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Sylenth1

Synth (Analogue / Subtractive) Plugin by LennarDigital
MyKVRFAVORITE442WANT181

Sylenth1 has an average user rating of 4.53 from 30 reviews

Rate & Review Sylenth1

User Reviews by KVR Members for Sylenth1

Sylenth1

Reviewed By achtnullacht [all]
October 30th, 2021
Version reviewed: v3.067 on Windows

bought it 2 years ago. the sound has completely knocked me out every day to this day. the graphical user interface and the various skins are also delightful and make working with them a lot fun. it's one of the best.

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Sylenth1

Reviewed By Fhangor [all]
October 30th, 2021
Version reviewed: 3.0.67 on Windows

I really have many VST-synths (from Hive2, Diva, Zebra to all of Native Instruments, VPS-Avenger, Serum, Synthmaster...). All of them have there strength and weaknesses. I have tried to use them, but it was always too hard to find into the synths.

Not so into Sylenth1! This is really an amazing synth which is able to produce so many different colors of sound in an easy way! After checking out the factory and many free presets I was suddenly able to produce e-pianos, guitars, brasses, strings, organs which are sounding convincing and unique.

The interface is clean and easy to understand. The sound is brilliant, full of pressure and gives a real analog feeling. And the fun factor is high.

Sure, there are some things which should be offered: maybe some more possible destinations for modulation. Maybe some better reverb. Maybe some more slots for modulating positions. Maybe some more waveforms for the oscillators. But it won't hurt that much when you have found your way how to use the existing settings. You will be able to get most times better results than with many other synths.

In my studio setup Sylenth1 has a fixed place. I only can recommand it.

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Sylenth1

Reviewed By VELLTONE MUSIC [all]
March 27th, 2019
Version reviewed: 3 on Windows

Still surprisingly good, still irreplaceable.

Every time i decide it's obsolete and had to retire it, i create something new and original, other synth do not inspire me to do.

Legends live forever...

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Sylenth1

Reviewed By musiclover91 [all]
March 5th, 2019
Version reviewed: 2 on Windows

4/5.

Great sound. Although its beena while since its updated, the sounds are still very useable in today's context:).

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Sylenth1

Reviewed By ubailey [all]
February 18th, 2019
Version reviewed: 3.41 on Windows

I keep seeing reviews about this synth being outdated compared to newer synths. So far, imo the presets o here are better than most vst's i have used.

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Sylenth1

Reviewed By skevenelis [all]
November 12th, 2018
Version reviewed: v2.4 on Windows

best and most easy to use VST synthesiser, with this many/wide sound options. i make Basedrums, Hoover, ARP's Atmospheres/pads for 10 years now with sylenth, no sound was to hard for sylenth, always working even with a pentium 3 processor with 512 MB RAM.

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Sylenth1

Reviewed By mitchiemasha [all]
September 7th, 2018
Version reviewed: 1 on Windows

It doesn't get any easier than this... If you don't have Sylenth1 in your collection, you're not a producer. Coming from hardware, Lennar Digital was the first to make me realise what we could do inside a PC. Even back then when cores were low, this thing would make our speakers sing. I never liked it's look but it's look is perfect, everything's where it needs to be. If you don't understand synthesis, a few hours with Syleth1 and all will be revealed.

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Sylenth1

Reviewed By dune_rave [all]
February 15th, 2017
Version reviewed: 3.024 on Windows

I have bought the previous version of Sylenth1 years ago here at the KVR Marketplace - it was a great second-hand buy. Sylenth1 is a unique and fantastic synth, with many inspiring sounds. I'm sure Lennardigital was among the first developers who realized how important is the quality of the factory presets. And if you want more presets there are plenty of free and commercial on the net. About the GUI: even the previous version was OK, but this new version (v2) with the scalable GUI is awesome (+ new skins are planed and coming soon). You don't need a multicore CPU to run this, Sylenth1 uses VERY LITTLE CPU.

V2 uses a new authorization, so it's not simple serial anymore - but it's ok for me. It's interesting, that other developers create "similar" synths, like U-he Hive, or Synthmaster One, but Sylenth1 one remains an alltime classic. I just call these kind of synths v2 synths, that become even better with the new version, so I only can compare Sylenth1 to synths like ImpOSCar 2, FM8, Z3ta+ 2, Blue II, Predator2 ...

And what about a future v3 - who knows?

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Sylenth1

Reviewed By aumordia [all]
February 13th, 2017
Version reviewed: 3.028 on Windows

I bought Sylenth1 because my DAW came with a bunch of advanced synths that were just way over my head. Almost immediately, great sounds were flying out of my speakers faster than I could dial them in. But eventually, I felt I had gone as far as I could go with such a simple synth -- so I sold it. What a mistake that was. Nothing else hits the sweet spot the way Sylenth1 does -- believe me -- and it's the only synth I've ever purchased twice. Now I have a couple hundred patches programmed for it, and I still stumble upon new, useful, wonderful musical sounds seemingly without trying.

I don't think any other softsynth has as much sprezzatura as Sylenth1. Also, you can't beat its sound quality / CPU usage ratio.

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Sylenth1

Reviewed By DPhil [all]
December 7th, 2016
Version reviewed: 3 on Windows

After demoing some new plugins I still find myself using Sylenth1. I don't exactly know why. Maybe it's the ease of use, the sound quality or just the performance and workflow. I love how limited it is in a good way. You can't mess up a sound, it's just not possible. But nonetheless you can get wild cross modulations and depth out of it. The latest ui improvements perfectly fit into my definition of good looking.

It's a bread and butter synth resulting in so many available widly genre spread soundsets. So the lack of own creativity can get balanced with the work of other professional sound designers.

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Sylenth1

Reviewed By Arpeggiolo [all]
November 27th, 2016
Version reviewed: 3.28 on Windows

Good warm and generous sounds, what's not to like :)

I especially enjoy the ARP "Good Times"

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Sylenth1

Reviewed By johncolumbo [all]
June 30th, 2014
Version reviewed: 10.9.3 on Mac

Sylenth1 is a must have for any serious EDM producer. I use Logic Pro X and Sylenth1 with the 32 Lives app (purchased from their site and needed because it is not compatible with LPX without it). It works flawlessly with 32 Lives and I highly recommend that combination.

