Sylenth Wish List

[rmtek]

hi,

Isn't 8 voices per oscillator enough!

with the provided waveforms, for me - no.

Same for the sub osc... you have 4 osc already. Why do you need another one?

why not?
look @ other synths like: RB Predator or on Hardware AV TI2

these 2 are not my major wishes but would be a "nice to have" option.

but more waveforms and more routing options are my favorites.

[affinity]

1. Shuffle control of the arpeggiator would be great so that you can sync to a groove by a percentage amount similar to Camel Audio's CamelSpace.

2. A better preset browser

3. Would also be good for patches to have some snapshot banks for variations on a sound without loading a new preset

4. More waveforms in the oscillators and/or import to use your own

[AzureWave]

A file based preset browser would improve things enormously.

Despite all the advances in the last 10+ years most software synths use the same system for storing presets that hardware synths in the 90s used. The problem is that most instrument now have thousands of presets, not the hundreds back then.

From a producers point of view what I want to do when I audition presets is to extract out the ones that I would definitely use in a project, the easiest way to do that would be to assign them a 1 to 5 rating. Ideally I would also like to categorise them with my own scheme. Then when I need to find a pad I want to be able to see only pads with a rating higher than 5 or maybe 4. This would make things run much smoother.

The file based systems used by U-he (Zebra and ACE) and Native Instruments, where the preset name is the same as the file name are vastly superior to the bank based systems used by most VSTis. In addition file based browsers may be host independent.

Ideally the browser would allow users to rate presets (like iTunes and Uhe Zebra / ACE) and (but I appreciate more work to implement) add a user definable sound type category.

[clipnotic]

In my mind, I think it's not always the best way to fill endless features in one synth plugin. What I like by using Sylenth is it's easy and clear surface and my main wish is to save this!

So my opinion to some of the written wishes here are:

1. Arp / Trancegate

why not use this:

http://www.audiodamage.com/effects/prod ... ?pid=AD022

If you use this, there is no need to modify Sylenths Arpreggiator

2. Preset Browser

I don't know how it is in other hosts but in FL Studio 9.1 I can load presets for Sylenth and the most other synths with only one Rightclick from the FL Studio Browser on it. So I don't need another preset browser. I sorted my presets like this on a safe harddisk partition:

BASS - Fat Boy
BASS - Softie
LEAD - Sweep 1
PADS - Orchestra
...

This structure I can link to the FL Studio Browser and it's fine ... In Sonar, I can listen in advance, too.

So I don't know why people need on every plugin a super special preset browser? Why not use the great and mostly much better features in your hosts?
I work with Zebra, Omnisphere, Absynth 5 ...., too and yes they have a great designed preset browser but I always have to change the window for using them and have to learn the sort database schema from their developers. I favor to create my own schema

3. More LFOs

That would be a great feature - why:

If I program sounds, by default I need one LFO to create a flexible Vibrato effect. The second LFO modulates the filter. And that's it. With a third LFO I could create LFO sequences for example, too ...

So please give Sylenth two more LFOs !

4. More waveforms

That would be a great feature, too but:

To make it easy I like to compare this with Vanguard. Sylenth sounds much better than Vanguard but Vanguard by default is still one of my chosen plugins on my tracks because it has some special waveforms which work great without adjusting countless knobs like in Zebra, Rapture or Surge for example. This are very great synths, too and I like them but they are a little bit overloaded with possibilities for my liking.

So for me, it would be enough to get a little bit more, for example ten great chosen waveforms, too, but not hundreds of them like in the written synths before.


All this is only my own opinion so please don't be angry

(sorry my english is not the best - I'm from germany)

[AzureWave]

So I don't know why people need on every plugin a super special preset browser? Why not use the great and mostly much better features in your hosts?

Some of us use more than one host. In my case I use Logic Pro and Live 8, although they both use .aupresets if you save a Sylenth1 presets in logic as a .aupreset it saves the entire bank of 512 presets, not the settings for a single sound!

In addition, in Live 8 I use Sylenth1 as a VSTi whereas in Logic Pro I have to use it as an AU.

I have also experienced the situation where a developer releases a major upgrade to an instrument that does not correctly load presets saved in the host's preset format.

So for these reasons and others I would like any sounds I create to be host independent.

[clipnotic]

OK, I didn't work with Logic and only a little bit with Ableton - in that case it certainly make sense!

For FL Studio Users:

What I do in FL Studio is not saving the preset in the FL Studio Wrapper format but rather save it in Sylenths format and the folder in which I save this presets is linked to the FL Studio browser. There this works very good with many of my synths and it has for me the advantage that all my presets are in the same main folder devided in subfolders for the synths and it's easy for me to back up this folder with all my presets completely at a stroke!

[Echoes in the Attic]

1. Arp / Trancegate

why not use this:

http://www.audiodamage.com/effects/prod ... ?pid=AD022

If you use this, there is no need to modify Sylenths Arpreggiator

No offense but it appears you do not understand what an arpeggiator is. It is nothing like a trancegate/gate sequencer at all. An arp takes the chords you play on your keyboard and plays them one note at a time in a predetermined order. A sequenced gate effect simply chops the full audio output into rhythmic patterns. The sylenth1 arp is great because it lets you specify the rhythm of the arpeggiated notes, but it badly needs swing or else it can not match the rhythm of many songs.

