I have always used soft synths and never really looked at analogue gear as it's mostly out of my budget. However, analogue hardware has recently peaked my interest for its warm, crunchy sounds. I'm just wondering what people think are the soft synths that emulate analogue 'real' gear the best.

Any thoughts?

 

Native instruments Monark and u-he Diva sounds best to me.

 

Trust me... No matter how great the emulations are, there's no way to mimic how the hardware really sounds ;)

 

Diva in 'Divine'/multicore mode.

Besides Monark, I am also digging the Dagger through Soundtoys/Eventide FX.

Xils-Lab MiniSyn'X is worth a mention, and also OP-X Pro-II.

Sometimes I also use Tube Saturator @ Subtle Tube Warmth preset on VST synths.

 

Last edited: Feb 6, 2016

While I tend to agree with you, my 80's Korg MS-20 and Roland Juno synths are mostly gathering dust in the corner, because in a treated mix the difference is not worth worrying about. Just ask Gary Numan and friends.

Note: When in need of therapy, I do like to have a good knob-twiddling session on the old venerable MS-20 though

 

Last edited: Feb 6, 2016

Be careful with that knob-twiddling - you'll go blind!

 

OP-X PRO II.
Sounds fat and warm,imo the best sounding VST analog emluation synth.

 

While I too, do enjoy therapeutic sessions of blindness inducing, 'knob twiddling' with a Prophet 12, Sub37 and my old trusty CS 60 & OB-Xs...

Diva, OP-X Pro II (which when side by side blind testing with my real one.. I cannot tell the difference in any real sense), some of the UVI libs when used/tweaked inside Falcon, ACE and Bazille are really good emu's for Analog'ish gear... and in a mix its really hard to tell what is real or not anyhow.

Btw, the excellent iOS Xynthesizr sequencer app works well with soft and hardware synths...when I don't want to use Numerology on stage.

 

Last edited: Feb 6, 2016

Loving Arcsynth at the mo

 

The Arturia emulations are quite good. The CS-80V is particularly good imho.

 

Admiral Quality PolyAna is good for me.

 

Not completely agree. I think there is a way, but we're not there yet.

Having said that, some u-he synths sound pretty good. Say, Diva and Bazille, for instance. But all of them have to be processed cleverly to make them sound more analogue.

 

oh yeah, I forgot to mention dagger.

 

Arcsyn is decent but it has ugly interface. Only a beautiful interface gives me inspiration to sit for long time and do something creative.

 

It's a well-kept secret Try it with those FX and then suddenly it's a different ballgame

 

Last edited: Feb 6, 2016

Arturia V Collection
https://www.arturia.com/products/analog-classics/v-collection/overview

 

You tell us bro,

 

Owning seven (just counted) analog synths and drum machines i can assure you that "analog" is no sound by itself. They all sound very different and I could not emulate one with another.
Each of that instruments only cover a narrow spectrum, but that can be a good thing artistically sometimes otoh.

Personally I don't think there is much advantage soundwise using analog stuff. It's comfortable to tweak hardware knobs, but less comfortable not being able to record/edit the movement (which is true for vintage synths, modern analogs may be different). Analog does sound different, but not necessarily better. And within most musical contexts the difference to a decent plugin is neglectable imho.

You need to know which style you want to go for and which sound you like. "Analog" itself does not mean too much.
For me, the essence of analog is to turn knobs (and nowadays: record the movement as controller data), no matter if a transistor filter or a algorithm is shaping my sound.
My personal experience tells me, that "analog emulation quality" of a plugin or VA synth does not matter too much. If I had to spend money today for instruments I would get great controllers first and a fast computer second. I would always chose playability over correctness of emulation.

Otoh, if there is a particular synth or plugin you like, get it and learn how to play it, make it your main instrument.
Find out how to make it sound "warm and crunchy" and share your knowledge here!

And now for some preaching:
Don't try to let instruments make your music. Use your talent.It's free!

 

There isn't much with this statement I'd disagree with.

As TAOS said in one of the other forums

"People spend thousands on a computer but then spend £50 on some cheap midi/audio interface and about the same on a controller and wonder why it all feels and sounds like crap. It's like buying a £300K Ferrari, putting £50 tires on it and then complaining it performs like a Kia or Skoda"

 

I don't expect for a second that I could tell the difference between a real MiniMoog and say MiniMonsta, Monarch, or Diva in a mix, or even on their own. But what I do find, and can't explain, is that when I fire up a hardware synth like my Juno60 or SY2 or Chroma Polaris, and start fooling around, before long I have become quite inspired, and have written numerous new song ideas - and I can't stop! For whatever reason I do not get this same inspiration when playing a softsynth, no matter how good it sounds, and even though I'm playing it with a very full featured controller that has many knobs and sliders to twiddle just like a real hardware synth.

That said there are some brands and emus I respect greatly. Admiral Quality's Poly-Ana sounds as lively and three dimensional to me as any of my hardware (maybe more so!). The GForce stuff like ImpOscar2, MiniMonsta and Oddity2 sounds great as does the XILS stuff like Syn'X and PolyKB II. And yes, Diva.

I'm sure there are many more, but those are the emus that have impressed me ... though really, when it comes to softsynths I'm more interested in those that are breaking new sonic ground rather than emulating the days of yore.