It took my productions to the next level right out of the box. The layout of the synth is intuitive if you're familiar with other common software synthesizers. The sounds are amazing... some of them are setup so well out of the box that it felt like they wrote my melodies and bass lines for me.

Their customer support is second to none. I had an issue with my order and they responded within several hours, over the weekend no less, with a resolution.
If you're a student be sure to inquire about their educational discount.

In my opinion you can't lose with this product.
John.

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Sylenth1

Reviewed By Steve196 [all]
February 15th, 2014
Version reviewed: 2.2 on Windows

For me the Sylenth1 is a 'must have'. Maybe some would consider the look-and-feel a bit old fashioned, but the straightforward design is the reason why it's also a good synth for beginners. The sound quality is very good, while CPU usage is relatively low. There are endless possibilities to tweak the sound and, if you are lazy or need some more inspiration :-), there are lots of interesting preset (patches) packages for sale for the Sylenth1. I use the Nexus 2 and Massive as well (both interesting and good), but i keep on using the Sylenth1 as my main synth.

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Sylenth1

Reviewed By Megabite [all]
October 15th, 2013
Version reviewed: 7 on Windows

This is the choice for beginners. Easy to step in. Great lead sounds, really nice filters and FXs. Great presets and much of them. This one is the ruler in his section. You are able to start from zero with his huge preset banks where he shows his incredible sound. Note that Sylenth is in my opinion not really made for athmospheric soundscapes, Leads, SFXs and Arps, I forgot basslines are what it is made for.

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Sylenth1

Reviewed By MadAnthony81 [all]
September 3rd, 2013
Version reviewed: 7 PRO 64 on Windows

EDIT: Sylenth1 is taken down to a 9 because it isn't perfectly analog. But it does have great effects. It's GUI doesn't freeze and it the synth does function properly most of the time.

RE: EDIT. Sylenth1 has exclent analog all around. Even in the lows and highs. Very changeable and tangible from smooth to gritty all around in any frequency. Tip, FLANGER helps A LOT.

EDIT:

Sylenth1 is great for trance. Also Various EDM such as house and electro. Dubstep not so much but can do wobbles well and is easy to program to MIDI keyboard controller on the fly. MIDI mapping seems great. It can find it's way to any genre but perhaps not exactly the way your personal flavor might want.

It's sounds like a Virus when you add saturation the right way. It can also sound real similar to other analog synths that way as well using different saturation. I use Ableton Live Saturator for excelent results.

Fun and easy to program. Very stable and in 64-bit too. I like the GUI and reminds me of a Virus ice cream sandwich.

It's not cheap but if you need a trance synth it might be the one you want.

Registration is easy and E'mails are pretty prompt. It's very nice.

CONS: I don't see this as a GREAT versatile synth but it CAN get somewhat versatile.

PROS: GREAT leads. Decent lows and highs. Analog filters are cool with added saturation.

EDIT:

I would like to add that i like that this synth isn't overly saturated. Who would like to add their own saturation for a unique integral sound to their works? I would! With sylenth1 I really can make it sound like different synths with the right saturator. Great to change this synth yourself in the lows high and mids with your DAW. It's a synth that sounds great and then better later.

I like Sylenth1 effects and the EQ seems to be necasary. Even on regular 2 pole it adds dimension without adjusting. This synth is very multi dimensional. Multiple oscilator and volume controls and voices. All done well.

ARP's are awesome. Never seen anything like it.

I only rated this thing an 8 because I feel it can't do absolutely everything well. Im comparing to thee ultimate synth possible in a way. It's a dated synth and lacks some programing features. Still, I would rather have this than a hard to manuever analog. Hey I got MIDI mapping and multiple tracks here with this.

Don't hate_relate. EW YUH.

P.S. Sylenth1 is a breeze and a blast to program with. So very fun and rewarding when your in the groove and grace your way to taste! Bless you.

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Sylenth1

Reviewed By Aiynzahev [all]
August 4th, 2012
Version reviewed: 2 on Windows

Sylenth1 is probably the best known vsti. It is so famous and popular that you'd have thought it would have been on version 4 by now. While I won't open that can of worms here, I will say this, that fact will not affect my review. As far as I am concerned, it is what it is now and that is what you buy it for.

User interface:
I love it. Didn't like it much at first, but I appreciate it now. You can get familiar with this synth very quickly, most everything you need is available without changing any tabs. It is not too ugly. It kind of has a classic look.

Sound:
This is why it is so famous. The Sound of Sylenth1 one is brilliant. I go off this synth sometimes in favour of something more complex, or an emulation or something, but in the end whenever I do come back to it I am hit by the sound quality. It may not be able to do as much as many synths out there but what it does it does better than most synths out there.

It's sound is really snappy, more so than just about any synth I've tried. Lennar is a genious that's for sure. It's partly this sharp immediate sound that has made it such a mainstay of dance music, then of course it is also the unison. While it is not actually a "unison" mode like you get on some synths, (the oscillators are stacked) it does the job. Fat leads, lush pads, complex timbres, you got it.

Filters:
The filters are great. I will not say sublime, but they are very good. They don't sound quite analog to me, in that their character is somewhat digital and predictable, but they are excellent and you can't make them sound bad. The drive is very good, it screams more than most VA's and adding just a small amount is genuinly useful.

Effects:
They are good if you ask me, partly because they are so flexible. This part of the synth really reminds me of hardware. With some of the old hardware synths they used to give you a lot of options. Many new ones dumb these down in favour of simplicity. Perhaps reflecting the shift in the userbase. Anyway, the reverb has a stereo width control, which I use alot to create mono-reverbs which give the sound more "body". I will still apply my stereo external reverb later.

The delays, sometimes I use the internal sometimes the external, but this is also very flexible.

The phaser is very good as far as they go. It's not the best out there, but it is far from the worst.

The distortion: Great! It offers bit reduction which I love to use a lot. The foldback and overdrive sound very good. Not quite as convincing as the real thing but it's a very usable sound in a modern context.

