# What first synth library for a more traditional composer?



## Gingerbread (Jun 7, 2020)

Up to this point, I've really only concentrated on "traditional" orchestral libraries, since I mainly write Williams-esque type stuff. But I do want to start experimenting with hybrid scores. Admittedly, I don't know much about synths. 

Starting off, I think I'd prefer a library which has mostly curated presets, since I doubt I will be able to make much sense of something complicated like Zebra 2. For now, I'd be happy with interesting tonal/non-tonal atmospheric pads and such.

In my initial research, I think I might like something like Gravity, which is mostly presets, with a little bit of customization possible. Would this be a good choice for starting off? Are there others which might be a better fit for where I am now?

Of course, working in Logic, I also do have Alchemy, which I haven't explored, mainly because it seems a bit intimidating.


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## iobaaboi (Jun 7, 2020)

Omnisphere.


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## Gingerbread (Jun 7, 2020)

iobaaboi said:


> Omnisphere.


I do get the feeling that Omnisphiere is the One Ring to Rule Them All. Is it complicated for a beginner of synths?


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## iobaaboi (Jun 7, 2020)

There’s a lot of composers with a classical tilt that use Omnisphere as their primary synth (Thomas Newman, Alan Silvestri, James Newton Howard). 

It is very deep but you can take it in pieces, just browsing presets at first will both inspire you and give you a sense of the instrument. 

There’s also a ton of great tutorials out there, both free (YouTube) and paid (Groove3).


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## Rory (Jun 7, 2020)

Gingerbread said:


> Of course, working in Logic, I also do have Alchemy, which I haven't explored, mainly because it seems a bit intimidating.



Groove3 also has a 3 hour tutorial on Alchemy. The tutorial was done by Eli Krantzberg, who knows Logic inside out and has a talent for teaching:






Alchemy 2 Tutorial - Learn Logic Pro X Alchemy


Logic Pro X 10.2 integrated Alchemy 2, one of the most powerful virtual instruments ever made. In this three-hour video training tutorial series, Eli Krantzberg teaches you how to become a Alchemy wizard and unleash all of its power on your music!




www.groove3.com





You can purchase the course for US$30, or buy a month's access to the whole site for $15.


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## kgdrum (Jun 7, 2020)

I guess Sugarbytes will not be frequently recommended. 🤪

If you’re a Logic user Alchemy is truly one of the best synths in existence,it’s the primary reason I have considered switching to Logic,Alchemy is really that good.

But if you want to use and explore another synth I will suggest either Omnisphere or Zebra 👍

Sugarbytes is quirky & not what the OP probably wants but tons of mind-bending fun as most of the Sugarbytes product line is.






Sugar Bytes | Aparillo







sugar-bytes.de


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## jmauz (Jun 7, 2020)

Reaktor!


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## Nick Batzdorf (Jun 7, 2020)

Gingerbread said:


> I do get the feeling that Omnisphiere is the One Ring to Rule Them All. Is it complicated for a beginner of synths?



Not at all, in fact you can just load presets and make them personal with very minor tweaking. It has lots of every kind of synth sound as well as some really good sampled ones - such as the choirs - that will complement your orchestral libraries. If I could only have one synth, Omnisphere would be it.

But what DAW do you use? Taking what kgdrum farther, they all come with some very good synths to get you started.


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## Gingerbread (Jun 7, 2020)

Nick Batzdorf said:


> Not at all, in fact you can just load presets and make them personal with very minor tweaking. It has lots of every kind of synth sound as well as some really good sampled ones - such as the choirs - that will complement your orchestral libraries. If I could only have one synth, Omnisphere would be it.
> 
> But what DAW do you use? Taking what kgdrum farther, they all come with some very good synths to get you started.


I work in Logic, which has Alchemy. I haven't tinkered with it much yet; I'd need to go through some tutorials first. I notice there doesn't seem to be many 3rd-party cinematic preset libraries for it, the way there is for other synths.


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## kgdrum (Jun 7, 2020)

I’m using a 2012 Cheese-grater so updating to Mojave although it’s not impossible it’s a real chore.
I’m parked in Sierra so for me it’s a bit of an expensive multiple step challenge (firmware update ,new graphics card OS updates)
Alchemy would be the main reason why I’d even consider switching to Logic.
You have it ,give it a try imo it’s the best synth included in any DAW in the DAW world.

