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Is the subtractive soft synth market oversaturated? (pg. 3)
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| Richard Butler |
| quote: | Originally posted by Eric J
I'm sorry but that's just ridiculous. There is not THAT much difference between synthesizer products that you can't perform all these tasks with a single subtractive synth, or even just an FM synth for example. All it takes is even some basic programming skill to accomplish all of these tasks. The idea of a specialized synth for each task not only smacks of narrow mindedness and laziness, but would greatly contribute to more generic music flooding the market. |
I've making patches since I got my Moog Rogue a long time ago and love the process, but I think we might see some specialist synths in the same way Roland released the TB3O3 Bass module.
Certainly not to replace the all in one synths, but as a compliment. I just got suboombass and can have lots of editing fun with it but I personaly like the fact it is a focused products with fx and so on that really compliment its core aim.
Your'e right, there is'nt 'that' much difference, but I for one am prepared to pay £70 for a dedicated focused product. Again I of course will still use Gladiator, Sylenth and others, but a compliment of specialist synths suits me just fine, lets see what happens in the next 2 years. |
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| cryophonik |
| I agree with the fact that Nexus is very expensive, which really supports my thoughts on this - why hasn't someone else produced a similar "trance-in-a-box" instrument, but for less $$$. Spectrasonics is actually a great example of a company that could do this because Eric Persings is a leader in sample-based instruments. They could probably put together a similar EDM-targeted rompler that blows Nexus away, and at a fraction of the cost. And, yes, I definitely agree that Omnisphere blows Nexus away, but it's a different beast than Nexus is and is not targeted specifically at the EDM market. |
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| cryophonik |
| quote: | Originally posted by RichieV
integrity ?
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| quote: | Originally posted by Kysora
Atmosphere anyone?
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| RichieV |
atmosphere definitely wasn't made for trance. And pads are generic. Leads are very genre specific.
Anyways the problem with Nexus is that it is completely redundant. Every sound is already a cliche and unless you are selling a product to amateurs ( who probably will steal it first), there isnt much point. The spectrasonic products have a long shelf life because it isn't a typical preset rompler designed for a specific genre. |
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| kitphillips |
| quote: | Originally posted by RichieV
atmosphere definitely wasn't made for trance. And pads are generic. Leads are very genre specific.
Anyways the problem with Nexus is that it is completely redundant. Every sound is already a cliche and unless you are selling a product to amateurs ( who probably will steal it first), there isnt much point. The spectrasonic products have a long shelf life because it isn't a typical preset rompler designed for a specific genre. |
Good argument. I tend to agree completely.
I think what's happening with the soft synth market generally, is that theres a splintering between extremely complex programmable synths like massive, absynth, zebra, etc, and the simpler single purpose and rompler segment. This should stand out as a clear contrast to several years ago when there was only a general purpose market and then a second market for patches for those synths.
Now we're seeing less patch banks, but more actual synths. I guess sound designers realised that people were willing to pay more for some generic sounding oscillators which are well programmed than they were for some good sounds which were programmed for good oscillators. |
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| LfmC |
Saturated with VA synths? Yes.
Saturated with GOOD VA synths? No.
As long as these is room for improovement, I will gladly try anything new that comes along |
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| cryophonik |
| quote: | Originally posted by RichieV
atmosphere definitely wasn't made for trance. And pads are generic. Leads are very genre specific.
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My point was that romplers aren't "below" Spectrasonics - and that's not a knock against them, just an observation. At any rate, I probably should've known better than to obscure my own point by using Spectrasonics as an example. :rolleyes: :p
| quote: | Originally posted by RichieV
Anyways the problem with Nexus is that it is completely redundant. Every sound is already a cliche and unless you are selling a product to amateurs ( who probably will steal it first), there isnt much point. The spectrasonic products have a long shelf life because it isn't a typical preset rompler designed for a specific genre. |
Somewhat agreed, although there's no denying that, despite the illegal downloads, Nexus has been very successful and has made Manuel et al. a boatload of cash. They can charge what they want because of supply/demand - no one else is competing with them and whether or not a guy like you (I'm pretty sure you don't own it, nor are you their target market) thinks it's cliche or crap is beside the point - many people love it and are obviously willing to pay for it.
[/horse beaten] |
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| Eric J |
| quote: | Originally posted by Richard Butler
I've making patches since I got my Moog Rogue a long time ago and love the process, but I think we might see some specialist synths in the same way Roland released the TB3O3 Bass module.
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The success of the TB303 was not the result of producers using the unit for its intended purpose but rather by producers who used it in ways that it was never intended to be used. Had the TB303 been used strictly as a "bass-accompaniment" synth for bands, as was it's intent, the unit would have undoubtedly far less notoriety and prestige than it has today.
In fact, this type of approach is exactly the type of creativity that can inspire original sounding works as was evidenced by the first producers who used the 303 in a dance context. I would encourage young producers to use their tools in ways that they were never intended to be used because its that spirit of creativity and experimentation that can lead to developing a "unique" sound and push the boundaries of dance music exactly as was done back in the 80's with the 303 unit. |
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| Cryogen |
| quote: | Originally posted by Eric J
The success of the TB303 was not the result of producers using the unit for its intended purpose but rather by producers who used it in ways that it was never intended to be used. Had the TB303 been used strictly as a "bass-accompaniment" synth for bands, as was it's intent, the unit would have undoubtedly far less notoriety and prestige than it has today.
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The TB-303 is regarded as a flop for what it was designed for. Had it not been so good at creating acid lines (a coincidence) it would've sank into obscurity. |
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| Eric J |
| quote: | Originally posted by Cryogen
The TB-303 is regarded as a flop for what it was designed for. Had it not been so good at creating acid lines (a coincidence) it would've sank into obscurity. |
My point exactly. |
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| cryophonik |
| quote: | Originally posted by kitphillips
Now we're seeing less patch banks, but more actual synths.
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I've been noticing just the opposite - it seems like I've gotten a lot more free banks for my synths this year than the last 5 years or so combined. I've also been a lot busier beta-testing sound banks this year, but less busy beta-testing synths and only a few new synths come to mind (DCam, Largo, ACE). It also seems like the boom of freebie synths has been greatly attenuated.
The current trend seems to be in updating existing products, rather than releasing new ones, e.g.,:
Gladiator > Gladiator 2
Zebra > Zebra 2.x
Nexus > Nexus2
Absynth 4 > Absynth 5
etc.
There's also a very well-substantiated rumor going around that reFX is going to release Vanguard 2 very soon - apparently, it was originally slated for this month, but will probably not be released until early next year. Mike's very own reply to the question of an updated version on the reFX forums were "Wait and you shall receive". I also have it from a very reliable source that another well-known synth in EDM circles will be getting a major "Version 2" update early next year. |
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