Features:
I like the features of Sylenth1. I like that it is simple. In fact what is given is just enough complexity that you can really do a lot with it. The sheer amount of soundbanks available for this thing prove it. I love the two layer design, the fact that Lennar gives you copy and paste functions for envelopes and oscillators makes it a breeze. The mod slots give you lots of room for sound design and the destinations are good. Phase modulation works excellently.

This is where I knock one point off though, we could have had PWM, that would have made it so much more versatile, however there are ways around this, it just would have been nice to have it plain and simple. Sync & FM would have been great too. But some how it feels like it wouldn't be Sylenth1 if it had these features.

Documentation:
The manual is a great read. In it LennarDigital shows a lot of confidence in his synth. He explains how well coded it is and how good it sounds, and he is right. It's nice to see such confidence, he was clearly aiming for the professional world of musicians and studios.

Value:
This synth is what, $180 or something? It is not the cheapest synth around but so what, if you wanted something of this quality in hardware form you'd be paying much more. In fact if you buy soft synths of lesser quality you will only spend more in the long run trying to find a good sound.

Stability:
Very stable. I've never had any problems with it.

Conclusion:
While it is not for everyone, it should certainly be considered. It is not at all just a trance synth, (there really is no such thing anyway) it is versatile.

I really recommend this synth to anyone who wants a synth hardware or software, analog or digital. If you love electronic music you will probably find something to like in this synth. It is a work-horse and a go to for real solutions.

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Sylenth1

Reviewed By fisherKing [all]
April 27th, 2012
Version reviewed: 2.2 on Mac

i just started reviewing plugins at kvraudio, and now am developing an addiction to reviewing. :-)

i've been using sylenth1 for less than a year, which makes it still very new to me, although it's been around for centuries (in computer years, anyway).

i have acquired and/or made a LOT of presets for it. so i use it all the time. in fact, it's been my 'go-to' synth for a while now.

here's what i love: the sound, and the simplicity of the interface. it's GREAT for arps, basses. buzzy pads, leads, weirdness. it's defined the sound of my work for a while now, and am very happy about that.

it's easy to work with; 2 simple layers, and a very logical layout. some plugins give me a headache just looking at them (or hunting down, say, the master output knob)...sylenth1 is easy to program or tweak.

it IS ugly. so it goes. no one listening to music cares about that LOL; the SOUND is the bottom line.

here's my issue: it hasn't been updated in YEARS. so it's still a 32bit AU on my mac (while EVERYTHING else i use has been upgraded to 64bit); and the very-last version (a beta), does not play nice with Logic and Lion. ugh.

i LOVE this synth, and will continue to use it. but newer plugins (dune, for example), are starting to fill in space in my music (and am keeping an eye on where logic goes next; am dreading the day i can no longer run ANY 32bit AUs).

otherwise...for the sound, it's a great buy. AND...there are a MILLION soundsets out there for it. despite it's age, there are NEW soundsets coming out all the time; it's obviously a beloved synth.

it's a 10star plugin really, but am '1 star disappointed' it's not being maintained.

we'll see where things go, but right now, i live or die by it.

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Sylenth1

Reviewed By mholloway [all]
December 4th, 2011
Version reviewed: 2.211 on Mac

User Interface: Like many I don't care for the color scheme at all. I've seen skins that looked stellar, but sadly Lennard doesn't want the synth to be skin-able so they are hard to find and often won't work with current versions. I don't understand this approach. However, this is purely aesthetic; the layout itself is very functional and clear.


Sound: The best thing about this synth. Very few other VA soft-synths can rival the sound quality of Sylenth. It's up there with Zebra and Omnisphere, among the very best sounding instruments on the market. It can be smooth and lush or gritty and biting; it can do any kind of sound type, and it cuts through the mix like crazy. Unison modes work on a per-oscillator basis, so you can stack 8 voices into each of the 4 oscillators. This means HUGE sounds can be made. But the crazy thing is how smooth and silky the unison detuning sounds; there is absolutely no trace of the weird, phasey effect that so often shows up in soft-synth unison. It's a thing of beauty and the real reason why this synth stands out.

Features: It's a straight-forward synth (other than the crazy unison options), but that's part of what I like about it. For complexity there is stuff like Zebra; this is a fantastic, bread-n-butter instrument that doesn't need crazy features or bells and whistles. Everything offered is approachable and usable.

Documentation: Good manual.


Presets: They're really good, and there are lots of them. They certainly lean towards Trance / Dance, but even small tweaks can shift them into other territories.


Customer Support: I've used the KVR forum to get quick responses, including some from lennard himself.


Value For Money: amazing. this is a must-have synth.


Stability: light on CPU, which makes no sense. this synth is a "too good to be true" synth if there ever was one.
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Sylenth1

Reviewed By snadge [all]
November 17th, 2011
Version reviewed: 2.2 on Windows

This is a MUST HAVE in everyones VST arsenal, it is always the first synth I open when starting a track, if your read other reviews you will see other people do the same, thats how good it is.

What strikes me about Lennards synth is the fact that is sounds 100% like a real Analog synth and uses virtually NO CPU!!!

the sounds are warm, thick and punchy, the effects built in a very good too - it can hold 512 (4 x 128) presets and the ones built in are very good, the synth is so popular there are hundreds of banks you can download and import, this is another good thing about it: being able to import entire banks as most synths only let you import single presets (sylenth1 can import or export both presets and banks)

The user interface could probably be improved upon but that shouldnt put you off buying it.

head over to Lennar Digitals website and download a trial today... you will NOT be disapointed..

in 2 recent top 10 lists made my computer music this synth 3rd in one and 1st in the other.
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Sylenth1

Reviewed By muLperi [all]
March 15th, 2011
Version reviewed: 2.3 beta on Mac

Probably one of the most hyped soft synth out there and I must say, I find myself loading it up almost every time I start a new project.
It's fast, light on cpu and straightforward to use.
With free soundbanks I have hundreds of usable presets for electronic music.

User Interface
As I said, straightforward and simple to program.

Sound
It sounds good, sounds analog and hi-quality.
With it's onboard effects you can really polish your sound.

Stability
I don't think it has ever crashed..?

