# It's that time a year....What synths



## José Herring (Dec 22, 2022)

Hello,

It's that time a year when I start thinking it's time to get a new synth platform or synth. What synths are you excited about? What's out there?

I think about getting Falcon every year and yet every year when the rubber hits the road and drive right on by. 

For sure Cherry Audio GX 80 is on the list. It's a no-brainer. Dune 3 but Synapses keeps teasing the new HZ/Schroeder uber synth so may just pass on Dune to see what Synapses has in store first. 

But any others that might be lurking out there undiscovered?


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## proggermusic (Dec 22, 2022)

Man... call me boring, but between Arturia V-Collection 9 (the new Oberheim emulation is absolutely phenomenal!) and the dynamic duo of Omnisphere/Keyscape, I really can't imagine much else I need or want from a soft synth perspective. (I'm probably gonna get a Korg Monologue largely because I'll be touring a lot with an artist with a Korg endorsement, but that's another story...)

If there's ONE synth I wish I had access to, it's a bit of a curveball. Jim Beard is a massive hero of mine, and in the late '80s and early '90s, he did a ton of work with the strange little beast known as the Voyetra 8. UVI has a Voyetra 8 plugin, but it's sampled and not modeled, which is why I haven't bought it yet. The sounds Jim got out of that thing on his own "Song of the Sun" record, as well as Michael Breckers "Now You See It..." are distinctive and exciting. I've never heard anything else quite like it.

That's literally the one and only synthesizer I don't have a virtual version of that I want. For everything else, my real limitation is time... it's hard to find excuses these days, the sounds we have access to so easily and (relatively) cheaply are immense.


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## José Herring (Dec 22, 2022)

proggermusic said:


> Man... call me boring, but between Arturia V-Collection 9 (the new Oberheim emulation is absolutely phenomenal!) and the dynamic duo of Omnisphere/Keyscape, I really can't imagine much else I need or want from a soft synth perspective. (I'm probably gonna get a Korg Monologue largely because I'll be touring a lot with an artist with a Korg endorsement, but that's another story...)
> 
> If there's ONE synth I wish I had access to, it's a bit of a curveball. Jim Beard is a massive hero of mine, and in the late '80s and early '90s, he did a ton of work with the strange little beast known as the Voyetra 8. UVI has a Voyetra 8 plugin, but it's sampled and not modeled, which is why I haven't bought it yet. The sounds Jim got out of that thing on his own "Song of the Sun" record, as well as Michael Breckers "Now You See It..." are distinctive and exciting. I've never heard anything else quite like it.
> 
> That's literally the one and only synthesizer I don't have a virtual version of that I want. For everything else, my real limitation is time... it's hard to find excuses these days, the sounds we have access to so easily and (relatively) cheaply are immense.


Been eyeing Arturia V-Collection. Did manage to pick up the CS80 for free through steinberg. Man what an education that one is. Had it sounding huge in no time. I don't know much about the Oberheim emulation. I have Obsession and like it very much. Wonder how they compare.

Spectrasonic stuff has never made it on my list. I know it's amazing but I can never get into it. I was even there when he unveiled the first version at NAMM. It was a monster synth but the aesthetic of the sound of his stuff just never appealed to me. Which I find weird because I was a big fan of his rompler sounds he did for Roland.


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## cuttime (Dec 22, 2022)

I'm still trying to get my head around Surge:









Surge


Surge is an open source digital synthesizer.




surge-synthesizer.github.io


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## Marcus Millfield (Dec 22, 2022)

Weren't you the "sticking to the synths I have for a while" guy?


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## José Herring (Dec 22, 2022)

cuttime said:


> I'm still trying to get my head around Surge:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


One of my favorite free synths. If you got Surge and Vital you'd be doing pretty good.


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## José Herring (Dec 22, 2022)

Marcus Millfield said:


> Weren't you the "sticking to the synths I have for a while" guy?


So last year bro.


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## Marcus Millfield (Dec 22, 2022)

José Herring said:


> So last year bro.


Well in that case: check out the Dawesome synths (Abyss, Novum, Kult). It's a fresh take on synth design between all the vintage subtractive and FM emulations.


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## SteveK (Dec 23, 2022)

The GX-80 is just brilliant and well worth a try. I’m still in shock that I’ve got the “Dream Synth” GX-1 at my fingertips and can’t wait to explore more Emerson like patches. Used with the Hydrasynth poly aftertouch it’s unreal.