You might not remember how many pissed off and heartbroken Alchemy users there were when Apple bought and absconded w/ Alchemy,its a day that will live in infamy in our 🌎


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## Rory (Jun 7, 2020)

kgdrum said:


> Alchemy would be the main reason why I’d even consider switching to Logic.
> You have it ,give it a try imo it’s the best synth included in any DAW in the DAW world.
> 
> You might not remember how many pissed off and heartbroken Alchemy users there were when Apple bought and absconded w/ Alchemy,its a day that will live in infamy in our 🌎



In addition to Eli Krantzberg's Groove3 tutorial on Alchemy, which costs $15 to watch, Apple's recently updated material on Alchemy starts here: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/logicpro/lgsi9253871c/mac

There's also a good intro to synthesisers in Appendix B of Apple's user guide on Logic instruments.


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## José Herring (Jun 7, 2020)

Gingerbread said:


> I do get the feeling that Omnisphiere is the One Ring to Rule Them All.



Nah. There are many rings. It depends on what you're looking for.

If you check out JXL channel on youtube, he has a run through of all of the synths he uses but more importantly why he uses them. Some of the videos are going back a few years now but they are well worth the time. There is one video on season one that goes into all his plugins. Mind you I think that video is about 4 years old so I'm sure some of changed since then, I mean after all he is JXL. But, good information and you may be surprised that you may already have a lot of what he is using. 

Also, the video on his score to Terminator which is a bit more modern he goes into some of the newer synths he's using like Serum. He also mentions Omni in that for it's sound design capabilities. Quite unique. 

Then there's of course his video on using old samplers. That was a hoot!!!! I loved that one as I'm a sample kind of guy and even get better results sampling synths most of the time than programming synths from nothing. I just seem to think sampler because that's what I grew up with. Romplers and samplers.

Also, he has one on his analog gear, and I found his one on the modular stuff illuminating because he had to build a patch from scratch and you can see and hear him thinking about synthesis and what he's going for. Eye opening.

In the end, over the past year or so I've studied synths with the same depth as I've studied orchestration. I find that too many people are just like "toss in Omni presets and fogetta 'bout it." But the world of synthesis is capable of so much more than that. But, that isn't to say that Omni isn't a beast, just that you may not want that particular beast all the time. There's so much TV music and it's become such a standard that it's almost foolish not to have it, but I'm the last fool to hold out on it. Stubborn ass bastard that just refusing to get what everybody else already has. Though I said that about Zebra2 then when I finally got it, you'll have to pry it out of my cold dead hands. Zebra2 will be in one hand, HO in the other and Reason between my teeth on my death bed  Not that I don't also use a whole ton more but that's kind of what I've gravitated towards over the years. 

I'm curious though to find out what's next in store for Omni. There are so many good synthesis systems out now that I'd be curious to find out which way Omni goes in the future. I've been checking out UVI Falcon and holding myself back. I'm running out of hands to hold onto things and I'm afraid the next new thing will make me say good bye to one of my beloveds. But, in the end, it's all just a bunch of fun and I mainly go towards synths as a way to boost the orchestra and just have fun when I want to make noise but don't want to write a piece or deal with orchestral libraries. Like you I'm still centered around the orchestra.


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## José Herring (Jun 7, 2020)

jmauz said:


> Reaktor!


Gah..... Amazing system but I get a headache every time I use it.


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## vitocorleone123 (Jun 7, 2020)

You could start with something "simpler" than Omni, if you're looking for pulses/arps: Sonuscore Elysion. Add in Luftrum Lunaris later for pads. The total cost is close to the cost of Omni, though, but spread out. Again, those are more purpose-built tools vs. the omega tool of Omni.

Those are decidedly NOT more powerful or as expansive as Omnisphere. But they're probably easier to grasp and use. I have Omni and have put off trying to fully utilize it. I'm looking at those other two as "some day" purchases.


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## doctoremmet (Jun 7, 2020)

Or Arturia Analog Lab 4. Just presets, but very good ones, and a lot of diversity between analog and digital forms of synthesis. Plus it comes cheap. If there is one particular synth you would like to be able to tweak more elaborately, you can upgrade and buy it to unlock its full potential. Neat concept.


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## Zero&One (Jun 8, 2020)

I would also check out Syntorial, there's a free intro version. Following that course, you'd not need anything outside of Logic's offerings for 95% of sounds.
Owning most soft synths, I can honestly say there isn't a bad one out there. Just what suits your workflow and makes you creative.


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## doctoremmet (Jun 8, 2020)

Cheap but secretly great option, if you’re not at all snobbish about your synth picks:
- get AIR Music Tech stock ProTools stuff on the cheap. Xpand2! even today is a cool rompler, and with Vacuum Pro for VA and Loom for additive you’re golden. I managed to get them for $55 with some crossgrade (owning Loom II which I got off of VSTBuzz for $27). Great value (also comes with piano, Rhodes, Wurly, tons of samples and Strike2 IIRC).

Or get a free magazine (Beat, the deal is current and on this forum somewhere) and get Waves Element 2. Pretty decent sounding synth!