Value for money
Yes.
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Sylenth1

Reviewed By FarleyCZ [all]
April 2nd, 2010
Version reviewed: 2.2 on Windows

Sylenth1. On the first look ... these days ... it's kind of week one. Few oscilators, filter and few effects. Just a simple thing.
But what get's you is, how reliable and "bread and butter-ish" that synth is. There is almost no CPU load!

It's sounds are simple, but extremely well generated. Warm, thick, crispy .. as you want them. Especially for trance production. On lot's of phorums they say that: "It's shit, becouse it can do only trance sounds...' I say: And what? Come on! Listen today pop music! Trance synths everywhere!

What Sylenth1 really shine at is it's unison. This beast can make the best unison leads you've ever listened to.

What I miss a bit is PWM, becouse that is realy lot used feature of synth's these days. And of course more modulation targets.

But for me is Sylenth1 THE bread and butter synth now. I usualy start with Sylenth1 and then build up a rest of song. :-)

Btw: I'm attending programing school. We always shout, why we learn assembly code these days? It's pontless and old. But after bought of Sylenth1 I can see why. Lennard is really great programmer and he has my respect for writhing this whole masterpiece in that really difficult language.
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Sylenth1

Reviewed By Cyforce [all]
July 23rd, 2009
Version reviewed: 2.2 on Windows

Pretty nice Synth, perhaps one of the best VA-Softsynth atm.

The Oscs:
Really cool, particularly the way how the unisio works on the single oscs, not like the typical way(V-station for example) no in this cases each voice is an extra osc - and that sounds very good.
But too bad that there is no PWM :-(

The Filter:
Perhaps the best part of this synth, sounds smooth not to aggressiv, additional qith warm drive.

The Effects:
6 Slots - and all usefull! Distortion very fexible, chorus and phaser works also smoothly like the filter. EQ with 2 slops for the 2 bands, but 3 bands would be better. Delay - many parameters, so it works very fine. Reverb works only for small rooms, how every synth-reverb. This is in every synth the weak point. compressor is also a good feature, better would be the choise between compress and limit.

The concept:
With the 2 layer-concept you have many many more possibilitys for sounddesign. Together with the mod-matrix you can easy make evolving bright pads or funky sequences.

All togehter:
Very good VA-Softsynth. BUT he can be better... PWM, Wavetable, 3Osc pro Layer, different filter-distortion-types, 3band eq and a file browser would be nice.

So what can i more say, sounds good, is flexible, good factory. Only real bad thing - the support(in this cases the name support is improperly)
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Sylenth1

Reviewed By DrWashington [all]
March 14th, 2009
Version reviewed: 2.2 on Windows

Wow.

I'm still shaken and disturbed by the fact that this synth even exists in software form.

IT'S BLOODY AMAZING.

And, it'll only get better.

Lennard Addink has got to be one of the very best DSP programmers in the world. This is a rich, RICH piece of software. The sound quality is just absolutely top notch, and this coming from a long time Virus user. I prefer this over my Virus Rack XL, BECAUSE MY VIRUS RACK XL DIED... long, slow, and painfully. The sounds it made in its last throes should have been sampled. This is something I will forever regret. They were unbelievably, hysterically, awful. You people would have died laughing. I'm not kidding. I wish I had them. Anyway -

Now, I have a brick. A $1350, pretty black, beknobbled brick. Thanks, Access.

BUT! Though it's not as feature laden, the sound quality of Sylenth1 is at least on par with the famous German hardware offering. I'm still just shocked and amazed that one guy in the Netherlands did this all by himself. And, considering the CPU cost, this is work of brilliance beyond mere mortal comprehension. While other companies will spend years developing a single filter that costs 20% of a respectable modern CPU under normal use ALONE, Mr. Addink gives you everything you could reasonably ask for in a software VA for, oh, around 5-7% under normal (i.e. completely INSANE) usage.

If he were to create a truly feature-rich version of this synth, including true PWM, wavetables, etc., he could easily become a rich man. This is THE bread-&-butter VA soft synth to have, in case you were wondering.

Though this synth certainly can't do everything, for what it DOES do, it shines like no other. Absolutely stellar, and absolutely BEYOND worth what I paid. I cannot gripe that I pre-empted the group buy by two weeks. I am happy, and I feel no buyer's remorse, even though, had I waited, i could have purchased it for half of what I paid.

In case this doesn't make sense to you yet, in case you like electronic music or makin' beats, or whatever the hell it is you do with your studio when you just don't wanna be bothered by the world outside and you need to get lost in an evening of digital tweakage, let me state it plainly:

THIS IS *THE* SOFTSYNTH TO HAVE in 2009. This and VOPM, if you like/know FM. :)
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Sylenth1

Reviewed By rob_lee [all]
August 21st, 2008
Version reviewed: 2 on Windows

User Interface:

From the off im going to say that Sylenth 1 looks great..The user interface is well thought out and very pleasing to the eye.Navigation is made easy for the user by a single mouse click to access the various features within Sylenth 1.
I espescially like the big screen in the middle containing the Fx section which in itself is very well laid out..
(10)

Sound:

Well what can i say...i'd never heard of Sylenth 1 until it was recommended to me by a friend and to be honest when i heard Sylenth 1 for the first time he was playing the presets through a Virus TI in midi mode and i actually thought it was just the Virus until he told me it was a software synth called Sylenth 1.
So to sum the sound of this amazing soft synth up to a tee i would go as far to say that it truly has a stunning sound and puts many hardware synths with the big price tags to shame...
(10)

Features:

Where do i start here? Great Fx section for a start..each one sounds like it's a stand alone professional hardware unit and Phaser just sounds amazing.For me the features of Sylenth 1 gives me great scope for sound design and believe me this Synth does the business in that department no problem.I could go on about the features on this Synth but i'd need a day or two to explain them so for me Sylenth 1 scores a 10 in this department.
(10)

Documentation:

Everything is well explained in the pdf manual that comes with Sylenth 1 and very well explained it is so great documentation.

