Synth suggestions?

[OpenLight]

I've been here a while, and I've gotten some huge information and help from this community throughout the years. I'd like to pick your collective brain again, if that's fine.

I'm at the point in my journey to someday becoming a high-caliber composer that if I do not get some high-quality, professional-grade synths for use in my compositions, I'll be stuck where I'm at forever with no hopes of climbing further. On that note, here's my question:

What are some of the best software synth packs or programs available? I'd like to know what's used for general electronica, dubstep, drum & bass, the whole nine yards. I've heard what you guys can produce and it can be pretty impressive, so if any of you could help me out, it'd be much appreciated.

[Back-From-Purgatory]

At 11/15/14 09:28 PM, OpenLight wrote: I'm at the point in my journey to someday becoming a high-caliber composer that if I do not get some high-quality, professional-grade synths for use in my compositions, I'll be stuck where I'm at forever with no hopes of climbing further.

This seems to be an extremely common misconception about music. You do not require high-grade, professional quality instruments/VSTs to make good compositions. That is a myth, and is often a cop out for, "I'll be better if I have better tools".

It's not true, and you should get that thought out of your head. Your tools do not make you a better composer, how you use them does. You can have the best tools in the world, but if you don't have the skill or knowledge to use them, you will never make good use of them. There are tons of composers here on NG that use free VSTs and soundfonts that compose better music than many people who have spent thousands of dollars on "High grade professional tools".

It's not the tools you use, it's how you use them.

That said...

Omnisphere

Beat you again @Step

[OpenLight]

At 11/15/14 09:34 PM, Back-From-Purgatory wrote:

At 11/15/14 09:28 PM, OpenLight wrote: I'm at the point in my journey to someday becoming a high-caliber composer that if I do not get some high-quality, professional-grade synths for use in my compositions, I'll be stuck where I'm at forever with no hopes of climbing further.

This seems to be an extremely common misconception about music. You do not require high-grade, professional quality instruments/VSTs to make good compositions. That is a myth, and is often a cop out for, "I'll be better if I have better tools".

It's not true, and you should get that thought out of your head. Your tools do not make you a better composer, how you use them does. You can have the best tools in the world, but if you don't have the skill or knowledge to use them, you will never make good use of them. There are tons of composers here on NG that use free VSTs and soundfonts that compose better music than many people who have spent thousands of dollars on "High grade professional tools".

It's not the tools you use, it's how you use them.

That said...

Omnisphere

Beat you again @Step

Thank you for the reply. Believe me, I know it's not just the stuff you have. I've been working long enough at composition though and I feel like I've got the most basic mechanics down if nothing else. I just don't have the stuff that'll push me to the next step.

I'll check out what you linked for sure, but if you have any of those free VSTs you talk of, shoot some my way if you don't mind!

[Back-From-Purgatory]

At 11/15/14 09:38 PM, OpenLight wrote: Thank you for the reply. Believe me, I know it's not just the stuff you have. I've been working long enough at composition though and I feel like I've got the most basic mechanics down if nothing else. I just don't have the stuff that'll push me to the next step.

I'll check out what you linked for sure, but if you have any of those free VSTs you talk of, shoot some my way if you don't mind!

Most of the VSTs I, personally, use aren't free, save a couple like DSK Music Box and T-Force Alpha Plus (Both of which I would recommend).

What I can suggest though is bookmarking KVRAudio. There are tons of awesome VSTs, both paid and free you can find there. Anyone that fancies themselves a musician of any sort should have that site bookmarked.

[OpenLight]

At 11/15/14 10:01 PM, Back-From-Purgatory wrote:

At 11/15/14 09:38 PM, OpenLight wrote: Thank you for the reply. Believe me, I know it's not just the stuff you have. I've been working long enough at composition though and I feel like I've got the most basic mechanics down if nothing else. I just don't have the stuff that'll push me to the next step.

I'll check out what you linked for sure, but if you have any of those free VSTs you talk of, shoot some my way if you don't mind!

Most of the VSTs I, personally, use aren't free, save a couple like DSK Music Box and T-Force Alpha Plus (Both of which I would recommend).

What I can suggest though is bookmarking KVRAudio. There are tons of awesome VSTs, both paid and free you can find there. Anyone that fancies themselves a musician of any sort should have that site bookmarked.

Thanks! I'm also going to be working with a friend soon who can help me some, and hopefully vice versa, as far as different mixing techniques go. With that stuff combined, I should be heading in the right direction.

Also, is there an industry standard of anything? I'm curious what the current greats use but I can never find any information on the matter.

[Back-From-Purgatory]

At 11/15/14 10:20 PM, OpenLight wrote: Thanks! I'm also going to be working with a friend soon who can help me some, and hopefully vice versa, as far as different mixing techniques go. With that stuff combined, I should be heading in the right direction.

Also, is there an industry standard of anything? I'm curious what the current greats use but I can never find any information on the matter.

There are no industry standards, you'll find what professional artists use is just as diverse as what the people of NG use. Many professional artists use FL Studio, many use Ableton, many use Reason, many use Logic, many use Cubase, etc. etc.

What I said before applies here as well, it's not the tool, but how you use it. Some people feel more comfortable with certain tools. That's all it really comes down to. And just as many artists actually use various different tools (I believe Deadmau5 for example uses both FL Studio and Ableton).

[OpenLight]

At 11/15/14 10:25 PM, Back-From-Purgatory wrote:

At 11/15/14 10:20 PM, OpenLight wrote: Thanks! I'm also going to be working with a friend soon who can help me some, and hopefully vice versa, as far as different mixing techniques go. With that stuff combined, I should be heading in the right direction.

