# Synth enhancers?



## andylowemusic (Jan 22, 2021)

What are your go-to plugins for enhancing the sound of a synth? 

Let's say you've designed a patch you're basically happy with, you just want to give it more character, colour, or whatever other word indicates improving the sound without going back inside the synth.


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## doctoremmet (Jan 22, 2021)

Most of my synths that have their own effects hardly need any outboard processing. I mean stuff like Falcon2...

That being said, some EQ and compression can really bring a track to life. And lately I’ve started using saturation as a means to sort of skip heavy EQ’ing.

Some of my favourite plugins on synth inserts are:

- PSP E27 and NobleQ for equalization

- PSP oldTimer for compression

- a lot of @denise.Audio stuff, such as God Mode, Bad Tape, Punisher - dialed in gently does wonders to really bring out synth parts. Their reverbs are also excellent, Perfect Plate XL in particular

- BABY Audio is also kind of cool, some retro sounding chorus and wow/flutter (Super VHS) can really give a synth some legit Boards of Canada “hey the tapemachine just broke down” feel

- for stutter type fx and spectral mayhem UA Byome and Triad are indispensable. Their SpecOps is also great for “out there” sound design

- saturation sources I like: Kazrog True Iron, Hornet plugins, Klanghelm plugins, UA (In)dent, “drive knobs” on channel strip plugins (NLS, CLA Mixhub, Scheps Omnichannel, what-have-you)...

- oh, and Audiority GrainSpace, Valhalla UberMod / SuperMassive, Eventide Blackhole... those are sound design tools in and of themselves 

But in a lot of cases I just sort of stick with the built-in FX processors of the synths themselves. They are mostly really good nowadays.

(bonus remark: but it IS fun to load an entire synth VST as a module in Cherry Audio Voltage Modular, or to use Voltage Modular as an external audio effect too haha. Only with my [totally lacking] modular skills this is more like a lottery. There’s a one in a million chance it’ll actually sound remotely useful let alone cool)


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## R. Soul (Jan 22, 2021)

I quite like the Squasher plugin in Cubase 11. It's like OTT on steroids. Gives that extra oomph.

Soundtoys Effects rack is great for all sorts of enhancement. Embrays design have a great preset pack with multi fx that often adds a bit of saturation, chorus, delay, reverb etc. which can really lift up a dull synth sound.


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## ghobii (Jan 22, 2021)

OTT


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## andylowemusic (Jan 22, 2021)

Is OTT true freeware? Or is it a trial/demo sort of thing?


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## doctoremmet (Jan 22, 2021)

andylowemusic said:


> Is OTT true freeware? Or is it a trial/demo sort of thing?


It is TRUE!


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## andylowemusic (Jan 22, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> It is TRUE!


*Dances the freeware jig*


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## doctoremmet (Jan 22, 2021)

By the way... So are the excellent plugins by Tokyo Dawn Records. That are in the TOP TIER and still free.


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## MartinH. (Jan 22, 2021)

ghobii said:


> OTT



I was gonna suggest this too. Worth noting that you don't necessarily need to limit yourself to just one instance of OTT per fx chain. If you're going for some aggressive sounds you can put for example 3 instances of OTT in the chain and move them around between different saturators and other effects to see how it affects the sound to introduce OTT at different stages of the chain. Just be aware though that you might need to add some noisegates before the OTTs as well, if your plugins have a virtual analog noisefloor.


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## visiblenoise (Jan 22, 2021)

Not necessarily a favorite, or even a recommendation, but maybe something a little different to try that @doctoremmet didn't cover in his extensive post - try running synth sounds really hot through a power amp emulation (I use the free TPA-1 from Ignite Amps). Depending on the synth patch, and on settings in the power amp like the tube model and sag, it can make it sound a little more full and alive.

Or just make it sound worse.


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## kgdrum (Jan 22, 2021)

True Iron-Kazrog 
Moog Filter-UAD
The Drop-Cytomic
Fuse Audio Preamp plug-ins like VPRE-31A,VPRE-562A,VPRE-376
Audiothing Wires


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## José Herring (Jan 22, 2021)

OTT is Magic. Makes anything sound cool.
Stillwell Oligarch is instant badass goodness (fully functioning demo with just a nag screen guilting you every time you use it. I've lived with the guilt for 12 years now. Oh, the shame. I really need to buy some of the stuff I use.)

Guitar Rig 6
Reason Suite Plugin (a potpourri of modular style FX.)
Baby Audio Parallel Agressor. Just kind of cool on everything from drums and synths.


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## doctoremmet (Jan 22, 2021)

José Herring said:


> Baby Audio Parallel Agressor


+1.


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## jcrosby (Jan 22, 2021)

Ozone or Neutron exciter are the 1st things I reach for. OTT's pretty common as well... I often use them both at the same time... Ozone's my preference, but Nuetron's useful since it's zero latency and lower on resources... Which one I use depends on the template/project but both yield solid results... The exciter pulls details forward and adds harmonics, OTT adds energy while doing a little leveling at the same time.

