Currently, I am only using software synths (Massive, Spire, Alchemy, etc) for electronic music production. I hear from people with hardware synths that they can make sounds that aren't the same as with using their software counterparts. I've even heard a claim that hardware synths are capable of making some sounds that software synths *cannot* create.

I'm not sure I believe that....at the end of the day, all sound is a mixture of pitch and volume; from one end of the sound spectrum to the other, both vertically (volume) and horizontally (pitch). I would argue that *any* sound from a hardware synth can be recreated using only software.

Thoughts?

 

There's already some debate on this topic in this very recent thread: https://audiosex.pro/threads/best-analogue-synth-emulations.23343/
And you'll find endless debate on this topic on this forum and many others if you do some searching.

 

it can, but you have to mimic a lot of the so called run time colouration, which is the sum of all of the electrical components, such as circuitry boards/resistors/capacitors/voltage consistency. Those parameters are extremely hard to gain an accurate digital picture of, but it can be done (Acustica Nebula 3). Even then the infinitely changing characteristics can never be fully captured in a console emulator like that. The main benefit when it comes to colouration is speed in hardware, as the percieved positive effect is and has always been from old gear. Even software developers who have done this already, have quite an extreme performance overhead to mimic the analogue functionality (uh-e bazille), and even then like i previously mentioned, wont match the same characteristics consistently. Analogue also provides the ability to FM anything, not just another oscillator, which i think uh-e have implemented but again comes at a significant cost to CPU. So yes i guess with a combination of FM/RM/AM and a bunch of post processing/ subtractive and additive synthesis you should be able theoretically acheive the same sound, but it will take you donkey's year to achieve.

 

Dagger or Diva (Divine mode) through Slate VTM is good enough

 

I've still got a large collection of (mainly vintage) hardware synths I bought back in the early 1990's (when they were out of fashion and cheap) which are fun to use and sound great.

To be honest though if I was starting out these days I doubt I'd bother to use anything other than soft synths. There is a lot of snobbery and nostalgia surrounding hardware synths but anyone with a decent understanding of synthesis and decent computer can get the job done equally as well these days!

 

After playing around with a virus TI, I'd trade in every subtractive vsti I own for one without hesitation. On the other hand, given that I'm more prone to using acoustic sounds, I'd say that Kontakt (in my opinion) is infinitely more valuable then the best hardware synths on the market.

 

Diva and D16 Group's Lush 101 are stellar sounding synths. Only drawback is the RAM usage. I'm running an i5 on 32 gigs of RAM and two instances of either plug run my cpu dry. Seems the smart thing to do would be to record the melodies and turn off the plugins unless you need to further edit then rerecord. But it seems when you record the audio it just doesn't sound the same.

 

LUSH 101 is by far my favourite synth. Use it on every track!

 

I have a Virus. They're great, but ultimately (like a VSTi) they are digital. You can get GREAT sounds out of a plugin if you know the fundamentals of sound design and synthesis.

 

RAM? I think you mean cpu.

 

An emulation can never be an exact replica and can only mimic what it designs to accomplish, that is, sound like a great analogue synth. That said, software emulations can also be great, as the other posters have illustrated, but are generally just a slightly different flavor, nice juicy and delicious flavors in their own rights and worth their sonic weight in gold.

 

Use Diva in Divine mode to audition and render the sounds, and Draft mode when recording to MIDI. Also remember to engage the Multicore button if required.

If using Slate VTM be careful to gain stage correctly.

 

Last edited: Feb 10, 2016

software is the "dark side"
hardware is the bright side, young padawan!

no its another feeling and sound, can only recommend getting a entry level analog synth or old ones.
check this guys channel, made me start praying to synth heaven
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3eH8nDVm6E_w_7Ew6ti8ww

 

Hi, vote "Disagree", explanation (it's normal): some VSTi are 99.9999% near of original. Already commented, simply search recent topic containing "analogue" keyword, and take a look about OP-X PRO-II vs. real Oberheim OB-X video. Also take attention about many member comments. However, recent hardware like Korg Kronos, Yamaha Motif/Tyros, Roland Fanthom/V-Synth etc - some of them use samples - they can't be modelled by current technology, but 80s (and olders) soundchips are modelled perfectly (99.99...). Same about old D-50 famility, mainly due to LAS technology (samples in ROMs for attacks).

 

Hardware = limited
Software = limitless

 

There can be minimal differences in sound but the question is: WHO CARES?!!!!!!

 

ssuurre hahahahaha

 

@MozartEstLa ... so you must agree with me that, 99.9999% isn?t 100% and that software synths are great and worth their sonic weight in gold, so what is it that you disagreed with?

 

I should mention that a hardware synth is totally worth owning....for certain people in certain situations. Need to use synths without a pc? Go hardware. Need to outsource some dsp from your ancient audio pc? Go hardware. Want to have knobs and faders galore without mapping midi parameters? Go hardware. If you are simply more creative with hardware, again, go hardware. If you need higher resale value from your synth, go hardware.

But with all of that said, if you want a speedy and efficient workflow, go software. If you are looking for the most usefuleness for the least money, go software. If you are just learning the ropes and aren't sure if you need a $2600 synth, go software. If you want zero maintenance or ownership costs, go software.

The "tone argument" is largely irrelevant imho. Soft synths are more than good sounding these days. There are a few that sound stunning. I own both. But for productions, I largely use soft synths. For jamming and just playing keys, I use hardware.