Also, is there an industry standard of anything? I'm curious what the current greats use but I can never find any information on the matter.

There are no industry standards, you'll find what professional artists use is just as diverse as what the people of NG use. Many professional artists use FL Studio, many use Ableton, many use Reason, many use Logic, many use Cubase, etc. etc.

What I said before applies here as well, it's not the tool, but how you use it. Some people feel more comfortable with certain tools. That's all it really comes down to. And just as many artists actually use various different tools (I believe Deadmau5 for example uses both FL Studio and Ableton).

I don't mean DAW necessarily, and I don't think there's a lone "one thing" that everyone uses as far as synths, but I mean some good stuff that can make good music. I can't keep on using 3xosc for everything is my point.

On that note though, I use FL Studio and always will unless something else jumps out at me. There's no point not to.

[Back-From-Purgatory]

At 11/15/14 10:27 PM, OpenLight wrote: I don't mean DAW necessarily, and I don't think there's a lone "one thing" that everyone uses as far as synths, but I mean some good stuff that can make good music. I can't keep on using 3xosc for everything is my point.

On that note though, I use FL Studio and always will unless something else jumps out at me. There's no point not to.

Synths are no different, there are far too many, and it is far too subjective to name just a few as industry standards. They all do different things, and the toolset musicians use overall is incredibly diverse.

A lot of the higher end VSTs will often include a list somewhere on their site of artists that use that particular VST, but you really shouldn't be choosing VSTs based on who else uses them. Instead look for VSTs that suit your personal style.

[OpenLight]

At 11/15/14 10:46 PM, Back-From-Purgatory wrote: A lot of the higher end VSTs will often include a list somewhere on their site of artists that use that particular VST, but you really shouldn't be choosing VSTs based on who else uses them. Instead look for VSTs that suit your personal style.

I realize that haha, and I appreciate you saying that. My reason for looking for VSTs used by popular artists isn't to emulate someone else. That's not something I'd want to do in the first place. I just want something good, because not all VSTs are good. I don't even have a lead on what some good VSTs might be.

I am checking out T-Force now though.

[TheAudioGuy]

sylenth1.
its all I need to make awesome original synths.

bloody brilliant value for money aswell.

[OpenLight]

At 11/15/14 11:10 PM, TheAudioGuy wrote: sylenth1.
its all I need to make awesome original synths.

bloody brilliant value for money aswell.

I actually looked at that once upon a time. I'm going to give it another shot possibly.

[Oakwood]

Can't believe this hasn't been said yet but: NI Massive
Even though it only works with 3 oscillators (modulation OSC not included) you can produce any sound you think of with it. It contains a shitload of wavetables (it is known for its wiidely used Modern Talking wavetable) and has a relatively easy-to-understand interface. Cost quite the buck, but it's worth it.

If you're more of an FM guy (unlike me), you could check out FM8, the counterpart of Massive.

Also I saw T-Force Alpha Plus being mentioned, that one's great as well, ideal for pluck synths and whatnot.

[Mrobeymenow]

If your looking for a good deal on a bunch of equipment, then I recommend Komplete 9. I picked this up a few months ago, and it has some really great stuff in it. It's got Massive, Battery 4, and loads of other things that will help you. I think it costs about five hundred or so, but I'd say it's worth it for the amount of things you get.
Also I'd recommend Sylenth1 and Nexus, both of them are great for EDM and such.

[freaksy101]

Synapse Dune

[TheAudioGuy]

At 11/16/14 08:21 AM, Lich wrote: Personal Recommendations from the Lich

- Tone2 Gladiator
- Tone2 Nemesis
- Tone2 Electra2
- Waldorf Largo
- Arturia Oberheim SEM
- Arturia Jupiter 8V
- Arturia CS80V
- Arturia Mini V
- IL Sawer
- iZotope Iris
- Spectrasonics Omnisphere
- NI Absynth

why do people buy so many fucken synths, honestly.
they all pretty much do the same thing!

[w00tw00]

why do people buy so many fucken synths, honestly.
they all pretty much do the same thing!

in a nutshell they do.

i record alot of salmples, so say i go outside, i record like 20 min worth of random stuff (nature, etc) i come back to ableton, look for cool bits and pieces and then loop it lol. i think it brings more of a live feeling to my tracks. it gives you unique sounds.

better then any vst would ever do honestly.

[8-bitheroes]

Check out harmor, its an extremely powerful synth. The GUI can be a bit confusing at first but worth it.

[Step]

I agree with Back-From-Purgatory - it's not the tools but how you use them. This applies ESPECIALLY to electronic music. With, say, orchestral music, I'll concede that there's only so far that you can go without expensive VSTs, as unrealistic samples do limit the quality of your music to an extent, or at least require a LOT more playing around to use effectively. With anything which doesn't require realism, electronic music in particular, you don't need to fork out a ton of money and buy a bunch of different plugins to achieve a good sound. Whenever this topic comes up, I always link to this track by Rig. That was done entirely using FL Studio default sounds/plugins, and is a prime example to support the argument that you don't need the cream of the crop for your music to shine.

Having said that, if you DO want the cream of the crop, then yeah... freaking OMNISPHERE. Objectively the best VST out there. Seriously.

[DjGubkafish]

You can find decent free VSTs if you look .

If you really want to get serious TONE 2 instruments are the best for electronic music in my opinion .

Gladiator Or Nemesis .