[clipnotic]

1. Arp / Trancegate

why not use this:

http://www.audiodamage.com/effects/prod ... ?pid=AD022

If you use this, there is no need to modify Sylenths Arpreggiator

No offense but it appears you do not understand what an arpeggiator is. It is nothing like a trancegate/gate sequencer at all. An arp takes the chords you play on your keyboard and plays them one note at a time in a predetermined order. A sequenced gate effect simply chops the full audio output into rhythmic patterns. The sylenth1 arp is great because it lets you specify the rhythm of the arpeggiated notes, but it badly needs swing or else it can not match the rhythm of many songs.

Very good explained! I'm sorry I only posted the link to an really good "trance and other gates plugin" - so here you get three APREGGIATOR plugs

http://sugar-bytes.de/content/products/ ... .php?lang=
(it has a swing function and it's a fantastic futur plugin)

http://www.sugar-bytes.de/content/produ ... /index.php
(I don't know about swing function - I don't have this plugin)

http://www.7aliens.com/product-catanya.php
(has no swing function but has a big GUI and works very fine on my system)

And last but not least the best way to build arpreggios for my opinion is to build them self step by step in your midi sequencer / piano roll like this:

This is a very simple and easy step by step description video written in german but you can see step by step how to create an ultimate flexible apreggiator sequence without any other tools. And this works in other sequencers, too and there you can add different swing styles too:



(OK the sound is a matter of taste but her technic to built the arp is great)

To understand how an arpreggiator really works is the ultimate basic to create fat melodies!

BUT PLEASE DON'T GET ME WRONG !!!!!! I DONT WANT START A FIGHT ABOUT THAT.
I only will show you that there are many possibilies to work with and for my opinion it's not necessary to built all this features in one synth plugin.

If Lennard will built all this features in Sylenth it's fantastic!! I only hope Sylenth will not become another Albino 3 which has all this features but it takes hours to get requested outcomes cause of countless knobs ... here and there

[Echoes in the Attic]

http://sugar-bytes.de/content/products/ ... .php?lang=
(it has a swing function and it's a fantastic futur plugin)

I own Thesys. It's cool, but it's not an arpeggiator. Not even close. It's a sequencer. It can transpose the sequence based on a note that you press, but it can not arpeggiate chords that you play on the keyboard. This is very important performance distinction. Thesys is a fun toy, but arp's are much different and especially necessary for those of us who actually want to play the chords.

http://www.sugar-bytes.de/content/produ ... /index.php
(I don't know about swing function - I don't have this plugin)

Yes this is an arp, but it misses some important functionality of built-in arpeggiators like the one in Sylenth1, such as the ability to do glides and other things like how the envolope interacts with the note lengths. Having a built=in arp is much more flexible. The arp in sylenth1 just needs a single swing amount knob.

http://www.7aliens.com/product-catanya.php
(has no swing function but has a big GUI and works very fine on my system)

This is windows only and doesn't have swing anyways. It would be step backwards from the sylenth1 arp for no purpose.

And last but not least the best way to build arpreggios for my opinion is to build them self step by step in your midi sequencer / piano roll like this:

This is a very simple and easy step by step description video written in german but you can see step by step how to create an ultimate flexible apreggiator sequence without any other tools. And this works in other sequencers, too and there you can add different swing styles too:

Again, you are misunderstanding the purpose of an arpeggiator, which is to actually play chords on the keyboard and have the notes broken up. You are describing writing notes in a sequencer which is a completely different thing. Although the video has"arpeggiator" in the title, it is actually showing how to immitate an arpeggio style sequence using a midi editor. This is still merely a sequence and once written it can not be played. How can you jam or freely compose on the keyboard when you've already written your sequence?

I do like to sequence as well at times and yes the sylenth1 arp can be used as a straight sequencer as well, but the arp is where it shines.

And it's not that I'm saying you shouldn't give suggestions, it's clear you are trying to help, but you shouldn't claim that the sylenth1 arp is unnecessary or that the swing feature is unnecessary because of other tools or methods that do not do the same thing at all. It is a very big difference.

cheers

[clipnotic]

OK, I think the reason of our "fight" is not a misunderstanding but rather a different workflow. I use arps on synths only to get an idea for a basic sequence and then I built this sequenz step by step because for me a sequence gives me more flexibility. To use this sequences "live like" I can use FL Studios Live Mode to control the patterns with the sequences with the keys on my keyboard. I only worked a short time with Ableton but this should be possible there, too.

FL Studio Live Mode:




OK, but now I think we should stop to kill this thread with our fight!

And if Sylenth won't get a swing function to its arp I have a really good tip for you:

Try Albino 3:

There you have a REAL 32 Step Arp WITH a Swing knob. And there you have a nice Chord Learn Function, too where you can save played chords and after that you can play them with only one key on your keyboard. And this arp can modulate everything, too.

