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What Synth you need/want Presets for in 2021?

What Synth you need/want Presets for in 2021?

  • U-he DIVA

  • U-he Zebra2

  • U-he Hive2

  • U-he Repro

  • Omnisphere

  • Arturia Pigments3

  • NI Massive X

  • Arturia V collection. (w/o pigments)

  • Synapse Dune3

  • Plugin Alliance Thorn / Oberhausen / Knifonium

  • Serum

  • Spire

  • Sylenth1

  • Avenger VPS

  • NI Reaktor (synths)

  • Tal Juno/Jupiter

  • Rob Papen

  • Roland Cloud Synths

  • Reason Synths

  • Padshop

  • Softube Modular / Juno

  • Phaseplant

  • Melda Msynth/others


Results are only viewable after voting.
I feel the same, often actually things are happening randomly or at least unpredictably and I'm personally really happy with that :) Totally with you on "when I just want to sit there and see where it goes"! If I've been sitting with my finger on a key for 20 minutes immersed and forgetting it's me "playing" what I'm hearing I know the patch can go in the pack :)
Maybe an "immersive/organic soundscape programming tips" thread might be fun, hearing other peoples' techniques could be quite inspiring. I'm not sharing mine though, trade secrets!!! ;)
Haha trade secrets is appealing when you've spent hours putting a patch together... but really any savvy user can deconstruct what I've done in an Omni patch – by carefully tracing back what is modding what, following each signal path. Now if there was a way to "lock" as with Kontakt scripts :laugh: ...

But really I'm not sure I'm cut out to sell presets. The idea of someone else's name in credits, when actually I programmed the sound they paid $0.30 for in a pack... maybe when it no longer takes me several hours to make something great.
 
Haha trade secrets is appealing when you've spent hours putting a patch together... but really any savvy user can deconstruct what I've done in an Omni patch – by carefully tracing back what is modding what, following each signal path. Now if there was a way to "lock" as with Kontakt scripts :laugh: ...

But really I'm not sure I'm cut out to sell presets. The idea of someone else's name in credits, when actually I programmed the sound they paid $0.30 for in a pack... maybe when it no longer takes me several hours to make something great.
I'll still pretty regularly take an hour or two on a single preset, especially if there is sample creation involved since I'll often send the audio out of the computer multiple times, timestretch with the reel to reel, process in the ASR10 or Octatrack, a bit of software processing then back out again etc. It's ridiculous really, I wonder if anyone even notices all the little bits of detail and dust that are added along the way :D
Some composers are kind enough to credit me on their score or musicians in their album notes on Bandcamp and I find that very humbling, I don't feel it's necessary but I appreciate it a lot when it happens. Yeah I don't think you can go into it feeling cheated if you are not getting the credit I guess, in the end I'm just making the raw materials, it's a whole other thing to turn that into a successful soundtrack or album IMO.

I'm 100% kidding about the trade secrets, I do what I can to notate my patches and make them clear so it's hopefully possible to reverse engineer them. I've always been keen to share the fun that I find in actually creating sounds with these amazing machines rather than just pulling up presets (not wishing to diss preset-usage, I obviously see the appeal/usefulness or I wouldn't do what I do!). If anyone ever asks how something was done I'm happy to explain - if I can remember ;) Often though because I use the tools I have very regularly I just kind of get lost in the creative exploration, throwing audio around a few plugins - out into the hardware and back and there are times if you'd asked me immediately I'm finished a sample or patch how I did it? I probably couldn't tell you what I did.
 
A GORGEOUS song by one of my favourite Scottish bands for my favourite Scot in New Zealand.






The sound programming they did on this album sounds as amazing to me today as it did in the early 1980s. Does anyone know what synths they used for this session?

I think all of their albums were recorded in the exact same studio that @christianhenson used to record Albion Solstice. Anyway… just some great music to enjoy for you all.
 
