# Anyone use Synthmaster 2?



## Markrs (Jul 23, 2021)

There is currently a good price on Synthmaster 1 & 2 upgrade from the player (the non free version, even though this version could also be found for free a few months back) for $35 from Audio Delux and $39 from Plugin Boutique. 

Part of the reason I am tempted with it is i recently got Synthmaster 1 & 2 for iOS version and it sounds really nice. However on desktop I already have Pigments 3, Omnisphere, NI Synths, plus others. 

I am interested to know if others use it, especially if you have decent alternatives and what specifically appeals? My instinct is that Pigments offers the same visual programming as well as synthesis types as synthmaster, so would be a duplication.


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## YaniDee (Jul 23, 2021)

Have it and love it..good meaty sounds, many synthesis options, flexible modulation routing, awesome arpeggiator, tons of presets, skins, etc..


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## doctoremmet (Jul 23, 2021)

Have it. Very deep synths, top notch really Mark.


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## Markrs (Jul 23, 2021)

YaniDee said:


> Have it and love it..good meaty sounds, many synthesis options, flexible modulation routing, awesome arpeggiator, tons of presets, skins, etc..


Thanks YaniDee I much appreciate the comments



doctoremmet said:


> Have it. Very deep synths, top notch really Mark.


Thanks Temme. Also interesting to see what v3 brings. I saw on a comment that it might be looking to offer some of the power of Omnisphere, which would be great. Plus it will be released at the same time on iOS as desktop.


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## sostenuto (Jul 23, 2021)

Toughie .... as with Spire. Fine synths, would use much more in absence of Omni2.7, Vital, Massive-X ..
Always keep both Synthmaster(s) updated and ready for possible apps. Doesn't help much here, but sharing personal perspective.


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## Alchemedia (Jul 23, 2021)

I haven't touched either SynthMaster since I bought them years ago. Too many synths, too little time.


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## RogiervG (Jul 23, 2021)

YaniDee said:


> Have it and love it..good meaty sounds, many synthesis options, flexible modulation routing, awesome arpeggiator, tons of presets, skins, etc..


but very odd ui. hard to work with. i ditched it years ago for other much user friendlier synths gui wise


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## YaniDee (Jul 23, 2021)

RogiervG said:


> but very odd ui. hard to work with. i ditched it years ago for other much user friendlier synths gui wise


I tend to agree, but there are a lot of tutorials out there for it..And a lot of presets!


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## antret (Jul 23, 2021)

Hi! I’ve got to agree with the hood and bad comments so far. They are all accurate! 

my take (random thoughts in no order): always surprised at the quality one can dial up. Interface can be daunting and maybe not as easy as something like Vital. Tons O’ presets! I tend to grab this over Vital or one other wavetsble synths as I seem to make patches I like on it more than others. Maybe not a fair comparison, but it seems like it can cover a lot of varied ground like I imagine something like Zebra could (don’t own Zebra, but that’s my impression). 

In short, well worth the sale price.


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## ir99 (Jul 24, 2021)

Various bundles for Synthmaster turn up fairly cheap on Knobcloud. The benefit of having the Everything bundle is that it includes everything plus future releases. From their FAQ:

"Everything Bundle contains SynthMaster One, SynthMaster, free upgrade to SynthMaster 3 and it includes all current/future expansions released by KV331 Audio! "

...and, no, I don't work for them


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## Markrs (Jul 24, 2021)

ir99 said:


> Various bundles for Synthmaster turn up fairly cheap on Knobcloud. The benefit of having the Everything bundle is that it includes everything plus future releases. From their FAQ:
> 
> "Everything Bundle contains SynthMaster One, SynthMaster, free upgrade to SynthMaster 3 and it includes all current/future expansions released by KV331 Audio! "
> 
> ...and, no, I don't work for them


That is very useful to know.


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## Minko (Jul 24, 2021)

I like it and use it. Not as much as my "go toos" but still. Even making some patches on it from time to time.


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## sean8877 (Jul 24, 2021)

I'm more a fan of Synthmaster One, but I like SM2 also. It just doesn't sound as modern to me as SM1.