Presets:

Wow..the included presets are of the highest quality here with scope to design your own being one of my favourite things about this piece of kit.The possibilite's are endless.
The sound banks provided are great and there are also some additional sound banks available from third party sound designers which are great too.
Old School,House,Electro,Trance and Fx they're all in there.
(10)

Customer Support:

This is great because any querie's are answered swiftly by Lennard himself so everything in this department is plain sailing.
(10)

Value for Money:

Now do i spend £1599.00 on a new Virus TI or do i spend £111.00 on Sylenth 1???
It's simple i went for Lennard Digital Sylenth 1 on it's own merit.The features alone make it worth it's price and well where would i buy any better than this? Nowhere that's where!
Sylenth 1 for me is definatley great value for money in every aspect and without a doubt a very reliable instrument.
(10)

Stability:

The great thing about Sylenth is that it has stability written all over it.No crashes no problems here.I can run up to ten instances of Sylenth with only a 50% cpu hit and for that reason this instrument is a winner without a shadow of a doubt..i love Sylenth 1 because it's totally reliable and for music creation this is the first Synth i turn to.
(10)

Finally:

I wrote a little review which is displayed at the Lennard Digital website which read:

"Sylenth1 in one word is truely amazing! Everything about Sylenth1 oozes creativity right from the word go, I can use 10 instances of Sylenth1 and still only have my CPU at 50% therefore making this softsynth my number 1 for music production. I would go as far to say that I couldn't really tell much difference between Sylenth1 and my Virus TI, for sure Sylenth1 renders my other soft synths obsolete as I have finally found a synth that can do pretty much everything. I'm now working on my first soundbank for Sylenth1 with such inspiration I have not found whilst using any other VST. I could go on but most of you who own Sylenth1 probably know the potential it has by now and those of you who don't own it - GET IT!"
Rob Lee

Thanks i hope this review was helpful to you....
Rob
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Sylenth1

Reviewed By M-Prod [all]
July 21st, 2008
Version reviewed: 2.0 on Mac

Finally, the osx version is out. After rediscovering this amazing synth I have to do my first review.

User Interface
Great and easy interface. Layout is superb. Design could be cleaner to my personal opinion. I'd also prefer the possibility to see part A en B together in one view.

Sound
Well this is what it all comes down to.. The best sounding softsynth ever. Bought it for windows last year after reading a praising review. And how right they were.. Then switched to osx in January and had to wait for the new osx version. After using many other synths I now realize how much i missed it. Suddenly i find the sounds i need instantly. 8, 9 or more sylenths or more in my projects, for bass, lead, ambient, drum sounds, fx..

Features
It's a great VA synth that exactly does what it's supposed to do. I don't consider many features a plus, I consider the right amount of features a plus and that's what this synth has. It makes me want to make sounds, where I was a preset junky before. It's very light on the CPU too.

Documentation
Fine manual (never needed it, but flipped through it for this review).

Presets
Great presets and a lot of them. Inspiring, rough edgy, smooth.

Customer Support
I contacted lennard by mail on a few occasions and he always answered me within minutes! Very friendly and helpful and solved my (license) issues immediately.[Edit] But since development of Sylenth has completely stopped, i have adjusted the score for support from 9 to 3.

Value For Money
Great for two reasons. First it's an amazing product.. Second, the osx versions was free for former windows users. I've seen that different in other products (which i don't mind because porting takes time and effort)

Stability
Never problems whatsoever.

I hear he's working on other plugins.. expect great things from this Dutch guy!
Read Review
Sylenth1

Reviewed By djanthonyw [all]
July 21st, 2008
Version reviewed: 2.0 on Mac

I have never been inclined to write a review for any plugin until now, because this gem totally blows me away!

User Interface:
I consider the interface of any synth to be extremely important. The lay out of Sylenth1 is very clear and easy to understand, even for someone that's new to synthesis. As of this review I have been producing music for over eight years and I have never been inclined to program any sounds from scratch until I found this monster!

Sound:
In my opinion there are very few synths that compare to, or exceed hardware virtual analog synths, but Sylenth does both. Sylenth has this incredibly thick, warm, analogish sound while still being able to fit great in a mix. There are a few companies that advertise "sell your hardware, because our software can replace it", which is true to some extend, but Sylenth is the only software synth that really did replace mine... I just sold Virus and Nord! However, I do want to state that Sylenth is in no way a clone of the Virus, Nord, or any other synth, but I feel that it does have some characteristics of both, except with a smoother, creamier sound.

Once I heard Sylenth in action I jumped on the opportunity to get rid of my hardware. When it comes to music production nothing is more convenient than having a native software synth inside of your DAW software and when it sounds this good there is no contest!

Features:
Sylenth is extremely well balanced when it comes to features. It has enough features to do what you want, but not so many that it's overwhelming. Besides the actual synth, Sylenth features some very high quality built in effects that don't get in the way, they're neatly placed on an LCD panel in the GUI. A lot of people consider a synth that has a bunch of 'bells and whistles' to be a programmer's synth, but on the contrary I consider Sylenth to be a programmer's, as well as a musician's synth because it's very inviting and a pleasure to use.

Presets:
Sylenth1 version 2.0 now comes with over a 1,000 presets. All of which are extremely high quality. I will say that a lot of them are geared towards dance music, but there are no rules, you can use the presets in any genre of music. I think the irony with Sylenth is that it comes with so many presets, yet it begs to be programmed!

Documentation:
Sylenth comes with a PDF manual, there are also a few videos on lennardigital.com. Because Sylenth's interface is extremely intuitive, most people will probably jump right in without even reading the manual. That's usually how it is for me as well, but I did read the manual, because when I like a product as much as I do Sylenth, I usually read the manual just for 'fun', and to kind of 'take it all in'.

Customer Support:
I emailed LennarDigital once. I wanted to know how long it would be for the release of the Mac version of Sylenth. Lennard responded promptly a couple hours later telling me the estimated time frame. I will say that I think he should respond a little more often in his support forum here on KVR though, but it's clear now that he is just very focused on his work. When he does post in the forum or respond to an email he is very courteous and helpful.

