Does anyone here use VST (Virtual Software Synthesizers)

[Chlysm]

A friend of mine whose into vintage synthesizers recommended this one to me a while back.

http://www.sonicprojects.ch/opxpro2/description.html

I tried out the demo version, and very quickly bought the full version. It was around $100 or so, but it's well worth the price. Not just for the "famous", but for lots of cool raw analog sounds. Anyone who likes to tinker with sounds would have fun with this for hours.

It's based on the Oberheim OBX and OBXa.

Since this is literally the only VST I'm aware of, I was wondering if anyone else here has some that they would like to share.

[dannthr]

VST or Virtual Studio Technology was invented by Steinberg and has proliferated and dominated the plug-in format marketplace for a very long time.

Almost every audio plug-in developed currently is available in VST format.

VST is also supported by various DAWs including Cubase, SONAR, Digital Performer, Reaper, FLStudio, etc, etc, etc, and many more plug-in host suites such as Vienna Ensemble Pro, Cantabile, etc.

Exceptions are RTAS/AAX for Pro Tools, AU for Garage Band and Logic Pro, and Refills/Rack Extensions for Reason.

Some DAWs and Audio Suites support DirectX plug-ins, but they're fairly uncommon. (DX and DXi respectively)

Obviously, DAWs may utilize their own native plug-in format which may or may not be developed in one of the standard format options--this varies by developer.

---

As far as virtual synthesizers, for my money, the buck stops at Diva developed by U-He:

http://www.u-he.com/cms/diva

Which is a faithful recreation of several synth workstations from the OB8 series to the Juno series, and what's killer is that you can mix and match the modules for an original amalgamation.

It sounds freaking amazing too!

[timaeus222]

I'm surprised you went with Diva, Dan. I thought for sure you were going to say Zebra2, 'cause that's what I'm gonna suggest. Suggestions:

Zebra2 (do-it-all synth, quite literally)

Omnisphere (don't have it, I want it, too expensive for me)

[dannthr]

Zebra is a great modular synth that can do a lot--but the sound can't compare to Diva and if you're looking for something that feels like the kind of fixed synth experience like you would get tweaking an Oberhiem or Juno, then Diva is the way to go.

Zebra is my goto synth when I want to sound design.

Dark Zebra has filters from Diva.

I rarely open Omnisphere these days.

[avaris]

As far as virtual synthesizers, for my money, the buck stops at Diva developed by U-He:

http://www.u-he.com/cms/diva

Which is a faithful recreation of several synth workstations from the OB8 series to the Juno series, and what's killer is that you can mix and match the modules for an original amalgamation.

It sounds freaking amazing too!

This! Diva is absolutely stunning. Although sadly it rapes your computer. I have an i7-3770k and it will max that out on Studio One.

My goto for pads/atmo/unusual sounds is Omnisphere. The best bang for your buck will easily be Omnisphere bc of it's uber high quality and sheer flexibility.

[Flexstyle]

My go-to synths these days are the following:

- Image-Line Harmless

- Image-Line Harmor

- Image-Line Toxic Biohazard

- Image-Line Sytrus

- Cakewalk z3ta+

- Cakewalk z3ta+ 2

- Ichiro Toda Synth1

- Native Instruments Massive

- Ugo Rez 2.0 (there's a new 3.0, but I haven't tried it yet)

Synth1 and Rez are both freeware, so there's nothing stopping you from giving them a shot.

[SonicThHedgog]

my usual VSTi for synths are..

Sylenth 1, and Massive at the front of my usual battle command ( examples http://soundcloud.com/aires/air3s-lucky-7-preview with some absynth I think. and

)

Fm8 One of my favorite synths in my collection!

Besides the fact I am a fm synth fan, 80-85% of all the sounds in this song are made with FM8

http://soundcloud.com/aires/blue-eyce-ft-t-carlton

Sytrus is one of my favorite synths ever!

(http://soundcloud.com/aires/sky for one of the stringy sounds)

Nexus is also great. I mean its a sampler, but I like alot of its sounds especially its pianos! (piano example http://soundcloud.com/aires/getting-closer)

Absynth second station command(but MAN do I hate the effects bay, but its GREAT!; example

)

I want to try diva, looks and sounds amazing!

and MAN do I hate zebra.

[dannthr]

What do you hate about Zebra?

[timaeus222]

and MAN do I hate zebra.

I respect your opinion, but what DO you "hate" about Zebra? I find it to be my main resource for sounds, and it's practically endless what you can make with it, at least to me.

[Chimpazilla]

I use Omnisphere quite a bit, and Kontakt for sample stuff. But I pretty much use Zebra for everything else. It's so versatile. How could anyone hate it?

[Chlysm]

VST or Virtual Studio Technology was invented by Steinberg and has proliferated and dominated the plug-in format marketplace for a very long time.

Almost every audio plug-in developed currently is available in VST format.

VST is also supported by various DAWs including Cubase, SONAR, Digital Performer, Reaper, FLStudio, etc, etc, etc, and many more plug-in host suites such as Vienna Ensemble Pro, Cantabile, etc.