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## shawnsingh (Jun 8, 2020)

+1 to both omnisphere and syntorial

Just to be clear - it's been hinted but not emphasized explicitly enough, one of the biggest treasures of Omnisphere is the presets that come with it. And third party preset libraries too. So these are the two biggest reasons that omnisphere is a great recommendation for starting (1) because presets can take you a long way while you learn, and that you can learn from the presets, too, and (2) because learning a full-featured synth like omnisphere is a great way to dive into learning synthesis in general.

What happened for me was that when I first got Omnisphere, it was my first real dive into the actual meaning of various synth parameters, and learning each part of it became like going through a sound design basics course. Meanwhile I enjoyed using presets regularly. Eventually it becomes very common that a preset almost fits your music but not really, and you can challenge yourself to understand the patch and try to figure out how to tweak parameters to sculpt the sound to fit your music. And yeah there's joy in designing your own patches/presets too. Personally I find it best to separate these two passions - when I'm trying to compose I find it completely breaks my creative momentum to have to pause everything to design a sound from scratch. Unless I know *exactly* what I want. But the coolest presets usually don't come from knowing exactly what you want, they come from exploratory sound design, which can be done in some other time that you specifically allocate to design your own sounds, with no real compositions in mind.

I know there's a lot of people, e.g. @josejherring in his thoughts above, that feel like presets become overused in the industry and lose their value for that reason. But I think tweaking presets can easily buy you a lot more mileage from the same presets. Even if you don't tweak, I think that feeling of overuse and "creative shame" is only relevant among people who really know the synth and might recognize the presets when they're used in someone else's music. Also, we should also acknowledge that these are two different levels of abstraction in the creative process - (a) designing sounds, and (b) using a sound in a composition - and it's very reasonable if someone wants to focus on only one or the other or both. Compositions that use presets can be just as awesomely creative and original, that depends way more on the composer and the song than the fact that untweaked presets were used =)


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## doctoremmet (Jun 8, 2020)

shawnsingh said:


> Compositions that use presets can be just as awesomely creative and original, that depends way more on the composer and the song than the fact that untweaked presets were used =)


Yes. Agreed. And there’s @Ásta Jónsdóttir who has a very cool thread on this very topic


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## doctoremmet (Jun 8, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> Or Arturia Analog Lab 4. Just presets, but very good ones, and a lot of diversity between analog and digital forms of synthesis. Plus it comes cheap. If there is one particular synth you would like to be able to tweak more elaborately, you can upgrade and buy it to unlock its full potential. Neat concept.


It’s $199 but since V Collection is on sale right now for a 100 more, I’d get that. You get ALL the synths AND Analog Lab 4. Way better deal


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## SupremeFist (Jun 8, 2020)

I don't try to build a piano sound from scratch every time I write something for piano, but I'll happily tweak a sound that's been lovingly engineered by someone far better at it than me. Same with synth presets!


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## Living Fossil (Jun 8, 2020)

Gingerbread said:


> Starting off, I think I'd prefer a library which has mostly curated presets, since I doubt I will be able to make much sense of something complicated like Zebra 2.
> 
> Of course, working in Logic, I also do have Alchemy, which I haven't explored, mainly because it seems a bit intimidating.



Because you write intimidating/complicated:
Both, Logic and Alchemy have manuals.
In order to get something, you have to give something.
In this case, the investment consists in some hours of your attention that will pay back.

So, my advice would be to first explore Logic's own synth.
They were good enough for extremely successful artists (some Lady Gaga hits rely on the ES2, Danny Elfmann mentions Alchemy in an interview, etc), so you can give them a try.
(p.s. don't forget Logic's Retro Synth).

When you feel confident with them, i'd have a look at u-He. Either the analogue route (Diva, Repro) or Zebra, which is a monster (but still much easier to learn as one might think).

If money is not a relevant aspect, Omnisphere is also a great choice since it's our days industry standard Rompler (of course it's not a "Rompler" but an extremely versatile synth).

Gravity is not a synth and it absolutely can't replace a synth.
I have it, use some of the sounds (wooshes etc.) and think it's brutally overpriced, even at a 50% discount.


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## vitocorleone123 (Jun 8, 2020)

Another suggestion, if the OP is desiring to learn some synth fundamentals while having quite a few presets available (and available to purchase, including some "cinematic" ones) in a software synth rather than rompler inside Kontakt: U-He Hive 2, which gets you subtractive synthesis and wavetable synthesis.

Or, if you'd rather stick with subtractive synthesis with tons of flexibility, U-He Diva. Alternatively, if you like the 80s Oberheim sound, Synapse Audio has a new OB-Xa synth coming likely in the next week or two that sounds divine.

