9 year old Sylenth1 just keeps kickin

[Chapelle]

---

[pdxindy]

Well, I think there are more than enough honest buyers, so he probably doesn't care.

There are likely 10+ cracks for every legal copy. A significant portion of the popularity of Sylenth is how readily available cracks are.

I'm sure he does care but there is little he can do about it (other than better copy protection). And this is just speculation, but perhaps the synth would have been updated and attended to more if more people paid.

[Wildfunk]

There are likely 10+ cracks for every legal copy.

1000+ cracks!

[wagtunes]

So, as somebody who will NOT download a cracked piece of software (for fear of downloading a virus with it) tell me what possible reason I would have to spend $158 on a synth?

Or let me put it this way. What will that $158 Sylenth1 give me that these synths that I already own WON'T give me.

[...]

By all means. Give me a compelling argument to dig into my wallet and part with $158 for a synth that's 9 years old when I have all the above.

I'll keep an open mind.

If you already have all the above, I guess there's no reason to get it.

If someone is just starting out, though, quite a few of the synths you listed - e.g. Synthmaster, MPowerSynth or Zebra2 - could be overwhelming for a beginner while others have too few features for modern EDM sounds. With Sylenth1 it's very easy to design a good sounding patch from the ground up. Its GUI is more streamlined with less tabs than more complex synths.
It isn't the only synth someone will ever need, but for learning subtractive synthesis from the ground up I think Sylenth1 is still a great choice if you're into EDM sounds.

And this I actually agree with up to a point. Where I have a problem is this.

If I'm just starting out and looking for a "starter" synth that covers the same range of sounds as Sylenth1, surely there has to be synths that sound just as good, are just as simple and cost less money.

Of course if what has been said is true, that most people just download cracked copies, then I guess it really doesn't matter.

And given that, yes, I can perfectly understand Sylenth1 as the synth of choice, especially with all the libraries available.

[pdxindy]

Of course if what has been said is true, that most people just download cracked copies, then I guess it really doesn't matter.

And given that, yes, I can perfectly understand Sylenth1 as the synth of choice, especially with all the libraries available.

It is true... and you can download not only the synth, but have hundreds of soundsets with it. No-brainer for the vast majority of people who do not care if it is cracked.

If Sylenth had come with an uncrackable copy protection, nobody would be talking about it now.

[wagtunes]

Of course if what has been said is true, that most people just download cracked copies, then I guess it really doesn't matter.

And given that, yes, I can perfectly understand Sylenth1 as the synth of choice, especially with all the libraries available.

It is true... and you can download not only the synth, but have hundreds of soundsets with it. No-brainer for the vast majority of people who do not care if it is cracked.

If Sylenth had come with an uncrackable copy protection, nobody would be talking about it now.

And how many of these people have also downloaded viruses and have had their computers destroyed in the process?

[Chapelle]

---

[wagtunes]

If I'm just starting out and looking for a "starter" synth that covers the same range of sounds as Sylenth1, surely there has to be synths that sound just as good, are just as simple and cost less money.

Given the popularity of Sylenth1, one would think there were plenty of alternatives, but the only one I know of is the upcoming Hive by u-he. It isn't much cheaper, though, and feature-wise it remains to be seen how it evolves. I would choose it over Sylenth1 with the current feature-set of Hive already, though.

Is that because of the types of sounds Sylenth1 produces? See, that's what I don't understand. What sounds does Sylenth1 do that I can't do with any of my other synths above? I find it hard to believe that Sylenth1 is that unique.

[fluffy_little_something]

Okay, I'm going to try to be as objective about this as I can.

From what I've read and heard (yes, I do know what the synth sounds like) it appears that there are essentially 3 reasons to get this synth over just about anything else if you're into EDM.

1) You can get it for free.

2) Tons of 3rd party banks that comes with all those free downloads.

3) Has an excellent sound. (I never said it didn't)

So, as somebody who will NOT download a cracked piece of software (for fear of downloading a virus with it) tell me what possible reason I would have to spend $158 on a synth?

Or let me put it this way. What will that $158 Sylenth1 give me that these synths that I already own WON'T give me.

