Which Software Synths do you use and recommend?

What's Hot
For as long as I've been making music I've pretty much only used the stock Logic Synths, most of the time I just use ES2.  However I'm wondering if getting some DAW agnostic Synth or Synths and learning them is a better long term plan, since right now I'm preferring tracking instruments in Studio One and honestly in the future I might not go Mac again next time. 

Here's the thing... I have no idea where to start!  I definitely want a synth plugin not a sample set.

Is it worth holding out for a sale on Native Instruments Komplete and learning the synths in that?  Or should I look at a Rob Papen Bundle?  Or something from u-He?

I like a broad range of sounds and listen to pop, EDM, film soundtrack stuff.  From an untrained eye it kind of seems like most synth plugin companies can cover most bases with their product range, so I'm a bit confused with where to start.

0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
«1

Comments

  • JalapenoJalapeno Frets: 6378
    There's a huge lot in Reason - analogue and FM based
    Imagine something sharp and witty here ......

    Feedback
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • guitarfishbayguitarfishbay Frets: 7953
    Always forget about Reason, for some reason!  Will have to stick that on the to investigate further list
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • gwEmgwEm Frets: 10
    I get a lot of mileage out Synth1 still. It's an oldie, goodie and free.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • LuminousLuminous Frets: 210
    Mai Tai in S1 is much more powerful than it looks. I've loving Thor (from reason ) on the ipad at the mo..Arturia quite often do great package deals
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • spark240spark240 Frets: 2073
    Im using the Air bundle with S1, some good stuff in there.


    Mac Mini M1
    Presonus Studio One V5
     https://www.studiowear.co.uk/ -
     https://twitter.com/spark240
     Facebook - m.me/studiowear.co.uk
    Reddit r/newmusicreview 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • sweepysweepy Frets: 4158
    With NI Komplete, don't forget the power of Romplers in Kontakt, some great sounds there, also look at Omnisphere 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • lysanderlysander Frets: 574
    Anything by U-he.
    I would get Diva for analogue sounding goodness and Zebra for an ultimate powerhouse do it all synth.
    Re-pro 1 if you need a good mono synth, and Bazille for modular hybrid analogue / digital madness.

    But really Diva and Zebra can do 99% of all the synth work you would ever need.

    For complex soundscapes and modular craziness I also highly recommend Native Instrument Reaktor 6.
    The Blocks are very fun, sound splendid and are as good as better as having a real modular ( having had both - each has advantages and drawbacks but ultimately Reaktor won for me ). 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • FretwiredFretwired Frets: 24601
    edited June 2017
    I recommend Massive - I use it all the time and you can get some stunning results. I'd get Komplete - you get Massive and host of others .. I love Monarch (it's basically a Moog) .. personally I'd start with Komplete Select for £159 .. it has a range of synths and content to get you going ..

    https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/bundles/komplete-11-select/




    Remember, it's easier to criticise than create!
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • octatonicoctatonic Frets: 33725
    In addition to the others mentioned also check out Tone 2 Icarus & Xfer Records Serum.

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • stratman3142stratman3142 Frets: 2177
    edited June 2017
    I've accumulated a few over the years. The synths I currently use the most are:

    U-he Diva for Analogue sounds

    NI FM8 for FM synthesis

    Image Line Ogun for additive synthesis. Very good for metallic and bell like sounds

    AAS Chromaphone for percussive type synthesis

    Image Line Harmless which I've used for such things as powerful bass synth tones.

    Earlier this year I upgraded to NI Komplete Ultimate which has some excellent synths which I'm still learning about. I suspect most of my synth needs might be satisfied by NI Komplete, but I'd still go for U-he Diva which is a lovely analogue synth.
    It's not a competition.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • cpcompanycpcompany Frets: 126
    Used a few in my time. Massive, Predator,Albino, Trillian. Zebra, Diva and Alchemy. I've kept Zebra, Diva, Alchemy and Trillian, although I never use Trillian.

    Out of all those I feel I can cover everything I need with both U-He synths and Alchemy. To get the best out of Zebra you need powerful computer. Personally I wouldn't get Komplete as to me it seems overkill and I found having less software is better for me anyway. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • TeetonetalTeetonetal Frets: 7801
    I've got Komplete and I'm not that keen. Lots of the synths are hosted in Reaktor and I hate it, sure it sounds good, but I just find it too messy to work with.

    I much prefer the Arturia collection, really easy to use, easy to map to a controller and they sound great. I got colection 5 80% off in black friday sales. so I think 179 GBP for the lot. money well spent.


    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • shrinkwrapshrinkwrap Frets: 512
    U-he Zebralette is a cut down free version of Zebra - amazing they give it away - has loads of good sounds.
    There's quite a few freebies that have unusual sounds if you're prepared to spend time looking into them.
    Morfiki 'mass turbo tar' (boom, boom) can morph between patches via controller.
    VSTZone's Atmospheres is good for ambient, it pairs unusual oscillator combos.

