# Synth Suggestions : Olafur Arnalds



## merlinhimself (Dec 10, 2017)

Hey All,

I've been wanting to start a small side project at home in the style of Olafur Arnalds / Max Richter / Yann Tiersen and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions of synths to look at.

I've been looking at a Juno-106 which is somewhat expensive, however they have the Ju-06 which is half the voices but an almost identical sound at a fraction of the price.

My thoughts are, I could either buy 1 great full synth (like the Juno-106) or a couple of the smaller boutique/less expensive ones.

I appreciate any suggestions!

Thanks!


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## EvilDragon (Dec 11, 2017)

You'd be better off buying TAL U-NO-LX instead of the half-assed JU-06... U-NO-LX actually DOUBLES the polyphony of the original. :D


If you want a more modern and more affordable take on Juno (and if it absolutely _has_ to be hardware), take a look at Behringer DeepMind 12.


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## blougui (Dec 11, 2017)

I'm with EvilDragon, here.


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## synthpunk (Dec 11, 2017)

Another vote for Tal Uno LX or U-he Diva here. Tal is really a work of art.
There are free demo versions of both you can try and also a "older" version of the Tal thats free here (32 bit)
https://tal-software.com/products/tal-u-no-62

Diva is a bit more versatile IMO but Tal is simpler to work with.

There are also some very nice sound designed Juno patches from Olafur in Spritfire's Olafur Arnalds Toolkit.

If your set on hardware I would track down a Juno 60, which is warmer sounding than the 106. The 106 chips tend to fail as well and although can still be replaced the potential upkeep is a turnoff.

I think you would like the Deepmind-12 as well if your set on hardware.


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## n9n9n9 (Dec 11, 2017)

Something to consider: Olafur and Nils Frahm and their like are deeply engaged with their synths, yes, but are if anything more engaged with their signal chains after their synths. Olafur uses a Juno-6 and Korg PS-3100 and has other synths, but these are going to sound very thin without his crazy collection of preamps, compressors, tape delays and his EMT reverbs, which he uses on pretty much everything. A Juno-6 plugged into a preamp is going to sound sort of like what his records do, but in the final measure will be very far from the sounds he makes.

If you want to cop his sound I would take a look at Spitfire's Olafur Arnolds Composer Toolkit sample library. Here you get his fave synth patches, recorded by him through his preferred gear and methods, sampled so that they are ready to go with very little additional work. I use it all the time. And, not for nothing, his Juno-6 seems to have some fuzty glitchy behaviors that are also captured, which I love.


If you wanted to try to emulate his signal chain this is what I would suggest:

Something like the Tap Uno or Diva or Redominator (I really like the Tal)
Something that is like a Pultec EQ (I like Black Rooster's VEQ-5) (he indicates that he uses this a LOT on input)
Something like the Kush Omega 458A (so get some API preamp mojo)
Something that will give you some tape mojo (he goes to Nagra sometimes, Ampex sometimes) ... I like Black Roosters Magnetite and Softube's Tape for this.

... that will get the capture signal chain. Then for playback:

He loves a Roland tape echo, even short and subtle... he says he runs everything through them. Dub machines from Surreal Machines is great, Modnetic is awesome, frankly.
He loves an EMT reverb. PS 2445 is great or find some impulses and use those. Or maybe the new Soundtoys little plate reverb.
For master comp he "slams" things through a stereo 1178 style comp. I don't have anything that emulates that. I use Black Rooster for master comp in a similar way with the VLA-2A, but that's a very different sound.

Thats a lot of plugins, but they do represent something like his signal chain. It's correct to note at this time that the real thing that you need to make this work is Olafur's understanding of how to make this all work together, which is something you can't buy. (Outside of the sample library, I guess.) The other thing that bears mentioning is that Olafur frequently says that stacking a whole bunch of plugins trying to get a good sound doesn't work, which is his luxury I suppose, what with him having what looks like an easy quarter million in gear (more, I'll bet). I don't completely agree--I think that it is possible to get the kinds of sounds he does ITB but it requires a lot of work and discipline.