A.N.A.
ABSynth 5
ACE
AM Freehand
Analog Lab
Analog Laboratory
Anti Transpirant 1000
ARP 2600 V
ARP 2600 VA
ART Pyrite
Avatar ST
Battery 4
Blooo
Blue II
Brainstormer
Brzoza
Charlatan
CS 80
Cybermath
Cycle
Daedalus
DaHornet
Deputy
Dexed
Discovery Pro
Dominator
Double Six XXL
Eclipsis
Electra 2
Element
EWQL (Complete orchestral, rock and world collections)
FM8
Fmetal
Free Alpha
Funxion
HaHaHa CS33
HALion Sonic SE
Harmor
IL Autogun
ImpOSCar 2
Jupiter 8V
K700nu
Kairatune
KarmaFX Modular
Kontakt 5 (with tons of 3rd party libs and samples)
KX Poly M CSE
KX Synth X16
Latte Free
Lektro
Lokomotiv
Loop Mash
Lucid
M1
Massive
MauSynth
Mini V
Modular V
Mono Fury
Mono Poly
Mpowersynth
Mr Alias Pro
MS 20
MUX Modular
Mystic
Oberheim SEM V
OBXD
Olga
Omnisphere
OP-X Pro II
Or2V
Padshop
Patchwork Modular System
PG 8X
Pianoteq
Podolski
Polly 8
Poly 6
PPG Wave 2.3
Prologue
Prophet V
Ragnarok
Rayblaster
Reaktor 5 (with tons of 3rd party ensembles)
Retrologue
Revitar
Rez 3
Scrooo
Serenity
Serum
Six
Sonigen Modular
Spector
Spectrobits
String Studio
Strum Acoustic
Strum Electric
STS 26
STS 33
Superwave P8
Swierk
Synth1
Synthmaster 2.5 (with all the 3rd party libraries)
T-Force Alpha Plus
T-Synth (BR)
Table Synth
TAL Bassline
TAL Elek7ro II
TAL Noisemaker
TAL U No 62
TCM II
TDM 3
Tetra
The Mangle
The Tiger
Trance Drive
TS Substance
Tyrell N6
Uniwave
Vaporizer
VMP 1
Wavestation
X-WoF 4
X11
XAKT
XILS 4
Zebra 2

By all means. Give me a compelling argument to dig into my wallet and part with $158 for a synth that's 9 years old when I have all the above.

I'll keep an open mind.

You might as well ask that question about most any of the synths you already have. You have way too much and there is a whole lot of overlapping.

I am the opposite of you, I only use S1 and one other synth, and the latter only for its FM capability.

[pdxindy]

If I'm just starting out and looking for a "starter" synth that covers the same range of sounds as Sylenth1, surely there has to be synths that sound just as good, are just as simple and cost less money.

Given the popularity of Sylenth1, one would think there were plenty of alternatives, but the only one I know of is the upcoming Hive by u-he. It isn't much cheaper, though, and feature-wise it remains to be seen how it evolves. I would choose it over Sylenth1 with the current feature-set of Hive already, though.

Is that because of the types of sounds Sylenth1 produces? See, that's what I don't understand. What sounds does Sylenth1 do that I can't do with any of my other synths above? I find it hard to believe that Sylenth1 is that unique.

It is not the sounds as such... It is fairly simple to use, it is well controlled so it is hard to make bad sounds and it has some sort of built-in limiting so that it resists clipping. That plus low cpu use and a good set of effects and it is easy for people who do not know much to get good results.

Soundwise it is fairly limited. It did supersaw sounds really nice, with a lovely fizzy high-end. At the time it stood out, but not now... lots of synths are as good as Sylenth or better soundwise... and far more flexible.

[chk071]

What will that $158 Sylenth1 give me that these synths that I already own WON'T give me.

