Deciding on a Plugin

Discuss music production with Ableton Live.
evanleigh
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Joined: Wed Jun 26, 2013 2:54 am

Deciding on a Plugin

Post by evanleigh » Wed Jun 26, 2013 3:50 am

Hello!

After spending a few weeks harnessing Ableton Live, I am ready to dabble myself in the ocean of plugins and soft synths. For the past three days I have been researching extensively for soft synths to start with. Here is a list I have culminated thus far:

NI Komplete
Sylenth1
Zebra 2
Alchemy
ACE
Omnisphere
Diva
Synthmaster 2.5
Dune
DCAM Synth Squad

The styles I'm aiming for are electro, techno, and progressive house; complextro; and trance. I am also very intrigued by pads and textures.

I am quite new to the world of composing and producing, and am having a very difficult time finding a synth (or synths) that will suit my needs. The way I understand it, each synth provides a unique approach to music making. I also understand that I may very well end up with many of the synths on that list. But for now, I am just looking for a starting synth, a synth to help me build a sturdy foundation.

Thanks much for your time!

Evan

eddiex
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Re: Deciding on a Plugin

Post by eddiex » Wed Jun 26, 2013 4:20 am

i like the NATIVE INSTRUMENTS stuff (particularly ABSYNTH and MASSIVE)
and ZEBRA2 is pretty awesome too.
i can't vouch for much else on your list. sorry.
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foetus666
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Re: Deciding on a Plugin

Post by foetus666 » Wed Jun 26, 2013 6:23 am

From your requirements I would go Komplete 100%

v00d00ppl
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Re: Deciding on a Plugin

Post by v00d00ppl » Wed Jun 26, 2013 1:37 pm

Omnisphere has great presets
SSL X Desk / Apollo Twin Solo / Sherman Restyler / Ensoniq EPS Classic / Analog Keys / Handsome Audio Zulu

Tarekith
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Re: Deciding on a Plugin

Post by Tarekith » Wed Jun 26, 2013 1:52 pm

I know Omni doesn't have a demo, but there's demos for most of the rest you could try for free. I'd recommend that, see which one resonates with you the most. They are all capable synths on your list, so go with what feels right if you're unsure.
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joefrost01
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Re: Deciding on a Plugin

Post by joefrost01 » Wed Jun 26, 2013 2:16 pm

From your list:

NI Komplete
Probably covers the most ground, has a nice sounding selection of synths, some of which are very CPU efficient. There is something in there to cover all of the styles you mention. Includes several thousand presets.

Sylenth1
Excellent bread and butter sounds, will work well for electro, techno, progressive and trance but not so hot on textures. Pretty CPU efficient. Still only 32bit on Mac.

Zebra 2
Very good all round synth can cover all of the styles you list, can be CPU efficient but can also chew through a lot of CPU with some of the more complex patches.

Alchemy
Lovely sounding synth, covers all styles, can be heavy on CPU.

ACE
Mainly analog emulation, not so good on textures, sometimes extremely CPU heavy

Omnisphere
Another lovely sounding synth, covers all styles somewhat but strong point is definitely pads and textures. Ranges from CPU light through to heavy, comes with around 6,000 presets.

Diva
Mainly analog emulation, great for pads not so good on textures, sometimes extremely CPU heavy

Synthmaster 2.5
Very good all round synth can cover all of the styles you list, I found it to be heavier on CPU than Zebra.

Dune
Similar to Sylenth, slightly more diverse capability but to my ear it doesn't sound quite as nice as Sylenth

DCAM Synth Squad
Mainly analog emulation, not so good on textures, sometimes extremely CPU heavy


I think that if this synth is going to be your only synth then it's important to think about how much load it will place on your system as you'll probably be running several instances of it at a time.

The above list is probably slightly unfair as Komplete is a whole suite whereas the others are just single synths. That said, I would go with Komplete as it covers so much range and if you're just getting into synthesis it represents almost every style very thoroughly. Some may argue that Zebra and Synthmaster also do this but I don't believe that they cover as much ground as Komplete when you bear in mind it includes Reaktor.

Disclaimer - I've only demoed Synth Squad and Synthmaster, but I own the others and have used them all a reasonable amount over the years.

One other set of synths to consider is the Korg Legacy Collection. It covers most of the styles that you list quite well and can do pads and textures, is fairly CPU efficient and is now 64bit. It can also be picked up for $99 if you buy a nanoPad, nanoKey or nanoControl. If you have the money then I'd still go for Komplete but if not then it represents very good value compared to a lot of the other options you list.

sowhoso
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Re: Deciding on a Plugin

Post by sowhoso » Wed Jun 26, 2013 2:29 pm

at the risk of sounding like a snob...

the OP query sounds so left-brained i begin to wonder. it all sounds so backwards

imagine this... should i get a strat or an LP. i wanna play such and such but they say this one is better for that and that is better for this

oi!!! someone save me

wjbuchanan
Posts: 143
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Re: Deciding on a Plugin

Post by wjbuchanan » Wed Jun 26, 2013 7:02 pm

sowhoso wrote:at the risk of sounding like a snob...

the OP query sounds so left-brained i begin to wonder. it all sounds so backwards

imagine this... should i get a strat or an LP. i wanna play such and such but they say this one is better for that and that is better for this

oi!!! someone save me
Nothing wrong with asking for a bit of advice, when I started out the world of DAWs and VSTs was quite daunting.

If you have Ableton Suite...you have everything you need!

I would say stick with Operator and Analog, as these sound great, and also are very easy to use.

