SONICALLY Best VST Synth

[EfreetiSultan]

make a poll please

[twal]

ANA 2

[LFO8]

Hey,

i know there are many Synth vs. Synth and whos better type of threads. However if you ONLY hear for the pur capability/sound of a Synths Oscillator/Sound Quality without looking at features what would the top ten look like?

in that case, i would have to say, a cat.

It is true that cats produce the most purrfect oscillations.

[Fannon]

I've just recently discovered how good u-he Repro is. If you're looking for a good virtual-analog synth, this is probably as good as it gets. There may be a little bit more accurate emulations out there (?), but overall the u-he synths are very musical and also more flexible than the originals. The added effects for example are really awesome. Overall I still prefer Diva, because of its more modular and more flexible nature, though. It would be awesome if the two could be merged into one synth

Looking forward to what Zebra 3 will be. Zebralette 3 looks promising, but I really want something with filters and more modular setup (so basically Zebra 3). Zebralette 3 is also a bit too "tweaky" for me (for lack of a better word). I really like how quick and easy it is with Diva / Repro to get to musical results.

[audiojunkie]

I've just recently discovered how good u-he Repro is. If you're looking for a good virtual-analog synth, this is probably as good as it gets. There may be a little bit more accurate emulations out there (?), but overall the u-he synths are very musical and also more flexible than the originals. The added effects for example are really awesome. Overall I still prefer Diva, because of its more modular and more flexible nature, though. It would be awesome if the two could be merged into one synth

Looking forward to what Zebra 3 will be. Zebralette 3 looks promising, but I really want something with filters and more modular setup (so basically Zebra 3). Zebralette 3 is also a bit too "tweaky" for me (for lack of a better word). I really like how quick and easy it is with Diva / Repro to get to musical results.

I pkan on buying Zebra, and I don’t see myself ever plumbing the full depths of that monster in my lifetime. It will probably become the most advanced synth I have—I usually prefer simple synths with unique character and sound.

[a9k1tp]

I pkan on buying Zebra, and I don’t see myself ever plumbing the full depths of that monster in my lifetime. It will probably become the most advanced synth I have—I usually prefer simple synths with unique character and sound.

And without any cheats (samples/wavetables).

[Korg Supporter]

I've just recently discovered how good u-he Repro is. If you're looking for a good virtual-analog synth, this is probably as good as it gets.

Softube, TAL, and Synapse also have very analog-sounding emulations. But if you want an analog kind of sound in general, Tone2 Icarus 3 has that covered with new oscillator drift options and the new ladder and MS-20 filter. I find that Hive can sound convincingly analog as well.

[Ou_Tis]

I've just recently discovered how good u-he Repro is. If you're looking for a good virtual-analog synth, this is probably as good as it gets. There may be a little bit more accurate emulations out there (?), but overall the u-he synths are very musical and also more flexible than the originals. The added effects for example are really awesome. Overall I still prefer Diva, because of its more modular and more flexible nature, though. It would be awesome if the two could be merged into one synth

I like Repro, and the reverb and delay are nice, but it doesn't do as good a job as Softube at emulating the hardware's saturation and that hardware sense of depth and dimensionality.

[Fannon]

I like Repro, and the reverb and delay are nice, but it doesn't do as good a job as Softube at emulating the hardware's saturation and that hardware sense of depth and dimensionality.

Hm yes, that could well be. But for me the quality and versatility of the effects + more features of repro make it a better synth, at least for me. Since I don't have a hardware synth, I'm not so much looking for purity, but just after sounds that fit well to my tastes. Here Repro and its presets / feature set hits it very well.

[pdxindy]

Hm yes, that could well be. But for me the quality and versatility of the effects + more features of repro make it a better synth, at least for me. Since I don't have a hardware synth, I'm not so much looking for purity, but just after sounds that fit well to my tastes. Here Repro and its presets / feature set hits it very well.

