I played with a bunch of plugins. All claiming to be the best Analog emulations etc.
The sound of most these plugins I tried do not really differ from one or another. Mostly quite lifeless and flat.

Im looking for some suggestions for audio plugins with some unique character.
the only ones I came across were Phonec and Omnishphere.

Edit:Massive is pretty unique to work with also.

Which one do you prefer that have there own characteristics?

 

Last edited: Dec 9, 2016

In synth as valid emu you got Uhe (Diva, Repro1 and Bazille, each a different flavor and different eras), Xils are very good too (PolyKB and SynthX2 but also X4) and you have Oddity 2 by gforce as well as OPX Pro2.
Massive is unique, but it's not an analogue emu, like Serum is very unique but isn't an emu.
In fxs you have a lot, compressors, eqs, tape machine...Many stand out imo. I like the analogue modeling suite for compression by magix, presswerk by uhe is fine, in tape machine I like also satin by uhe, plugin alliance offers a lot of things on that side (the lindell stuff are really good), softube has a few unique things that are pure analogue emu, very nice too, from heartbeat for drum sequencing to summit audio thingy and tube tech which are incredible as well as the fet compressor. Accesory equilibrium by dmg audio has a lot of analogue curves included, all the classics although the names had to be modified for intellectual property matters.
Of course there is also waves, UAD and all the classic usual suspects. But those I don't use.

And there is no way not to quote acustica audio, those are indeed top notch, but you need a very solid configuration. Same with nebula, it's solid.

 

Keep in mind, most PEQs can be made to sound the same, so not really worth buying more than 1 good one http://ericbeam.com/?p=361

 

Talmi kinda nailed it with the U-he and UAD stuff. It's hard to argue with those as they are some of, if not my favorite plugins. Sonicprojects OP-X Pro is also another favorite and definitely as close as you'll get to an OB-X in plugin format. I would add UVI in there as well with Vintage Vault and Synth Anthology. The Korg Legacy Collection and Waldorf Edition 2 are also worth noting.


Freeware side of things, I'm also kinda in love with this synth... I think Martin Luder knocked it out of the ball park. Sounds absolutely beautiful:



Another freeware emu that I am particularly fond of is Buchty's SQ8L. Sounds awesome unfortunately it's only 32bit:





This is another favorite, quite old and not trying to emulate anything but has its own unique character. Also free and 64bit:

 

Well the thing is with example Phonec, it provides sound with a kind of wobbly, tape like emulations I dont know what it is, but phonec is one of the few soft synths that gives you instant good sounds. Its quite inspiring too me, and its different then those other soft synths I tried. I suggest you demo if you havent already, so you know what I mean ;).\

And btw im not looking for purely analog emulations. just instant goodness with its own character.
And btw nice link.

 

Nice, i will check them out.

 

Have you considered something like RC-20?

 

1 - SugarBytes Obscurium, this VST instrument has incredible potential for anyone making Ambient/Chill/NewAge/Soundtracks, it's so obscure i don't even know where to start.

2 - AAS Chromaphone, the only revolution in Synth-Drums i can remember since many years, totally downplayed by the market, this is hot stuff it needs further investigation, too bad trhe V2.0 isn't yet cracked.

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PG-8X : yes excellent, i owned a couple JX synths in the past and it's a realistic simulation, but don't forget the only reason to use a JX synth is for the HardSync leads, if you dont need a hard sync lead you better move to greener pastures.

Plex : agree, it's a shame it was disbanded but all in all it fits in the "weird" category, not weird enough to be further investigated in my opinion.

 

Gotta agree with Chromaphone and pretty much anything AAS. They're such an underrated company especially considering how long in the game they've been. I cut my teeth on Tassman when it first came out... that was ages ago.

Ultra Analog and Chromaphone are two of my most used synths and now oddly enough, I'm slowly warming up to String Studio.

 

Check out SonicCharge's stuff, especially Synplant, it's really unique in my opinion.

and Spire... you may wonder since this synth is quite "standard" but I find "X-Comp" feature exceptional, it makes almost everything sound better instantly, something like soundgoodizer in FL, just better, I like how it's shaping the sound. But well, it's just a feature so you may not find it interesting.

also, NI Molekular - dope multi-fx. And Reaktor stuff in general.

 

Last edited: Dec 10, 2016

Lots of wow & flutter on this synth. Love the warbley sound of it.
Another fave of mine is Minimonsta. It's a Moog emulation but it has a character of it's own instead of trying to be super accurate.

 

AAS rocks ! they should believe a bit more in their own products, make more presets and packs, i would push more about Drums for instance, no other drum machine can do what Chromaphone is doing, it's totally another game as they sound neither analog nor acoustic.

 

Air Vacuum Pro is the most analoguey sounding thing I have tried.

 

To revive this thread: I've came across some plugins, which to my ears sound really good:

-Native instruments Pro-53 (Prophet 5 emulation) WIN 32-bit + MAC (abandoned, you can still get it)
-Native Instruments FM-7 (Sound grittier, warmer, I like it better then FM8 lol) WIN 32 bit + MAC (abandoned, you can still get it)
-Digits 32/64 bit WiN+MAC
-Angelina 32 bit WIN only

Most plugins sound so compressed or what ever it is and a stockpile of reverb on every single preset.
Keep 'm coming guys, alot of great plugins posted in this thread allready about plugins that have a unique character.

 

Where did you get Angelina 32? I know it's freeware but i can't find it, can you help me?

 

I am rarely impressed these days but do check this filter out, by analog obsession. Probably the best thing i have discovered lately, pure analog sounding stuff. And its free.
What this simple filter does to your low end, high mid transients, dynamics, etc , its just pure magic.
http://analogobsession.com/product/lcf/

 

Last edited by a moderator: Sep 30, 2017

vst only? I would say the henry olonga nebula libary, H delay an slate vmr

 

not surprising.

Well, i'm gonna say purely-digital plugs can do some intredasting things. Try dtblkfx , zplane rtune, or zynaptiq stuff.

 

Made me laugh,
I need hardware or some chips (no analogue please, except for the octratrack )
But yeah, no money thats why im on this website.
Like there is not a single plugin which made me laugh out of enjoyment, except Omnsiphere maybe.

 

Soulseek