# 4-killer-synths-for-cinematic-scoring-and-sound-design



## easyrider (Sep 25, 2021)

Any others your go to?




https://www.pro-tools-expert.com/production-expert-1/4-killer-synths-for-cinematic-scoring-and-sound-design


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## TomislavEP (Sep 25, 2021)

I almost exclusively use software synths from Native. I think that Reaktor in general and some of the official Reaktor-based synths such as Rounds, Kontour, Prism, and Form should be mentioned more often when speaking about cinematic sounds.

Also, VI synths from AIR Music Technology actually have more potential than it seems when comparing them to some far more popular names in the synth world.


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## easyrider (Sep 25, 2021)

TomislavEP said:


> I almost exclusively use software synths from Native. I think that Reaktor in general and some of the official Reaktor-based synths such as Rounds, Kontour, Prism, and Form should be mentioned more often when speaking about cinematic sounds.
> 
> Also, VI synths from AIR Music Technology actually have more potential than it seems when comparing them to some far more popular names in the synth world.


Air currently on sale a JRR Shop…Might have to check them out for that price, $3.33 each!

Up to 95% off Air Music Tech Power Pack (Velvet | Hybrid | Mini Grand) and Legends Pack (DB-33 | Vacuum Classic | Xpand!2), now $9.99 each:


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## Markrs (Sep 25, 2021)

TomislavEP said:


> I almost exclusively use software synths from Native. I think that Reaktor in general and some of the official Reaktor-based synths such as Rounds, Kontour, Prism, and Form should be mentioned more often when speaking about cinematic sounds.
> 
> Also, VI synths from AIR Music Technology actually have more potential than it seems when comparing them to some far more popular names in the synth world.


Was going to post something similar. The Reaktor based instruments are power houses when it comes to sound design alongside Massive X. 

Concept 2 by Krotos looks very good for sound design









Concept 2 Synth | Simply Powerful, Yet Powerfully Simple Synth







www.krotosaudio.com





Guy Michelmore had done a recent video on it


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## confusedsheep (Sep 25, 2021)

Sugar Bytes Aparillo


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## Kuusniemi (Sep 25, 2021)

I think Phase Plant sits quite firmly in this category and not mentioning it and mentioning Massive X is quite wrong.


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## Voider (Sep 25, 2021)

The truth is, it's all about skill. If one is skilled enough to craft the sounds / patches he wants, the synth choice doesn't matter too much. You pick one of those that have everything you could possibly need (_Pigments, Dune 3_) and you're pretty much unlimited in what you can do with it.

Then the real only other reason to get another synth besides the one that you love, mastered and use in the majority of projects, is some specific core function that you want, e.g. granular synthesis or if there's a soundset you really want that is made for another synth. But besides that, there is imho no reason to own more than 1-2 core synths.

In the end it comes down to the question whether you're mainly focused to use a synth as tool to get the sounds you want and look more at the compositions as a whole, or if you're really passionate about every little difference in the sound of the basic oscillators, the algorithms and the modules each synth comes with.

In that case, collecting more synths and use them all for different purposes can be fun, but I'd say that this again, requires to be really good at designing patches and having a fundamental understanding of synthesis. Because otherwise one will probably be more often overwhelmed, googling functions and reading manuals, than actually creating sounds or making music which can lead quickly to frustration and demotivation.


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## Pier (Sep 25, 2021)

Zebra and Omni, yes, absolutely, but there are plenty of synths missing here that I would put above Massive X. If only for the fact that they either have more cinematic libraries or lend themselves better to the genre. Dune 3, PhasePlant, Rapid, etc.

Also Iris 2 is not really a synth but more of a sampler. It's very unique but pretty outdated at this point. I don't think I would ever recommend it as a "must have" as it is pretty niche.