RePro sounds good and is versatile. The u-he synths support MPE, MTS-EPS and add some useful additions to their emulations instead of strictly following some old hardware (whose developers at the time would have loved to add additional flexibility). I find u-he hits a sweet spot between emulation and innovation.

Diva is still my overall favorite emulation. It's not technically the best emulation at this point, but Diva just sounds really good... and is so sonically flexible, far more so than other emulations. Plus with the CLAP version in Bitwig, I can use Bitwig's unlimited per voice modulation system with Diva.

[Dencheg]

I've just recently discovered how good u-he Repro is. If you're looking for a good virtual-analog synth, this is probably as good as it gets. There may be a little bit more accurate emulations out there (?), but overall the u-he synths are very musical and also more flexible than the originals. The added effects for example are really awesome. Overall I still prefer Diva, because of its more modular and more flexible nature, though. It would be awesome if the two could be merged into one synth

I like Repro, and the reverb and delay are nice, but it doesn't do as good a job as Softube at emulating the hardware's saturation and that hardware sense of depth and dimensionality.

Interesting. I think it does, and at least not worse than Softube emulations, to put it modestly
Apparently, perception differs greatly

[Nug Wrangler]

Discovery PRO

[Jac459]

Hm yes, that could well be. But for me the quality and versatility of the effects + more features of repro make it a better synth, at least for me. Since I don't have a hardware synth, I'm not so much looking for purity, but just after sounds that fit well to my tastes. Here Repro and its presets / feature set hits it very well.

RePro sounds good and is versatile. The u-he synths support MPE, MTS-EPS and add some useful additions to their emulations instead of strictly following some old hardware (whose developers at the time would have loved to add additional flexibility). I find u-he hits a sweet spot between emulation and innovation.

Diva is still my overall favorite emulation. It's not technically the best emulation at this point, but Diva just sounds really good... and is so sonically flexible, far more so than other emulations. Plus with the CLAP version in Bitwig, I can use Bitwig's unlimited per voice modulation system with Diva.

Yes but not the voice stacking yet....

[Ou_Tis]

I've just recently discovered how good u-he Repro is. If you're looking for a good virtual-analog synth, this is probably as good as it gets. There may be a little bit more accurate emulations out there (?), but overall the u-he synths are very musical and also more flexible than the originals. The added effects for example are really awesome. Overall I still prefer Diva, because of its more modular and more flexible nature, though. It would be awesome if the two could be merged into one synth

I like Repro, and the reverb and delay are nice, but it doesn't do as good a job as Softube at emulating the hardware's saturation and that hardware sense of depth and dimensionality.

Interesting. I think it does, and at least not worse than Softube emulations, to put it modestly
Apparently, perception differs greatly

You can hear the missing depth and dimensionality from the hardware clearly in this video (granted, this video is with Repro's extra effects off):



Softube clearly does a better job at reproducing that, I don't think it's "subjective" at all (and I'm sure there are objective measurements that would confirm this):



For direct comparisons of Softube vs Repro vs hardware:



Fwiw I have Repro but almost never use it, haven't bought Softube because it's not MPE compatible. I'd generally prefer to use the actual Prophet multisamples in Equator2 or load new multisamples into Equator2 or Synthmaster 3.

[Fannon]

RePro sounds good and is versatile. The u-he synths support MPE, MTS-EPS and add some useful additions to their emulations instead of strictly following some old hardware (whose developers at the time would have loved to add additional flexibility). I find u-he hits a sweet spot between emulation and innovation.

Diva is still my overall favorite emulation. It's not technically the best emulation at this point, but Diva just sounds really good... and is so sonically flexible, far more so than other emulations. Plus with the CLAP version in Bitwig, I can use Bitwig's unlimited per voice modulation system with Diva.

This. Feel exactly the same.
And honestly, I'm not sure I could really tell the difference between the Softube and the u-he prophet sound, at least not in a way that it would matter to me.

U-he plans to add MPE and CLAP for repro too, but this will take some more time for sure.