If unsure about buying more synths I would also highly recommend getting Unify from Plug In Guru. It helps you take what already have to a whole new leave and very inspiring.

Happy Christmas 
Steve


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## cedricm (Dec 23, 2022)

I love Falcon, but you must be ready to invest time in it, since it offers unique flexibility, so the workflow is quite different than your typical 2/3 OSC synth.

I just bought Diva. I'm hesitating to get Hive 2 or Dune 3 also. It's really luxury though, I have still so much to explore with what I already have. 

GX 80 looks interesting, but I'll wait a year or two for deep discount. BTW I'm quite disappointed by the CA rebate I get for their all-synth package.


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## cloudbuster (Dec 23, 2022)

José Herring said:


> What synths are you excited about?


The ones I already have; Bitwig takes care of the rest.
Next station: Avenger 2.


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## doctoremmet (Dec 23, 2022)

- All things Dawesome. If you like Generate check out KULT ($54 at JRRshop, coupon GROUP)

- Keep an eye on Klevgrand Tomofon. Multi wavetable import and resynthesis. Really interesting paradigm for sounds I have never really heard before. Hoping for a v2 version in 2023 with MPE and resizable UI

- Roli Equator 2. I always call it my Falcon light. Great UI. Imho way better than Falcon’s tbh. The thing sounds absolutely amazing too. A true top tier contender but somehow it doesn’t seem to appeal to non-Seaboard folk (which is understandable)

- In 2023 I expect Halion 7 to be released. Halion 6 is one of the best sounding synths I have.

- REAKTOR: grab the Toybox Audio Tangle pack or the new Atomic pack. The latter has great oscillators AND a really good filter.

TL;DR
Equator 2. Check it. A real “platform” synth. Later this year check Halion 7.


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## doctoremmet (Dec 23, 2022)

Tomofon as a non-platform one-trick niche type of synth-from-the-leftfield:


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## Marko Zirkovich (Dec 23, 2022)

proggermusic said:


> UVI has a Voyetra 8 plugin, but it's sampled and not modeled, which is why I haven't bought it yet.


The UVI PX V8 is currently on sale at:








UVI PX V8


Exclusive Deal 8 Voice Analog Powerhouse PX V8 is based on an exceedingly rare American polyphonic analog synthesizer, the Voyetra Eight. Released by Octave-Plateau Electronics in 1982, this unassuming 3-space rackmount synth is a 78 lb. analog powerhouse sporting 8 voice cards and an incredibly...




www.audiodeluxe.com





Yes, it's a sampled instrument, but for the price of 19$ and the extensive editing possibilities inside Falcon it could still be worthwhile to you.


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## KEM (Dec 23, 2022)

ZebraHZ of course

But as it stands right now the only thing that matters is the new Synapse Audio x Hans Zimmer synth coming out, but you should absolutely still get Dune 3, it’s my second favorite synth after Zebra


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## cedricm (Dec 23, 2022)

doctoremmet said:


> - All things Dawesome. If you like Generate check out KULT ($54 at JRRshop, coupon GROUP)
> 
> - Keep an eye on Klevgrand Tomofon. Multi wavetable import and resynthesis. Really interesting paradigm for sounds I have never really heard before. Hoping for a v2 version in 2023 with MPE and resizable UI
> 
> ...


Is Equator 2 on sale from time to time?
To my ears, both guitars from the "mind-bending sounds" video do not sound good at all.


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## doctoremmet (Dec 23, 2022)

I don’t typically use synths for their guitar patches, but they tend to suck on all platforms so that makes sense. That Parisi guy kind of nailed it with that guitar sound on the Purple Rain looper cover though, but no doubt he’s using a personal patch.

Roli do sales like any other company, at pretty much the same moments.


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## proggermusic (Dec 23, 2022)

Marko Zirkovich said:


> The UVI PX V8 is currently on sale at:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


You're undoubtedly correct, and that's a steal... maybe today's the day! I know UVI does good work, I should give it a shot.


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## doctoremmet (Dec 23, 2022)

proggermusic said:


> You're undoubtedly correct, and that's a steal... maybe today's the day! I know UVI does good work, I should give it a shot.


I like the Voyetra’s sound too and hope Cherry Audio will do a recreation of it in 2023. Or maybe a developer like Xils Lab or Gforce might do one. In the mean time maybe this sample is indeed an interesting “intermediary” solution. Thanks @Marko Zirkovich for the heads-up!


