. I Software Synth (Audio Unit) Recommendations

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-- . I Software Synth (Audio Unit) Recommendations

Posted by johno27 on Jan-02-2008 16:45:

. I Software Synth (Audio Unit) Recommendations

Hey all,

I have some budget to purchase some new software synths but I'm struggling to decide what to look at. I produce trance mainly. My current list of au's is:

Logic (+included synths)
Vangaurd
FabFilter One
Octopus
Battery2
RM4
Zebra2
Stylus RMX
MOTU Mach5
Reflex
Crystal
Remedy

H/W wise theres a jp8080, nord rack3 and virus ti.

So i'm looking for something to complement. Any suggestions?

I was considering GForce impOscar, or perhaps something from NI or Arturia (although it seems all the Arturia stuff requires a Synchrosoft key? - run out of free usbs including a hub )

I was looking forward to trying out Gladiator, gave it a whirl on PC as the mac version isn't out yet and I have to say I wasn't blown away unfortunately.

Cheers
John

Posted by Ry Thomas on Jan-02-2008 17:11:

Albino3 will compliment them nicely

Posted by jupiterone on Jan-02-2008 18:14:

Predator
Absynth

Posted by Lolo on Jan-02-2008 18:26:

korg legacy digital.

Posted by johno27 on Jan-03-2008 09:30:

Thanks,

Going to try out the Korg Legacy Collection and Predator.

Has anyone tried out the Korg Radias h/w synth?
I'm not adverse to buying more h/w if it's going to offer more sonic possibility than software.

Speaking of which, I've had the Virus TI for nearly 2 years now and am going to be selling it. It just never gels with me, theres something about the sound I just don't like and I never seem to come up with patches that work for me using it, unlike the nord and jp which constantly produce what i'm looking for. Anyone else find the same thing with the TI?

Cheers
John

Posted by johno27 on Jan-03-2008 10:24:

Played with Predator a bit, really like it.. oddly enough it feels to me is if it makes a better "Virus TI" than the Virus TI does It's sound design possibilities are pretty endless!

Posted by PassiePassion on Jan-03-2008 14:20:

Nexus is great especialy with the expansions
Dont know if there is an UB version
There is a MAC version thats 4 shure

Posted by jupiterone on Jan-03-2008 17:33:

If you like predator check out NI Massive. Such fat sounds

Posted by sot on Jan-04-2008 01:54:

arturia jupiter 8v

korg legacy

predator

arturia minimoog and/or gforce minimonsta

Posted by Blahzaay on Jan-04-2008 03:07:

quote:
Originally posted by johno27
Speaking of which, I've had the Virus TI for nearly 2 years now and am going to be selling it. It just never gels with me, theres something about the sound I just don't like and I never seem to come up with patches that work for me using it, unlike the nord and jp which constantly produce what i'm looking for. Anyone else find the same thing with the TI?

I can never create the sound I want with my TI. I know a enough about synthesis (I think) and can create much better sounds with some of my freebie soft synths. But since I paid so freakin much for it at the time I keep forcing myself to get some use out of it. My mate has had the JP8080 for quite some time and it seems to shit all over my Virus...

Posted by Fledz on Jan-04-2008 03:08:

Not sure why everyone raves so much about Predator. It's a great synth but Albino 3 is still a lot better even though it's older.

Posted by cryophonik on Jan-05-2008 14:28:

Albino 3 is pretty nice and Predator is OK, but over-hyped IMO. Blue is by far Rob Papen's best synth, IMO. You've got a good selection of subtractive synths, so why not consider something like Blue or NI FM8 for something that excels at FM synthesis. Blue is very easy to program, has a ton of free banks available on the web, and will do plucks, bells, arps, and basses like no other.

If you decide to stick with subtractive synths, I'll second the recommendation for Massive, but only if you've got a screaming processor - it's a CPU hog.

Posted by mysticalninja on Jan-05-2008 15:06:

viros ti is good.. are you doing recursive modulation to make your envelopes not all linear and stale?

Posted by johno27 on Jan-07-2008 11:50:

So I went ahead a bought Korg Legacy Collection and Predator, some fantastic sound! I'm really impressed with where these softies can go.

Only problem now is CPU performance, Predator seems to eat about 15-20% per instances, same for the standard Korg synths, and LegacyCell maxes my CPU out completely on some patches!

I'm running a G5 dual 2.5ghz (PPC) with 2gig ram... would have thought that should be enough to handle these things, I can only imagine that Massive would be un-usable on my machine.

I know Predator will run on a Receptor, anyone know if the Korg collection will run on it? It might be a good next option to expand the software side and avoid CPU meltdown.

-> In terms of the the Virus, I've tried various modulations and fx... I dunno it sounds rubbish to me and the wavetable stuff is even worse than classic oscillators. To be honest, I think Predator sounds better for classic subtractive and wavetable. Its has sub-oscillators, symmetry and formant/index shifting like the TI only it sounds more pleasing.