Stability & CPU:
For the moment I'm running Sylenth in VST format in Logic 8 by using FXpansion's VST-AU adapter. Sylenth appears to be rock solid, however there is GUI bug with the adapter and Logic 8 that does not let you drag a plugin's GUI anywhere. I'm sure all will be well when Sylenth is released in Audio Unit format in the near future.

Also, I can't get over how CPU efficient this synth is. For my main workstation I'm running a Mac Pro 2 x 2.66, which is equal to four cores. In Logic 8, one instance of Sylenth moves the CPU meter on average, about one pixel, on one core... it's hardly even registering! It really makes me ask what most of these other developers are doing to make their plugins use so much processing power. LennarDigital is definitely doing something right!

Value For Money:
I've never been more satisfied spending money on a synth, hardware or software. For me, replacing my hardware was priceless.
Read Review
Sylenth1

Reviewed By JimmiG [all]
December 2nd, 2007
Version reviewed: 1.21 on Windows

If you are like me, you probably already have half a dozen freeware and shareware VA synths laying around that you haven't even had the time or motivation to really get into..

Why should you spend this kind of money on such a seemingly simple subtractive synth, then?

Oscillators
The biggest argument for this synth is the sheer number of oscillators (called "voices" in Sylenth-speak) that it can generate and play back. It comes with four "real" oscillators, which is already more than most VA's have. In addition, each oscillator can produce up to eight detuned virtual oscillators, for a total of 32 oscillators. With 16 voices (of polyphony), you can get up to (16x32=) 512 oscillators going at the same time. The synth lacks a "master unison" to stack and detune the 16 "real" voices, but 32 oscillators from pressing a single key should be more than enough, no need to get silly here. Sylenth1 is the "king of the supwersaw" - Most softsynths only offer one Unison oscillator and one or two regular ones, or only a "master unison", kicking the synth into monophonic mode. The only synth I can think of that beats it is the hardware Virus TI with its hypersaw oscillator, free sub oscillators and master Unison mode. It also offers many additional features and a much broader sonic pallette, but it does cost at least 10x more. Still, Sylenth is capable of producing many Virus-like timbres.

Filters
While the oscillators sound very warm and full, the filter is a little too "polite" for my taste. With a high resonance setting, the audio signal is attenuated for the benefit of the self-resonance sine. This means you'll almost never get dangerous resonant peaks that might damage your ears or speakers, but it also means that the filter seems mellow and tame sometimes. With a bit of drive and distortion added, it can sound pretty nasty, but it takes some effort to get there.

Features, or rather, Limitations
This is where you really need to think hard if the synth is for you, especially considering the asking price. As other have stated, many important features are mising, resulting in a very basic synth ”on paper”. PWM is mising though you can fake it using two oscillators (a bit fiddly with multiple detuned waves). Oscillator sync is missing. The mod matrix is fairly incomplete. The Tempo Sync button is global only. Serial filter routings are impossible. The features that are implemented on the other hand are rock solid. I think it's a matter of different philosophies when releasing the 1.x version of a synth. The developer can implement all features he ever dreamed of implementing, which many do. This results in bloated, buggy plugins with high CPU usage, unexpected behaviours and frequent crashes. The other route, which fewer choose, is to thoroughly test what you have now and release it. Then, add new features with incremental upgrades, again thoroughly beta testing and optimizing each new feature that goes into the synth. I do hope the developer intends to add new features for free – asking for more money for upgrades at this point would be a little unreasonable.

GUI
The GUI simulates a real hardware synth, with a mixture of knobs, sliders and LCD's. The layout is similar to ReFX's Nexus with a big LCD in the middle and various controls surrounding it. The LCD is used only for effects and the arpeggiator (unlike Nexus where it's the main patch browsing facility), but it's positioned in the center of the window. The controls you actually use when creating a sound are towards the edge of the window. This doesn't quite make sense from a workflow perspective as it puts the effects rather than synth parameters in focus. I also prefer GUIs where the value of the current parameter is displayed as a tooltip. When it's displayed on a separate "LCD", you essentially have to look in two places at the same time - at the knob to judge its relative position, and at the LCD to see its numerical value.

Conclusion
It may sound like I'm very negative about certain aspects of this synth. This is not true at all. With a synth this good sounding and easy to work with, every little flaw really stands out. The synth is also still in its infancy, and future updates might add new features or refine existing ones. Other than the small faults, the synth is thought out and extremely easy to work with. It's tweakable and meant to be played. You won't be hand-drawing envelopes or spend hours setting up intricate modulation routings and custom waveshapes with this synth. You will however be creating powerful, musical sounds in no time.
Read Review
Sylenth1

Reviewed By Magpel [all]
August 3rd, 2007
Version reviewed: 1.21 on Windows

I've been lusting after Sylenth1 for a few months after hearing the buzz and trying the demo. Sonic character is a subjective thing, but in case you haven't already heard, Sylenth has a lively, thick, animated sound that bests most VAs I've heard. That's the good news. The bad news is not bad news: Sylenth is a bit under-developed in terms of functionality at this point, especially and most importantly in terms of modulation routings. This barebones functionality is heightened by the rather hefty price tag--Sylenth is a fair bit more expensive than other more felxible subtractive softies such as Pentagon 1 and Minimonsta.

So the thing that will sway this review of Sylenth is...the future. I'm onboard. I bought in. Unlike hardware, softies have no durable value except that which is provided by the developer via updates and upgrades. I am hoping that this synth will do a lot of growing in the months and years ahead. If it doesn't, I will certainly feel that I overpaid for this.

Sound: Fine, liquid, nice. Good filters. Very decent effects section. I am not primarily an "electronic" composer. I use synths for oddball textures and specialty sounds in my sorta Gypsy indie prog pop songs (for lack of a better term...). I think Sylenth will come in very handy for high character "analog" sounds--even thought presets are very much geared to the electronic crowd.

Stability and CPU efficiency: excellent so far.


Presets: all of a kind really, which is to say they show off the synth's limitations well. Everything is pretty by-the-book subtractive.


Features: let me be clear--Sylenth's limited scope is a plus, not a minus. It sets strict limits on what it is and what it isn't. That is fine by me. My complaint is that, even for a strcitly defined subtractive emulation, Sylenth is under-featured. The list of mod destinations is paltry. I esepcially miss the ability to address envelope stages via the mod matrix. As I suggested above, the samey-ness of the abundant presets betrays a synth with very limited routings. How about a 4x16 step sequencer, like Evolver's, to make up for it? That would be fun. Study Evo's mod destinations as well.