THIS MUST BE AN ARP YOU LIKE

[Echoes in the Attic]

Yes, the Albino arp is excellent. As is the arp in blue, predator, alchemy, zebra etc. But we're still talking about sylenth1 here, so the solution to sylenth1 missing swing isn't to go use another synth.

And no offense at all, I don't see it as a fight, I'm just trying to help you understand that you've been missing the point of an arp. And it sounds like you still don't quite see it. Playing "live" does not mean triggering different patterns. That's simply pressing buttons and rearranging an arrangement on the fly (yes I like to do that in Ableton Live too!) Playing an arp live means actually placing your hands in the chord positions on the keyboards like you are playing piano and holding down multiple keys to form chords, which the arp arpeggiates into different notes. You can actually freely compose, not just trigger pre-written sequences. You can play in any key signature and play any chord. Only the rhythm is set, but of course only goes when notes are being held.

Don't worry, I see this confusion in a lot of people who aren't keyboard players, that don't get the difference between a sequencer and an arpeggiator. But trust me, arps used live are frickin' fun. Especially playing with a band set to a master clock. BUT, to match the rhythm of the song, quite often you need swing.

[clipnotic]

Yes you are right, it's not a fight, it's an exchange from possibilities and this animate me to look more on apreggiators to find out what is different to work with them as with sequences.

Now for me is an arpreggiator a limitation because I have only a limited quantity of steps (mostly 1 - 32) and I can only create one pattern structure which runs always equal by playing different chords only with a different pitch of the notes. I don't know how to create different step structures in an arpreggiator like in controllable sequencer phrases?

If especially the Sylenth Arpreggiator would have 128 Steps or better 8 or 16 with a midi controller switchable patterns (similar to µTonic), this could be a good alternative Option but then it is a mix arpreggiator / sequencer and I think it's not really favourable to fill this steps with this little GUI in Sylenth or?

EDIT:
That's it - if Slyenth would get this sequenzer-arp model and a huge GUI for it (and a swing function ), both of us would be happy and Sylenth would get a great unique and special feature!



What I like on arpreggiators is to modulate with them - that's a great feature in Sylenth - but for playing melodies .. ?

[Echoes in the Attic]

Now for me is an arpreggiator a limitation because I have only a limited quantity of steps (mostly 1 - 32) and I can only create one pattern structure which runs always equal by playing different chords only with a different pitch of the notes. I don't know how to create different step structures in an arpreggiator like in controllable sequencer phrases?

Sure, arpeggiators are limited in terms of composition compared to writing sequences, but that's not really something to compare because they are completely different things. You could also say it's limiting to physically play an instrument with your fingers, since you can't play 1/256th notes, but a sequencer can. You are strictly talking about composition, I am talking about playing in realtime with fingers. They are both fun ways of exploring music.

It is fun to change the speed (note interval) of an arpeggiator while you're playing, that can add variety, and of course you can take you fingers off any time for longer pauses and even play some single notes in between. So this can add variety to the pattern rhythmically. It'll never give the complete freedom of writing in a sequencer, but for playing, the only alternative is to learn to play the keyboard very fast and accurately! Triggering a sequence isn't playing.

I'm not in favor of making the arpeggiator in sylenth1 any bigger or more complex, I just want single swing knob. But you do bring up a good point and potential feature request that not many synths do - Multiple arp patterns. Multiple arp patterns that are easy to switch between would be a pretty cool feature.

[clipnotic]

I think it would be enough to give Sylenth 8 pattern instead of the already available 2 parts of one pattern and the pattern toggle switch would need to trigger with free assignable Midi Controllers. The best way to operate this, could be with Drum Pads. My Axiom Masterkeyboard for example has 8 of them additional.

With the still available possibilities, it's a cool way too, to activate the Arp and combine that with the step velocity as a source and for example the cutoff frequency from one of the filters as a target in the Misc area. With good created filter envelope settings and a cutoff LFO, too you can get really cool variable structures, because the step velocity is controlled by the steps from the host sequencer and the arp can played manuall with fingers over that with the keyboard. But it's not easy to keep that under control because the arp is modulated, too ... only a test - and by the way, I love Sylenths envelopes because they are really snappy!

OK, to come back to the thread - here are my updated wishes

- 8 pattern instead of 2 for the arpreggiator
- a little bit bigger GUI für the arp espacially for the pitch scales
- from this point of view a swing option would be great for a sequencer user, too
- an extra arp save option
- the possibility to control the arp pattern toogle with a midi controller
- 2 more LFOs
- some more waveforms
- a phase option for the phaser fx to sync the modulation with a fix startpoint

[Vectorman]

I recall Lennard had said at one point that trying to bring hard sync and crossmod/FM into the picture without compromising the way the oscillators currently sound would be problematic due to how the oscillators work. That said, I'd find any of these to be very welcome enhancements:

Additional oscillator waveforms
Additional LFO's
Additional parameters available as modulation targets
Adding a couple of stages to the envelopes for more detailed contours
Ability to run the filters in serial (not just parallel)
A few additional filter varieties for more tone shaping options
Separate up/down pitch bend ranges
Knob to dial in some subtle per-voice (not global) pitch fluctuation when desired