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## KEM (Sep 25, 2021)

Pier said:


> Zebra and Omni, yes, absolutely, but there are plenty of synths missing here that I would put above Massive X. If only for the fact that they either have more cinematic libraries or lend themselves better to the genre. Dune 3, PhasePlant, Rapid, etc.
> 
> Also Iris 2 is not really a synth but more of a sampler. It's very unique but pretty outdated at this point. I don't think I would ever recommend it as a "must have" as it is pretty niche.



Arca uses Iris 2 a lot but other than that I’ve never heard of a single other person using it, but I bought it because I’m a huge Arca fan

It is also probably the most cpu intensive plugin I own


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## Jaap (Sep 25, 2021)

Though I love Iris 2, I would remove it and add with VPS Avenger, Pigments, Phase Plant, Falcon, Dune 3 and Hive 2 to the list for this kind of stuff.
I really like Massive X, so would definately keep that in the list.

Oh and Form! Form is amazing for sound design/cinematic stuff.


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## el-bo (Sep 26, 2021)

Pier said:


> Also Iris 2 is not really a synth but more of a sampler. It's very unique but pretty outdated at this point. I don't think I would ever recommend it as a "must have" as it is pretty niche.


Don't really understand this. While it is not perhaps as fully-featured as other synth/samplers, that was the same at the day of release, and not a factor of it being outdated. In terms of it being niche, again I'm not getting it. Given its output is mostly dependent on the audio material one feeds it, surely one needn't be boxed in to any niche results.













It strikes me, especially given the diversity of suggestions, that any/all synths can make 'cinematic' sounds. Even the most basic of synths, when paired with some basic fx can be made to sound cinematic, unless I'm missing some particular set-in-stone rules as to what defines cinematic. I'd guess that perhaps it has come to be synonymous with the idea of lush, ambient pads/soundscapes, rather than being an all-encompassing catch-all for anything that is used in cinema soundtracks.

I'm sure many would agree that the original Bladerunner soundtrack is cinematic, and yet it seems to have been mainly performed using a Yamaha CS-80. Is the CS-80 not outdated? Does its age and feature-set preclude it from being used today in other cinematic styles? What about the expanded Moog modular series IIIP that was apparently used in John Carpenter's 'Assault On Precinct 13'? Does its age and feature-set preclude it from being used in modern soundtracks?






Just rhetorical questions, really. But without defining our terms, it will become just another 'list all synths' thread


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## easyrider (Sep 26, 2021)

Pier said:


> Zebra and Omni, yes, absolutely, but there are plenty of synths missing here that I would put above Massive X. If only for the fact that they either have more cinematic libraries or lend themselves better to the genre. Dune 3, PhasePlant, Rapid, etc.
> 
> Also Iris 2 is not really a synth but more of a sampler. It's very unique but pretty outdated at this point. I don't think I would ever recommend it as a "must have" as it is pretty niche.


I must check out Phaseplant….


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## Pier (Sep 26, 2021)

el-bo said:


> While it is not perhaps as fully-featured as other synth/samplers, that was the same at the day of release, and not a factor of it being outdated.


Well, to me it's simply an outdated software product. Even when it was released, just a couple of years ago, it had a terribly outdated (and bad) UI. You might not care about the UI, and that's fair, but for me the usability of a software product is just as important as its other features.

IMO Izotope doesn't seem to pay much attention to the UI and usability of some of its minor products like Iris or Stutter Edit (both I own).



el-bo said:


> In terms of it being niche, again I'm not getting it. Given its output is mostly dependent on the audio material one feeds it, surely one needn't be boxed in to any niche results.


Sure, but would you use it as a regular sampler when there are probably dozens of much better samplers or hybrid synths out there?

In practice the reason to use Iris is basically the spectral thing. Personally I find that this produces very unique and recognizable results, in the same way that granular produces, well... granular stuff. I don't think this is bad by any means. Some people love it, some hate it. I don't have an opinion on that other than it sounds like "spectral mangling".



el-bo said:


> I'm sure many would agree that the original Bladerunner soundtrack is cinematic, and yet it seems to have been mainly performed using a Yamaha CS-80. Is the CS-80 not outdated? Does its age and feature-set preclude it from being used today in other cinematic styles? What about the expanded Moog modular series IIIP that was apparently used in John Carpenter's 'Assault On Precinct 13'? Does its age and feature-set preclude it from being used in modern soundtracks?


