanks to its additive base if programmed carefully.
> CrX4 (ex CronoX) from Linplug: Sample-based, but NOT granular! For this reason it's a rather different synth and kind of have its own niche and sound. Being a Linplug synth, its modulation power is just great!! And it's not so demanding as far as CPU resources go.
> Chromaphone from AAS: well, you already have String Studio, but Chromaphone is very different (and much MUCH better and versatile IMHO). If you fancy another (and once again better) physical modeling synth, this one is the one to get!
> Curve2 from CableGuys: Not exactly unique in terms of sound, but modulation-wise, it's almost on par with Zebra, SynthMaster and the like.
> Circle2 from Future Audio Workshop: is the new upgrade (out yet or soon to be, I forgot): once again a synth that's great in terms of modulation, especially its workflow when assigning mods and stuff.
> Filterscape from U-he: you know this one. Alright it's kinda old now, and very very rarely talked about, but it's an U-he synth, and it's basic concept is unique and allows for wonderfully pleasurable modulations and evolving sound explorations.
> Glass Viper from QuickQuack: Sounds amazing for a low price, this one is way under the radar too but is also great for its unique waveshaping modulation style, and if you haven't already, check the soundbank Luftrum made for it, which can act as the perfect demo of what power and beauty this underdog packs under its GUI (fairly unique too BTW)
> Helix from Audjoo Audio: Talking about underdog, that'd be about the 1st one to mention! But I kinda remember a recent thread where you have demoed it already. Still, AMAZING HQ sound, very decent price, modulation matrix heaven, some nowhere else to be seen filters and soundshapers, absolutely brilliant in terms of sound quality+amount of modulation going on / CPU usage... you can't go wrong.
> Iris from iZotope: you want a unique styled synth with unique and out of this world sonic power? That's about one of the top ones!! Even more so now that Alchemy is out of the picture, but then, it has a rather different and somewhat easier and funnier workflow and possibilities IMHO. (Not sure about the price tag <$200 though)
> ME80 from MemoryMoon: currently THE emulation of the Yamaha CS80 (forget about Arturia's, this one blows it out of the water), and thanks to Vangelis mostly, everybody recognizes the CS80 has its own unique sound! (Alright I'm cheating a bit with this one, but still...). Also very interesting if you're a live player, the absolutely one of a kind (never saw that anywhere else) feature mode which kinda emulates polyphonic aftertouch on channel AT keyboards (where only the last played note is affected by AT). I truly wish other devs would be inspired to implement this in their synth, especially considering what ridiculous % of users actually have the hardware to use polyAT.
> Nemesis or Rayblaster from Tone2: not that big a fan myself of Tone2 synths, but they have their fans (I see you bought Electra2 yourself), and these ones indeed seem to offer new synthesis techniques and possibly new kind of sounds. Tone2 synths are more than average when it comes to modulation so they should fit right in.
> Octopus from Linplug: an FM synth, but much more than that and certainly covering grounds even the mighty FM8 doesn't. It allows for user drawn waveforms for one thing, has TWO modmatrixes and also accept samples IIRC!
> PsyGEN from M-RGT: certainly one of the most unique of this whole list! A granular synth with excellent modulation features and the ability to LAYER (x16!) and SEQUENCE your granulated samples (of course you can import your own). Plus, its price is so crazy cheap (33,50$) that it's easily the best bang for your buck too! Now, one may point out the slight problem of the dev having disappeared and it being not for sale anymore, but if you're really interested, PM me and I will redirect you...
> Rhino: Yet another FM synth, but that one also accept samples (in WAV AND SFZ format -- if I'm not mistaken the ONLY synth importing SFZ actually!) and it's modulation features are amazing!
> Rapture from Cakewalk: Sound of its own, powerful and lots of modulation power, just great... You already have DimPro, you should feel right at home with this one (DimPro being sample-oriented while Rapture is all about synthesis).
> Spire: so well known I don't need to go on about the very high quality of its sound and its vast possibilities. Its reverb is absolutely gorgeous (not like the flat metallic one of Serum which is unfortunate and hopefully will be fixed in future updates...)
> Spectral from Linplug: Sound designer dream! Modulation brilliant (24 slots modmatrix, ability to modulate effects params too...), ability to draw (and fine tune partial by partial) both 4 oscillators AND filters too (no other synth in the world allow to hand draw your own FILTER shape yet, or am I wrong on this?), which allows for nowhere to be heard possibilities in sound synthesis. And for all those who come ranting that it sounds "plastic", well they're either utterly wrong or consciously lying: check the soundbanks from Ian Boddy, Electric Himalaya or Arksun/Bigtone to convince yourself that it does not (or better yet, try the demo if you haven't).
> TimewARP2600: THE emulation for the ARP2600, very old but still the best (Arturia's sure not!). It's fairly famous although rarely discussed (maybe cause of its age), and since you like and are experienced with modular, this is still one of the most brilliant choices out there in terms of vintage modulars in software! (Not sure about the price though)
> VAZ modular: You already own Karma and MUX, but I believe this one may offer a few new tricks anyway...
> ZETA+2: Digital but great, modulation matrix is brilliant (more refined in terms of flexibility and features than most, including Zebra's-- although not for # of sources/destinations where Zebra is virtually unbeatable).

There you go, hope you find one choice in this list which suits your need (or should I say hunger? ^_-) for more synth fun! Enjoy.

[wagtunes]

Unfortunately I just noticed your thread and have no time going through the 20 pages it runs for.

> Iris from iZotope: you want a unique styled synth with unique and out of this world sonic power? That's about one of the top ones!! Even more so now that Alchemy is out of the picture, but then, it has a rather different and somewhat easier and funnier workflow and possibilities IMHO. (Not sure about the price tag <$200 though)

> Spectral from Linplug: Sound designer dream! Modulation brilliant (24 slots modmatrix, ability to modulate effects params too...), ability to draw (and fine tune partial by partial) both 4 oscillators AND filters too (no other synth in the world allow to hand draw your own FILTER shape yet, or am I wrong on this?), which allows for nowhere to be heard possibilities in sound synthesis. And for all those who come raving that it sounds "plastic", well they're either utterly wrong or consciously lying: check the soundbanks from Ian Boddy, Electric Himalaya or Arksun/Bigtone to convince yourself that it does not (or better yet, try the demo if you haven't).

> TimewARP2600: THE emulation for the ARP2600, very old but still the best (Arturia's sure not!). It's fairly famous although rarely discussed (maybe cause of its age), and since you like and are experienced with modular, this is still one of the most brilliant choices out there in terms of vintage modulars in software! (Not sure about the price though)

> VAZ modular: You already own Karma and MUX, but I believe this one may offer a few new tricks anyway...

There you go, hope you find one choice in this list which suits your need (or should I say hunger? ^_-) for more synth fun! Enjoy.

Want to comment on the ones above in particular. The rest I have either demo'd and found problems (GUI/Crashes etc.) or just wasn't thrilled by their sound.

Spectral, right now, is at the top of the list and will probably be the one I get. Waiting to test Sunrizer first when it has a Windows version available (2 - 3 weeks)

VAZ Modular I wanted to get but it's not longer for sale because of the new VAT laws.

IRIS sounds interesting. I will definitely check this one out.

TimewARP was on sale a short time ago but had no demo version available so I passed on it.Yes, I'd really like a nice ARP 2600 but not at this price and not without being able to demo it.

Thanks for the list. Will check out IRIS today.