Hi guys, over the years I seem to have amassed a large amount of VST synths and plugins, this is all well and fair, but... and its a big butt, when I start a new recording project, be it dance, rock or vocal, I seem to be overwhelmed by the amount of options that become available, so I want to down size everything, and really get to know (intimately) just a few VST plugins and Synths. I'm currently running Cubase 7.5 and a Korg Triton, with a Line 6 POD HD for guitars and would like any advice into Three of the best VST Synths and three of the best bundled effects. I like versatility, but would like to focus on a limited amount of software and concentrate more on making music. As an afterthought, remembering back to the eighties, when we bought a synth, we learnt every aspect of it, all its nuances etc and could programme it like a second language, nowadays you need a pilots licence to use these synths, so basically I want to simplify my life. Any help???

 

I feel you, Jeff. And I have to agree, downsizing is often a boost for your creativity.

I see it differently. It's still sines, saws and other waveforms routed and modulated after all.
Most of the synths out there work roughly the same. The same goes for effects. They may all look fancy but under the hood not so much has changed.
Keep that in mind and don't let presets get you carried away and you might need less downsizing than you think.

 

I've had to do that myself throughout the years.
The easiest way to cut down is to decide which synths/plugins/effects you actually use.
Either run through some of your older projects or sit down and try to remember what you've actually used the most often and what features and sounds you get the most out of or just enjoy using.That will help you decide what to keep and what to discard.(Hopefully)


Peace

 

I always spend a great amount of time comparing and deleting loops, kontakt libs and vsts.
It takes time but you develop more your taste/style and its very good for your system performance.

 

It's funny how, as I've come to the point of having to trim the fat off my own virtual-instrument selection, I see posts on others' having to do likewise.

It's difficult to advise someone as to what "the best" software synth, library, or effect might be, for the same reason that it's hard to definitively say which acoustic or electric guitar might be "the best." The reaasons for the superlative do vary. For example, for me, "the best" solid-body electric guitar is a $120 Squier Bullet HH Strat with the high E string (and tuner) removed. I've had different makes and models, all of which would be considered "better than" the one I have, but the ergonomics and playability of this guitar are, for me, the best fit for me physically and stylistically.

So, which are the best virtual instruments for you? Which do you use most, with sounds you like best and controls best fitting the way you think? Which complement your musical style and your compositional process? Which ones' sounds spark inspiration for entire songs?

My own personal-favorites, for such personal reasons, are the Arturia Oberhein SEM V, XILS-lab XILS 3 CM, and NI's Massive, FM8, Absynth and Reaktor - the last of which has a lot of incredible Ensembles developed to run in it. Amaranth Audio Cycle is really interesting to use, in the way that the sounds are manipulated in the GUI. The ES2 synth that comes with Logic has been of great service to me, too.

 

I wiped almost everything from my machine 2 years ago and never looked back. Added stuff when I felt it was completely necessary.

Even just keeping 3 synths will give you a sh1t ton of learning if you want to master them. For instance I'd say between Massive, FM8 and Sylenth1 you can't go wrong for a sound palette. But learning (to a high level) all those 3 is no easy task either.
Maybe start with 1? Sylenth1 would be a good all rounder and there are heaps of tutorials for it on youtube.

I've just bought a Moog Phatty and I'm trying to stick with that for all sounds. Sometimes it's a real challenge but even then I always come up with something interesting... even if its not used within the song.