I love the Blade Runner soundtrack, but it's really a matter of taste, culture, and probably age. I'm sure younger folks hear the Blade Runner stuff and think that it sounds old and outdated.

A coupe of years ago I was working on some music for a TV show. The other composer had used an analog pulsing bass and the producer (who was in his mid 20s) reacted very badly to that and said something like "I don't want any of that old Carpenter shit!".


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## easyrider (Sep 26, 2021)

Pier said:


> IMO Izotope doesn't seem to pay much attention to the UI and usability of some of its minor products like Iris or Stutter Edit (both I own).



Stutter Edit is a legacy product replaced by Stutter Edit 2


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## Pier (Sep 26, 2021)

easyrider said:


> Stutter Edit is a legacy product replaced by Stutter Edit 2


Oh yeah I was actually referring to Stutter Edit 2.


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## el-bo (Sep 26, 2021)

Pier said:


> Well, to me it's simply an outdated software product. Even when it was released, just a couple of years ago, it had a terribly outdated (and bad) UI. You might not care about the UI, and that's fair, but for me the usability of a software product is just as important as its other features.
> 
> IMO Izotope doesn't seem to pay much attention to the UI and usability of some of its minor products like Iris or Stutter Edit (both I own).
> 
> ...


Did that director also put all his money on red, only for it to come in on black? That "old Carpenter shit' just happens to be stylistically slap-bang in the middle of a huge retro resurgence (I'm sure you've noticed), as has the technology it was made with. I don't even have to make the argument that music like Vangelis' is timeless, when the instruments that he used are coveted still to this day, and not just by those who are trying to relive their youth.

I'm not saying any of my suggestions should be viewed as better than the usual suspects, but you've yet to convince me that cinematic music is solely the preserve of the usual suspects.


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## Pier (Sep 26, 2021)

el-bo said:


> Did that director also put all his money on red, only for it to come in on black? That "old Carpenter shit' just happens to be stylistically slap-bang in the middle of a huge retro resurgence (I'm sure you've noticed), as has the technology it was made with.



That was 10 years ago, but even today I doubt that producer (who was the son of the owner of the network) would be able to notice that. It was all about his ego.



el-bo said:


> I don't even have to make the argument that music like Vangelis' is timeless, when the instruments that he used are coveted still to this day, and not just by those who are trying to relive their youth.



Of course I agree, as a lover of music and synths. I can now appreciate music from 30 years ago as well as from 300 years ago.

But most people don't think like that, specially younger people who tend to be less receptive to anything that isn't popular with their generation (ok boomer!). Which makes sense honestly. Young people are looking for their own identity and trends mostly occur as a reaction to trends from the previous generation. I was 20 years old too and I also rejected older music on principle 



el-bo said:


> I'm not saying any of my suggestions should be viewed as better than the usual suspects, but you've yet to convince me that cinematic music is solely the preserve of the usual suspects.



And yet cinematic music is still largely a tradition that evolves, albeit slowly. It's very rare to find a score without orchestral instruments, for example.


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## Drumdude2112 (Oct 25, 2021)

Hows Equator 2 ?
Has anyone had a go at it ?


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## doctoremmet (Oct 25, 2021)

Drumdude2112 said:


> Hows Equator 2 ?
> Has anyone had a go at it ?


Excellent synth. I really like it and call it my Falcon _light_. Very versatile and flexible architecture, and of course great for MPE patches. Would love for the sample import documentation to improve  and one caveat: we don’t know what will happen with ROLI or Luminary or whatever they’re called these days. Other than that I highly recommend it, it is a bit of a hidden gem. Then again, there are also people who can’t get along with it. I noticed my pal @Flintpope is selling his.