But really I'm not sure I'm cut out to sell presets. The idea of someone else's name in credits, when actually I programmed the sound they paid $0.30 for in a pack... maybe when it no longer takes me several hours to make something great.
The idea behind "my milkshake is worth gold" is at best questionable. Whatever someone does has been done before (sometimes exhaustively) I'm sure, so if I were you, I wouldn't be so concerned about creating a preset pack if you need another source of income. There are people who'd pay in the thousands for a great preset pack. Look at virtual libraries. Every week, we have new stuff coming up, most with marginally better (different) products than what's out there, and at a cost. I still think most are still cheap considering what you get in return. There's always demand somewhere. How many thousands have people spent, over the last year alone, on redundant things because they felt that they couldn't work with what they have for a particular task because it simply 'didn't fit'? My point is: you can make money selling packs if you want to, and for not as cheap as you think, unless you want to undervalue yourself and the years of training you've put into it. Nobody conceives a product in a matter or hours, or days. It takes months, sometimes years to release a product.If you see how many packs in places such as those websites that sell one-shot/loop samples (forgot the name but it's used by a lot of hiphop artists) there are, you'd be shocked. A lot of times, it's practically the same thing. The great thing about these sites is how fast you can find something.

As a sound designer, the possibilities/combinations you can come up with are not limitless, especially because "we" haven't come up with new types of source generators (yet).

Extra: It's kind of sad when years of research and development go into a plugin, library,... and for what? So there can be a sale a year later for at least 50% off the original MSRP. It's great for us consumers, but I cannot even fathom how opportune it is for the other side.

Whoa, this is getting rather long. Let me stop here, otherwise I'll end up using a lot of my time. hehe. Back to work.
 
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But really I'm not sure I'm cut out to sell presets. The idea of someone else's name in credits, when actually I programmed the sound they paid $0.30 for in a pack... maybe when it no longer takes me several hours to make something great.
SoundAuthor said in a video it takes him a full day to make a patch. Honestly I wouldn't worry about how much time it takes you. Sometimes I get something really simple I love in like 15 mins, and sometimes I spend hours on a patch I end up deleting...

I also feel impostors syndrome when making patches and thinking about selling them... but then I hear stuff on movies and tv shows and always think "Hey! I could have done that!".

Even if my stuff is probably not on par with The Unfinished (or Empty Vessel here) I hope at least someone will find a use for it. Or not... Eh, it's ok. After years of struggling with not enough time to write/produce music, last year I decided to focus on just making soundsets. It's a more realistic endeavour and I can get a sense of satisfaction that I've finished something.
 
I'll still pretty regularly take an hour or two on a single preset, especially if there is sample creation involved since I'll often send the audio out of the computer multiple times, timestretch with the reel to reel, process in the ASR10 or Octatrack, a bit of software processing then back out again etc. It's ridiculous really, I wonder if anyone even notices all the little bits of detail and dust that are added along the way :D
Some composers are kind enough to credit me on their score or musicians in their album notes on Bandcamp and I find that very humbling, I don't feel it's necessary but I appreciate it a lot when it happens. Yeah I don't think you can go into it feeling cheated if you are not getting the credit I guess, in the end I'm just making the raw materials, it's a whole other thing to turn that into a successful soundtrack or album IMO.

I'm 100% kidding about the trade secrets, I do what I can to notate my patches and make them clear so it's hopefully possible to reverse engineer them. I've always been keen to share the fun that I find in actually creating sounds with these amazing machines rather than just pulling up presets (not wishing to diss preset-usage, I obviously see the appeal/usefulness or I wouldn't do what I do!). If anyone ever asks how something was done I'm happy to explain - if I can remember ;) Often though because I use the tools I have very regularly I just kind of get lost in the creative exploration, throwing audio around a few plugins - out into the hardware and back and there are times if you'd asked me immediately I'm finished a sample or patch how I did it? I probably couldn't tell you what I did.
Haha yes several of my presets I feel bewildered about how I did that. It's just in the heat of the moment a flash of idea will happen, put this modulator on here and sweep the knob until it sounds cool... so many adjustments in succession, looking for accidental effects often.

