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Soft Synth suggestion?

axb312

Senior Member
I am looking for a soft synth which should primarily be capable of ambient sound design and the occasional synth lead or layering with a lead instrument.

My idea is that these synths should be capable of evolving pads, arps, regular pads and should blend well with sampled instruments.

My options for now are Synthmaster (confused about whether to get 1 or 2) or Zebra 2, which is way over the budget but which I could consider saving up.

What do you guys recommend? Is there a reason why Synthmaster cannot produce the sounds Zebra 2 produces? Which Synthmaster should I get (if that is your suggestion)...?

No, I do not have any experience with synth sound design...
 
Studio one 3 - but I'm looking at a synth which has a decent amount of presets to start with and which should work out for a while...
 
You could check Avenger, though it's a bit over your budget. I got it 2 weeks ago, and I'm still amazed at its capabilities. And they added granular synthesis, which will be a great tool for pads. Easy to use, flexible, great UI, a real powerhouse.
 
Understand 'limits', but Zebra2 is usd 179 [ in Cart ] @ AudioDeluxe. Diva is usd 152. [ in Cart ].

Using Omni2, Repro-1, & several others here, yet great respect for u-he synths.
 
I've taken a round-about approach to software synthesizers.

These days I have fulfilled my desire to have software versions of some of my favorite hardware. I think I'm done with that. I have the TimewARP2600, the Korg MS-20, the Oddity and Mini from gforce, and the Arturia collection. Those bases are covered I think!

Lately I've been spending quite a bit of time with synth sample libraries from Hollow Sun and Hideaway Studios. Endless fun, and while they are not strictly synthesizers one can create some gorgeous sounds!

And then there is Camel Audio Alchemy. The single most challenging, and satisfying soft-synth I own, even if I own the abandoned Windoze version. I still use it quite a bit, probably more than I should since one of these days it may well stop working.

I spent some time with Cakewalk Dimension Pro and Rapture Pro - they seem capable, but the user interface does not encourage sound design, or at least it does not encourage me.

There are a couple soft synths that I purchased and then lost interest, or they ceased to exist, but really, I have no regrets except that I still haven't taken the plunge into Zebra or Omni. Of the two I expect Zebra will be my next synth investment. Right now I'm saving my pennies for a new microphone, but once that is paid off Zebra is at the top of my list. I spent time with the demo and was completely smitten. If you haven't tried it I'd suggest taking it for a spin.
 
I've taken a round-about approach to software synthesizers.

These days I have fulfilled my desire to have software versions of some of my favorite hardware. I think I'm done with that. I have the TimewARP2600, the Korg MS-20, the Oddity and Mini from gforce, and the Arturia collection. Those bases are covered I think!

Lately I've been spending quite a bit of time with synth sample libraries from Hollow Sun and Hideaway Studios. Endless fun, and while they are not strictly synthesizers one can create some gorgeous sounds!

And then there is Camel Audio Alchemy. The single most challenging, and satisfying soft-synth I own, even if I own the abandoned Windoze version. I still use it quite a bit, probably more than I should since one of these days it may well stop working.

I spent some time with Cakewalk Dimension Pro and Rapture Pro - they seem capable, but the user interface does not encourage sound design, or at least it does not encourage me.

There are a couple soft synths that I purchased and then lost interest, or they ceased to exist, but really, I have no regrets except that I still haven't taken the plunge into Zebra or Omni. Of the two I expect Zebra will be my next synth investment. Right now I'm saving my pennies for a new microphone, but once that is paid off Zebra is at the top of my list. I spent time with the demo and was completely smitten. If you haven't tried it I'd suggest taking it for a spin.

Sooo disappointed Camel Audio Alchemy no longer on WiN/PC. :thumbsdown:
u-he so cool having Demos of their synths .... huge benefit to get 'true' exposure on one's personal system !
 
Synthmaster and SynthmasterOne are both great. SM is more powerful, but SMOne is easier to program. Right now SMOne can do wavetables while SM can't, but early next year SM will be updated with wavetable and granular synthesis modes. At that time is should be a monster for evolving pad sounds.

Another one is MPowersynth. It has tons of things to modulate and an insane number of fx. Although the learning curve is a bit high it can a lot of different sounds.

Any of the ones mentioned above can do what you want, but if you don't want to break the bank go with SMOne. It sounds good, has a decent number of presets and you can program it easily.
 
Spectrasonics and U-he Synths are off the OP´s budget, still people continue to suggest Zebra or saving for it..

There is a very good thread from Synthpunk with excellent and free soft synths to be observed here:
https://vi-control.net/community/threads/free-synth-plugins-patches.56778/page-3#post-4128208

Also, the op wrote that he doesn´t have any experience with synth sound design.
So, he relies on good 3rd party presets which he has to buy as well. A good and hi-quality soundset wll cost additional 20 to 50 bucks, if he would buy Zebra, Omnisphere or Avenger.
 
Spectrasonics and U-he Synths are off the OP´s budget, still people continue to suggest Zebra or saving for it..

There is a very good thread from Synthpunk with excellent and free soft synths to be observed here:
https://vi-control.net/community/threads/free-synth-plugins-patches.56778/page-3#post-4128208

Also, the op wrote that he doesn´t have any experience with synth sound design.
So, he relies on good 3rd party presets which he has to buy first. A good and hi-quality soundset wll cost additional 20 to 50 bucks, if he would buy Zebra, Omnisphere or Avenger.

Hi There ,

Thank you. Somebody suggested Arturia Analog Lab...I checked it out but it doesn't seem to have any modulation capabilities.

Yes, I would need a good number of presets to start with and should be able to learn as I go along and eventually make my own sounds.

I wonder why nobody says too much about Synthmaster - this seems to fit my requirements nicely in terms of price but I can't seem to get confirmation on it's sonic capabilities. Is it not possible to get Dark HZish sounds out of Synthmaster?
 
Hi There ,

Thank you. Somebody suggested Arturia Analog Lab...I checked it out but it doesn't seem to have any modulation capabilities.

Yes, I would need a good number of presets to start with and should be able to learn as I go along and eventually make my own sounds.

I wonder why nobody says too much about Synthmaster - this seems to fit my requirements nicely in terms of price but I can't seem to get confirmation on it's sonic capabilities. Is it not possible to get Dark HZish sounds out of Synthmaster?

A synth from Arturia with no modulation cababilities? I doubt that.
You need to read the manual to find the numerous modulations options. It´s really not that hard to find and use them.

I can´t tell you much about Synthmaster because I don´t use it, I´m sorry. But I´m sure that you would be able to program the same or very similar sounds with it like the ones you look for, if you apply the proper sound design and modulation.
 
It's a shame your budget is $150 cause when you get to around $180 you can get pretty much all the best synths available such as Avenger (currently on sale), Serum, Spire, Sylenth and Zebra.
So my recommendation would be water and bread for a week :grin:
 
Most of them have good factory presets but if you want superior quality you will have to design your own sounds and patches, or buy them from someone who is capable of carving the best out of a synth.
 
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