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## KEM (Oct 25, 2021)

You own every soft synth don’t you @doctoremmet


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## doctoremmet (Oct 25, 2021)

KEM said:


> You own every soft synth don’t you @doctoremmet


I don’t  Take Omnisphere for example, or the Synapse Audio synths. Don’t own those. But I do have a bunch - yes.


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## Drumdude2112 (Oct 25, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> I don’t  Take Omnisphere for example, or the Synapse Audio synths. Don’t own those. But I do have a bunch - yes.


No Dune 3 😳 ?


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## doctoremmet (Oct 25, 2021)

Drumdude2112 said:


> No Dune 3 😳 ?


Nope.


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## KEM (Oct 25, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> I don’t  Take Omnisphere for example, or the Synapse Audio synths. Don’t own those. But I do have a bunch - yes.



You have basically everything BUT Omnisphere?! Come on now…


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## Pier (Oct 25, 2021)

KEM said:


> You have basically everything BUT Omnisphere?! Come on now…


I don't have Omni either 

@doctoremmet I'm surprised you don't own any of the Synapse synths. Up there with U-He in terms of DSP/sound.


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## doctoremmet (Oct 25, 2021)

Pier said:


> I don't have Omni either
> 
> @doctoremmet I'm surprised you don't own any of the Synapse synths. Up there with U-He in terms of DSP/sound.


It is a widespread misunderstanding my aim is to own any and all synths  and my not owning a certain synth does not necessarily mean I don’t like it - let alone that it isn’t good haha!


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## StefanoM (Oct 25, 2021)

Maybe if you see this playlist you will add Elements in that Top4 
Try to create what you can hear here using ONLY one product ( or almost )


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## KEM (Oct 25, 2021)

Pier said:


> I don't have Omni either
> 
> @doctoremmet I'm surprised you don't own any of the Synapse synths. Up there with U-He in terms of DSP/sound.



WHAT?!

Both of you buy it right now!!


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## doctoremmet (Oct 25, 2021)

I feel I’m covered with Xpand2!


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## Pier (Oct 25, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> It is a widespread misunderstanding my aim is to own any and all synths


Who are you? Have you hacked @doctoremmet 's account?


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## doctoremmet (Oct 25, 2021)

Okay okay. I concur. I may add Dune 3 to my BF list. To show I do value your endorsements. Most of my extremely limited boundaries when it comes to owning any synth ever created has to do with reducing option stress… which as a matter of fact I do experience from time to time.


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## Pier (Oct 25, 2021)

KEM said:


> WHAT?!
> 
> Both of you buy it right now!!


LOL

When I buy a synth, I'm paying for the sound, features, and the experience of using it. Not the content. If they sold a cheaper version of Omni with zero content, I'd buy it. I don't feel ok spending $500 when I know a big chunk of that is paying for content which I have no interest in.


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## KEM (Oct 25, 2021)

Omnisphere is the most essential music tool in my opinion, only after the DAW itself


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## Pier (Oct 25, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Okay okay. I concur. I may add Dune 3 to my BF list. To show I do value your endorsements. Most of my extremely limited boundaries when it comes to owning any synth ever created has to do with reducing option stress… which as a matter of fact I do experience from time to time.


I love Dune, but I think maybe you'd enjoy Obsession or The Legend more?

Just get all three and you will be safe.


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## doctoremmet (Oct 25, 2021)

I have three sampled OB-Xa attempts, the free DiscoDSP and paid Arturia emulations. And an actual OB-Xa. You think I need more?


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## doctoremmet (Oct 25, 2021)

_In the mean time…






uh-oh_


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## Pier (Oct 25, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> I have three sampled OB-Xa attempts, the free DiscoDSP and paid Arturia emulations. And an actual OB-Xa. You think I need more?