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## AceAudioHQ (Dec 23, 2022)

I own plenty of synths but I bought Ana2 last month and I’ve liked it the best, fairly simple and nice sounds


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## kgdrum (Dec 23, 2022)

@José Herring
GForce OB-E and Oddity 3 are both great synths that imo are definitely worth checking out.

*currently on sale*


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## KEM (Dec 23, 2022)

AceAudioHQ said:


> I own plenty of synths but I bought Ana2 last month and I’ve liked it the best, fairly simple and nice sounds



Love Ana2, started using it because BMTH uses it, they even named a couple of their songs after the presets the songs are based on (“Slayer of Kings” and “Nihilist Hues” presets)


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## AceAudioHQ (Dec 23, 2022)

KEM said:


> Love Ana2, started using it because BMTH uses it


Lots of synthwave artists also use it a lot, it has lots of great sounds for it


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## José Herring (Dec 23, 2022)

KEM said:


> ZebraHZ of course
> 
> But as it stands right now the only thing that matters is the new Synapse Audio x Hans Zimmer synth coming out, but you should absolutely still get Dune 3, it’s my second favorite synth after Zebra


I got me some ZebraHZ. Love that synth. Dune 3 is a contender but I want to see if the new HZ synth might make it obsolete. 


doctoremmet said:


> - All things Dawesome. If you like Generate check out KULT ($54 at JRRshop, coupon GROUP)


Got me eye on Kult. I'm just wondering if it offers anything really different than Generate. Seems to sound rather similar but I've only heard a few walkthroughs.


doctoremmet said:


> - Keep an eye on Klevgrand Tomofon. Multi wavetable import and resynthesis. Really interesting paradigm for sounds I have never really heard before. Hoping for a v2 version in 2023 with MPE and resizable UI


Sounds fantastic!


doctoremmet said:


> - Roli Equator 2. I always call it my Falcon light. Great UI. Imho way better than Falcon’s tbh. The thing sounds absolutely amazing too. A true top tier contender but somehow it doesn’t seem to appeal to non-Seaboard folk (which is understandable)


I'll look into this for sure.


doctoremmet said:


> - In 2023 I expect Halion 7 to be released. Halion 6 is one of the best sounding synths I have.


Hot Damn! I loved Halion 6 when I demoed it. People called it complicated but I found it rather straight forward. And, I hear the integration with Cubase is fantastic.



doctoremmet said:


> - REAKTOR: grab the Toybox Audio Tangle pack or the new Atomic pack. The latter has great oscillators AND a really good filter.


Will look into it. Though I must admit, I don't find Reaktor even Reaktor blocks inspiring yet. But, I do pull it up and maybe the new Toybox might pull me into REaktor again.


doctoremmet said:


> TL;DR
> Equator 2. Check it. A real “platform” synth. Later this year check Halion 7.


Yeah!


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## vitocorleone123 (Dec 23, 2022)

A Digitone.

That’s a definite platform. You can also sequence 4 softsynths (or hardware) with it simultaneously.


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## Studio E (Dec 23, 2022)

As someone who owns a ton of U-he, the whole Arturia Collection, Omni, blah blah blah, Dune and Obsession are total stand-outs in all of it. If I had to pick one, Dune, but for character and a way of working that makes me think differently, Obsession. Even knowing they are supposed to release some other uber-synth, I wouldn't hesitate. Good is good, and these are both amazing.


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## vitocorleone123 (Dec 23, 2022)

Studio E said:


> As someone who owns a ton of U-he, the whole Arturia Collection, Omni, blah blah blah, Dune and Obsession are total stand-outs in all of it. If I had to pick one, Dune, but for character and a way of working that makes me think differently, Obsession. Even knowing they are supposed to release some other uber-synth, I wouldn't hesitate. Good is good, and these are both amazing.


Interestingly, I prefer Hive 2 over Dune, and sold off Obsession months ago because I didn’t like it (and it has a sub optimal UX). Comes down to preferences for sure!


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## Studio E (Dec 23, 2022)

vitocorleone123 said:


> Interestingly, I prefer Hive 2 over Dune, and sold off Obsession months ago because I didn’t like it (and it has a sub optimal UX). Comes down to preferences for sure!


Hive 2 IS awesome as well, for sure.


