Did you try this amazing Plugin Ultra from ?
https://ultra.audio/

 

Every preset sounded like ass

 

great synth

 

Last edited: Jan 9, 2026

im good with what i got man, appreciate it though. theres just an overwhelming amount of synths now; im tried of trying stuff

 

Looks good. But what's not on that webpage is how large is the customer base is, because if a synth has a following it will also have plenty of tutorials, presets both free and paid, and maybe other material that can help you use it. Try searching for its presets packs. Then try searching for Serum preset packs NOT saying all should buy Serum (i dont even own it myself) but you get the clue I'm sure. But of course. If you always prefer figuring stuff out on your own instead of tutorials, and always make your own presets, you can safely disregard these factors

 

I gave it a go, and while it looks like a decent synth, it didn't really sell it to me.

The advertised feature of stereo signal flow looks good on paper I didn't really find that many wavetables that were stereo, and those that were sounded odd with and not that useful. Sort of out of phase with maximum stereo width. Some were a wavetable with the second table having the cycles just reversed. Kind of lazy and again, not that good.

So I was going through the wavetables to find something fun to play with and... the 20min trial ended. So umh... start again? I think not. Sorry.

 

Overloaded Synth market already, but completely lost even the remotest inkling of interest at all with with these 3 words "Online sound library". Click and "Bait" Sorry wrong word BUY, Just another greedy developer. Well the toilet is going to require a double flush with this one.

 

Last edited: Jan 9, 2026

I tested the Ultra, the sound didn't convince me, many other synthesizers sound much better than the Ultra, so I deleted it again.

 

I agree with demo give absolutely nothing to try but the modulations in that plugin is amazing
about the price and preset puck really dam expansive and greedy

 

The only thing that seems interesting is the "Ultrawave" engine. Seems like a pretty intuitive mix of wavetable and sample oscillator. It definitely has some features that would be nice to have in other synths (Falcon, Omnisphere, Vital etc). It's a shame that all of the preset packs have to be sold only through their own online store. That's a hell of limitation for any sound designers and instrument developers.

 

I'm Nigel, the developer. Just found this forum!

For sure there is going to be a lot more content for Serum, seeing as it's been out for 12 years. We have been out for one week, and are hoping there is more and more content over time.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion but the guy in the video didn't load any presets

The main library (factory, your patches) is not online. There is an online store which manages the installation of presets. The current process for getting patches for synths is to find a site, trust them with a payment, download to then copy over to a location deep in your computer. This is fine for people who are technical but I personally think it's not great.
The online store allows you to browse patches, listen to a demo, buy the sound individually, and about 5 seconds later it is installed and ready to play.
For sound designers we take care of hosting the content hosting, a searchable store and payment, in return for a small percentage. There is no need for them to create a website, get a payment provider, hosting, etc.
I personally think this is better, but using the store is totally optional.

Feedback is good, and we are learning. Happy to answer any other questions

 

A 20 minute trial is insane - and highly sus.

This is no way to do business, break into the market - much less disrespect your prospects.

Never mind how it sounds - or doesn't - on that fact alone, I'd advise to stay away.

I normally roll my eyes at the expression, but this is a major red flag.

 

I love this synth. I bought it a week ago. Very smooth and full bass and very lush and warm pads. It's easy to control and a pleasure to work with. Looking forward to the new presets, but this is a synth that invites you to dive in and get sound designing yourself.

You might want to tell folks about the rent to own model and maybe give them a clue as to how long the sale is likely to last before it goes up in price. If I had one suggestion or request it would be for you to make some more tutorial videos explaining the concepts you have laid out. You did pretty good in that first video and I think you should expand on that and take it a bit further. You have a talent for teaching and explaining things as well. It would be good to get the initial tutorials from you as you know the synth so well, just laying out the basics at least. That would be great.

Otherwise I think you're doing a fantastic job. Obviously a lot of thought went in to designing this synth. I think it's time to show it off a little bit with what it can do. Some of those concepts are a little new to me. But as for the other standard stuff, I found the synth very easy to work with to come up with stuff quite quickly. I've used it in a few things already and it's very versatile. Great job!

 

I totally agree with you. It comes across as very short-sighted and seriously lacking in situational awareness as to the state of play right now in music making land. We're over-saturated with great synths. It also shows a lack of confidence in the product and that leads to people having a lack of confidence in the developer. I know that I came very close to not buying this, but I ended up buying it anyway.

I'm hoping Nigel can get a bit of self-belief in his product, or at least display that self-belief for others to see. This is no time to be fearful when you are bringing a product to market. If you trust in and respect your prospective customers, you will get it back, and if they can afford the synth, they will buy it. I took a flyer on this one because it clicked with me straight away, but it was very close because of those silly demo restrictions. Too many developers just don't understand the concept of creating good will and building a rapport with their user base. And at this price, you better make sure you have engaged that good will and have that rapport, or else...

I have confidence that Nigel will remedy this when he gets a chance. It's early days. I think the point has been made and I would like to think that he understands what we are trying to say (hopefully).

 

There has to be a trial or otherwise the synth is free. Not sure how that is taken as a red flag or disrespectful.
Pigments has a 20 minute trial, we thought that was a good approach. After some feedback it's been increased to 30 minutes.

 

Rent to own has been a popular option. It runs for 25 months, and is the same price as the full purchase. At any stage you can pay the difference and end the rent to own.

Thanks for your support, I'm glad you're enjoying it so far

 

How do you think the demo should operate?

 

To me the biggest reason that serum is the most successful synth is because of how open it is in terms of presets, and with that, sharing presets. Right now with Ultra I don't even see a simple way to save a preset I made (on my hard drive where i can easily find it) and then send it a person I'm collaborating with on a project. Big problem for me (unless i missed something obvious). Many times i have watched Serum tutorials that show you how to make a sound and then provide a free link to the preset. Not sure how that's possible here either. Also some new creators just want to share sounds via presetshare or similar platforms for those who can't afford to buy packs. The online preset library to me is a red flag and this to me seems like long term it will slow adoption for Ultra. I understand the ease it creates, but that ease also should be optional. The synth itself looks amazing, and fun to play with. But these days we now have Pigments, Current, Phase Plant, Serum and Vital (which is free). Trying to compete with that AND adding a barrier for preset sharing does not feel like the right move. I hope this changes.

 

The acustica audio model. 1 month, full features. Including preset saving and exporting. This allows users to really get a feel for the synth, start using it in projects, creating their own patches, investing time into the synth. When demo expires... now what? I just created 30 badass patches over the last month, guess im going to buy this thing.

 

Almost every developer who decides to exclude third-party content creators will not do anywhere close to what they would otherwise. Look at Serum vs Nexus. Nebula vs Aquas.

Third party content creators for synths drive a ton of users to the products. Those creators will not develop stuff for an even semi-locked up platform unless they really have to, like Kontakt. Look at Avenger, or even Falcon (although people could develop more for it). Many producers don't really go for anything that is developer locked up content that makes something feel some kind of rompler.

These things are barriers to adoption of a synth. If the only source of additional content means that content is available to every user as presets, many producers will not buy-in to using it. Watch that Marshmello inside-the-track video he did using Serum and look at all the 3rd party packs he has installed, it's crazy! (from downloading them). Most producers putting out music are not "start with an INIT patch purists".