Maybe


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## doctoremmet (Oct 25, 2021)

KEM said:


> Omnisphere is the most essential music tool in my opinion, only after the DAW itself


To me it’s not. I just want Ableton Live and a bunch of synths that I make my own sounds for. But that doesn’t mean I don’t think Omnisphere can fulfil a crucial role in other people’s setups. I just like working in environments like Falcon, MSoundFactory, f.-‘em and my U-he synths a bit better. Personal preferences that in no way have any importance for other musicians of course


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## Marcus Millfield (Oct 25, 2021)

I admire all of you, I really do. Personally, I can't stand synths that take 300 pages of manuals to get through to understand. Things like Serum, Pigments, Zebra all shout a gazillion options at you from the interface and I just don't have the willpower, time or energy to go through all that. I like an expansive mod matrix, but on my hardware. Too many options is really not for me.


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## doctoremmet (Oct 25, 2021)

Okay @Pier 

*Announcement:*
I definitely want Dune 3 and if there is a good enough BF offer, I shall make a move. The demo’s are indeed very convincing - just sonically speaking this thing seems very solid.


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## KEM (Oct 25, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Okay @Pier
> 
> *Announcement:*
> I definitely want Dune 3 and if there is a good enough BF offer, I shall make a move. The demo’s are indeed very convincing - just sonically speaking this thing seems very solid.



If there’s a good deal I will also be picking it up, my demo time limit ran out and I loved the synth


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## gsilbers (Oct 25, 2021)

I would defenitly put arturias pigment instead of either iris or massive x. 

Dune3 is very good. nice virus ti replacement. althugh the edit blue windows drives me nuts how small it is. Wish it was pop up to edit sequences etc.


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## Pier (Oct 25, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Okay @Pier
> 
> *Announcement:*
> I definitely want Dune 3 and if there is a good enough BF offer, I shall make a move. The demo’s are indeed very convincing - just sonically speaking this thing seems very solid.



Synapse typically has BF deals of 40% off.

You could get it https://www.knobcloud.com/i/21243/synapse-audio-dune-3 (at Knobcloud for $99) though. Just sayin 



gsilbers said:


> Dune3 is very good. nice virus ti replacement. althugh the edit blue windows drives me nuts how small it is. Wish it was pop up to edit sequences etc.


Yeah, the UI is the weakest aspect of Dune. Hopefully Richard will improve this for Dune 4.


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## KEM (Oct 25, 2021)

Pier said:


> Synapse typically has BF deals of 40% off.
> 
> You could get it https://www.knobcloud.com/i/21243/synapse-audio-dune-3 (at Knobcloud for $99) though. Just sayin
> 
> ...



So what you’re saying is I should buy it right now…


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## Pier (Oct 25, 2021)

KEM said:


> So what you’re saying is I should buy it right now…


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## KEM (Oct 25, 2021)

Pier said:


>



I guess I should, that way I can write a demo for your eventual Dune 3 soundset


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## sostenuto (Oct 25, 2021)

Trust PB, yet some deals make me skittish. Is this what It seems ?? i.e. full Iris 2 + some (bass) content ? for ~ $20. ? Read and re-read 😒






VST Plugins, Synth Presets, Effects, Virtual Instruments, Music


VST Plugins, Synth Presets, Effects, Virtual Instruments, Music Plugins from Pluginboutique




www.pluginboutique.com


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## Pier (Oct 25, 2021)

KEM said:


> I guess I should, that way I can write a demo for your eventual Dune 3 soundset


I like how you think


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## DCPImages (Oct 25, 2021)

I love Iris2 but it seems to have real problems on my MacBook M1 - so much so that I decided to uninstall it. I really wish it was updated.


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## Bee_Abney (Oct 25, 2021)

sostenuto said:


> Trust PB, yet some deals make me skittish. Is this what It seems ?? i.e. full Iris 2 + some (bass) content ? for ~ $20. ? Read and re-read 😒
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Iris 2 has been selling new around $10 brand new, sometimes with extras, for most of this year I believe. I have occasionally seen it at around full price, but only a couple of times. I guess it wasn't selling at full price. 

It makes lovely sounds pretty much whatever you do with it. Even lovelier when used by someone who knows what they are doing: there are some great presets around. 

I'm also glad to say that the GUI is resizable.