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## vitocorleone123 (Dec 23, 2022)

Studio E said:


> Hive 2 IS awesome as well, for sure.


To my ears, it barely beat out Dune. It was almost a toss-up. Can't go wrong with either - best bet is whichever you like using most when doing a demo.


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## Pier (Dec 23, 2022)

Every year I look for a new synth platform too... and I always end up going back to Zebra 

I got Avenger during BF and want to spend more time with it.

I also want to sink my teeth into Reason Plugin. This could be the modular platform I've been pursuing for years. Actually buying Reason+ literally right now.


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## sostenuto (Dec 23, 2022)

Un_reason_able !! Chain being yanked. Getting my ring back from u-he - Zebra 2 legacy. 
No more serious relationships. One night stands rule !


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## José Herring (Dec 23, 2022)

Pier said:


> Every year I look for a new synth platform too... and I always end up going back to Zebra
> 
> I got Avenger during BF and want to spend more time with it.
> 
> I also want to sink my teeth into Reason Plugin. This could be the modular platform I've been pursuing for years. Actually buying Reason+ literally right now.


Cool! The magic of Reason lies in the Rack really. All other "DAW" features are kind of afterthoughts. So I was so happy when they split the Rack away from the DAW. The only thing I miss is that because the midi sequencer portion of Reason grew out of an extension of the Rack, it has some automation features that are hard to duplicate in other DAWS without a lot of work. When they dropped rewire there were some things that I just couldn't do any more.

One other good thing about the DAW though is that it has a great way of slicing audio and turning them into rex files or loops or whatever you want. I still use the Reason DAW for sampling.


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## José Herring (Dec 24, 2022)

vitocorleone123 said:


> Interestingly, I prefer Hive 2 over Dune, and sold off Obsession months ago because I didn’t like it (and it has a sub optimal UX). Comes down to preferences for sure!


I've noticed from your post that your taste is different than mine, but I do respect your opinion. What is it that you didn't like about Obsession? I personally love the synth but to be honest I'm not sure that I'm sold on it as an emulation. I've briefly gone over some youtube vids showing off the OB-Xa and I'm not fully sure that I can get Obsession to sound anywhere close to that.


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## doctoremmet (Dec 24, 2022)

José Herring said:


> I've briefly gone over some youtube vids showing off the OB-Xa and I'm not fully sure that I can get Obsession to sound anywhere close to that.


It sounds eerily close to my OB-Xa hardware to be honest. A lot depends on the patches and the way they’re played. If you’re “feeling it” musically it’s as if the synth sounds better, but this is largely a trap I’ve found. The hardware unit I have access to is slightly broken (one voicecard has panning issues and glitches) so there’s also the fact that every unit behaves and likely sounds a little differently after decades. Yet, the actual sound character of the emulation comes awefully close to the real thing. 

You also have to ask yourself how much we should actually care for such a thing. I mean, I have a REALLY hard time believing people who state they’d pick out Obsession in a relatively normal mix. So I usually don’t sweat over these A/B tests that I structurally screw up. Software has become really good.

Disclaimer: not trying to sound arrogant here. On the contrary: my ears may just suck


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## ZeroZero (Dec 24, 2022)

Here are some unusual synths which I like.
The first is Stephenson's String Band by Spitfire - this synth is unusual because it is loaded almost exclusively with orchestral sounds, very exclusive sounds. I got it as part of Albion 1 (which is excellent). I dont know if you can get hold if it independently you could ask them. This is my favourite.
Then there is Ibrido range by Sonokinetic maybe still on sale. 
Lastly there is the Elements Synth on Zero G site, written by the guy who does the Ethera sounds - these synths make heavy use of vocal samples and are cinematic in nature. 
Though not synths, they are a bit synth lik, are his vocal synths Especially Ethera Gold 2.5 and Atlantis. They will give very different vox based sounds.
I own Omni and I do know what you mean, I dont understand why but Omni has a unique sound that is Persing. I love it and hate it. Stylus RMX encapsulates that sound and it's awful there. Omni is much more powerful and better than RMX but it still has remnants of that sound.