I'd personally avoid large synth bundles due to the challenge of learning different interfaces, vs. Omnisphere with a billion presets but all within the same interface. Pick one and at least get to know it and get comfortable with it before buying another. Don't have to master it, just learn it.


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## Gingerbread (Jun 8, 2020)

Wow, a big thank you to you all, this is fantastic information, and gives me way more to think about than I'd considered. In reading all the advice, what really sticks out is that it makes a lot of sense to first learn some synth basics, with the resources and tutorials that you guys have mentioned, in Alchemy first. I'll be checking out that Groove3 course.

And once I've learned the basics, then it would make sense, for the kind of music I do, to pick one additional synth (probably Omnisphere), so I'll have both Alchemy and Omnisphere, and the knowledge to creatively tweak presets and build whatever I need.

For someone like me, who will still be primarily focused on orchestral music, the knowledge to add synth flavorings into the mix is gonna be great! Thank you!


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## jononotbono (Jun 8, 2020)

Omnisphere 2, 
U-He Zebra2, Diva, Repro, Dark Zebra
Serum
NI Reaktor (and Razer) and Massive

These bad boys will do probably be enough for many careers all in one.

To be fair, the synths in your DAW are likely to be way good enough. I’d say save your money, use what you have, and then figure out what other stuff you wanna write music with. I know, I know. Nobody wants to hear this kind of grown up shit but it’ll save you money so can buy more sample libraries you’ll never need or bother to explore.


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## Prockamanisc (Jun 8, 2020)

Arturia V Collection. A huge variety of synths for the same price as Omnisphere, and it really has a huge palette of flavors.


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## doctoremmet (Jun 8, 2020)

vitocorleone123 said:


> I'd personally avoid large synth bundles due to the challenge of learning different interfaces, vs. Omnisphere with a billion presets but all within the same interface.


Although I am the one that mentioned a couple of collections, I. Just admit this is solid advice. Get one cool sounding synth and learn that one.


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## Prockamanisc (Jun 8, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> Although I am the one that mentioned a couple of collections, I. Just admit this is solid advice. Get one cool sounding synth and learn that one.


Yes, but, the OP is going to be working from presets at first, and Arturia is ideal for that. Lots of different synths, each with tons of presets.


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## doctoremmet (Jun 8, 2020)

Prockamanisc said:


> Yes, but, the OP is going to be working from presets at first, and Arturia is ideal for that. Lots of different synths, each with tons of presets.


True. But then when I noticed V Collection is currently “just” 100 more, I figured it best to point that out because that is way more valuable


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## Nick Batzdorf (Jun 8, 2020)

Gingerbread said:


> I work in Logic, which has Alchemy. I haven't tinkered with it much yet; I'd need to go through some tutorials first. I notice there doesn't seem to be many 3rd-party cinematic preset libraries for it, the way there is for other synths.



I know it's not your term, but I never understand what makes a sound cinematic.

But if you have Logic, try some of the other synths too. Alchemy is good for textures, but Logic has several others. Sculpture is interesting - but a little sterile until you run it through an amp plug-in.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Jun 8, 2020)

josejherring said:


> Gah..... Amazing system but I get a headache every time I use it.



Just loading sounds is headache-producing. I know what you mean.


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## nolotrippen (Jun 9, 2020)

Xpand2 is amazing


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## doctoremmet (Jun 9, 2020)

nolotrippen said:


> Xpand2 is amazing


It sure is. Layer a couple of sounds on top of each other and create monster pads. I don’t have Omnisphere (but a LOT of other synths) so Xpand2! is my only “rompler” but I always feel like firing up my own little Omnisphere light hehe


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## doctoremmet (Jun 9, 2020)

doctoremmet said:


> Cheap but secretly great option, if you’re not at all snobbish about your synth picks:
> - get AIR Music Tech stock ProTools stuff on the cheap. Xpand2! even today is a cool rompler, and with Vacuum Pro for VA and Loom for additive you’re golden. I managed to get them for $55 with some crossgrade (owning Loom II which I got off of VSTBuzz for $27). Great value (also comes with piano, Rhodes, Wurly, tons of samples and Strike2 IIRC).
> 
> Or get a free magazine (Beat, the deal is current and on this forum somewhere) and get Waves Element 2. Pretty decent sounding synth!


Oh and that bundle comes with Hybrid3 as well. Incredible value for sure


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## mekosmowski (Jun 9, 2020)

The next time I fire up Xpand 2, what sorts of things do you suggest I try?


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## doctoremmet (Jun 9, 2020)

mekosmowski said:


> The next time I fire up Xpand 2, what sorts of things do you suggest I try?


Nylon guitar, layered with slow pads


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