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Re: VST Synths....what to get.

Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 12:50 pm
by Larry Mal
budda12ax7 wrote:
Fri Jan 04, 2019 8:15 am
OOOO...I saw the Carbon Electra.....that sounds perfect....will look into that.

The best thing Arturia has on the Synth Lab is the Blade Runner presets....But all in all disappointed with the Matrix 12 and Synth Lab.


Did you buy any presets for the Synthmaster
I didn't buy any extra, I bought the whole package, though, which comes with a lot.

Buying plug in synths is fun and can be inspiring, still, there's something to be said for knowing the instruments you have very well rather than buying new ones.

I'm not badmouthing you or anything, it's kind of a caution to myself, because if all you do is keep buying synths and using the presets then you end up not really knowing how to make the most out of your instruments or even synthesis itself.

Which really should not preclude you from buying a good package or anything, but what I've told myself is that I need to stop for a good long while, make music with the excellent stuff I have at my disposal, and only later think about anything else.

I mean, I have Komplete, the Rob Papen package, Ultra-Analog, all the stuff that comes with Live and Logic, Synthmaster, Carbon Electra, and those are just the synths. If I'm not covered then I'm an idiot- oh, and I have all the Waves synths. Probably more.

The fact is, there are types of synthesizers, but as long as you get a very good one of any particular type, and know it well, then you should be able to get all the sounds that type of synthesizer can offer. This is obviously a big subject, and one that I'm not particularly qualified to go much further with, but it's something to keep in mind.

Re: VST Synths....what to get.

Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 6:48 pm
by budda12ax7
Ah well.....my goal was to get several classic synths like a moog, Juno, Jupiter. I found enough free stuff to satisfy myself already.
I like the Go2 synth....easy to use. I bought the Go2 and the TAL-Juno, I've deleted the Arturia matrix and Synth lab both completely useless. I just want a variety of synths to cover different styles of music. I like the presets because it gets me close to something then I tweek the rest. But, you are right that it is a rabbit hole to keep buying when I have enough at this point.

Re: VST Synths....what to get.

Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 10:40 pm
by mackerelmint
That matrix 12 is totally a programmer's synth and just a total bitch to get on with. I hate it too.

I do like the CS-80. It gets plenty deep but it's not completely overwhelming from the start. Really nice sounds in it.

I think the fact that it's so easy to bury oneself in vst synths and not get to know them is part of why I'm moving away from them. My little roland box covers so much and goes so deep, and I really don't know how to program it. Part of that is that there's no way to do so from the hardware and there's only recently been free software to allow you to edit with it. But that and an OBX type covers an awful lot.

A 3 oscillator poly is kind of the only real step beyond an OBX in my mind, and that's what that new moog is all about... they sure are neat.

Re: VST Synths....what to get.

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2019 9:18 am
by budda12ax7
I liked a bunch of the Matrix sounds, but disliked most of them. Not to bad to tweeze out some of my own sounds, but I had high expectations for it.

The Synth Lab really sucked.....6,000 presets and not very tweekable. I guess if you were using that in performance mode it would be cool.

On the other hand,,,the TAl-Juno is great....but will look for a SEM vst....

Re: VST Synths....what to get.

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2019 9:42 am
by Larry Mal
The Waves synths are excellent, by the way.

Re: VST Synths....what to get.

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2019 1:00 pm
by budda12ax7
Haha....more vst synth searching. I used the Go2 on 4 tracks of my synth EP thingy...need to use other stuff. Will check it out. Thanks.

Re: VST Synths....what to get.

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2019 1:27 pm
by Larry Mal
Actually, I haven't bought their brand new one yet, so I shouldn't say that, but I will. Flow Motion? I forget the name of it.

Re: VST Synths....what to get.

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2019 3:55 pm
by Maggieo
What are you guys using for controllers?

Re: VST Synths....what to get.

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2019 4:20 pm
by mackerelmint
I got an Akai MPK. The first generation of them. I like it.

Re: VST Synths....what to get.

Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2019 11:12 am
by budda12ax7
I'm using an M Pro Audio 2 octave...has about 9 knobs plus two wheels. Works great, has almost full size keys.

I just looked at the Memory Moon stuff. Yikes.

Re: VST Synths....what to get.

Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 12:25 pm
by budda12ax7
Just got the Arturia Jupiter.....I put it in stand alone mode and ran it through my bass amp....oh yea.....

Re: VST Synths....what to get.

Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2019 10:15 am
by Larry Mal
Maggieo wrote:
Sat Jan 05, 2019 3:55 pm
What are you guys using for controllers?
I have Maschine, I rarely use that, I have a Casio CDP 100 (which I use as a full 88 key MIDI controller), and I have a little Alesis V25 as well.

Re: VST Synths....what to get.

Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2020 10:00 am
by Marc
Sone great recommendations here. One thing missing (or possibly I missed the posts) is the Korg Legacy range... these have been around for a long time and still sound great. They were ported to 64bit some time ago and the whole collection is available in flash sales on the Korg website from time to time with big reductions.

I really like the Poly 6 - for its simplicity to program and distinct voice - the filter is excellent
The MS20 is also excellent - can also be made polyphonic
The MonoPoly is also brilliant - complex and unique. It's about time Behringer did a clone!

+1 on all the SynthMagic Kontact stuff - the ARP Quadra is particularly good but a little pricey - but no doubt took a lot of development work to bring to market. They also do an ARP/SIEL Ochestra which is surprisingly cheap at less than £20.

+1 on the TAL Sampler - it does indeed emulate programatically the way that early samplers did what they did. It is in no way a 24bit sampler with a bit crusher on the end of it. It has 'a sound' (well severally - I usually go for the EMU or S1000n voicings)
+1 TAL - JUNO 60 - I did the 'Mr Fingers' clock retriggered arpeggio trick from a tutorial and worked great if you want to emulate old techniques.

Hardware I like that is cheap:

Nord LEAD 2x - The extra voice outputs really come in handy

and dare I say ROMpler?

The original Roland JV-1080 - sounds better than the later models, highly programmable, massive library from 3rd parties, does great analog style stuff as well as 90s digital, a pile of extra outputs. Entire records were made with these things.

https://www.musicradar.com/news/blast-f ... nd-jv-1080

Re: VST Synths....what to get.

Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2020 5:31 pm
by mackerelmint
SHHH!

Don't tell people to go buy up the 1080s! Or the 2080s! Or the 1010s! They don't need to know! ;)

I own a JV1010 that I paid about a hundred bucks for, and that little box just kills.