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## José Herring (Dec 24, 2022)

doctoremmet said:


> It sounds eerily close to my OB-Xa hardware to be honest. A lot depends on the patches and the way they’re played. If you’re “feeling it” musically it’s as if the synth sounds better, but this is largely a trap I’ve found. The hardware unit I have access to is slightly broken (one voicecard has panning issues and glitches) so there’s also the fact that every unit behaves and likely sounds a little differently after decades. Yet, the actual sound character of the emulation comes awefully close to the real thing.
> 
> You also have to ask yourself how much we should actually care for such a thing. I mean, I have a REALLY hard time believing people who state they’d pick out Obsession in a relatively normal mix. So I usually don’t sweat over these A/B tests that I structurally screw up. Software has become really good.
> 
> Disclaimer: not trying to sound arrogant here. On the contrary: my ears may just suck


I don't think your ears suck. I was just playing around with Obession and I found it to actual "emulate" really well contrary to my earlier statement. 
I've been learning about though what to listen for. And, I found a video of a dude explaining the Arp 2600. And, then I started to hear what these emulations may be lacking. I'll post the video and cue it up. But, what I think what I tend to miss is that the hardware can go to "11". Like you can push it that little extra bit and then it gets down to extremes. 

So in essence I'm starting to see that up to a degree emulations can get really close but some analog synths can go to 11 while the emulations go to about 9.5. 


Like this video here.


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## TheUnfinished (Dec 24, 2022)

Have you checked out the Softube analogue emulations? They're rather nice. Some rather obvious choices, perhaps, but they have a certain something to them that certainly (for me) surpasses many other analogue emulations.


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## biomuse (Dec 24, 2022)

TheUnfinished said:


> Have you checked out the Softube analogue emulations? They're rather nice. Some rather obvious choices, perhaps, but they have a certain something to them that certainly (for me) surpasses many other analogue emulations.


Was on the tip of my tongue. Softube seems to focus its developmental ear right in on the “eleven” - the place where pushing the hardware yields audible goodies. It’s pretty striking in use. Still not “perfect,” but a bit better, and interesting in its own right.


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## doctoremmet (Dec 24, 2022)

biomuse said:


> Was on the tip of my tongue. Softube seems to focus its developmental ear right in on the “eleven” - the place where pushing the hardware yields audible goodies. It’s pretty striking in use. Still not “perfect,” but a bit better, and interesting in its own right.


Good one. I believe José already jumped on the Softube Modular train last year. The more regular synths are also very good. I think even @vitocorleone123 agrees.


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## vitocorleone123 (Dec 24, 2022)

José Herring said:


> I've noticed from your post that your taste is different than mine, but I do respect your opinion. What is it that you didn't like about Obsession? I personally love the synth but to be honest I'm not sure that I'm sold on it as an emulation. I've briefly gone over some youtube vids showing off the OB-Xa and I'm not fully sure that I can get Obsession to sound anywhere close to that.


Taste is definitely different (and thank you). There's probably a few things that went into my eventually selling Obsession after getting it on release day.

Primarily, it was the sound just wasn't "as expected" - I was expecting bright and lively instead of dark and a little more static sounding. I also learned that maybe I didn't love the sound of the Xa in general, though I seemed to like it more in videos. As you said, Obsession is maybe not the strongest emulation, though that doesn't always mean a synth is bad! After all, I still like TAL 101 even though Model 82 helped demonstrate how far off it might be.

I really liked the pan and variation control per voice, but the UX was awful to me - what worked OK on The Legend (which I sold and replaced with Model 72) fell apart on Obsession for me. I'm a long-time professional UX designer and researcher who's very passionate about music, so I can be picky about such things, even though I consider the UX secondary to the sound on synths. If Synapse Audio had just used a standard synth layout that would've helped a lot. The filter control and envelope depth was also a bit weird, even if like the original (?), in that it seemed to really only do what I expected down in the last 20% or so dialed to the left. Strange interplay of the controls that I didn't like, and seemed limiting. Oh, and the LFO not syncing as expected was annoying... think I remember that accurately, but it's been awhile since I had the synth.

Finally, even though I intellectually knew that the Oberheim SEM synths were very different from the Curtis-chip-based ones, maybe I didn't understand very well how different. I seem to prefer the brightness and bite of the SEM rather than the buzzy-ness of the Curtis chips, and I've had a modern interpretation of a SEM in the form of an OB-6 desktop in front of me for a few years now. I also, as you'd expect, like the Gforce SEM (though it's darker and more static than the OB-6).

Ultimately, as you led with, it all comes down to taste. Hope that helps, and Happy Holidays to you!


