What are some of your favorite VSTi's or AU synths?

jho · 6th December 2003, 07:13 PM

I'm diggin Absynth2 although it runs like dogmeat in my system....FM7 not bad. Just downloaded Crystal to give it a go.

Any others worthy of consideration? Also please express how friendly (or unfriendly) it is on the CPU...

Rab · 6th December 2003, 08:37 PM

This one's been done before, but here goes...

Absynth
Albino
Crystal
MTron
Phatmatik Pro
Swar Plug
PPG Wave
Oddity
Claw

The good one's seem to be CPU-heavy (except Oddity & MTron). As time goes by, these things seem to get better & better... I guess it's to do with more DSP being available in later machines. Virus TDM (not VST) has always been knockout (but then it's got shed loads of DSP behind it)...

jho · 6th December 2003, 10:33 PM

Yeah, thanks. I've got Virus Indigo TDM on my HD system, this is for my portable.

And yeah it's probably been done, but hey I'm lazy, ok? :) I think this argument is in another thread somewhere! :)

Rab · 6th December 2003, 11:06 PM

Hey... I'm in the "tell me enough times and it will sink in" camp, so no worries!

jho · 7th December 2003, 12:02 AM

My memory span lasts about 7 days...

ttauri · 7th December 2003, 05:14 AM

Not AU or VST (though I dunno what hosts aren't Rewired these days), but my favorite is Reason.

Not for the sounds, but because it's a miracle of coding stability. It's almost like... hardware!

Peece,
T. Tauri

jho · 7th December 2003, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ttauri
Not AU or VST (though I dunno what hosts aren't Rewired these days), but my favorite is Reason.

Not for the sounds, but because it's a miracle of coding stability. It's almost like... hardware!

Peece,
T. Tauri

T,
I'm using Reason right now for that very, uh, reason!

It is unbelievably stable and low overhead. It is a miracle program...just wish the sounds were better and the samplers weren't so tedious to use (man, mapping out an NN-XT my hand gets a cramp!)

I'm gonna have to just upgrade my computer because this 667 ain't cuttin' it anymore...

excellrec · 7th December 2003, 03:37 PM

Native instruments-

pro 53
B4
Reaktor
Kontakt

.....i dont really care so much for absynth. Is it just me or isn't it to much synth for songs alot of the times. I've done well with it on breakdowns or intro's but during the main part of a song it just clutters stuff up. At least when using most factory presets.

M-tron- Oddity

ttauri · 7th December 2003, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jho
T,
I'm using Reason right now for that very, uh, reason!

It is unbelievably stable and low overhead. It is a miracle program...just wish the sounds were better and the samplers weren't so tedious to use (man, mapping out an NN-XT my hand gets a cramp!)

Yeah, I've mostly gone over to MachFive for the interface choices that speed things up. Onboard editing, punching MIDI keys to set up keyzones, and the waveform display are all good things (the biggest pain for me in the NNXT was trying to set a start point on a long sample--changing by percentage would move too far, and by sample wouldn't move far enough). But Reason just feels dependable like I've never known a piece of music software to be, and I must say I regret seeing it eclipsed by the M5. 'Specially, since I can only coax a few M5 instances out of my powerbook.

One little VST that surpised me is the free mda ePiano. I wouldn't say it's great, but to my ears, it sucks less than Lounge Lizard or the Logic electric piano, or any sample-based patch I've tried.

Peece,
T. Tauri

j.m · 8th December 2003, 06:08 AM

One of the "baddest" Soft-Synths sound-wise I think is the Moog Modular Virtual from Arturia.

And the CS-80V is also great.

Very convincing, I like them a lot.

Sometime a little bit hard on the CPU, but as soon as you know what you want, you can bounce the track.
It's always worth the "soundquality".

Even though, I like some of the Native Instruments Goodies, some of their emulations are really cool, like the B4, FM7, Absynth.
But the Pro-53 wasn't to conivincing to my ears, didn't liked the sound.
The "beeeeeest" VSTi they've done so far, in my opinion, is BATTERY. It's such a cool Drum-Sampler.

The Arturia Synths are the only one, that I really can think of being "analogue" in the Soft-Synth-Domain. Really smooth sounding.

