Anyone into EBM from the 80ies? *yes*
What VSTi's would be good to get sounds like Front 242 used?

I read that they used.. (in brackets what would be the VST/samples to replace the hardware)
- Yamaha DX7 (-> NI FM7/8)
- E-mu drumulator (-> Samples)
- Yamaha cs-40m
- Moog source
- Roland jupiter 4

Thanks for any hint

 

If you're looking for the 'e-piano' DX7 sound, you could try: http://www.yohng.com/software/epiano.html .

There's a sound demo on the site.

It's free and doesn't use too much RAM (unlike NI stuff)

 

One of the best bands from that period in time, also Skinny Puppy as well.

You already named equivalent clones in brackets , one major problem in creating or sampling other bands sounds is the missing ingredients will always be originality and structure, hence why music hasn't moved much in 20 years. Technology allows us to do things easy but lets be honest if somebody is still using 909 etc sounds then they missed the boat (so to speak) call it retro call it what ever you like but it's still from the past.

Don't get me wrong i love things from the past and a proud owner of old gear but with everything we currently have at our disposal i think it's time a lot of people moved on.

Yamaha cs-40m (freeware clone vers been around for a while search google)
Moog source (freeware clone vers been around for a while search google)
Roland jupiter 4 (freeware clone vers been around for a while search google)

Also search out Emu II lib as that was used extensively by them the lib has been around on Emu, Akai, Soundfont format for some time now. All can be read and converted with CDXtract and other utils, even kontakt.


Cheers
Good luck with your project

 

Don't suppose you could name drop the actual synth names TheRobot?

I couldn't find a direct moog source clone/copy, so i figured Gforce Minimonsta or Arturia's MiniMoog would do for that.
Same with Jupiter 4, not a direct clone, but i guess Arturia's Jupiter 8 may suffice.

 

For emulating old Roland synths I would use TAL U-NO-LX and Bassline-101 any time, rather than Arturia Jupiter-8. Or D16 LuSH-101, but it's a bit of a CPU hog. Arturia synths are rather overrated. When it comes to mixing your tracks, only then it becomes more apparent that it's just a fancy GUI with not-so-bad sound, but far from the real thing. I have yet to find a good Mini Moog emulation... but GForce Minimonsta is not that bad. u-he Diva sounds wonderful and it can emulate lots of different synths, but it can be a CPU hog, too. However, if you use it in mono mode, which is preferable as many of these older analog synths aren't polyphonic, then it's quite usable. Lovely sound. Just my 2p. *yes*

Front 242 used lots of hardware synths, not just these 4-5. They are collectors and totally in love with synths and technology.

 

Just get Diva as said SineWave,it does vintage good,than add another emulation if you really want something that is missing,but The-RoBoT is right too,take advantage of modern technology,just like they all did back than,check out new xfer Serum for example,Bazille could be your thing,Reaktor....

SineWave:Monark,I think it is the best Moog emulation,remember some comparison there was,here it is https://soundcloud.com/nativeinstruments/monark-a-b-comparison

 

The best Moog library is the one for Omnisphere. In fact if you dive into Omni's sound sources folder you will find pretty much everything you have been asking about


Moog Info

Omni sound sources info

 

Front 242 used the Yamaha DX7 and its successors on everything they released, from Official Version onward. Geography, Endless Riddance and No Comment were primarily analog, with Geography having mostly Roland TR-808 drums throughout, and Endless Riddance and No Comment being created with EMU Drumulator and Oberheim DMX. Official Version was SATURATED with the sound of the DX7. So, as far as softsynths/VSTi's go, I would recommend using Native Instruments' FM7 or FM8. I actually prefer the sound and interface of the original FM7 by far. You can find tons of old DX7 sysex patches online and load them into the FM7/FM8. That is your best bet if you are trying to emulate the 242 sound without hardware. I wouldn't recomment any other softsynths....well, except maybe the Siegfried Kullmann's SQ8L, which is a fairly accurace emulation of the Ensoniq ESQ-1/SQ80, which 242 used a lot on Front By Front and Tyranny For You. Here is a link to the SQ8L http://www.buchty.net/ensoniq/

 

I love to see threads like this. Warms the heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXjwp6i0eN8

Fuck EDM, we want EBM!!!​

Concerning your question you can't really get better than the Omnisphere sample library as Mykal pointed out, you can find some great classics sampled there especially with the expansion. One of the best VSTs on the market and it came out 6 years ago.

 

Omnisphere is good choice for sure,good work horse and it have vintage synth stuff to offer,could be your thing.

 

Nice to hear!

This will be the title of my 1st EBM track!!!


Thanks for all your replies so far!
I will definitely check Omnisphere a bit closer.. so far I just used it as a preset synth..

I tried to find a MIDI file from Front 242, but no luck. Anyone knows where to find?

On my search about EBM I found other forums with this topic, but this one is the best!

 

Not to be confrontational, more of a general bit of curiosity that someone could correct me on, but don't people still use 808s?

Back on-topic, I second the recommendation for the Monark. If you wanna go free, then the Minimogue by VoltKitchen is as close as you're going to get (make sure to turn on oversampling), but as far as commercial Moog emulations I actually own, Monark has a really satisfying filter which is going to do most of the heavy lifting.