SONICALLY Best VST Synth

[Chipi]

I don't think it sounds all that good. Never has. I tried the demo several times but I just couldn't get into it at all. To me it sounds very ordinary and I don't like using it, either.

You have definitely lost your ears if you think ANA II sounds like DUNE 3, you have all the VSTs in the world, but your ears say goodbye....

I didn't say it sounds like DUNE, I said it has similarly high sound quality. That said, I don't think either has a "sound", mostly down to the vast array of oscillator and filter types each offers. But they do share a very similar architecture and I reckon you could use either interchangeably for 99% of sounds.

Ana II has a good sound and is a great synthesizer, but Dune 3 is far superior in terms of final sound and effects. However I agree with you that Ana II has other excellent features that Dune does not have, for example ANA's programmable chord manipulator is excellent! Peace

[killmaster]

For the hidden gems out there: ArcSyn, Karma FX Synth Modular 2, Aurora FM, Loom II, Helix, Sugar Bytes Factory.

Are you referring to Line6 Helix?

[AnX]

For the hidden gems out there: ArcSyn, Karma FX Synth Modular 2, Aurora FM, Loom II, Helix, Sugar Bytes Factory.

Are you referring to Line6 Helix?

https://www.audjoo.com/h/Helix.htm

[audiojunkie]

For the hidden gems out there: ArcSyn, Karma FX Synth Modular 2, Aurora FM, Loom II, Helix, Sugar Bytes Factory.

Are you referring to Line6 Helix?

https://www.audjoo.com/h/Helix.htm

Is that even supported anymore? I remember when it was being beta tested it sounded pretty nice, but I got the opinion that after the developer wasn't able make enough on it that it was abandoned. When was the last time an update was brought out for it?

If we are going this route, I humbly add SQ8L as an incredibly authentic sounding plugin--although it too has been abandoned and is only 32 bit.

[Korg Supporter]

For the hidden gems out there: ArcSyn, Karma FX Synth Modular 2, Aurora FM, Loom II, Helix, Sugar Bytes Factory.

Are you referring to Line6 Helix?

https://www.audjoo.com/h/Helix.htm

Yes, I meant Audjoo

[Korg Supporter]

For the hidden gems out there: ArcSyn, Karma FX Synth Modular 2, Aurora FM, Loom II, Helix, Sugar Bytes Factory.

Are you referring to Line6 Helix?

https://www.audjoo.com/h/Helix.htm

Is that even supported anymore? I remember when it was being beta tested it sounded pretty nice, but I got the opinion that after the developer wasn't able make enough on it that it was abandoned. When was the last time an update was brought out for it?

If we are going this route, I humbly add SQ8L as an incredibly authentic sounding plugin--although it too has been abandoned and is only 32 bit.

Actually, Helix was updated in 2020, and it still runs remarkably well in Windows 11 64 bit. The developer is responsive to emails.

[zerocrossing]

You’re looking at a very specific group of features where Icarus excels and ignoring the rest. Sound like you’ve never used Omnisphere that much.

which other things does omnisphere have that icarus doesn't? other than the sampling, granular and fx?

im not saying either of them doesnt do much, you said icarus doesnt do much which i disagree with because it does all those things, you didnt say it doesnt do much compared to icarus at first so it wasnt out of context but i disagree with that too because icarus does a lot of what omni does plus all that stuff, theyre both quite complex but easy to use synths, omni sounds much better at what they both do though

If you’re following the conversation, someone was literally comparing Icarus to Omnisphere, so if you go back and read the thread, my statement will make sense. I’m not saying Icarus doesn’t do much, but it’s basically a modern wavetable synth with a modest amount of modulation options. I’m not going to go over Omnisphere’s full feature set, but I recommend reading the documents to become acquainted. It does a lot more than sampling, wavetable and granular with effects.

https://support.spectrasonics.net/manua ... der-page04

[greententacle]

omnisphere is a beast. never used any of the presents, not even as start.
its pretty deep and sounds amazing.

[j wazza]

I’m not saying Icarus doesn’t do much, but it’s basically a modern wavetable synth with a modest amount of modulation options. I’m not going to go over Omnisphere’s full feature set, but I recommend reading the documents to become acquainted. It does a lot more than sampling, wavetable and granular with effects.

https://support.spectrasonics.net/manua ... der-page04

i didnt say thats all omni does, i said thats all it does that icarus doesnt, think you might have misread my comments, after looking at the manual again id still say thats true, i never asked you to go over the whole feature set, i was asking you what else omni does that icarus doesnt, omni does have better modulation than icarus

omnisphere is a beast. never used any of the presents, not even as start.
its pretty deep and sounds amazing.

