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Essential VSTs for beginning producers

To those of you wondering: Yes, I've used the search function (thought I should precede my post with that!)

I have found several threads on TA that make mention of VSTs and where to find/buy them, whatever the case may be. I thought this thread would be warranted, however, because although I've been browsing KVR and similiar sites for countless hours, I'd still like to get input from any of you on your recomendations on "essential" VSTs to own.

I'm not an advanced producer by any stretch of the imagination, but I am really starting to get into it now. I'm on somewhat of a small budget, but if you have any free VST suggestions, or VSTs for less than $300 that you love and use all the time and consider to be "must haves", I'd love to hear about them.

I currently use and love the following:

1) synth1
2) claw
3) karmaFX
4) crystal
5) superwavep8
6) the few VSTs that come with Cubase SX3

I will most likely be buying absynth, v-station and z3ta+, since I've read some good reviews on those. And of course, I need to get Battery 3

Thanks for any suggestions you may have!

fm7/8
z3ta
albino
korg legacy

that's all i've got

quote:

Originally posted by echosystm fm7/8 z3ta albino korg legacy that's all i've got

Sweet - I'll check them out. Heard of FM7 and FM8. How do you like 8 compared to 7?

i only have 7, i just put 7/8 because 8 is basically the same thing + a few new waveforms etc. :P

If you aren't happy with Synth1 and KarmaFX, you're never going to be happy with anything else.

Either that, or you don't really know how to use them, and other synths won't help with that.

i would recommend emulator x. it's at the upper edge of your budget. but well worth the price of admission. sampling, sample editing, sample playback.

actually, if you had emulator, and you are good at creating/programing your kits... you don't need to spend money on battery. i have battery, but i moved everything over my mpc. one of these days i'll get around to importing everything into emulator x.

i have absynth, i like the stock sounds... to me it looks like absynth would be better for pads, not so much for leads. but i haven't gotten to deep into it.

blue is very nice also. -by rob papen, the albino guy.

FM8 also has more features than FM7. FM8 has a nice arpregator, and looks a lot nicer than ugly-ass FM7.

I'm gonna go against common opinion and recomend Vanguard. It's extremely simple to use, but can deliver a nice sound.
Or Z3ta. this is the only VST I still go back to now that I've got hardware.

quote:

Originally posted by thoughtlessjex If you aren't happy with Synth1 and KarmaFX, you're never going to be happy with anything else. Either that, or you don't really know how to use them, and other synths won't help with that.

So true, Synth1 is probably THE essential synth to have as a beginner. It's so powerful and best of all it's FREE.

V-Station! Sure it's an oldie, but you can do so friggen much with it.

The free "Rock" synth for more industrial textures.

The Vanguard has a good digital bite to it and some warmth if you can simply look past the presets that it comes with.

I've listened to demos of the Imposcar, and that's on my wishlist currently.

Superwave P8 is gold for trance, but it's supersaw sounds raspy and phased in comparison to my real JP-8080. Also the Superwave P8 simply cannot do bass to my liking, and my JP-8080 can to a degree. Sometimes it the software fits, and other times it doesn't.

Albino 3. I always end up with a few instances of it loaded up in my projects.

quote:

Originally posted by thoughtlessjex If you aren't happy with Synth1 and KarmaFX, you're never going to be happy with anything else. Either that, or you don't really know how to use them, and other synths won't help with that.

Let's please not start with that tired old debate again. Different strokes for different folks, okay?

quote:

Originally posted by sr126 i would recommend emulator x.

I would've recommended that, until I found out that it was CDILLA-crippled and their support team couldn't even come up with a way to get it working after I replaced a hard drive other than "reformat your entire system and reinstall everything from scratch". Um... no thanks.

Anyway, it's definitely not something I'd recommend for beginners. Samplers are difficult to use effectively.

quote:

Originally posted by thoughtlessjex If you aren't happy with Synth1 and KarmaFX, you're never going to be happy with anything else. Either that, or you don't really know how to use them, and other synths won't help with that.