Yes ultimately it's a craft and art, and it always feels good when your craft is appreciated enough for someone to want to use it. Besides, liking presets as much as I do, and how fun it is to open up a new preset pack, I definitely wouldn't mind someone feeling that excited about buying one of mine.

There are maybe a few presets that feel like my babies, and I might not sell them. But certainly there are enough that would be fun to include in a commercial pack as well.
 
The idea behind "my milkshake is worth gold" is at best questionable. Whatever someone does has been done before (sometimes exhaustively) I'm sure...
I'm not sure I feel that way about presets... when I buy a preset pack, I don't feel like I've had those sounds anywhere else. True, often there are similar ones. But not similar enough to be a substitute, in most cases. The only thing I don't like is when developers include "B-Sides"... stuff you know they weren't excited about, just to fill up a pack. If I sell any, I'll only include stuff that I really feel excited to share.

It's honestly hard to calculate the value of presets in a financial sense, since it seems unrelated to numerical considerations, and the fun and inspiration they can bring is probably priceless.
 
Haha yes several of my presets I feel bewildered about how I did that. It's just in the heat of the moment a flash of idea will happen, put this modulator on here and sweep the knob until it sounds cool... so many adjustments in succession, looking for accidental effects often.

Yes ultimately it's a craft and art, and it always feels good when your craft is appreciated enough for someone to want to use it. Besides, liking presets as much as I do, and how fun it is to open up a new preset pack, I definitely wouldn't mind someone feeling that excited about buying one of mine.

There are maybe a few presets that feel like my babies, and I might not sell them. But certainly there are enough that would be fun to include in a commercial pack as well.
When I buy gear, the first thing I do is wipe out most or all of its presets, once I listen through them -- not because I dislike them, but I've heard them before somehow or don't fit my work. It's not a bad thing. I just like to fill my gear with my own stuff, which I believe I haven't heard before or suits my line of work. I could end up selling them at some point, but definitely not for cents or petty money since it took me ages to think critically to build these things. Nothing was accidental. I just like maths and spatial physics.

It's been decades since I bought a preset pack, but I can clearly see a value and market for it and it's great that it's a viable source of income. I just wish some companies didn't undersold themselves. When I first started using synths, buying presets were a must for me. Coupled with great literature, they taught me a lot.
 
I'm not sure I feel that way about presets... when I buy a preset pack, I don't feel like I've had those sounds anywhere else. True, often there are similar ones. But not similar enough to be a substitute, in most cases. The only thing I don't like is when developers include "B-Sides"... stuff you know they weren't excited about, just to fill up a pack. If I sell any, I'll only include stuff that I really feel excited to share.

It's honestly hard to calculate the value of presets in a financial sense, since it seems unrelated to numerical considerations, and the fun and inspiration they can bring is probably priceless.
Also note that when I wrote that, I meant that there's always something out there that comes very close, but we don't know about it because we don't keep tally of every single patch in existence or we might not have used a particular software/hardware that had something similar.

Either way, it's definitely there. We just don't know about it. And it's not a bad thing. I'd hate to dig for something and waste time with the scavenger hunt. I just need something "pronto" so I can carry on with work. I doubt there's a human being in this planet who can remember every single patch made since the 70's. hehe.

Let's say, for instance, I make something. I'm quite sure someone has done something similar that I have no idea it has been done before. But to me, it's far faster to just create what I have in mind than to search for something that could take me years to find. If someone shows a preset pack that I hear and go "OOOh, that's what I need RIGHT NOW" , I'd definitely buy it even though I know how to make it. Speed is key.
 
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It's honestly hard to calculate the value of presets in a financial sense, since it seems unrelated to numerical considerations, and the fun and inspiration they can bring is probably priceless.

From a consumer side, I agree that the fun and inspiration is priceless. I've started the habit of writing at least one "demo" track for every soundset I purchase (or win for solving elaborate puzzles) and it is usually a total joy to do. Not to mention the times where I'm feeling a bit stuck on a track and the right preset can reinvigorate me. Super helpful as a hobbyist with only self-imposed deadlines; I can't imagine how helpful that is for someone on an actual project!