Analog is probably best in your case, as it uses "subtractive" synthesis - based on traditional analog synths.

Additionally they have tight integration with Live, and are super stable.

Yes, there are a lot better sounding VSTs out there, but the balance of ease of use and sound is great.

Don't worry about which is "better sounding" - choose a synth you can comfortably make your own patches on, and stick with it.

evanleigh
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Re: Deciding on a Plugin

Post by evanleigh » Wed Jun 26, 2013 7:30 pm

Thanks for all the great replies!

I have demoed many of them...I love the way they all sound! That's why I'm struggling so much...

I just don't want to start building myself up and then look back and realize I have a large, gaping hole...or am I looking at it wrong?

Korg Legacy Collection? I'll look into that!




Evan

login
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Re: Deciding on a Plugin

Post by login » Wed Jun 26, 2013 8:58 pm

Do you have ableton suite or standard? If you have suite i will suggest you keep using it till you figure out what you are missing more.


I would suggest getting synth with different synthesis methods:

- Substractive.- DIVA, Sylenth1
- FM.- FM8 or keep working with operator
- Modular.- Zebra, ACE,
- Additive.- Razor, Harmor
- Wavetables.- Massive, Waldorf Largo
- Sample base.- Alchemy, Omnisphere.


You could start with a substractive and move then to others, go one by one, no need to rush and buy 5 synths, you won't have time to learn them all.

Quez
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Re: Deciding on a Plugin

Post by Quez » Wed Jun 26, 2013 10:59 pm

I would also not recommend buying plug-ins so early in, especially if you have the Suite version.

There are also tons of freeware and you could start with them.

miekwave
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Re: Deciding on a Plugin

Post by miekwave » Thu Jun 27, 2013 2:01 am

For the money, Korg MicroKey61 is a good value ($159), you get Polysix, MS-20, M1 (le), MonoPoly, Wavestation synth plugs. Perfect for trance patches.

evanleigh wrote:Hello!

After spending a few weeks harnessing Ableton Live, I am ready to dabble myself in the ocean of plugins and soft synths. For the past three days I have been researching extensively for soft synths to start with. Here is a list I have culminated thus far:

NI Komplete
Sylenth1
Zebra 2
Alchemy
ACE
Omnisphere
Diva
Synthmaster 2.5
Dune
DCAM Synth Squad

The styles I'm aiming for are electro, techno, and progressive house; complextro; and trance. I am also very intrigued by pads and textures.

I am quite new to the world of composing and producing, and am having a very difficult time finding a synth (or synths) that will suit my needs. The way I understand it, each synth provides a unique approach to music making. I also understand that I may very well end up with many of the synths on that list. But for now, I am just looking for a starting synth, a synth to help me build a sturdy foundation.

Thanks much for your time!

Evan

merges
Posts: 283
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Location: san francisco

Re: Deciding on a Plugin

Post by merges » Thu Jun 27, 2013 2:46 am

I personally think that aside from Operator, Suite's synths are not that great. Operator is quite good.

Zebra can be a bit difficult to wrap your head around, but if you want to get deep into soft-modular subtractive synthesis, it's incredibly flexible and will provide you with hundreds of hours of learning time. I find it really excellent for pads, cinematic sounds, analog-like bell and synth leads a la Lone or BoC, and passable for bass sounds. There is some awkwardness in its UI, especially dealing with basic waveforms. It's very light on CPU though, so you can use instance after instance of it and generate a wide variety of sounds for your compositions. It has some unusual ways of generating sounds, difficult to work with but with equally unusual results.

Alchemy is a touch more straightforward than Zebra, with similar UI awkwardness, and a greater variety of synthesis methods—its granular synthesis is notable. It's easier to make Alchemy sound "dirty" and full than is the case with Zebra. I don't think its filters are as rich sounding, and it is a CPU hog, relatively speaking. I bought both at the same time, and in spite of Alchemy's undeniable power, I gravitated heavily towards Zebra because of the ease with which it's possible to get far away from where you started. Hard to explain, but I find Alchemy is a little … slower for divergence, and Zebra will let you get way out there, quickly.

Sorry, this is just an opinion and not really much use. But there you go.

dewaldo
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Re: Deciding on a Plugin

Post by dewaldo » Thu Jun 27, 2013 6:35 pm

I can't speak to all of the synths on your list, but I have been extremely pleased with my investment in Omnisphere + Trilian + Zebra2.

Omnisphere, a sampler/synth hybrid, has 8000 presets which are organized in an easy-to-browse fashion, facilitating quick experimentation and idea generation. Like others have said, it is great for pads and textures, but also has great leads, choir/vox sounds, and FX.

Trilian, essentially an add-on to Omnisphere, has truly awesome bass sounds, from synth basses to electric and acoustic basses (the acoustic bass has 20,000 samples!) You really can't beat Trilian when you're looking for bass sounds of any style.

Zebra2 rounds out the trio with its powerful synthesis tools. Whereas Omnisphere and Trilian are awesome for preset browsing, Zebra2 is equally awesome for synthesizing your own sounds. Its modular layout is quite intuitive once you get used to it, and its low CPU usage means that it can run smoothly alongside CPU hogs like Omnisphere.

I am very biased, but also very pleased with the above...hope this helps.

The Carpet Cleaner
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Re: Deciding on a Plugin

Post by The Carpet Cleaner » Sat Jun 29, 2013 2:48 am

Just use some samples from CDs. You ll be sounding like skrillex and deamau5 in no time.

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