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All synths sound great especially Protoplasm.

 

Rmx is in the queue(PB torrents)...was impressed with the demos and im picky...omni has an ipad app for remote control over wi-fi and its a free download just like the last major update...thats saying something about the company not juicing dry their clientele...good recommendation

 

The Omnisphere iPad app is sick, you'll love it.

I think Spectrasonics offers great value for your money. Oh and don't forget the Bob Moog Tribute collection for Omni as well as the update for it, outstanding stuff.

 

I have problems watching these videos. 1. Fullscreen- and "Watch on Youtube"-button are not working. Any idea to fix it?

 

Maybe you can go a bit further (devil's advocate mode here):

Place the guy in front of a Minimoog and play him some Diva bass (without letting him know), and he'll probably say: "Man that analog sound..."

Place him in front of Massive, and play him some Minimoog (without letting him know), and he'll probably say: "Sounds like plastic man.."

Human hearing can easily be deceived, and to get comparable scientific results you need an elaborated, controlled setup with double blind setting etc. - but good thing is no one has to proof such statements in a lab.

In a full mix a good VST is as good as hardware, that's for sure.

 

Yeah so he likely means for the price point which I can totally relate to. Gear isn't cheap and the TI is thousands of dollars. Sylenth is cheap, has a nice warm tone to it and some decent effects so it can easily be disguised. The one thing though is it's not good for beefy bass but then again not many plugs are. Also notice that the high end on a lot of VSTs is horrid.

 

I’ve seen V.A.C.’s list before.

I think he’s nailed it, but personally, I really love the U-he stuff. I think Diva and Zebra are vat monsters.

I’ve not tried Guru from FXpanison, but Geist is class for drums. Initially, it takes some getting used to but once you get into it it’s actually very easy to use.

Lastly, full disclosure here, I’m a Tone2 fan boy. I have all their synths, but my favorite is Nemesis. Does great bass and is great for FM textures.

 

Geist is great and they already have samples from Portion Control. When was the last time that happened in a sampler? Tone2's good but it's true they're overpriced, a common theme these days where musicians are supposed to expect to be likely to make nothing but devs still charge top dollar.

 

Yeah, Geist is the bomb! I prefer it to NI's Battery, although Spark II looks interesting. I can't see myself moving away from Geist too soon.

I'd agree with ya' too. Tone2's stuff is overpriced, especially their sound packs, which usually cost one third of the actual synths itself.

U-he aren't the cheapest either, but you really are investing in the development. Because they keep updating their stuff especially Diva and I believe Z3 is on the way too.

Cheers,

Rob.

 

For the most part I totally agree with this guy A+ guide to those getting started...except for my ears u-he is amazing. I am a mostly analog if possible kind of guy but I find that diva and ace can get extremely close to analog in ways that spire and sylenth (two synths I love by the way) just plain can't. Its hard to make a soft synth not have that digital trebly feel we all know about.

 

That's because of PSpice which are circuit emulation algorithms that he implemented. I do know what he means for example about Diva being an elephant, it's harder to fit in a mix. Same with Ace. I prefer Omnisphere in many ways, especially because it also comes with a truly excellent sample library. Also about a million times easier to work with.

 

Omnisphere is fantastic. It's a true beast!

One thing I'd have to add about the U-he's stuff is that it keeps on getting better and better. Diva has it's new digital Oscillators, and an arp, etc. So it's an evolving software. Zebra 3 is on its way too!

Sylenth, while really good, has been stagnant for quite a while noe. Not too sure what's happening there. I think Reveal Sound's Spire is filling the sylenth market at the moment. It's a great synth as well. But I'd really love to see a Sylenth 2.

 

a very good list by someone who used to be near godlike with electronic music, like the trent reznor of aggrotech/ebm/electro. and i cant agree more on the virus, it's overrated, overhyped and overused. i had one, the virus-b, i also had a waldorf microwaveXT which i had a long time longer than the virus-b. after many years of usage i sold both of them. to this day i miss my microwaveXT. sylenth can replace my virus anytime but the waldorf... damn that thing was awesome, might buy one 2nd hand if i ever get the chance and moneys, till then i'll hang on to my blofeld. non of the gear i have can be replaced by vsts apart from the roland maybe. even my ipad synths are better than most vst's but yeah there are a few out there that are actually good

tho in all fairness the z3ta from cakewalk is amazing and a near must in any setup
shaping sounds and adding movement to them with the lfo's is amazing in that thing, i do have to compare the vst on to the ipad version to give an actual verdict on the vst version but i'm guessing it's equal or near equal to the ipad version

 

I had an Access Virus TI2 which I sold a month ago. And with the range (and quality) of the soft synths that I have I don't miss it at all.

I'd never sell my Nord because I love its sound.