The others aren't so convincing in the "highs", where they have problems with aliasing.

Another nice VSTi-Concept that catched my interest lately, is the Hypersonic from Steinberg.

It's a "virtual" Workstation-Concept, and I heard it lately at my local-shop and was positive surprised.
I think it's ideal for "songwriting" purposes and as you've mentioned, you're looking for some VSTi's for your laptop.

I think it's great for such an application like this, if you're "on tour" and want a whole arsenal of good sounds, both acoustic and synth-like.

Maybe worth a try! But I'm not sure how CPU-heavy it is.

Just my 2 cents,
j.m

hammer · 8th December 2003, 07:31 AM

one of my favourite VSti (or synths of any sorts) has gotta be RGC audio's Triangle 2.
This thing just sounds AWESOME. You know when you play something and it just feels good? I get that from this beasty monosynth.

oh yeah...It's a freebie too!!!!!

Seriously, all of you guys in VST land should check this one out.

xqtion · 8th December 2003, 10:04 AM

REAKTOR 4 = Wicked!!!

although it's overall sound is still NI'ish (which is not a bad thing at all), this beast can be so versatile.

jho · 8th December 2003, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by hammer
one of my favourite VSti (or synths of any sorts) has gotta be RGC audio's Triangle 2.
This thing just sounds AWESOME. You know when you play something and it just feels good? I get that from this beasty monosynth.

oh yeah...It's a freebie too!!!!!

Seriously, all of you guys in VST land should check this one out.

Dang, it looks like it's PC only?

hammer · 9th December 2003, 02:37 AM

yup...does indeed look as if it is PC only.

For those of you PC VST (and directX) people who want it you can find it here.
http://www.kvr-vst.com/get/203.html

H,

RyanR · 9th December 2003, 02:49 AM

Already mentioned:
Reaktor (some other NI stuff too)
Moog Modular V

Not mentioned:
z3ta+ by rgc audio
Hydra by synapse
Stylus, Trilogy, Atmosphere by Spectrasonics

Zt3a+ has been the flavour of the month (last couple actually) for me lately.

I got no comments on CPU usage - if you're thinking economically and not about the best quality there is - you're just not a true gearslut. I would rather run one super badass VSTi then 3 alright VSTi's any day.

jho · 9th December 2003, 04:12 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by RyanR
you're just not a true gearslut.

Those are fighting words!

Actually I want to run 3-4 VSTi's at the same time, this is for live performance and I am multitasking!! That's why the CPU questions. I need a G6 to do what I want to do!

In the studio I run the best - Virus Indigo TDM...that rocks my world on my HD3 system.

Thanks for the friendly suggestions everyone. I'm trying out a bunch of these as we speak.

RyanR · 9th December 2003, 05:00 AM

Hahaha - I was just joking around

I completely understand the need to run multiple VSTi's at the same time . . .

With I had TDM for the virus - I had to buy the hardware version

jho · 9th December 2003, 05:04 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by RyanR
Hahaha - I was just joking around

I completely understand the need to run multiple VSTi's at the same time . . .

With I had TDM for the virus - I had to buy the hardware version

teehee me too. Finally got a chance to use that pissing Monkey after over a year of being a 'slut'. You know you are a slut when your wife has to take over the bank account, take the amex from you and hold one of your testicles hostage

Crystal is way cool but I can kill my CPU after about 6 notes...that little free piano, while not great sounding, is not bad for free I suppose...

Testing still.....!!!

shapemod · 14th December 2003, 03:38 PM

For all Logic Users:

ES2 is really good, I use in nearly every song I produce!

six_wax · 15th December 2003, 12:13 AM

I'm demoing Albino right now, and the thing just sounds killer. It's spewing out some really compelling tones that sound somewhat Viral (I have a hardware C)... Also hints of PPG... Very clean, but not cold. I like it so far...

six_wax · 15th December 2003, 12:14 AM

anybody tried the novation v-station?

jho · 15th December 2003, 12:23 AM

I downloaded Albino but haven't installed yet I had so much to try, but I'll give that a shot next. Crystal is nice but more taxing on my system than the latest update of Absynth 2.