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## vitocorleone123 (Dec 24, 2022)

doctoremmet said:


> Good one. I believe José already jumped on the Softube Modular train last year. The more regular synths are also very good. I think even @vitocorleone123 agrees.


Yes! I LOVE Model 84, especially. But I'm happy with 72 and 82, as well.

The only thing that annoys me, which should come as no surprise if you made it through my previous post above, is the UX. Why, oh why, did they have to make the UX so clunky? So much wasted space, a silly choice of not being able to hide they keys, and the hidden panel that slides out yet also obscures the main window area? Ugh.


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## SupremeFist (Dec 24, 2022)

TheUnfinished said:


> Have you checked out the Softube analogue emulations? They're rather nice. Some rather obvious choices, perhaps, but they have a certain something to them that certainly (for me) surpasses many other analogue emulations.


Yeah the 84 is a no-brainer but José just missed the sale....


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## José Herring (Dec 24, 2022)

TheUnfinished said:


> Have you checked out the Softube analogue emulations? They're rather nice. Some rather obvious choices, perhaps, but they have a certain something to them that certainly (for me) surpasses many other analogue emulations.


As mentioned by my friedly Doc, I do love the Softube Modular. The model 72 seems like it is great but I'm not really a huge minimoog fan without the release knob. But it does sound good. 

I love the sound of the modular. I put it up against my Eurorack and the only real differences in quality is that the Softtube is actually a lot cleaner sounding. Whatever modeling these guys are doing they are killing it.


vitocorleone123 said:


> Taste is definitely different (and thank you). There's probably a few things that went into my eventually selling Obsession after getting it on release day.
> 
> Primarily, it was the sound just wasn't "as expected" - I was expecting bright and lively instead of dark and a little more static sounding. I also learned that maybe I didn't love the sound of the Xa in general, though I seemed to like it more in videos. As you said, Obsession is maybe not the strongest emulation, though that doesn't always mean a synth is bad! After all, I still like TAL 101 even though Model 82 helped demonstrate how far off it might be.
> 
> ...


On the filter thing, yeah it's really weird. I noticed that right away. The envelope amount (attenuator) doesn't really work. I don't know if it's a design flaw in the original but if it is, you think that's where emulations take it too far. Why not fix that? Don't get it. I get you on Obsession though. I haven't found a way to actually work it into my music. I mostly use it to study Kevin Schroeder's patches.


SupremeFist said:


> Yeah the 84 is a no-brainer but José just missed the sale....


The cool thing is that if I get all the models I also get the modules as well. It's a sweet deal!


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## Pier (Dec 24, 2022)

José Herring said:


> I love the sound of the modular. I put it up against my Eurorack and the only real differences in quality is that the Softtube is actually a lot cleaner sounding. Whatever modeling these guys are doing they are killing it.


Have you tried VCV Rack?


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## method1 (Dec 24, 2022)

Deep inside you know the answer. 

Spend more time with what you already have. 



And buy some new synths anyway.


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## sostenuto (Dec 24, 2022)

ZeroZero said:


> Here are some unusual synths which I like.
> The first is Stephenson's String Band by Spitfire - this synth is unusual because it is loaded almost exclusively with orchestral sounds, very exclusive sounds. I got it as part of Albion 1 (which is excellent). I dont know if you can get hold if it independently you could ask them. This is my favourite.
> Then there is Ibrido range by Sonokinetic maybe still on sale.
> Lastly there is the Elements Synth on Zero G site, written by the guy who does the Ethera sounds - these synths make heavy use of vocal samples and are cinematic in nature.
> ...


Any additional thoughts re. Omni + Sonic Extensions. in context with 'What synths' topic ??
Seems very weak marketing of this since Oct 2021 Intro.
Scrambling now, as Rocky Mountain Sounds promo for expansions ends today. 🤷🏻‍♂️


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## b_elliott (Dec 24, 2022)

José Herring said:


> What synths are you excited about? What's out there?


Kult for me. 
This from DataBroth's Kult review intriqued me:
About its strange attractor osc -- "All you really need to know is that they generate mostly stable pitches, but have evolving and chaotic texture."
Am listening now to Broth's 1hr Kult play to hear what he cooks up.
Best, Bill


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## Tusker (Dec 24, 2022)

I’m digging the GX80 for pads and polyphonic stuff. A tiny dose of valhalla supermassive and you are in a different universe. I’m digging Repro-1 as the gnarly snarly little monster that it is. Thanks for the recommendation! Toybox Audio’s Atomic oscillator is also beautifully nasty. Toybox has full featured modules, allowing patching-phobic people like me to enjoy Reaktor without breaking a sweat.