Value: weeeeeeeel, this is the big question. LennarDigital is really onto something with their engine, to my ears at least. And everything it DOES have feels well designed and rock solid.

Again, I'm nervous about this purchase. I feel as I bought a synth with a bunch of empty bays. I will use it and enjoy it, but I really hope the Developer stays on top of it and delivers value commensurate with the price he is asking.
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Sylenth1

Reviewed By simesf [all]
April 20th, 2007
Version reviewed: 1.21 on Windows

I'm a gear whore, I admit it. I'd got to the stage where I couldn't see the point of getting any other kind of synth, let alone yet another subtractive synth. Then I read a review of Sylenth and decided to try the demo. I bought it pretty soon after that.

Sylenth has the best analogue sound I've ever heard from a vst; it's as simple as that. I know that's always going to be a subjective and contentious issue but I say it after comparing it with the cream of the crop of today's analogue based vsts. It doesn't have a huge amount of basic waveforms, and it doesn't have a huge amount of filters, envelopes or LFOs. It doesn't have a huge amount of modulation destinations. But - it has a huge, huge, huge amount of what you really want which is sound quality.

The filters (one of the main make or break feautures of any synth) are just gorgeous, overdriving beautifully, and now that I've programmed over 256 presets for it I've never found myself coming up against any frustrating limitations; indeed if anything it's the opposite case. So many powerhouse vsts can become an involved and obscure chore to program. Sylenth, with it's simple and well laid out interface just invites you in to make fast and intuitive changes. It's moreish - over 256 presets moreish in my case.

I dropped a mark off the interface because I'd like it to look a little more polished but not at the expense of the clarity of the thing; I'd heartily recommend this synth for a first time programmer of any subtractive synth. The small diagrams of each waveform and LFO make it so much clearer to see what's going on.

I dropped two marks off the features because there are other monster synths which can do more. But if you are programming patches for songs then 95% of the time you don't need the extra 5% that they offer, and did I mention that the cpu usage is stupidly low given that this synth can have up to 32 voices coming simultaneously off just one note? I'm also leaving off two marks since this synth has the potential to expand in a number of different ways - I'll expand on this in the customer support section.

Documentation - Two marks off because there's not a huge amount of tutorial material but the manual does explain with colour diagrams about the synth and its sections. This is a straightforward and intuitive synth that doesn't need a huge manual.

Presets - I'd have liked them organised by type but the factory presets are all prefaced by BS for bass, PAD, LD for lead sounds and so on which helps greatly. There's plenty to browse through.

Customer support - I sent some presets off to Lennard with suggestions for the synth. He got back to me pronto and was friendly, enthusiastic and seemed to actually take my amateur suggestions seriously. This is a young synth made by a keen and active developer. I'm dying to see what new developments he'll come up with. He has a forum here at KVR and is prompt and helpful in his responses.

Value for Money - That's a no brainer. The best analogue sounding vst I've heard for such a reasonable price? This is my desert island analogue emulation.

Stability - I've spent quite a bit of time with it and it's never crashed once, so full marks here.

Since I bough this synth I've only kept my other subtractive synths which have specialised purposes. For general analogue sounds I go to Sylenth every time. I'm not connected with Lennar Digital and being by nature rather cynical I'm almost embarrased to write such an effusive review but I've done my best to be impartial and honest given that this is my first review here at KVR. No other vst has made me feel compelled to do so. Try the demo. You may well be surprised.
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Sylenth1

Reviewed By kaverka [all]
February 23rd, 2007
Version reviewed: 1.20 on Windows

Impressive synth from a very creative and dedicated developer. I bought it at 1.11 and the new update to 1.20 shows Lennard's commitment and creativity. The little arp in it is a very welcome addition. I'm not too crazy about the look of the interface, but that's just personal taste and it doesn't really bother me, nor does it get in the way. Another person would probably think it looks great... so who really cares? It does what it is supposed to do. But what I love about this synth is the sound. I have dozens and dozens (and dozens) of plugins and this is one of my favorites right now, and I'm really satisfied with the money I spent on it. It's a decidedly analog sounding synth to me, at least that's how I use it, and it just seems to fit into my mixes well. I've found I keep going back to it and it is becoming a real little workhorse. Plus it's not heavy on CPU (say, compared to an insanely huge beast like NI MASSIVE) and it just feels well thought-out and usable. I hate to use the word "practical" but in a way it is... it is USABLE and it is NOT a one-trick pony. It's feels like a synth when I play it... not like a plugin. It can create some fantastic lows with crisp, resonating highs. For me, this is a total home run, and I'm hoping Lennard has a lot of success with it. This is an example of creative, excellent programming too. It seems stable and CPU friendly so far. I don't care at all that the interface has some SynthEdit libraries in it... I know there was initially some controversy over that and I'm satisfied Lennard will eventually get rid of those linkages. Plus, it doesn't matter at all since it's only in the interface. What matters is that the custom, original sound engine is outstanding, tight, efficient, and creates the sounds you want to hear. Also, Lennard is great about getting back to you and he is committed to providing good service. He also seems open to accepting suggestions for improvements... as long as they are intelligent suggestions. :) I don't know how good the manual is since I've never bothered to read it, since this synth is extremely straightforward to use and any synth user worth his salt won't need to read instructions on this. (So I'll give it a 10 on the manual just because it's so easy to use... but again, I actually don't know if the manual is any good since I never bothered or needed to look at it.) The presets are good, but this is NOT a preset-lover's synth... go elswhere for that. This is a REAL synth that is better suited for tweakers, players and sound designers over simple-minded patch-freaks. While the presets are good, they just don't cover everything this baby can do. Again, this is a home run for me. A new staple in my library that I find I am going back to frequently. Worth every penny spent. :)
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Latest 30 reviews from a total of 30

Comments & Discussion for LennarDigital Sylenth1

Discussion
Discussion: Active
eod
eod
2 July 2012 at 11:03pm

Hello.

