# Is Synthmaster worth it given everything else I own/use?



## shponglefan (Nov 18, 2019)

Right now I own Omnisphere, Hive, Zebra2, Serum, all of NI's synths (Massive, FM8, Reaktor, etc), and Falcon2.

I'm debating picking up Synthmaster to take advantage of the current sale, but feel like it might be too much overlap given everything else I currently own.

Especially given the only synths I currently use regularly would be Omnisphere and Serum. On the other hand, picking up another synth package with 5000+ presets for <$200 is tempting.

Thoughts on how it compares to the above list and if it's worth considering?


----------



## sean8877 (Nov 18, 2019)

I have Omnisphere and all the NI synths along with Synthmaster 1 & 2. I end up using Synthmaster 1 quite a bit, it has a more modern sound to my ears than Sythmaster 2 however SM2 has some nice retro sounds. Tons of presets for both though and I don't hear a lot of overlap with Omni and the NI stuff, so they are worth it IMO.


----------



## AmbientMile (Nov 18, 2019)

I have both Synthmaster and Synthmaster One. I also find that I use Synthmaster One more. It is really quick and easy to dial up some sounds. I have a TON of other synths as well including Omnisphere, NI, Arturia, etc, etc, etc.... The Synthmaster products are great at the cheap prices.


----------



## premjj (Nov 19, 2019)

shponglefan said:


> Right now I own Omnisphere, Hive, Zebra2, Serum, all of NI's synths (Massive, FM8, Reaktor, etc), and Falcon2.
> 
> I'm debating picking up Synthmaster to take advantage of the current sale, but feel like it might be too much overlap given everything else I currently own.
> 
> ...



There's a trial version available at:





SynthMaster Demos


SynthMaster is an award-winning software synthesizer by KV331 Audio, available in VST AU and AAX formats. It ranked number 1 in MusicRadar's 'Best VST/AU Synth in the World' poll in 2016 and 2019




www.kv331audio.com





I have both and really like them straight out of the box. The factory presets (not all but quite a few) sounded good to my ear straight away and ready-to-fit in a song/background context.


----------



## vitocorleone123 (Nov 19, 2019)

No.

Synthmaster borrows many ideas from Hive and Serum. If you didn't have those 2 already, it'd be an interesting choice.

Maybe instead you could look at buying presets for synths (including Omni)?


----------



## Pier (Nov 19, 2019)

I think you are petty well equipped already.

Maybe you are missing some analog emulations like Diva, Repro, The Legend, or maybe Pigments, but other than that it's time to dig into what you already have IMHO. I mean, only Zebra should keep you occupied for a very long time.


----------



## DivingInSpace (Nov 20, 2019)

I have pretty much the same synths as you, except omnisphere, Hive and Falcon, but do have both synthmaster 1 and 2. I haven't used either since starting out a couple of years ago, but just booted 1 up and ran through some presets and did some tweaking. I have to say, the presets are better and way more usable than i initially remember them, and the fact that i actually know my way around synths now opens up a lot of possibilities with these. I am very positive after this much time, 1 sounds nice and modern, but not nearly as cold and sterile as serum.

Good thing there has been so much talk about these recently, because i should definitely start using them more!


----------



## ghobii (Nov 20, 2019)

I was also considering this since it's so cheap right now. But I remembered being underwhelmed when I got the free player version recently. But I tried it again, and tried to be more open-minded about it - still underwhelmed. It' certainly very versatile, but the sounds in general feel a bit flat and one dimensional to me compared to synths like Massive, Serum, Falcon, the u-He stuff, etc.

Also, Shpongle is awesome!


----------



## rrichard63 (Nov 20, 2019)

If the Synthmaster synths are running fine on your hardware and OS, this will probably not be relevant to you. But when I first installed these products I encountered a very serious problem with them (the program would start but would not display its UI). The developer's support was not at all helpful and I ended up uninstalling them. I haven't looked back since. Moral: you might not (or you might, who knows?) get helpful technical support. YMMV.


----------



## shponglefan (Nov 20, 2019)

Thanks everyone for the replies. After weighing different points-of-view, as well as watching a bunch of walkthroughs and preset demos, I decided to pull the trigger on the bundle. I figured it wasn't an enormous expense and worst case I have a bundle of more presets to pick and choose from.

There's definitely overlap with what I already own, but after auditioning various included presets, I'm finding things I am liking and will use.


----------



## bill5 (Dec 12, 2019)

Curious how this is working out. I got the free one (or was it one on sale for a buck at Plugin Boutique, forget) and liked it enough such that I got the next level upgrade. Very nice sounds, good workflow, some great presets and ways to tweak. 

Although really I think most of the time buying more synths is probably the last thing many of us should do lol. As PB said, dig into what you have more. God knows I have a billion presets and tweaks on various ones I may never get to. It's a sickness!


----------



## shponglefan (Dec 13, 2019)

Truth be told, outside of auditioning presets I haven't used it yet.

I ended up buying more than intended this past month (curse all the black friday deals!), that I just haven't had time to get to everything yet. I should have some time off from work over the holidays, so hopefully I'll have more time to play with these goodies by then.


----------