100% omni is a beast

[BONES]

Maybe, on a very superficial level, but there is so much about emulating an analog synth that doesn’t happen in many wavetable synths (or in analog emulations, for that matter) that it really makes that statement look ridiculous.

If you read in context, it should be obvious I meant VA, not actual, pure analogue, which simply cannot exist in software. Sorry for the confusion.

Of course, analog character is just an aspect of synthesis and it isn’t necessary, but if you like it, you like it. Judging from your statement, I’d assume that you don’t like it or care about it. That’s fine, of course, but many do.

As an owner of multiple analogue and hybrid hardware synths, I do think your point is irrelevant because a good VA softsynth shits all over real analogue and good emulations like bx_oberhausen and Korg's ARP Odyssey VSTi have no problem capturing all the magic of the classic synths they seek to emulate. At the other end of the scale, MonoFury is less successful but still an excellent VA synth in its own right.

The reality is that for 99% of the timbres we actually use in my music, any kind of synth will work, so it mostly comes down to personal preference or, as I said, the need to stave off boredom.

Fixed that for ya!

Sorry but you didn't, probably because you didn't put any thought into it. If I want to use a string pad, for example, there are at least a dozen synths I can use that will sound close enough to identical with a bit of tweaking, simply because that's a type of sound that is in no way dependent on the character of the oscillators or filter or anything else. Hell, you can even use a pulse or a saw wave and get a similar result. It's so easy that, even though we use strings in pretty much every song, I don't have a go-to for it. Sometimes I use JP6K, sometimes I use ArcSyn, sometimes I use DUNE, sometimes I use Model 84, sometimes I use Obsession and sometimes I use Hive. Any and all of them get me the result I need, which one I use is purely based on what I feel like trying at the time. It's the same with basslines, unless I need that Wasp bass sound, I might use TRK-01 or JP6K or Union or bx_oberhausen or Monoment Bass or DUNE or Hive or Vacuum Pro or ANA-2 or MonoFury or whatever happens to be to hand (in my "recent" list). Hell, sometimes I'll even use Legend and I think I used Korg's PolySix VSTi once. It just doesn't matter, they all get the job done to the same standard. If I have a preference, it will usually be based on usability or CPU load, not on sound (the obvious exception being Legend, which is far more limited for basslines).

I’m sure if you made a very simple patch and put ANA 2 next to Dune 3, most would have a hard time telling the difference, but again, you are really over simplifying things. How’s ANA’s audio rate modulation sound? Can you use an oscillator as mod source? How’s it’s wavetable editor?

Hard Sync and FM sound good on both, so I'd say their audio rate modulation is fine. Both have multiple LFOs so using an osc as a mod source seems unnecessary.

Anyway, maybe ANA is fine for the very basic synth sound that you use in your music, but I found it to be inadequate for me. I even got it free with the purchase of something else, and other than a once-over, I’ve never really used it. It just didn’t seem that interesting in any way

"Interesting" doesn't interest me, I just need it to sound good and ANA-2 sounds very good to my ears. And as the topic is about "sonically best", not "most interesting", I think my observations are more appropriate than yours, don't you?

Ana II has a good sound and is a great synthesizer, but Dune 3 is far superior in terms of final sound and effects.

I've not compared them side-by-side but what I find is that whenever I'm listening to something I did a while ago and I hear a part and think "wow, that sounds great, which synth is it?", it is almost always ANA-2. (To clarify, I did 60-odd cover versions over 12 months, sometimes doing 3 or 4 a week, so there are plenty of songs I've worked up where I have no recollection of what I used on them.)

[trusampler]

Omnisphere can sound anywhere from Analog to Digital and completely organic and alien in some of the best musical ways possible, I'm not sure if there's a better Vst ever made. Spectrasonics is unlike any other team ,be it hardware or software.

[greententacle]

what a stupid topic.the answer is:

your mother

[j wazza]

omni is probably the best sounding, at least joint top with uhe and softube imo, and id put some of the uvi and tracktion synth sample libraries up there too

dune, ana and icarus are all good synths with their own sound and icarus and dune have great features but those 3 arent up there with omni etc in terms of sound quality imo

[perpetual3]

Uhe Repro
Softube Model Synths
Audiorealism ABL3
Plogue OPS7
NI Massive X
Arturia Easel

[Chipi]

Omnisphere can sound anywhere from Analog to Digital and completely organic and alien in some of the best musical ways possible, I'm not sure if there's a better Vst ever made. Spectrasonics is unlike any other team ,be it hardware or software.

If that were the case, no one would use any other VST than Omnisphere. All sounds sound the same to me. It's okay for film music and some effects but no musical hits have been produced using it.
My Yamaha EX5 puts out better analog solids than the Omni.