I have purchased Sylenth1 a while ago however am having registration issues within Windows 8 preview. I still hear the nagging demo mode sound even though my name appears in the Registration info window within the plugin. can anyone else confirm this and will there be a fix in the future?

Regards,

Chris

Steve196
Steve196
14 July 2012 at 3:01pm

Hi Chris,

In the beginning I experienced the same kind of problem, but it was solved once i had removed the demo version(s) properly. I use Windows 7, so maybe Windows is indeed the cause but i have some doubts about that.

Regards,

Steve

AmericanYellow
AmericanYellow
5 August 2012 at 9:46am

Hey all,

I had the same issue in Window 7 64 bit, but re-installing a few times fixed the problem. I now have the same issue again on 1 of 2 computers both running Windows 8 Release preview 64-bit. Both computers have the same hardware, software, and were set up at the same time with the same procedures. Re-installing does not work, just spent the entire month trying to figure it out, and I've finally given up. Also, Sylenth causes every DAW I use to eventually crash after a couple of the repeated nagging noises. Based on my experience and other forum posts, it seems to be a somewhat random problem with Sylenth. Annoying!!!!!
Regards,

Die Hard Sylenth Fan

Lennard
Lennard
27 November 2016 at 1:23pm

Anyone still having problems with this, just make sure to update to the latest version of Sylenth1.

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gjfurlan
gjfurlan
16 March 2013 at 7:13pm

Thank you Steve! I will do that! I really appreciate your help with this.

Greg.

Steve196
Steve196
16 March 2013 at 7:28pm

Hi Greg,.

You're welcome! FL10 can pick VST's from other folders as well, even outside FL. For example within the VST folder in Steinberg. Please let me know if it still doesn't work. Kind regards, Steve.

gjfurlan
gjfurlan
17 March 2013 at 3:58am

Hey Steve,.

I got it to work thanks. My friend my Belgium was telling me since I like trance that I should get the Sylenth1 definitive collection, but I did not see it available for download on Lennar Digital's website. Is it an expansion pack for the regular Sylenth1 download?

Thanks,.

Greg.

Steve196
Steve196
17 March 2013 at 12:34pm

Hi Greg,.

Within Sylenth1's /menu/check for updates you will see a list of downloadable sounds (presets). But those are not recent (2009 and 2010) and not grouped by genre. I don't know the 'definitive collection'. There are many presets or pathes packages for sale, most of them by genre. For examples at Loopmasters (Trance Sylenth1 patches) or at Samplemagic. All those sounds can be created by yourselve, by trail and error, but these patches may save you a lot of time. And patches can also helpfull in learning how these sounds were created, especially with Sylenth1 were you can quickly see all the setting. Adding some drumsamples might also be a way to save time when it comes to adding a good kick drum, drumloops, risers, bombs, etc. There several nice "the making of" or "in the studio with" video's on Youtube which have FL and Sylenth1 in it, for example one featuring AVICII. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but these vids can give useful insight in using FL, Sylenth1, etc. Kind regards, Steve.

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dune_rave
dune_rave
18 December 2013 at 6:28pm

OMG.

I wouldn't sell this piece of software - this is a real treasure.

I tried almost every existing plugin - free / commercial - and Sylenth1 is still in the top10.

So if you try to sell it, I bet you will find a buyer almost immediately :)

android420
android420
14 February 2014 at 10:23am

hi.

i wanted to know if i can put a sylenth and then create any channels and connect to this sylenth.

or do i have any time i create a channel to create another sylenth for each channel.

i'm working with nuendo or cubase.

thanks guyz.

Steve196
Steve196
15 February 2014 at 7:39pm

Hi, i'm not sure if i understand your question right, but if you choose Sylenth as (one of the) VST(s), a channel is created automatically. You can also asign the synth to a specific channel (usually by 'replacing' something else) or 'clone' (= copy, including settings of the other one) the thing.

Each channel can (later) be assigned to a specific mixerchannel and there you can add (additional) 'effects'.

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ballacr75
ballacr75
29 December 2014 at 12:10pm

Hi all, I'm new with Sylenth1, fantastic and very inspiring synth! only a question, why not add real PWM, Fm and SYNC between oscillators?

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Arpeggiolo
Arpeggiolo
27 November 2016 at 1:10pm

My favourite ARP was named "Good Times"

which was there in the demo version but when.

I paid for v3.28 it had disappeared...?

Lennard
Lennard
27 November 2016 at 1:19pm

It's in FactoryBank4, preset 009: ARP Good Times.

DJBenniBoy
DJBenniBoy
30 January 2017 at 6:46am

Where did the bi (ben insole) bank go lennard? What bank are the sounds in?

Lennard
Lennard
24 March 2017 at 2:15pm

They are in FactoryBank4 (added in Sylenth1 v3.030).

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DJBenniBoy
DJBenniBoy
7 April 2017 at 4:01am

Brill lennard! Im putting the news out there to all customers who own sylenth1 that they need to get the free upgrade to v3.30! ....could we possibly get access in near future as sound designers to possibly dual arpeggiators? One for osc a and b ...and use the modulation matrix for both....i.e the way it works now....every sound i make i want to show off sylenth1s full potential...so i shall be working closely with you....if there are problems i shall let you know? What could also be a great idea is if there are far more complex skins (maybe a great team of skin makers who could drop skins onto the site) and people can download them in a (for example, skn format or similar)....i think the drive is sound at the moment...im glad i brouught something to a great product lennard. I shall also be later on providing more sounds and working around updates to bring only the best to sylenth in terms of sheer sound quality.

Benjamin Insole (aka djbenniboy)

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U-o
U-o
4 October 2018 at 5:53pm

Hello, what exactly mean online activation (challenge/response) copy protection? Does it mean that I have to be connected to internet? Thanks for reply.

Lennard
Lennard
5 October 2018 at 8:11am

Hi, no you can also activate Sylenth1 on an offline computer. Please note though that if you're on the monthly payment plan, Sylenth1 will need to be connected at least once every month so that it can check the payment status. If the payment plan ends, or if you don't use it at all, you can use it completely offline.

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