A.N.A.
ABSynth 5
ACE
AM Freehand
Analog Lab
Analog Laboratory
Anti Transpirant 1000
ARP 2600 V
ARP 2600 VA
ART Pyrite
Avatar ST
Battery 4
Blooo
Blue II
Brainstormer
Brzoza
Charlatan
CS 80
Cybermath
Cycle
Daedalus
DaHornet
Deputy
Dexed
Discovery Pro
Dominator
Double Six XXL
Eclipsis
Electra 2
Element
EWQL (Complete orchestral, rock and world collections)
FM8
Fmetal
Free Alpha
Funxion
HaHaHa CS33
HALion Sonic SE
Harmor
IL Autogun
ImpOSCar 2
Jupiter 8V
K700nu
Kairatune
KarmaFX Modular
Kontakt 5 (with tons of 3rd party libs and samples)
KX Poly M CSE
KX Synth X16
Latte Free
Lektro
Lokomotiv
Loop Mash
Lucid
M1
Massive
MauSynth
Mini V
Modular V
Mono Fury
Mono Poly
Mpowersynth
Mr Alias Pro
MS 20
MUX Modular
Mystic
Oberheim SEM V
OBXD
Olga
Omnisphere
OP-X Pro II
Or2V
Padshop
Patchwork Modular System
PG 8X
Pianoteq
Podolski
Polly 8
Poly 6
PPG Wave 2.3
Prologue
Prophet V
Ragnarok
Rayblaster
Reaktor 5 (with tons of 3rd party ensembles)
Retrologue
Revitar
Rez 3
Scrooo
Serenity
Serum
Six
Sonigen Modular
Spector
Spectrobits
String Studio
Strum Acoustic
Strum Electric
STS 26
STS 33
Superwave P8
Swierk
Synth1
Synthmaster 2.5 (with all the 3rd party libraries)
T-Force Alpha Plus
T-Synth (BR)
Table Synth
TAL Bassline
TAL Elek7ro II
TAL Noisemaker
TAL U No 62
TCM II
TDM 3
Tetra
The Mangle
The Tiger
Trance Drive
TS Substance
Tyrell N6
Uniwave
Vaporizer
VMP 1
Wavestation
X-WoF 4
X11
XAKT
XILS 4
Zebra 2

The sound of Sylenth1.

Again, why has an analog synth enthusiast a studio full of monophonic analog synths. They all do the same, at least that's what you're saying. Anyway, noone forces you to buy anything, so just keep your money. But why this general arguing then? And why do you have such a list of plugins, because most of the do the same actually. If it wasn't for the sound, there'd be no reason to have all that stuff.

[chk071]

double post

[Chapelle]

---

[wagtunes]

What will that $158 Sylenth1 give me that these synths that I already own WON'T give me.

The sound of Sylenth1.

Again, why has an analog synth enthusiast a studio full of monophonic analog synths. They all do the same, at least that's what you're saying. Anyway, noone forces you to buy anything, so just keep your money. But why this general arguing then? And why do you have such a list of plugins, because most of the do the same actually. If it wasn't for the sound, there'd be no reason to have all that stuff.

I could get into a real long explanation to answer your question but won't out of respect to the poor people who would have to read the novel.

In short, yes, all synths "basically" do the same thing to a point, make sounds. Many of them make sounds that are very similar to the sounds of other synths. In reality, there are very few exceptions. Those exceptions usually come in the form of either...

1) Synths that are very complex to program with a number of features and modulators

or

2) Synths that have been designed to make one very specific type of generic sound (like FM synths) and do that one thing very well.

Synths that I put in the complex to program class include...

ARP 2600 V
Blue II
Modular V
Sonigen Modular
Synthmaster
TCM II
XILS 4
Zebra 2

Synths that I put in the unusual sound class, not listed above, include...

ABSynth 5
Cycle
FM 8
Harmor
KarmaFX Modular
MPowerSynth
MS 20
MUX Modular
Omnisphere
Scrooo
Serum

Notice very few of the synths that I have am I listing here.

So why do I have the rest of them? Each one falls into one or more of the following categories.

1) They were free. Not cracked. Free. So no worry about viruses.

2) They were on sale for a price that was impossible to pass up whereas I would have not purchased it otherwise.

3) They had a specific sound that I thought was distinct enough to explore. Maybe they had some synthesis method that was unusual, like with my Tone 2 synths.

4) It came inside a bigger package, like Komplete that came with Massive, ABSynth, FM 8, Monark and so on. Some of these I might not have purchased separately. But in a package, with all else that I got, it was a no brainer.

5) I flat out just loved the sound of the synth regardless of any of the above. This is usually the exception. In most cases, if I loved the sound of the synth, it usually also turned out to fit in one of the above 3 categories or in my two main reasons above (complexity or unusual sound)

Sylenth1 does none of this for me. It's not complex. In fact, programming it would bore me to tears. It doesn't have an unusual sound. In fact, it's very generic sounding as far as the genre it's trying to cater to goes. It is not free. It is not on sale. It doesn't have any specific synth method that intrigues me. It's not included in a bigger package. And I don't flat out love the sound. I like the sound. I think it's a fine synth for what it does. But it's not worth $158 to me. Not with what I already have.

Now if you want me to justify any of the 100 plus synths that I have, I can. I can tell you exactly why I have it and you will see that it falls into one of the categories above.

Sylenth1 does not.

It's really that simple.

[fluffy_little_something]

You have made your point, you don't think much of Sylenth1. But you should realize that many people simply disagree with you on your views and verdict...