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## kgdrum (Jul 24, 2021)

I have had SynthMaster for a few years and rarely if ever use it. It’s OK sonically although I do not really like the layout and the GUI. Whenever I’ve used SynthMaster it feels like a mediocre synth that tries to be a Swiss Army knife. IMO SynthMaster is a synth that tries to do everything but really doesn’t excel in any particular area & bring anything new or different to the table.
I think SynthMaster primarily keeps itself somewhat visible in the market by the developer constantly blowing it out with aggressive sales and by basically giving it away to lure people towards cheap expansions and upgrades,otherwise I don’t think people would be discussing SynthMaster purely as a synth.
I have so many other great synths from developers like U-he, Spectrasonics, Synapse,GForce,New Fangled some of the Plugin Alliance offerings etc…… I prefer these synths and will use before something like SynthMaster even enters my mind to try and use.
Is SynthMaster the worst synth I’ve ever used ? Absolutely NOT but besides the cheap price it’s just another soft-synth that the developer tries to keep relevant by selling aggressively.
There a bunch of *great* synths in the market that are cheap,free or cost a pretty penny and there are a ton of synths that can’t really compete with the truly great innovative synths that are available and sell other than selling for an extremely low price.


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## Markrs (Jul 24, 2021)

kgdrum said:


> I have had SynthMaster for a few years and rarely if ever use it. It’s OK sonically although I do not really like the layout and the GUI whenever I’ve used SynthMaster. It feels like a mediocre synth that tries to be a Swiss Army knife, a synth that tries to do everything but imo doesn’t really excel in any particular area & bring anything new or different to the table.
> I think SynthMaster primarily keeps itself somewhat visible in the market by the developer constantly blowing it out with aggressive sales and by basically giving it away to lure people towards cheap expansions and upgrades,otherwise I don’t think people would be discussing SynthMaster purely as a synth.
> I have so many other great synths from developers like U-he, Spectrasonics, Synapse,GForce,New Fangled some of the Plugin Alliance offerings etc…… I prefer these synths and will use before something like SynthMaster even enters my mind to try and use.
> Is SynthMaster the worst synth I’ve ever used ? Absolutely NOT but besides the cheap price it’s just another soft-synth that the developer tries to keep relevant by selling aggressively.
> There a bunch of *great* synths in the market that are cheap,free or cost a pretty penny and there are a ton of synths that can’t really compete with the truly great innovative synths that are available and sell other than selling by low prices.


Really appreciate your thoughts @kgdrum I had pretty much ignored Synthmaster but it recently came to my attention when it was released for iOS. Whilst there is a ton of Synths on iOS there are very few power Synths that offer the ability to use multiple methods of synthesis in one app.

I then wondered if having the same synth on both iOS and Windows would be good and with the sale it made me think. I suspected given the Synths I have, I didn’t need it, but as you say it is easy to be tempted by the low price 🙂


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## kgdrum (Jul 24, 2021)

@Markrs
I honestly don’t understand the iOS synths conceptually,I guess if someone only has an iPad and has the capability of creating music is wonderful but it people like you and me have a computer based DAW,why would I ever want to use a synth on my iPad or iPhone?
P.S. like everyone else I have downloaded several free iOS iPad synths but I’ve never tried them beyond about 1 minute for kicks and really don’t expect to ever have the need unless I find myself stranded in an airport for several hours with some time to kill………
Of course this is only my perspective YMMV.


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## Markrs (Jul 24, 2021)

kgdrum said:


> @Markrs
> I honestly don’t understand the iOS synths conceptually,I guess if someone only has an iPad and has the capability of creating music is wonderful but it people like you and me have a computer based DAW,why would I ever want to use a synth on my iPad or iPhone?
> P.S. like everyone else I have downloaded several free iOS iPad synths but I’ve never tried them and really don’t expect to ever have the need unless I find myself stranded in an airport for several hours with some time to kill………
> Of course this is only my perspective YMMV.


Mainly the fact that the iPad weights 400 grams but is as powerful as many laptops, it is touch based which is nice for interacting with a synth. On top of that I have Staffpad on iOS for orchestral compositions so I can add in synth elements using Cubasis giving me complete compositions just within iOS.

Also apps like AUM allow for interesting ways to create music. I like composing on a desktop as well but with the iPad I can be anywhere composing all day long.

Some of the Synths on iOS are very good, like Drambo, miRack (VCV fork), DRC or FRMS, ID700 (based on a Buchla 700), plus some really crazy out there Synths.


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## Reid Rosefelt (Jul 24, 2021)

Markrs said:


> I am interested to know if others use it, especially if you have decent alternatives and what specifically appeals? My instinct is that Pigments offers the same visual programming as well as synthesis types as synthmaster, so would be a duplication.