For no money, that little Claw is a pretty good nasty monophonic synth. Fast on the program change and .. free...

How is Albino on patch changing? Fast, slow...? Absynth pretty slow and crystal slower...

FYI there is a new Battery update just came out yyesterday for OSX fixes a few bugs.

j.m · 15th December 2003, 01:30 AM

I've tested the Novation at my local music-shop.

The factory-presets are too "techno" for my taste and not so suitable for the things I'm doing.

But after getting rid of all that "effects-stuff" and hearing the raw-presets and a little tweaking, I was really surprised.

There aren't many VSTi's that I find really convincing, but Novation did a great job here.
I think the V-Station is one of the "finer" VST's out there, like the Moog.
It has a quite decent "basic-sound".

Really close to hardware or as same as.

And the built-in Arp with the gating is just - let me say sweeeet -

.

All in all worth the money I think. You should really give it a try, if you can get your hands on it.

Cheers,
j.m

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6th December 2003, 07:13 PM	#1
jho Lives for gear Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: The Lowcountry Posts: 1,540	What are some of your favorite VSTi's or AU synths? I'm diggin Absynth2 although it runs like dogmeat in my system....FM7 not bad. Just downloaded Crystal to give it a go. Any others worthy of consideration? Also please express how friendly (or unfriendly) it is on the CPU... __________________

6th December 2003, 08:37 PM	#2
Rab Lives for gear Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: London Posts: 537	This one's been done before, but here goes... Absynth Albino Crystal MTron Phatmatik Pro Swar Plug PPG Wave Oddity Claw The good one's seem to be CPU-heavy (except Oddity & MTron). As time goes by, these things seem to get better & better... I guess it's to do with more DSP being available in later machines. Virus TDM (not VST) has always been knockout (but then it's got shed loads of DSP behind it)... __________________ I don't live for gear.

6th December 2003, 10:33 PM	#3
jho Lives for gear Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: The Lowcountry Posts: 1,540	Yeah, thanks. I've got Virus Indigo TDM on my HD system, this is for my portable. And yeah it's probably been done, but hey I'm lazy, ok? :) I think this argument is in another thread somewhere! :) __________________

6th December 2003, 11:06 PM	#4
Rab Lives for gear Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: London Posts: 537	Hey... I'm in the "tell me enough times and it will sink in" camp, so no worries! __________________ I don't live for gear.

7th December 2003, 12:02 AM	#5
jho Lives for gear Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: The Lowcountry Posts: 1,540	My memory span lasts about 7 days... __________________

7th December 2003, 05:14 AM	#6
ttauri Lives for gear Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Knife, Fork, Bottle, Cork Posts: 759	Not AU or VST (though I dunno what hosts aren't Rewired these days), but my favorite is Reason. Not for the sounds, but because it's a miracle of coding stability. It's almost like... hardware! Peece, T. Tauri

7th December 2003, 03:37 PM	#8
excellrec Gear maniac Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: minneapolis Posts: 226	Native instruments- pro 53 B4 Reaktor Kontakt .....i dont really care so much for absynth. Is it just me or isn't it to much synth for songs alot of the times. I've done well with it on breakdowns or intro's but during the main part of a song it just clutters stuff up. At least when using most factory presets. M-tron- Oddity

8th December 2003, 06:08 AM	#10
j.m Gear nut Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Germany, Bavaria Posts: 82	One of the "baddest" Soft-Synths sound-wise I think is the Moog Modular Virtual from Arturia. And the CS-80V is also great. Very convincing, I like them a lot. Sometime a little bit hard on the CPU, but as soon as you know what you want, you can bounce the track. It's always worth the "soundquality". Even though, I like some of the Native Instruments Goodies, some of their emulations are really cool, like the B4, FM7, Absynth. But the Pro-53 wasn't to conivincing to my ears, didn't liked the sound. The "beeeeeest" VSTi they've done so far, in my opinion, is BATTERY. It's such a cool Drum-Sampler. The Arturia Synths are the only one, that I really can think of being "analogue" in the Soft-Synth-Domain. Really smooth sounding. The others aren't so convincing in the "highs", where they have problems with aliasing. Another nice VSTi-Concept that catched my interest lately, is the Hypersonic from Steinberg. It's a "virtual" Workstation-Concept, and I heard it lately at my local-shop and was positive surprised. I think it's ideal for "songwriting" purposes and as you've mentioned, you're looking for some VSTi's for your laptop. I think it's great for such an application like this, if you're "on tour" and want a whole arsenal of good sounds, both acoustic and synth-like. Maybe worth a try! But I'm not sure how CPU-heavy it is. Just my 2 cents, j.m