I also use an imager or mid-side EQ quite often since many synth patches are super wide.... (again, using both isn't uncommon)... When everything's wide things just sound loose and kind of messy... I typically reign the low end in (sometimes mono-ing it) to keep the mix sounding tight and focused, then reduce the width on things that don't sound cluttered, and widen long sounds like pads that often make a mix foggy if they have a lot of mono information... It's case by case though... Sometimes a mono pad is the perfect touch.

If it still needs a little love I'll add something like tube or tape saturation. And if things feels 1-D I'll put some synths in different-sized, tiny, almost invisible spaces, and push them toward the back. This last steps important IME... Lots of synth elements can result in a mix that feels like it lacks depth, so putting some of them in the back of the mix can also help synths feel more organic, and comes with the bonus of the mix sounding more separated.


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## andylowemusic (Jan 23, 2021)

Great tips thank you folks


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## ReleaseCandidate (Jan 23, 2021)

jcrosby said:


> I also use an imager or mid-side EQ quite often since many synth patches are super wide...


That's actually way easier fix in the synth, although the 'pan' and/or 'spread' buttons can be littered over quite some layers.


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## jcrosby (Jan 23, 2021)

ReleaseCandidate said:


> That's actually way easier fix in the synth, although the 'pan' and/or 'spread' buttons can be littered over quite some layers.


Oh for sure. Depending on the synth though I prefer to bring things in in the synth and widen with a plugin instead since I have more control over the widening across the spectrum, mid-side EQ giving me even further control.... And sometimes it's just the faster, path of least resistance...


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## Dirtgrain (Jan 23, 2021)

Tritik Moodal--resonator
Audiothing Reels--tape echo
Audiothing Speakers--neat options for reframing a sound with IRs of audio input and output devices
Melda MConvolutionEZ (free)--the "Sound Design" presets, adjusting dry/wet
Izotope Trash 2--more sound design convolution options, along with distortion, filtering, compression
u-he Uhbik G--adjusting dry/wet can add new dimensions to a sound
u-he Uhbik Runciter--filter, distortion, fuzz
Klanghelm SDRR--saturation. I go to this one first; I use it so often that I have a good connection with what it can do
Camelcrusher--amp, distortion--but can be pretty drastic
2CAudio B2--reverb--has nifty sound design options
Blue Cat Audio Axiom--amps, effects--just preset hopping can be fun, inputting your favorite sounds
Blue Cat Audio Re-Guitar--I just got this, but I'm using it on anything, just to see what happens--sometimes it can add something subtle.


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## Living Fossil (Jan 23, 2021)

Ok, this is kind of a "name all your plugins" thread... 

However, i'll try to keep it fast.
First of all, "character" needs definition, that's why i'll name some categories:

"Patina":
- Klanghelm: SDRR (tons of options), 
- Cassette (eiter Wavesfactory or Denise Bad tape
- Tape emulation (u-He Satin or Blackrooster Magnetite)
- Console Emus: Lindell 80, etc.

Saturation:
Kush Omega, Kazrog True Iron, Cytomic "The Scream", Indent 2
Blackbox HG-2, Vertigo VSM, Fuse Audio Guitar bundle etc. etc.

Compression with Color:
- any opto style compressor (Klanghelm MJUC, Blackroster V2A or V3A, PiA Opticom etc)

Movement:
-Fiedler Audio Stage (a great tool...)
- GRM Tools (Delays, Doppler, Spacegrain etc.)
- Sandman Pro

additional Filtering:
- Kazrog Synth Warmer (has great Saturation)
- Slick EQ
- Lindell TE100
- Lindell 6X-500
- Boz Hoser XT (great for MS)

Special FX:
- Byome
- SpecOps
- Tantra (Dimitri Sches)
- Logic StepFX, FatFX [or similar]

Spatialisation:
- u-He Twangstrom 
- psp Nexcellence, 2445
- Relab: Sonsig (sometimes good to feature the top end instead of using an equalizer)
- Valhalla Plate

Chorus/Phaser/Flanger:
- d16 Synthorus 2, Phaser
- bx Blue Chorus, ADA Flanger
- Fuse Audio Chorus
- Exponential Audio: Excalibur


These are some i use quite often. Probably i forgot other ones...


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## ghobii (Jan 23, 2021)

I've also been finding TEOTE to be a nice synth polisher.


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## Billy Palmer (Jan 23, 2021)

Paid:
-Black Box Analog Design HG-2. (Tasty saturator-compressor. I like it blended with the main signal)
-Sandman Pro (Love it for all things sound design)


Free:
-Action tremolo. I use it too much.


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## paularthur (Jan 23, 2021)

Aphex Vintage Exciter or La Petite Excite.