Get all that crap deleted and start again (you can always enable them again if your world falls apart)

 

hey, all audio lovers,

here is hoping that this might be of some help...

nowadays, me meems to use most of the air instruments, the logic instruments, the ableton suite instruments, the arturia suite, the applied acoustics systems suite, everything from urs heckmann, reaktor ensembles, synth one by ichiro toda, sometimes fm8, rarely massive, even more rarely, except for sampling my own stuff, any sampler (the placement in the listing of all these instruments does not correlate with the percentage of usage, it seems avaragely evened out, except where noted). *yes*

for me, these instruments seem to be more than enough, but my preferences might differ from anybody others'. *yes*

there were couple of hardware instruments that have had more usage, but the last five years were spent nearly exclusively with software based solutions.

feel compelled to add, in ninety seven point five percent of the cases me does my own sound design with every instrument. *yes*

have to got some time to become more acquainted with serum, though.

all the best for all of us, this will, hopefully, be enough...

later edit, post scriptum, nearly forgot, have got the private pilot license, never needed to use it during the work with the listed goodies... *yes*

many thanks for mentioning Amaranth Audio Cycle, planned to check out that one for some time... *yes*

 

I take a different approach. I regularly go through my backup disks and choose a selection of VSTi, VST, Kontakt instruments, samples, midi loops, single shots etc., and I force myself to make something with that selection. I like working within boundaries, and changing the musical pallet is always good. I also use real guitars, bass, vintage analogue synths and V-Drums, and I would include live drums/percussion if I have a contributor

 

On my side, i test things by batch.
My last test rig was a simple guitar DI track, and i tested ALL virtual amps, from well known Amplitube to obscure Revolution Z.
Deleted almost everything, apart some Lepou and Amplitube.

For v drums, i choose EZ drummer against all others (sound, features are enough to me...).

For samples, i listen to raw quality (sound take, dynamic..) and delete. After that, content check, and delete.

For synths, i learned i don't like vintage sounds. I can't stand "do it all" synths, like Omnisphere or Absynth. And i prefer dynamic, punchy and aggressive sound.

But i know that because i tested almost all synths. I try to test everything in the market. Now, i know i don't like a synth's sound in less than 5 minutes. Like Tone2 phasey and flat sound. I'm fast now but i was slow years ago
I concentrate on feeling, no more on features. I don't care about features if the sound don't give me shiver.
Most important : no shiver > delete

That's MY way.

Each of us need to find his/her own

 

My choice for stripped down, desert island PC, would be NI Komplete, UHE Zbrea & Diva and finaly Omnisphere.
FXs are a bit more difficult to chose, we get some with every DAW and Komplete has some good ones but if I had to chose one pack maybe I'd drop FabFilter and go with Melda Productions bundle, they can get me closest to weird and beloved Eventides.

 

I went through the same thing not too long ago.

One thing that may help you is organizing your libraries by TYPE, and not developer. Instead of a Waves, Fabfilter, Native Instruments folder, group your VSTs like:

Compressor
---Digital-Precision
---Analog-character
EQ
---Digital-precision
---analog-character
---dynamic
Saturation & Distortion
Phase Flange & Chorus
Time & Pitch
MultiFX
---rhytmic
---midi triggered
---static
VSTi
---Sampler/Rompler
---Synth
-------subtractive
-------additive
-------FM
Utility and Spectrum

.... and so on



When things are organized like this, you realize your collection may have less fat than you think (though it's still never a bad idea to simplify your workflow, and limit your choices to promote creativity and resourcefulness). You can keep your VSTs as they are and use shortcuts to set up a new VST folder for your DAW (BIG thanks to user Mechanix for that tip).


I have a reasonable sized collection. I've pared it down a few times and kept only what I use and a few alternatives of each type for when I want something different. 90% of my work is done with:
native Ableton effects
Fabfilter bundle (Twin is GREAT for modulation options with sound design too. often overlooked)
Massive
Sugar Bytes for crazy/rhythmic/midi-triggered effects (and Cyclop is another overlooked sound design beast)
Some NI and Waves for analog emulations
Plug & Mix for quick-access and minimal-effort stuff

 

Good tip

 

This. A little research into sound design and basic subtractive/wavetable synthesis will take you a long way.

 

i honestly thought this thread was going to be about having a really big penis and how to get it smaller. Cuz ya know... man dese dayz got dat shit hangin!