[rant]
Synths have their own characteristic strengths and reasons for existence. Some synths have very crispy oscs with warm filters, and other have more analog oscs with harsher filters, and still other subtractive synths have additive oscs with very flexible filters, and still others have very reson-drowning filters that have only a lp or hp (or only lp), and still other subtractive synths have a barrage of effects that you can attach to your final products, and still other subtractive synths have some muscle in the FM or additive properties, and still other subtractive synths have diverse abilities with ring modulation, and still other subtrative synths have wicked unison or chorusing modes, and still other subtractive synths have arpeggiators, some subtractive synths have filters that are so precise and warm that they make excellent bass noises, and still other subtractive synths have pretty flexible LFO routing, and still other subtractive synths have really cool sequencing/noise-gate thingies of themselves, and still other subtractive synths have osc options that other synths don't have, still other subtractive synths have oscs that sound NOTHING like your subtractive synths...
[/rant]

Gah... now I've gotta write a poem...

synth 1 is a brilliant little synth.

quote:

Originally posted by thoughtlessjex If you aren't happy with Synth1 and KarmaFX, you're never going to be happy with anything else.

Wow dude. Not to flame you, but you're asking for it lol.
I'm surprised to hear that from someone experienced on these boards like you.

Get real buddy. But yes, KarmaFX totally pwns. But let us not be zealots.

-----Adam

aciddose xhip is awesome.. best freeware synth imho.

kjaerhus classic limiter

quote:

Originally posted by Blake_Jarrell kjaerhus classic limiter

blake what do you think of their other plugins?

quote:

Originally posted by Blake_Jarrell kjaerhus classic limiter

this is definetly good stuff for being free

all their plugin's i think are decent

Pro 53 ,its an old vst but it can do a lot

the recent abl is worth it http://www.audiorealism.se/abl_pro_cookin.htm

id also give discovery 2.9 a try its supposed to be a re- creation of clavias nord lead.

I would not recommend absynth until you learn a few synths.

also have to agree with ralpheeee if your a beginner vanguard will help you out.

You can do it with just Reason and Reaktor - if you want to learn how to learn them properly.

quote:

Originally posted by Monkey Mouse You can do it with anything - if you learn them properly.

quote:

You can do it with just Reason and Reaktor - if you want to learn how to learn them properly.

Monkey Mouse he said he was on a budget ,so he wont be able to afford reason and reaktor as you know reaktor is 400 and reson is 3 something so your looking at 700 at least or 8 once you add the refills.

if you want to learn ,the free route then synth1,triangle,and superwave8 are your best bet once you master them then buy a quality synth.

Looking back, it appears I misread the OP. It's not that he's giving up on these synths, he just wants a broader range, which is perfectly fine.

Regardless, I still hold that if those synths alone cannot satisfy, then no synth will.

I want Reakt0r!!

quote:

Originally posted by DigiNut I would've recommended that, until I found out that it was CDILLA-crippled and their support team couldn't even come up with a way to get it working after I replaced a hard drive other than "reformat your entire system and reinstall everything from scratch". Um... no thanks. Anyway, it's definitely not something I'd recommend for beginners. Samplers are difficult to use effectively.

i'm confused about the cdilla-crippled thing...

i never had any problems with e-mu. i purchased the 1820m studio bundle, so it came w/emulator. it installed perfectly for me.

did you have this problem w/the old emulator, or emulator x2? i remember reading that they used a different copy protection scheme w/x2. the only time it asked me for the original cd was after installed the program, and ran it for the first time. haven't heard a peep from it since.

i also have the retail version of proteus x2, never had problems w/that either.

i feel bad that you had a bad experience w/it.

i know emulator is not really for beginners... but it's still easy to get it going as a basic tone module, especially if you pick up some of the stuff that's available @ ESC. when he grows, emulator will be there w/him every step of the way. it's not like he will ever outgrow emulator, or reach a point where emulator x is to elementary to use in a real production envoirnment. it's 300 dollar he will spend once, and once only. no going up some upgrade ladder and spending all kinds of cash along the way.

-that's just how i see things, and this is how i plan my purchases. buy it once, buy it right.

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