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## Pier (Jan 23, 2021)

Those who like OTT should try a proper multiband processor like Fabfilter Pro MB or their dynamic EQ (Pro Q) which is more surgical. You can do amazing stuff with those two on synths.

Also Saturn 2 and Uhe Satin.


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## vitocorleone123 (Jan 24, 2021)

Kush TWK
Some kind of compressor for ~3 db reduction - often Kush AR-1 or Novatron
Bluecat's Destructor (even if super gentle - it's my favorite saturation plugin, better than Saturn2 or the other 40 plugins for saturation or distortion I have)
Outboard effects -> Acidbox3 -> Meris Polymoon -> Meris Mercury 7
Cableguys Shaperbox (another gem)
Gullfoss

By the end of the year I'm aiming to uninstall and/or sell some of the 500 plugins installed (some chunk of those are Studio One)... that might include Omnisphere, for example, or Saturn 2, or Black Rooster, etc.


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## vitocorleone123 (May 12, 2022)

In addition to the Acidbox3 or Analog Heat, there may be a new contender for adding analog warmth to plugins:

https://www.gearnews.com/superbooth-22-freqport-ft-1-freqtube-plug-in-with-actual-tubes/

https://www.freqport.com/


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## Rocaille (May 12, 2022)

Been using NEED Preamps on most things (Low CPU usage) not just synths recently. They have a sale on at the moment too for them: https://noiseash.com/need-preamps/

Edit: Mixbox is one I use often also on things. It seems to be pricey now though. I got it when it was intro price. A great Swiss army knife of tools. https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/mixbox/?pkey=mixbox


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## givemenoughrope (May 12, 2022)

Good tips, thanks

The first I reach for are prob the most obv choices:

Zebrify (usually just a HP/LP to start)
Eq -low cut
Uhbik
Soundtoys
Valhalla


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## R10k (May 12, 2022)

It 'aint cheap, but back when I was trialing it, VSS4 did unbelievable things to most synths...


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## SupremeFist (May 12, 2022)

For me it's usually a tape emulation (Fuse Audio Flywheel lately), or Kazrog True Iron, or PhatFX in Logic.


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## Bovinator (May 12, 2022)

I’m guessing the OP has found the plugins needed by now, but since this thread is still going: 
When mixing synth elements into a track my most used are Waves Vitamin and Parallel Particles. They are able to add brightness and cut rather than just turning up the volume and muddying up the mix. Vitamin also has useful frequency based stereo widening/narrowing


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## mscp (May 12, 2022)

R10k said:


> It 'aint cheap, but back when I was trialing it, VSS4 did unbelievable things to most synths...


Isnt it dependable on hardware?


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## Jeremy Gillam (May 12, 2022)

Valhalla Vintage Verb!


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## R10k (May 13, 2022)

mscp said:


> Isnt it dependable on hardware?


No, that's the plug-in... unless I'm misunderstanding what you mean...


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## Ned Bouhalassa (May 13, 2022)

U-He’s Satin works well for me.


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## gamma-ut (May 13, 2022)

Don't underestimate the power of putting the sound in a room - assuming it's been DI-ed or coming from a softsynth: "reamp" it using Guitar Rig or something like that but at low gain (bass amp is probably best) and put some early reflections on it. This can net a more engaging sound without it seeming to change much and can mean getting away with less added saturation and stuff.


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## mscp (May 13, 2022)

R10k said:


> No, that's the plug-in... unless I'm misunderstanding what you mean...


link?


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## KEM (May 13, 2022)

José Herring said:


> OTT is Magic. Makes anything sound cool.
> Stillwell Oligarch is instant badass goodness (fully functioning demo with just a nag screen guilting you every time you use it. I've lived with the guilt for 12 years now. Oh, the shame. I really need to buy some of the stuff I use.)
> 
> Guitar Rig 6
> ...



I just bought Oligarc a few days ago actually and have already been putting it to good use, it’s a really cool plugin and it got me interested in their Olga synth


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## DanPhaseMusic (May 13, 2022)

Waves CLA Guitar. Can make a pulse or arp pop out of the mix nicely.


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## Faruh Al-Baghdadi (May 13, 2022)

Helix


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## Pier (May 13, 2022)

gamma-ut said:


> Don't underestimate the power of putting the sound in a room - assuming it's been DI-ed or coming from a softsynth: "reamp" it using Guitar Rig or something like that but at low gain (bass amp is probably best) and put some early reflections on it. This can net a more engaging sound without it seeming to change much and can mean getting away with less added saturation and stuff.


Bruce Swedien used that technique a lot. He re-recorded synths in the control room. I believe he did that on Thriller.


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## R10k (May 13, 2022)

mscp said:


> link?








TC Electronic | Product | VSS4 HD NATIVE







www.tcelectronic.com





All of these are great…


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