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## doctoremmet (Oct 25, 2021)

sostenuto said:


> Trust PB, yet some deals make me skittish. Is this what It seems ?? i.e. full Iris 2 + some (bass) content ? for ~ $20. ? Read and re-read 😒
> 
> 
> 
> ...


This is legit. I bought IRIS2 for a tenner years ago. After all the earlier discussion, let me just add that I kind of like of what this synth does. But maybe somewhat in the same vein Steinberg Padshop 2 is a more usable engine, AND still at least gets some love from the developer. But for this price, IRIS won’t disappoint.


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## Dirtgrain (Oct 25, 2021)

3DC said:


> I wonder what is your opinion on Ableton Live stock synths? How far can you go with them compared to these "killer" synths mentioned here?


Not intended for me, but I'll chime in. There is a guy going by "CHOOS" at the KVRAudio forum who for a long time was responding to people's how-do-I-make-this-sound requests by creating the sounds in Charlatan, a free plugin. He lately has been using Vital. He gets damn close a lot of the time, and it shows how many of the synth sounds out there can be made with one synth plugin.

Ableton's synths are damn good sonically. I don't like their tiny GUIs, but you can go very far with them.


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## doctoremmet (Oct 25, 2021)

3DC said:


> I wonder what is your opinion on Ableton Live stock synths? How far can you go with them compared to these "killer" synths mentioned here?


Honestly? Some of the best around. They sound very good. The AAS ones are cool little cousins of Chromaphone. Operator hits the sweetspot when it comes to quickly dialing in some 4 operator FM stuff. Wavetable is a very capable synth as well. And I like how they’re all mapped to my Push 1 controller. Use them all the time really.

As a matter of fact, one of my coolest recent acquisitions has been OctoCell. A great FM / additive hybrid conceived by some of the people from IRCAM. Full on Ableton synth. It sounds ridiculous really. And I also spent a lot if time with Modalys by IRCAM lately (MAX For Live synth).









Evolving Finally by Najo


OctoCell combines additive, FM and subtractive synthesis in an accessible interface. Stack up to eight oscillators, each with their own individual FM options, and dial in an array of modulation and en




soundcloud.app.goo.gl





For BF I have my eyes on the IRCAMAX 2 bundle. So yeah, quite a good platform for synthesis.


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## sostenuto (Oct 25, 2021)

Bee_Abney said:


> Iris 2 has been selling new around $10 brand new, sometimes with extras, for most of this year I believe. I have occasionally seen it at around full price, but only a couple of times. I guess it wasn't selling at full price.
> 
> It makes lovely sounds pretty much whatever you do with it. Even lovelier when used by someone who knows what they are doing: there are some great presets around.
> 
> I'm also glad to say that the GUI is resizable.


THX ! Will watch more closely. Dune @ $99. seems strong option. 
Added Pigments 3 recently and watching Phase Plant for BlkFri deal. 
Omni v2.8, Spire, Massive X, Repro 1-5, Vital _ have been mainstream.


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## vitocorleone123 (Oct 27, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Okay okay. I concur. I may add Dune 3 to my BF list. To show I do value your endorsements. Most of my extremely limited boundaries when it comes to owning any synth ever created has to do with reducing option stress… which as a matter of fact I do experience from time to time.


I chose Hive 2 > Dune 3 primarily because I think the virtual oscillators sound better, and think both would be definite overlap. But, if that's OK, then Dune 3 is a great synth. If you have one you really don't NEED the other. Want is something else...  And I'm selling Pigments 3 on KVR because, no matter how many times I tried, I simply couldn't connect with it and had zero interest in continuing to try - a lot like the Peak when I tried it. Doesn't help that it's so CPU heavy - even Vital is lighter weight.

To be sure I'm on-topic: I think Hive 2 should've been on the original list, as well as Dune 3, Vital, and Pigments 3. All of them have the clean, modern vibe with lots of features, functions, and voices for atmospheric pads or cutting/pulsing basslines.