Exceptions are RTAS/AAX for Pro Tools, AU for Garage Band and Logic Pro, and Refills/Rack Extensions for Reason.

Some DAWs and Audio Suites support DirectX plug-ins, but they're fairly uncommon. (DX and DXi respectively)

Obviously, DAWs may utilize their own native plug-in format which may or may not be developed in one of the standard format options--this varies by developer.

---

As far as virtual synthesizers, for my money, the buck stops at Diva developed by U-He:

http://www.u-he.com/cms/diva

Which is a faithful recreation of several synth workstations from the OB8 series to the Juno series, and what's killer is that you can mix and match the modules for an original amalgamation.

It sounds freaking amazing too!

Thank you. I can't believe that I never knew of VSTs until recently. I do most of my work on my 2 keyboards. (Yamaha Motif XS8/Roland Fantom X7) Had them for about several or so years now and I love them both. Kinda sorta been thinking about upgrading to a Fantom G series.

[Argle]

OnePingOnly is a good VST. I don't know any others, but I've had good results with that one.

[SonicThHedgog]

I respect your opinion, but what DO you "hate" about Zebra? I find it to be my main resource for sounds, and it's practically endless what you can make with it, at least to me.

Ok I don't "hate" it, but im certainty not a fan of it interface wise, The synth never really hits me. feature wise I cant really spot the difference between Zebra or Ableton's Operator (which dada life puts to very good use which I saw in their FM Magazine youtube video hehe).

I have noticed that Zebra does have very good sounding filters compared to some other synths, and Zebra is, what can I say, "smooth" sounding sort of like fm8.

but I have noticed that zebra,fm8 and sylenth 1 all have fatter sounding ocillators than massive, though sometimes I do prefer having a synth with a thinner sound so I can make some lightly processed sounds and add some distortion to make it fatter.

Edited July 20, 2013 by SonicThHedgog

[Kanthos]

Thank you. I can't believe that I never knew of VSTs until recently. I do most of my work on my 2 keyboards. (Yamaha Motif XS8/Roland Fantom X7) Had them for about several or so years now and I love them both. Kinda sorta been thinking about upgrading to a Fantom G series.

If you're going to upgrade, why not a Korg Kronos? My preference is for Korg over Yamaha and Roland, but bias aside, it's a keyboard that's far ahead of the Motif or Fantom. While the Motif and Fantom (and earlier Korgs, except the OASYS) only play back samples, the Kronos has six or seven synths built in plus a drawbar organ engine (eg it's not sampled and you can set the drawbars, percussion, and everything else that's on a B3, exactly the way you want), plus some really high-quality sampled pianos and EPs. Think of it as a keyboard that's as good as the Motif or Fantom PLUS several synthesizers rolled into one.

[Chlysm]

If you're going to upgrade, why not a Korg Kronos? My preference is for Korg over Yamaha and Roland, but bias aside, it's a keyboard that's far ahead of the Motif or Fantom. While the Motif and Fantom (and earlier Korgs, except the OASYS) only play back samples, the Kronos has six or seven synths built in plus a drawbar organ engine (eg it's not sampled and you can set the drawbars, percussion, and everything else that's on a B3, exactly the way you want), plus some really high-quality sampled pianos and EPs. Think of it as a keyboard that's as good as the Motif or Fantom PLUS several synthesizers rolled into one.

I played a Kronos years ago when I was shopping for synths. I don't recall being too impressed, however they have probably succeeded a couple of generations by now.

What sold me on the Motif originally was the key action and the quality of it's acoustical and orchestral sounds. I purchased the Roland shortly after which I like for more synthy sounds. About a year ago I went to a local music shop (which doesn't carry Korg) and checked out the Motif XF and the Fantom G. The Motif XF honestly didn't seem to be very significant improvement over it's predecessor. The G however did have some better sounds, and I think the keys also had a better feel. Although at first glance it seems like they fluffed up their snyth banks by loading a bazillion brassy sawtooth sounds most of which could be achieved by a single voice by changing the cutoff and reverb,

Might check out a Kronos next time I swing by a Guitar Center.

It would be nice to say that I have all 3 major brands lol.

[timaeus222]

Ok I don't "hate" it, but im certainty not a fan of it interface wise, The synth never really hits me. feature wise I cant really spot the difference between Zebra or Ableton's Operator (which dada life puts to very good use which I saw in their FM Magazine youtube video hehe).

I have noticed that Zebra does have very good sounding filters compared to some other synths, and Zebra is, what can I say, "smooth" sounding sort of like fm8.

but I have noticed that zebra,fm8 and sylenth 1 all have fatter sounding ocillators than massive, though sometimes I do prefer having a synth with a thinner sound so I can make some lightly processed sounds and add some distortion to make it fatter.

Just to clarify, Zebra is the only synth I know of that displays exactly what you're using and nothing extra, which I find very convenient. Even though I've stayed with it for over a year now, I still believe it's relatively easy to use if you work with it enough. I understand if you aren't sure how to get a thinner filter on Zebra, but I believe it just takes some experimentation with envelope depths, filter choices, and wavetable drawing.