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • wave100wave100 Frets: 150
    I've got Komplete and I'm not that keen. Lots of the synths are hosted in Reaktor and I hate it, sure it sounds good, but I just find it too messy to work with.

    I much prefer the Arturia collection, really easy to use, easy to map to a controller and they sound great. I got colection 5 80% off in black friday sales. so I think 179 GBP for the lot. money well spent.


    Well that just shows how much of it is down to taste - I also have Komplete and love it! Monark is the best mini emulation I've come across, and Reaktor blocks are awesome if you are into modular. I've also got the Arturia V collection (V4) which I got for a good price on sale. So really I don't need any more synths...

    NI do some freebies if you check their site.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • SnapSnap Frets: 6256
    I bought Komplete 9 Ultimate second hand for 350, and its the best software money I've spent apart from my DAW. I think its awesomely good. I am going to upgrade it to v11 today, as uptil tomorrow there is a 50% off deal on. GOod value. Worth going on NI's website today to see for yourself.

    My other go to synth is Omnisphere 2: its all you need. it really is.

    If you have Logic, Alchemy is bundled with it now, and that was probably my favourite synth before they were bought by Apple. I have every library released for that, and stil use it.

    It really depends what you are wanting I suppose. I am a bit of a synth nut, and can't stop buying them, so I do have a few. But if you wanted just one synth that can do more or less anything, then it would be Omnisphere 2. It has the lot, and its huge, but not hard to use.





    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14323
    edited June 2017
    +1 for Spectrasonics.
    Omnisphere 2 (synths, experimental) 
    Stylus RMX (beats, percussion) 
    Trillian (specialising in bass) 
    Keyscape (pianos, traditional keys).

    Rob Papen makes some good instruments and tutorial materials to support them.

    The D16 Group makes some excellent instruments that exceed expectations of the 101, 303, 606, 808 and 909. 

    KORG Legacy.

    Roland "plug-out" SH-101, SH-2 et cetera.
    Be seeing you.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • guitarfishbayguitarfishbay Frets: 7953
    Made some small progress in demoing.

    Had a go on the demo versions of all the U-He Synths.  The ones that make most sense to me are Zebra and Hive, with Hive being simplest.  I quite like the sounds of Diva too, though on first impressions I prefer the workflow in the other 2.

    I'm going to demo NI and Rob Papen stuff too when I get a chance.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • guitarfishbayguitarfishbay Frets: 7953
    Further demoing, this time also the RP synths.

    Keep going back to Hive, it doesn't quite do everything but it's so fast an easy at more bread and butter modern EDM stuff.

    Also still enjoying Zebra which has a lot more options, is well laid out, but by nature a bit slower to use due to its potential complexity.

    The RP stuff is nice, I already have Blue 1, overall I feel I might as well just upgrade to Blue 2 rather than getting the whole bundle. I think I prefer the u-he stuff.

    Still need to check out Massive too.

    Going to have to be talked out of adding too many synth parts to songs at this rate... having a lot of fun writing parts
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • guitarfishbayguitarfishbay Frets: 7953
    Spent some time demoing Massive, I like it and I like the GUI more than I enjoyed the GUIs in the Rob Papen stuff.  However I think I've decided which synths suit me best now.

    I feel like in the short term the best decision for me is to get U-He Hive.  It might not be the most versatile but it gets the sounds I look for super fast, and it's enjoyable to use.  It took me the least time to learn the GUI and this is a major factor for me because I look to synth stuff as an extra rather than a primary sound from a creative standpoint.  

    The less time I spend messing with settings the better - and I acknowledge that my familiarity with synths is much lower than with guitar gear... I'm more at home with a complex piece of gear for guitar just due to experience, an Axe FX 2 doesn't phase me because I'm generally confident of how to get from A-B without getting too lost.  With synth, I couldn't tell you 'oh that's clearly this type of wave layered with that type of wave' because I don't have that burned into my brain, yet.  

    Zebra seems pretty amazing too.  I feel like if I sat down and really learned a lot then I'd probably only need Zebra, but by the same token over the immediate future I don't see me reaching that level with synths.

    I've worked out that really fat vintage synth sounds and vintage inspired GUIs aren't really my thing, I'm always trying to make stuff that bit more aggressive to get it to sit with heavy guitars and that's easier in some synths than others.

    With regards to NI, I'll probably just wait for the next major sale precluding the release of Komplete 12, they usually do a good deal on the outgoing Komplete at that point.  Right now they're only doing deals on upgrades.

    TLDR, Hive seems to be the sweet spot for me and I'd recommend giving the demo a go, it's very easy to use and sounds really good IMO.

    Thanks

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • guitarfishbayguitarfishbay Frets: 7953
    octatonic said:
    In addition to the others mentioned also check out Tone 2 Icarus & Xfer Records Serum.


    So I took a longer look at Serum, actually I've been watching the Groove 3 Tutorial on it since the demo window is so small (just 15 minutes, I want to know the basics before I try it).  It looks pretty awesome and the layout is great.  I feel like Hive for basic stuff and Serum for anything more advanced will suit me quite well.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
Sign In or Register to comment.