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## DoubleTap (Dec 24, 2022)

For me it’s a race against time to really get into the nuts and bolts of Zebra2/HZ before Z3 appears, which I fully expect to happen in 2023 based entirely on the Urs vibe.


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## Bee_Abney (Dec 24, 2022)

There are four kinds of people who don't use Falcon.

1) Those who don't use virtual synths at all.

2) Those who can't afford it.

3) Fools.

4) Nazis.

What, did I go too far?

I'm not prejudiced or anything; I mean, some of my best friends are...

fools


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## Bee_Abney (Dec 24, 2022)

Samples from Mars as some Voyetra 8 samples on sale for $7 at the moment:









VOYETRA FROM MARS


One of The Best Sounding Analog Polysynths of All Time The Voyetra Eight is a rare, polyphonic 8 voice analog rack synth developed in New York in the early 80s that many people regard as one of the best sounding analog synthesizers ever built. Not even the Jupiters can compete with this thing in...




samplesfrommars.com


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## vitocorleone123 (Dec 24, 2022)

Bee_Abney said:


> Samples from Mars as some Voyetra 8 samples on sale for $7 at the moment:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


$40 more and you get everything on the site! Which, I can tell everyone, is a LOT of drums (and more).


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## Bee_Abney (Dec 24, 2022)

vitocorleone123 said:


> $40 more and you get everything on the site! Which, I can tell everyone, is a LOT of drums (and more).


Oh, good point! I forgot how cheap that deal is.


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## Bee_Abney (Dec 24, 2022)

sostenuto said:


> Any additional thoughts re. Omni + Sonic Extensions. in context with 'What synths' topic ??
> Seems very weak marketing of this since Oct 2021 Intro.
> Scrambling now, as Rocky Mountain Sounds promo for expansions ends today. 🤷🏻‍♂️


You're right. I haven't been pressured into buying the Sonic Extensions at all. Other companies would have been pushing the hard sell; but Spectrasonics just seems to have left it on the table. They did have quite a good launch for them, though.


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## Pier (Dec 24, 2022)

DoubleTap said:


> which I fully expect to happen in 2023 based entirely on the Urs vibe


Maybe late 2023 if we're lucky


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## José Herring (Dec 24, 2022)

Pier said:


> Have you tried VCV Rack?


I use to fool around with the Standalone version, then I got Reaktor Blocks and then later Softube's Modular and the free pandemic version of Cherry audio's modular and haven't really looked back at it since. I hear version 2 is rather nice though.


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## Ben H (Dec 25, 2022)

Bee_Abney said:


> There are four kinds of people who don't use Falcon.
> 
> 1) Those who don't use virtual synths at all.
> 
> ...


That's pretty fuckin tasteless 😡


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## Bee_Abney (Dec 25, 2022)

Ben H said:


> That's pretty fuckin tasteless 😡


Yes. That's how that structure of the joke functions. Something tasteless is necessary for it to work. Sorry if it bothered you; not that you said that it did, so I apologise also if I'm reading too much into your comment. But I understand that for some people referencing something morally wretched is seen to infect the reference itself with wretchedness; the idea that some things are not to be joked about. Others don't feel the same way. For what it is worth, this joke references something taken for granted to be truly wicked (and also a paradigm of intolerance) in order to mock the pomposity of the surface comment. The second reference to dire racists was intended to do the same. In other words, I am the target of the humour; not the victims of the Nazis, nor people who are, on a superficial reading, being called fools. I imagine you understand all of that perfectly well, of course; I'm just being clear that I understand it too and so did everyone else reading it.


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## zvenx (Dec 25, 2022)

I have a fairly good idea what the Synapse-HZ thing is, clearly I can't say. But it wouldn't have prevented me from buying Dune 3 if I didn't already have it.
rsp


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## ZeroZero (Dec 25, 2022)

Bee_Abney said:


> There are four kinds of people who don't use Falcon.
> 
> 1) Those who don't use virtual synths at all.
> 
> ...


Funny!


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## Pier (Dec 25, 2022)

zvenx said:


> I have a fairly good idea what the Synapse-HZ thing is, clearly I can't say. But it wouldn't have prevented me from buying Dune 3 if I didn't already have it.
> rsp


Will it be released before Zebra 3?