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## doctoremmet (Oct 27, 2021)

vitocorleone123 said:


> I chose Hive 2 > Dune 3 primarily because I think the virtual oscillators sound better, and think both would be definite overlap. But, if that's OK, then Dune 3 is a great synth. If you have one you really don't NEED the other. Want is something else...  And I'm selling Pigments 3 on KVR because, no matter how many times I tried, I simply couldn't connect with it and had zero interest in continuing to try - a lot like the Peak when I tried it. Doesn't help that it's so CPU heavy - even Vital is lighter weight.
> 
> To be sure I'm on-topic: I think Hive 2 should've been on the original list, as well as Dune 3, Vital, and Pigments 3. All of them have the clean, modern vibe with lots of features, functions, and voices for atmospheric pads or cutting/pulsing basslines.


Agreed (I think). Hive 2.1 is one of the best sounding synths I know, maybe only topped by Bazille. I think Dune 3 is indeed more of a “want” for me right now.


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## doctoremmet (Oct 27, 2021)

And Hive 2.1 is The Matrix 4 synth. @KEM You may need this one


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## nolotrippen (Oct 27, 2021)

TomislavEP said:


> I almost exclusively use software synths from Native. I think that Reaktor in general and some of the official Reaktor-based synths such as Rounds, Kontour, Prism, and Form should be mentioned more often when speaking about cinematic sounds.
> 
> Also, VI synths from AIR Music Technology actually have more potential than it seems when comparing them to some far more popular names in the synth world.


Just going to say Air. Also UHe


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## sostenuto (Oct 27, 2021)

Disappointed to see latest Dune 3 ongoing tid-bits. HIVE 2.1 always there @ $150. (_stuff the $1_) but earlier user impressions were making Dune 3 seem current, strong potential add. 
No immediate push with BlkFri so close.


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## D Halgren (Oct 27, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Agreed (I think). Hive 2.1 is one of the best sounding synths I know, maybe only topped by Bazille. I think Dune 3 is indeed more of a “want” for me right now.


Bazille is an infinite beast! I have completely fallen in love with it!


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## Bee_Abney (Oct 27, 2021)

D Halgren said:


> Bazille is an infinite beast! I have completely fallen in love with it!


I very much want Bazille; but I have enough work to do on the synths I have.

I rather suspect that the original list was not meant as a best of list (four would be a peculiar number for that) nor as an exclusive list of synths good for cinematic scoring. I think it was more a suggestion of a good collection to meet the tasks of cinematic scoring. 

Even more so, it was likely meant to attract clicks.


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## D Halgren (Oct 27, 2021)

Bee_Abney said:


> I very much want Bazille; but I have enough work to do on the synths I have.
> 
> I rather suspect that the original list was not meant as a best of list (four would be a peculiar number for that) nor as an exclusive list of synths good for cinematic scoring. I think it was more a suggestion of a good collection to meet the tasks of cinematic scoring.
> 
> Even more so, it was likely meant to attract clicks.


Ask Temme, you need Bazille... IMMEDIATELY 😁


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## Bee_Abney (Oct 27, 2021)

D Halgren said:


> Ask Temme, you need Bazille... IMMEDIATELY 😁


He's as persuasive as he is reliably good in his advice. I'm scared to ask him!


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## KEM (Oct 27, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> And Hive 2.1 is The Matrix 4 synth. @KEM You may need this one



Oh don’t worry I’ll buy it eventually!!


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## lux (Oct 27, 2021)

the good ol' Tone 2 Gladiator is pretty unmentioned out there but it's a nice beast when it comes to designing/randomizing stuff with quite a few uncommon oscillators.


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## doctoremmet (Oct 27, 2021)

D Halgren said:


> Ask Temme, you need Bazille... IMMEDIATELY 😁


This Is The Way


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## SupremeFist (Oct 27, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Most of my extremely limited boundaries when it comes to owning any synth ever created has to do with reducing option stress…


Same here, and this is exactly why I don't want Omnisphere and its six billion presets. Just works better for my brain to go "ok I want a junoish or jupiterish or prophetish sound" and go straight to the dedicated softsynth for that...


