ChasingTheSun
Pastor Of Muppets
You're oddly picky. And your definition of "huge, warm, and fat" seems to be different than most people's.
I'm pretty sure i'll be using this phrase out of context for the rest of the week.
Help me choose a softsynth/other software instrument!
- Thread starter MF_Kitten
- Start date
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I'm pretty sure i'll be using this phrase out of context for the rest of the week.
This site may earn a commission from merchant links like Ebay, Amazon, and others.
nine squares
Well-Known Member
As mentioned somewhere above, have a look at Spectrasonics Omnisphere! I have been messing around with it here at work in the music store and I must say that it is really great for ambient stuff.
MF_Kitten
Set up us the bomb
checked it out a long time ago, saw the price, never looked back
i can´t shell out that much
i can´t shell out that much
Holy Katana
Wait, what?
I've been meaning to get the demo for that. It seems like a beast.
I'd also recommend Alchemy. I've been messing around with it, and it's crazy. I just wrote a huge wall of text describing how awesome it is, but I felt that it doesn't do it justice. It's truly awe-inspiring how much they've crammed into it. Additive synthesis, sample manipulation, spectral manipulation, virtual analog, and granular synthesis, all in the same synth. I made a sound that I'd been struggling to make in FM8 within minutes.
EDIT: Oh, and I forgot to mention that Massive is technically sample-based, as it uses wavetables for its oscillators. Does that make it any less awesome? No.
Of course, I love working with samples, so it doesn't bother me. I still want Massive.
GalacticDeath
Well-Known Member
Have you been able to get any good lead sounds out of it? I do a lot of ambient stuff but I would also like to get some good lead sounds.
Variant
Banned
Omnisphere is God, but yeah... pricey, mainly because shit-tons of sampling was involved, an art lost on most contemporary synth packages.
So far as ambiant stuff goes, I second the Absynth though. We use it a lot.
So far as ambiant stuff goes, I second the Absynth though. We use it a lot.
nine squares
Well-Known Member
Have you been able to get any good lead sounds out of it? I do a lot of ambient stuff but I would also like to get some good lead sounds.
Sure. Not me personally but I have a customer who has made some really cool leads from scratch inside the machine. I have only browsed through like 500 presets out of like 5000+ but I believe there´s something for everyone in there.
MF Kitten, I didnt understand your budget so I´m sorry for not being talepathic. I just figured you would grab it due to your other pricey gear list. Have a look at the other tips from people instead.
MF_Kitten
Set up us the bomb
yeah, i wasn´t that clear about the budget. i did say no more than massive though, didn´t i?
i really wanna love absynth, because it seems to be the ultimate ambient sound thingy, but it confuses the fuck out of me!
i´ve seen alchemy before, and it IS interesting. i´d have to try it... price is actually right too!
and sampling is okay to some extent, but it depends on what the samples are, and what role the play. i don´t like synths where they´ve basically sampled a pad setting, and you can only change settings after the pad sound, and not the initial sound itself...
Holy Katana
Wait, what?
That's the cool thing about Alchemy: you can edit samples, and quite radically. And I mean radically in the sense of the very roots of the sound. Edit the spectrum, edit the harmonics, then do whatever else you want to.
GalacticDeath
Well-Known Member
Cool man. The more I read about Omnisphere the more I wanna get it lol. I'm saving up my money to buy it for sure.
lava
Gelatinous
You might try searching KVR Audio's massive database of freeware softsynths before you go off and buy anything:
KVR: Audio Plug-in Database (Search Page) - VST, Audio Units, RTAS, DirectX, LADSPA, DSSI
When I search for AU synths I get 27 results. Crystal is in there, which is an awesome sounding, amazingly powerful and flexible synth. You should try that:
Crystal VST Instrument
If you were on a PC and could use VST instruments, you'd have about 500 results to choose from. In the past I have owned about 20 hardware synths of all types - digital, analog, additive, subtractive, FM - so I know what a good synth sounds like. But all my synths now are freeware softsynths. Many of them sound fantastic, especially in a mix.
KVR: Audio Plug-in Database (Search Page) - VST, Audio Units, RTAS, DirectX, LADSPA, DSSI
When I search for AU synths I get 27 results. Crystal is in there, which is an awesome sounding, amazingly powerful and flexible synth. You should try that:
Crystal VST Instrument
If you were on a PC and could use VST instruments, you'd have about 500 results to choose from. In the past I have owned about 20 hardware synths of all types - digital, analog, additive, subtractive, FM - so I know what a good synth sounds like. But all my synths now are freeware softsynths. Many of them sound fantastic, especially in a mix.
Espaul
Well-Known Member
Holy Katana
Wait, what?
I mentioned Crystal earlier. It's definitely nice-sounding, but the GUI is rather clunky. That makes programming it harder.
The only thing about free VSTs is that most of them are for Windows, so MF can't use them.
The only thing about free VSTs is that most of them are for Windows, so MF can't use them.
MF_Kitten
Set up us the bomb
i´ve been up and down KVRaudio looking through ALL the AU plugins already, so i´ve grabbed what i could from there 
i´ve already installed crystal, so i´m ahead of ya there. i remember trying the presets on it some years ago and thinking it was awesome. never got around to trying it out properly though. apparently Aphex Twin uses it, so it´s got some merit!
@Espaul: that looks like fun, but it also looks like the complete opposite of what i would buy!
seriously though, i would love to have that for just noodling around and having fun.
i´ve already installed crystal, so i´m ahead of ya there. i remember trying the presets on it some years ago and thinking it was awesome. never got around to trying it out properly though. apparently Aphex Twin uses it, so it´s got some merit!
@Espaul: that looks like fun, but it also looks like the complete opposite of what i would buy!
seriously though, i would love to have that for just noodling around and having fun.