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## SupremeFist (Dec 25, 2022)

Bee_Abney said:


> Yes. That's how that structure of the joke functions. Something tasteless is necessary for it to work. Sorry if it bothered you; not that you said that it did, so I apologise also if I'm reading too much into your comment. But I understand that for some people referencing something morally wretched is seen to infect the reference itself with wretchedness; the idea that some things are not to be joked about. Others don't feel the same way. For what it is worth, this joke references something taken for granted to be truly wicked (and also a paradigm of intolerance) in order to mock the pomposity of the surface comment. The second reference to dire racists was intended to do the same. In other words, I am the target of the humour; not the victims of the Nazis, nor people who are, on a superficial reading, being called fools. I imagine you understand all of that perfectly well, of course; I'm just being clear that I understand it too and so did everyone else reading it.


I love the smell of napalm in the morning.


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## José Herring (Dec 25, 2022)

Bee_Abney said:


> Yes. That's how that structure of the joke functions. Something tasteless is necessary for it to work. Sorry if it bothered you; not that you said that it did, so I apologise also if I'm reading too much into your comment. But I understand that for some people referencing something morally wretched is seen to infect the reference itself with wretchedness; the idea that some things are not to be joked about. Others don't feel the same way. For what it is worth, this joke references something taken for granted to be truly wicked (and also a paradigm of intolerance) in order to mock the pomposity of the surface comment. The second reference to dire racists was intended to do the same. In other words, I am the target of the humour; not the victims of the Nazis, nor people who are, on a superficial reading, being called fools. I imagine you understand all of that perfectly well, of course; I'm just being clear that I understand it too and so did everyone else reading it.


Personally I thought the joke was hilarious.


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## José Herring (Dec 25, 2022)

zvenx said:


> I have a fairly good idea what the Synapse-HZ thing is, clearly I can't say. But it wouldn't have prevented me from buying Dune 3 if I didn't already have it.
> rsp


Man you can't drop a hint like that and then run.


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## Bee_Abney (Dec 25, 2022)

José Herring said:


> Man you can't drop a hint like that and then run.


No. That is exactly what you do with a hint like that. If you are a great big... 

Nah! I'm not going there. I'm refined now.


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## proggermusic (Dec 25, 2022)

I mean, I don't use Falcon, but on the other hand I AM a certifiable fool. So I guess that all checks out!


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## Bee_Abney (Dec 25, 2022)

proggermusic said:


> I mean, I don't use Falcon, but on the other hand I AM a certifiable fool. So I guess that all checks out!









There are a lot of us about!


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## sostenuto (Dec 25, 2022)

Bee_Abney said:


> There are a lot of us about!


You switched Santa cap waay early !! Red complements better as well. 🤡


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## Bee_Abney (Dec 25, 2022)

sostenuto said:


> You switched Santa cap waay early !! Red complements better as well. 🤡


Why thank you, and Merry Christmas to you, St. Thomas!


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## KEM (Dec 25, 2022)

zvenx said:


> I have a fairly good idea what the Synapse-HZ thing is, clearly I can't say. But it wouldn't have prevented me from buying Dune 3 if I didn't already have it.
> rsp



Say. It.


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## zvenx (Dec 26, 2022)

lol.
I clearly can't.. I was solely making the comment for the one (or was it two) people here who were holding off Dune 3 because of the Synapse-HZ collab.
rsp


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## TheUnfinished (Dec 26, 2022)

Bee_Abney said:


> There are four kinds of people who don't use Falcon.
> 
> 1) Those who don't use virtual synths at all.
> 
> ...


As someone who cannot get on with Falcon, I might have to hand myself into the police.


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## zvenx (Dec 26, 2022)

I have Falcon. Have probably had it for about 2 years now.
UVI is very generous with their updates..
But I have never used it in a project.
It is not so much the workflow for me, it is I just can't get into the sound of it and I have tried several times (and I don't think it handles multithreading)....
Why did I buy it then? (well GAS of course ).....
Wouldn't sell it though, one day it might just come in handy.

rsp


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## Bee_Abney (Dec 26, 2022)

TheUnfinished said:


> As someone who cannot get on with Falcon, I might have to hand myself into the police.


Don't do that, they'll have their rubber hoses and old telephone directories ready for you!


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## cqd (Dec 26, 2022)

VCV


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