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## Tag (Dec 20, 2021)

I was looking around for some new synths with a cinematic approach as well and found this thread. So now instead of getting, I want to contribute a bit instead, hehe:

*Sonic Charge Microtonic*: a great drum synth with which you can create really nice cinematic sounding beats, imo. The CPU usage is so low, you can even load so unbelievable many instances with no problem. I really love this drum synth.

*Sonic Charge Synplant*: here I am not 100% sure yet, since I only bought it some days ago. I really like the approach to not really design a sound but chose one and alter it, though! This is something I really would like ... no: LOVE to see way more often in these days. I totally know how to "design" / control synths etc., but during the process of composing it is way better (at least to me) to just have "sounds" already you can chose from (I mean apart from the factory content). Or at least alter the sound without the technical aspects. I want to have controls like "make envelope more plucked" instead of altering the ADSR myself. I want to have something like "more deep atmospheric, slightly noise sound" instead of playing around with noise, filterings and FM or so. You get the idea. Synplant cannot do that, but who knows whatever v2 will bring, if it will ever come. For now it is like: clicking in the middle with Ctrl. If a sound might fit a bit, you can drag twigs out and listen how the sound changes. It's a way more audible approach than technical. And besides that you can open up the GEN-editor in which you have almost controls like in other synths ... so for envelops stuff, sound generator stufss, effects, etc. It's not that nice to handle, to be honest, but still: I like the concept. And the sound also is very nice and CPU usage low as well as hell, like in Microtonic. (-;

Besides that I mainly use *MSoundFactory* for now for many other synth-sounds I need. I also created some factory content for Meldaproduction (it's called "device" in the tool and is basically a meta-preset with controls). I mainly did the cinematic devices / patches there. Maybe this could become interesting to someone else, who is looking for cinematic synth stuff (and without being a sample library, by the way - it's all synth based in my patches there). Besides that I created some own devices for a very fast workflow. E.g. a cinematic bass (as version 2 besides the factory content), which I can just load immediately, tweak only a few knobs and can get a nice cinematic synth bass tune in no time.

Hope this input might help someone. (=


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## arcy (Apr 14, 2022)

Tag said:


> I was looking around for some new synths with a cinematic approach as well and found this thread. So now instead of getting, I want to contribute a bit instead, hehe:
> 
> *Sonic Charge Microtonic*: a great drum synth with which you can create really nice cinematic sounding beats, imo. The CPU usage is so low, you can even load so unbelievable many instances with no problem. I really love this drum synth.
> 
> ...


Someone says that filters in MSoundFactory are not so good compared with U-HE or Synapse...your thoughts?


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## Tag (Apr 14, 2022)

arcy said:


> Someone says that filters in MSoundFactory are not so good compared with U-HE or Synapse...your thoughts?


I have to admit: I do not own U-HE commercial synths nor Synapse synths. I only played around with some trials by U-HE an their free synths. But I did not compared their filters with MSF ones. The only thing I can say: to me the MSF filter types are quite versatile and I personally like the sound and think it is usable to me. Not sure if other ears might say something different. I mean there are a lot filter types in Melda plugins, hehe:







As a closed beta tester I even have access to another cool thing which is work in progress. So filter-wise there might come more in the future. (-;


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## Bee_Abney (Apr 14, 2022)

Tag said:


> I have to admit: I do not own U-HE commercial synths nor Synapse synths. I only played around with some trials by U-HE an their free synths. But I did not compared their filters with MSF ones. The only thing I can say: to me the MSF filter types are quite versatile and I personally like the sound and think it is usable to me. Not sure if other ears might say something different. I mean there are a lot filter types in Melda plugins, hehe:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I have used some of the U-he synths and MSoundFactory but I'm no expert on filters. Nevertheless, I am sure that this has more to do with aesthetic taste than functionality, audio quality and variety.


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## doctoremmet (Apr 14, 2022)

MSF’s filters are fine. And the synth as a whole is amazing!


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