Vital vs Current

[Touch The Universe]

I didn't see a thread on this one so figured I'd start one here.

Personally, these are probably some of the two closest synths to compare I've ever come across and most interestingly, I'm not sure which I like better than the two.

The similarities are quite remarkable however, wt, with similar sounding wavetable modifiers, almost exactly the same tbh. Similar fx section as well. I'd add that the fx in current are indeed better, yet that doesn't make the synth better in my opinion. The world flow and general results of vital make up for it.

I don't want to judge based on price, but since vital is free, it kind of tips the favor, but not factoring this in. I'd say they are a tie.

Note, I have not delved into current 2 so I can't comment on that whether it effects anything.

Which do you guys prefer of the two?

[Echoes in the Attic]

I find the sound fairly similar. Pretty neutral (bit bland) digital. Current has the advantage of sakmple stretch and granular of course., which significantly make it more versatile soundwise.

[gelly-vapor]

Current have their own minimal audio fx.the chorus is HUGE

[Touch The Universe]

Current have their own minimal audio fx.the chorus is HUGE

Agreed, the course is probably one of the best I've ever heard in any synth or any fx period.

[swilow11]

I think Current sounds better and the FX are great (except the reverb which is just metallic sounding and way too overwhelming). I like them enough to have purchased Fuse Compressor and Morph EQ separately. The filters in Current are great but I wish there was the ability to drive into the filters to get a bit of extra power. For me though, I don't really use Vital except to reaynthesis interesting patches and easily make cool wavetables. If Current introduced a basic wavetable editor and a resynth option, it would be clearly the best of the two.

As it stands, Current is in my top 5 and with the addition of the mod matrix, mixer section, the awesome waveshifter effect, Current 2.0 is much nicer to use than Vital. I suspect MA will keep improving it too.

[mholloway]

I definitely find Vital a lot faster to program, fwiw. Current's UI is mostly fine but somehow misses the ultra-fast workflow of Vital. I also think the modulation nodes are too small.

[Benedict]

I thought that Current is/was Vital as last I looked development stopped on Vital then Current appeared. They seem so much the same (with some zhuzhing and new effects).

My wild guess: Either Matt moved over or he sold the code. His right if so.

Vital is free(ish) Current is Minimal Audio and all that goes with that

[Hanz Meyzer]

Hm, but Vital also can do audio rate modulation. Current can't, AFAIK...?

[Rastkovic]

I didn't see a thread on this one so figured I'd start one here.

Personally, these are probably some of the two closest synths to compare I've ever come across and most interestingly, I'm not sure which I like better than the two.

The similarities are quite remarkable however, wt, with similar sounding wavetable modifiers, almost exactly the same tbh. Similar fx section as well. I'd add that the fx in current are indeed better, yet that doesn't make the synth better in my opinion. The world flow and general results of vital make up for it.

I don't want to judge based on price, but since vital is free, it kind of tips the favor, but not factoring this in. I'd say they are a tie.

Note, I have not delved into current 2 so I can't comment on that whether it effects anything.

Which do you guys prefer of the two?

In my opinion it's all about the sound. Vital has a dark, round (almost moogish) tone to my ears, at least if you use the "analog", or ladder filter. Current sounds different to me, more modern and neutral, more like Serum. jm2c

[Touch The Universe]

I thought that Current is/was Vital as last I looked development stopped on Vital then Current appeared. They seem so much the same (with some zhuzhing and new effects).

My wild guess: Either Matt moved over or he sold the code. His right if so.

Vital is free(ish) Current is Minimal Audio and all that goes with that

This would make a lot of sense if it were true. The wavetable modifiers are almost uncanny and the whole layout feels quite similar, even the fx section.

[swilow11]

And Vital is very similar to Serum in terms of layout.

Current has more synthesis engines, less wavetable oscillators, different filters, similar but different wavetable modifiers, different/better FX, less modulation sources, cannot do audio rate modulation besides FM/AM, no true random, has an arp and chord sequencer, and XY pad and probably more..it's actually pretty different to Vital, but built according to similar blueprint that Serum seemed to introduce to synths. I like the speculation but I think they are different beasts.

[Weasel-Boy]

Bottom line: $199 for Current, $0 for Vital.

[Touch The Universe]

And Vital is very similar to Serum in terms of layout.

Current has more synthesis engines, less wavetable oscillators, different filters, similar but different wavetable modifiers, different/better FX, less modulation sources, cannot do audio rate modulation besides FM/AM, no true random, has an arp and chord sequencer, and XY pad and probably more..it's actually pretty different to Vital, but built according to similar blueprint that Serum seemed to introduce to synths. I like the speculation but I think they are different beasts.

Come to think of it, they're sublayer engine is quite a bit different from anything that's in vital. It itself is quite powerful and capable of very interesting sounds. I also kind of agree that current has a lot more features and a lot more going on in it, it is overall probably a more capable and powerful and elegant synth.

Yet, at the same time somehow vital is still equal. I'm trying to understand why but at the end of the day it's probably just the results and vital are just that good and that easy to come to. I would import the same wave table inside of vital and current and the results and vital are just a little bit better or maybe a lot better. It just might just have to do with the modifiers themselves, I think they're higher quality and vital but I'd have to do a better double check on that. I just remember being blown away and vital but amazed and current, lol both totally excellent synthesizers.

[fisherKing]

Bottom line: $199 for Current, $0 for Vital.

there are some benefits with the paid version of vital. but either way, i'd judge a plugin's value by how it sounds, what it can do, and what i need or want from it, not from it's price.

[a9k1tp]

Current is much better if price is not the concern.