8th December 2003, 07:31 AM	#11
hammer Gear maniac Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Gold Coast, Australia Posts: 164	one of my favourite VSti (or synths of any sorts) has gotta be RGC audio's Triangle 2. This thing just sounds AWESOME. You know when you play something and it just feels good? I get that from this beasty monosynth. oh yeah...It's a freebie too!!!!! Seriously, all of you guys in VST land should check this one out. __________________ "Love one another and you will be happy. It's as simple and as difficult as that." -- Michael Leuning

8th December 2003, 10:04 AM	#12
xqtion Gear nut Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Los Angeles , USA Posts: 138	REAKTOR 4 = Wicked!!! although it's overall sound is still NI'ish (which is not a bad thing at all), this beast can be so versatile.

9th December 2003, 02:37 AM	#14
hammer Gear maniac Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Gold Coast, Australia Posts: 164	yup...does indeed look as if it is PC only. For those of you PC VST (and directX) people who want it you can find it here. http://www.kvr-vst.com/get/203.html H, __________________ "Love one another and you will be happy. It's as simple and as difficult as that." -- Michael Leuning

9th December 2003, 02:49 AM	#15
RyanR Gear maniac Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Denver Posts: 194	Already mentioned: Reaktor (some other NI stuff too) Moog Modular V Not mentioned: z3ta+ by rgc audio Hydra by synapse Stylus, Trilogy, Atmosphere by Spectrasonics Zt3a+ has been the flavour of the month (last couple actually) for me lately. I got no comments on CPU usage - if you're thinking economically and not about the best quality there is - you're just not a true gearslut. I would rather run one super badass VSTi then 3 alright VSTi's any day.

9th December 2003, 05:00 AM	#17
RyanR Gear maniac Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Denver Posts: 194	Hahaha - I was just joking around I completely understand the need to run multiple VSTi's at the same time . . . With I had TDM for the virus - I had to buy the hardware version

14th December 2003, 03:38 PM	#19
shapemod Gear nut Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Berlin Posts: 136	For all Logic Users: ES2 is really good, I use in nearly every song I produce!

15th December 2003, 12:13 AM	#20
six_wax Lives for gear Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 907	I'm demoing Albino right now, and the thing just sounds killer. It's spewing out some really compelling tones that sound somewhat Viral (I have a hardware C)... Also hints of PPG... Very clean, but not cold. I like it so far...

15th December 2003, 12:14 AM	#21
six_wax Lives for gear Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 907	anybody tried the novation v-station?

15th December 2003, 12:23 AM	#22
jho Lives for gear Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: The Lowcountry Posts: 1,540	I downloaded Albino but haven't installed yet I had so much to try, but I'll give that a shot next. Crystal is nice but more taxing on my system than the latest update of Absynth 2. For no money, that little Claw is a pretty good nasty monophonic synth. Fast on the program change and .. free... How is Albino on patch changing? Fast, slow...? Absynth pretty slow and crystal slower... FYI there is a new Battery update just came out yyesterday for OSX fixes a few bugs. __________________

15th December 2003, 01:30 AM	#23
j.m Gear nut Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Germany, Bavaria Posts: 82	I've tested the Novation at my local music-shop. The factory-presets are too "techno" for my taste and not so suitable for the things I'm doing. But after getting rid of all that "effects-stuff" and hearing the raw-presets and a little tweaking, I was really surprised. There aren't many VSTi's that I find really convincing, but Novation did a great job here. I think the V-Station is one of the "finer" VST's out there, like the Moog. It has a quite decent "basic-sound". Really close to hardware or as same as. And the built-in Arp with the gating is just - let me say sweeeet - . All in all worth the money I think. You should really give it a try, if you can get your hands on it. Cheers, j.m

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