All that to say, I agree that the value is hard to determine in an isolated way. So I would look to good old supply and demand - what are successful designers pricing their stuff at, and (with an honest lens) which of them do you feel you are at the same level / audience of? That, plus I'd imagine a bit of leeway for how much time you've spent on a pack.
 
Of course! You're mentioned in my About page even! :) Thank you for the lovely words, much appreciated.

I get you with SonicCouture, Dan who is half of the company is a good friend of mine and I really respect what they do. I'm much more in the re-imagining area, literal renditions of existing instruments have never been my interest even back in the 80s when I got my first synth or two I was trying to see what new sounds could be created. I have some ideas around this for Falcon and Kontakt but I need to give them some thought. Maybe I could email you about the concept? It's all very well coming at this from the theoretical sound designer end but it's invaluable to have working composers give thoughts on application since that's really the whole point!
Massive thanks for the link to Jeremiah's engine! I think that could serve as a really great jumping off point! I hoped for a second that it was my friend Jeremiah Savage who has created some amazing Kontakt instruments but it seems not. Either way I'll download it and reach out to Jeremiah for a chat, thank you very much for that and your thoughts.
You bet! Very cool, unless it's a nuts and bolts instrument like an orchestral library I also prefer when developers either reimagine an instrument, or give you the ability to take that option into your own hands...

And for sure... I'd love to hear what you're thinking about and would be more than happy to offer feedback you might be curious about. Even if it's NDA territory that's totally fine... I've done some testing for a few developers and occasionally work under NDA for a few publishers... Publicly spilling the beans isn't really my kind of thing if it's sensitive territory ;)

Either way looking forward to see what you might do with Kontakt... Cheers!
 
Very interesting and useful thread. I'm actually looking what sound pack to do next.

What do you guys think about Newfangled Audio Generate? I think this one should be composer friendly. It's sounds very organic to me and it's capable of some pretty dark/cinematic :) atmospheres. There's something in it that seems to make it good companion for soundtrack stuff. I have a sound library for it in progress and I'm happy with what I hear.

What about Alchemy in Logic? How many do you think still use it? I would really like to revisit this one as it made me start with sound design. Still really powerful and unique amongst other synths.
 
What do you guys think about Newfangled Audio Generate? I think this one should be composer friendly. It's sounds very organic to me and it's capable of some pretty dark/cinematic :) atmospheres. There's something in it that seems to make it good companion for soundtrack stuff
That is a fantastic synth, with quite a loyal following of fans on this forum. I would love to hear some of your patches for it, and hope you’ll leverage Generate’s MPE capabilities here and there as well!
 
That is a fantastic synth, with quite a loyal following of fans on this forum. I would love to hear some of your patches for it, and hope you’ll leverage Generate’s MPE capabilities here and there as well!
Thanks for your feedback and good point on MPE, will take this into account.
 
I'm surprised that IRIS wasn't in the list. It never seems to get much love.

Also, I think that Padshop is a good choice. Since there aren't that many 3rd party presets for it either.

Zebra and Omni... well there are a bazillion of those!
 
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Zebra and Omni... well there are a bazillion of those!
It makes sense though, as these are the most popular in the media composing world.

See this poll I made last year.


Making a library of presets is a lot of work. I'm a hobbyist, but professional sound designers depend on actually getting a ROI over that work.
 
It makes sense though, as these are the most popular in the media composing world.

Making a library of presets is a lot of work. I'm a hobbyist, but professional sound designers depend on actually getting a ROI over that work.
That's true BUT you also need to consider that there is a point of OVERSATURATION.

Have you seen how many different Omni libraries that are listed at World of Omniphere for example? And there are literally 100s of other banks that are not even listed there.

You need to consider that you are likely only going to sell to a small fraction of that market.

If you pick something that is LESS developed for, but still has a fairly decent userbase, then your competition is much smaller and your market will be MUCH bigger.
 
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