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## sostenuto (Dec 11, 2017)

synthpunk said:


> Another vote for Tal Uno LX or U-he Diva here. Tal is really a work of art.
> There are free demo versions of both you can try and also a "older" version of the Tal thats free here (32 bit)
> https://tal-software.com/products/tal-u-no-62
> Diva is a bit more versatile IMO but Tal is simpler to work with.
> ...



Focusing a bit on Juno and TAL-U-NO-LX ..... Cost is so reasonable, easy to add; BUT have Omnisphere2 and tons of patches when searching Juno. Do enthusiasts here feel there are decent examples in Omni2 ??


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## pfmusic (Dec 11, 2017)

TAL U-NO-LX is brilliant - great sound! One of the best Juno emulators I've heard.

Big thanks goes to The Unfinished for showcasing the synth - his Uno LX Vulcan patches are amazing!


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## synthpunk (Dec 11, 2017)

Here is a example of Olafur's Spitfire Toolkit. As N9 points out there is ALLOT of subtle sound design to even this simple sound: Tube warmth & EQ, tape wobble, Roland Tape Echo, EMT250 & Shimmer reverb, etc. My example is recorded raw in LogicX.
https://app.box.com/s/6863gz979n7ergny0o5ml745h4497rv9

As for his rig, his Pultec's are clones made by his tech so maybe the Klark Technik or Warm Audio clones could get close.


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## merlinhimself (Dec 11, 2017)

Wow! Thanks for all the responses!
I have thought about using vst emulators, especially from a price standpoint. How far off would you honestly say
the vsts are from the hardware?


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## synthpunk (Dec 11, 2017)

I think U-he's new RePro-5 softsynth sounds better than the real SCI Prophet 5 Rev 3 I once owned  Re-Pro-1 is awesome as well.

Diva, Zebra HZ, & Bazille all have there advantages.

I think Tal's effort is right on the money close. Check out the audio demo's and give the free demo versions a try.
https://tal-software.com/products/tal-u-no-lx



merlinhimself said:


> Wow! Thanks for all the responses!
> I have thought about using vst emulators, especially from a price standpoint. How far off would you honestly say
> the vsts are from the hardware?


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## synthpunk (Dec 11, 2017)

I do not particularly like to use samples of synths myself. I use Omni, Trilian, and Keyscape more for sound design and meat and potatoes.



sostenuto said:


> Focusing a bit on Juno and TAL-U-NO-LX ..... Cost is so reasonable, easy to add; BUT have Omnisphere2 and tons of patches when searching Juno. Do enthusiasts here feel there are decent examples in Omni2 ??


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## n9n9n9 (Dec 11, 2017)

synthpunk said:


> Here is a example of Olafur's Spitfire Toolkit. As N9 points out there is ALLOT of subtle sound design to even this simple sound: Tube warmth & EQ, tape wobble, Roland Tape Echo, EMT250 & Shimmer reverb, etc. My example is recorded raw in LogicX.
> https://app.box.com/s/6863gz979n7ergny0o5ml745h4497rv9
> 
> As for his rig, his Pultec's are clones made by his tech so maybe the Klark Technik or Warm Audio clones could get close.



For all my thousands words this clip puts it best. A Juno-6 real or virtual is going to sound very different than that. Beautiful work, synthpunk, and what an interesting library. Understated in almost all ways but when I reach for it there is always so much depth and beauty.


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## n9n9n9 (Dec 11, 2017)

+1 for the u-he pro-5 (if your CPU is up for it, that is.) What an amazing sound. For sure better sounding than the (admittedly very beat up) prophet-5 that I used to use. I'm contemplating buying a dedicated slave just to run it and Diva I love it so much.


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## Josh Richman (Oct 5, 2018)

For great Juno sound TAL or U-he (DIVA)?

I have TAL U-NO-LX and Repro1/5.


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## Francis Bourre (Oct 5, 2018)

If you're interested by the TAL Uno LX, there's a special bundle offer here:
http://www.theunfinished.co.uk/shop/uno-lx-protozoa-bundle/


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