Synthmaster 2 includes so many kinds of synthesis that it has built up a reputation as a synth where you can make the sounds from practically any synth. And that's what you can get by buying presets. Sometimes they have sales where the presets are sold for very little. Synthmaster One was created in response to the general feeling that Synthmaster 2 was too hard to program. It's a completely different synth, and much more fun to program--I have no idea why they didn't give it a different name. Worst marketing idea ever.


kgdrum said:


> @Markrs
> I honestly don’t understand the iOS synths conceptually,I guess if someone only has an iPad and has the capability of creating music is wonderful but it people like you and me have a computer based DAW,why would I ever want to use a synth on my iPad or iPhone?


First, some of the best synths available today are exclusive to the iPad. For example, while there are countless Moog clones for the PC, Moog makes their own synths for the iPad. As it is a velocity sensitive touch screen, there are things that can't be done as well on a PC, even if it has a touch screen. If some of these programs, like TC-11 or Borderlands (and these are very old) were available for the PC, they'd be the event of the year. 

There are some very interesting iPad drum apps and music auto-generation apps that have no peers on the computer, because they require the touch interface. 

A lot of the same synths and plugins are available but at ridiculously low prices. Fabfilters can be picked up for lunch money. 

There are some excellent full-featured DAWs available, notably Cubasis. You can sketch out music on this and transfer your file into Cubase for finishing. One of the best tools for sketching is Korg Gadget as it comes with a ton of synths and is easier to use than the other DAWs.

Personally, when I'm at my computer, I want to play and compose. I don't have patience for anything but the most basic sound design and tweaking. But lying in bed with one of my many iPad synths, I have created dozens of patches from scratch. And what I've learned there has had a big impact on the way I use synths in my desktop.

If you're on a plane and want to sketch out some ideas, I think this is a good option. It is better to have a little keyboard, though.

But I agree that an iPad is not good for finishing music because there isn't enough RAM.


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## kgdrum (Jul 24, 2021)

TigerTheFrog said:


> Synthmaster 2 includes so many kinds of synthesis that it has built up a reputation as a synth where you can make the sounds from practically any synth. And that's what you can get by buying presets. Sometimes they have sales where the presets are sold for very little. Synthmaster One was created in response to the general feeling that Synthmaster 2 was too hard to program. It's a completely different synth, and much more fun to program--I have no idea why they didn't give it a different name. Worst marketing idea ever.
> 
> First, some of the best synths available today are exclusive to the iPad. For example, while there are countless Moog clones for the PC, Moog makes their own synths for the iPad. As it is a velocity sensitive touch screen, there are things that can't be done as well on a PC, even if it has a touch screen. If some of these programs, like TC-11 or Borderlands (and these are very old) were available for the PC, they'd be the event of the year.
> 
> ...


Good points @TigerTheFrog 
I never actually thought about the benefits a touch screen could bring to the equation also the ability to use in a DAW that has the ability like Cubase sounds pretty cool 😎.


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## Markrs (Jul 24, 2021)

I love using the iPad Pro for music, plus the new M1 versions are almost as powerful as desktop computers plus 16gb off RAM which whilst not huge is pretty good for a portable device. Using things like Musikraken ( advanced controller that mixes aspects of a Roli seaboard with a LEAP controller with Divismate), SWAM Instruments, Staffpad, plus Decent Samples so you can use pianobook Samples is amazing.


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## Reid Rosefelt (Jul 24, 2021)

One other thing, there are hardware and software solutions where you can play your ipad instruments directly into your DAW. 



https://www.iconnectivity.com/products/midi/iconnectmidi4plus


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## vitocorleone123 (Aug 2, 2021)

TigerTheFrog said:


> One other thing, there are hardware and software solutions where you can play your ipad instruments directly into your DAW.
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.iconnectivity.com/products/midi/iconnectmidi4plus


Don't even need that if you have a Mac, if I remember right. Just need a lightning cable. Also, while it's a buggy mess now, a new version of Studiomux is being worked on (so you only need a lightning cable for Windows, as well). https://community.zerodebug.com/t/studiomux-5-beta/1820

Several iOS synths are at least as good as many PC synths, plus they have touch interaction. While the software is different, there's not much a PC can do that you can't also do on iOS - it's only a matter of time for some things. You can make an entire album on your phone, mixed and mastered. MPE controllers. Grooveboxes. LFOs. MIDI generators. Effects, samples, loopers, etc.

Synthmaster: I strongly prefer Hive 2, instead.


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