I'm not sure though why you said Massive has a thinner filter than Zebra, because we both know Massive can create some pretty fat dubstep wobbles. Although Zebra is also capable of doing that, it's actually much harder from my experience using it because the wavetable that Massive has is very close to the typical target tone, and in Zebra I've had to play around with it quite a bit to emulate the fat sound of Massive (in fact, at one point I've managed to recreate the Modern Talking wavetable somehow). Maybe you're just comparing the initialize patches?

Edited July 20, 2013 by timaeus222

[Kanthos]

I played a Kronos years ago when I was shopping for synths. I don't recall being too impressed, however they have probably succeeded a couple of generations by now.

What sold me on the Motif originally was the key action and the quality of it's acoustical and orchestral sounds. I purchased the Roland shortly after which I like for more synthy sounds. About a year ago I went to a local music shop (which doesn't carry Korg) and checked out the Motif XF and the Fantom G. The Motif XF honestly didn't seem to be very significant improvement over it's predecessor. The G however did have some better sounds, and I think the keys also had a better feel. Although at first glance it seems like they fluffed up their snyth banks by loading a bazillion brassy sawtooth sounds most of which could be achieved by a single voice by changing the cutoff and reverb,

Might check out a Kronos next time I swing by a Guitar Center.

It would be nice to say that I have all 3 major brands lol.

The Kronos was only announced in January 2011, so I'm betting you were playing a different Korg model. The action on their lower-end keyboards (TR was the little brother of the Triton, M50 was the lower-end M3, and now Krome is the lower-end Kronos) have always been pretty meh, but the M3 and Kronos, even the semi-weighted versions, feel a lot better.

I've currently got a Roland V-Combo VR-700 (crap keyboard, but I like the semi-weighted feel and the B3 section with drawbars) and a Korg M3 Module with a memory upgrade and the EXB-Radias (the Radias synth on a card that fits into the M3 module, so you can get synth voices in your combis).

[Chlysm]

The Kronos was only announced in January 2011, so I'm betting you were playing a different Korg model. The action on their lower-end keyboards (TR was the little brother of the Triton, M50 was the lower-end M3, and now Krome is the lower-end Kronos) have always been pretty meh, but the M3 and Kronos, even the semi-weighted versions, feel a lot better.

I've currently got a Roland V-Combo VR-700 (crap keyboard, but I like the semi-weighted feel and the B3 section with drawbars) and a Korg M3 Module with a memory upgrade and the EXB-Radias (the Radias synth on a card that fits into the M3 module, so you can get synth voices in your combis).

On another note, what would you recommend as a good 76 key semi weighted keyboard and/or midi controller. One of the reasons I got the Fantom X7 was for travel because my Motif XS8 weighs close to 100lbs in it's case which is burdensome lol.

But I have trouble with unweighted keys. It's nice for lead, but I find it difficult to play anything piano oriented. I know that weighted keys will mean a heavy keyboard so perhaps semi weighted could be the compromise in giving me the control that I need.

[Kanthos]

On another note, what would you recommend as a good 76 key semi weighted keyboard and/or midi controller. One of the reasons I got the Fantom X7 was for travel because my Motif XS8 weighs close to 100lbs in it's case which is burdensome lol.

But I have trouble with unweighted keys. It's nice for lead, but I find it difficult to play anything piano oriented. I know that weighted keys will mean a heavy keyboard so perhaps semi weighted could be the compromise in giving me the control that I need.

I've had tendonitis or something similar nearly half my life so I prefer a semi-weighted keyboard, plus if I'm only going to have one, I find it a nice compromise between a lighter touch for leads and a harder touch for piano, and my Roland's really built for B3 playing. I can't recommend it for any other sounds though; they're pretty crappy. Other than the obvious recommendation to stay away from the lower-end models, it really comes down to preference, so try anything, but people generally speak highly of anything with a Fatar keybed. It really depends what controllers are in your local stores, but you sound like you have enough skill and good enough taste to avoid any of the budget stuff like M-Audio.

I really liked the feel of the Korg M3's 61 and 73-key models, which are semi-weighted Fatar keybeds, but they haven't been sold since the Kronos came out, so they might be hard to find. I got lucky and picked my M3 module up on a huge sale just a couple weeks ago, and my local store also had an M3-61, so I tried its keybed too, and I'd prefer it to my Roland, but I didn't want to sell the Roland and lose the organ sounds.

[SonicThHedgog]

Just to clarify, Zebra is the only synth I know of that displays exactly what you're using and nothing extra, which I find very convenient. Even though I've stayed with it for over a year now, I still believe it's relatively easy to use if you work with it enough. I understand if you aren't sure how to get a thinner filter on Zebra, but I believe it just takes some experimentation with envelope depths, filter choices, and wavetable drawing.

I'm not sure though why you said Massive has a thinner filter than Zebra, because we both know Massive can create some pretty fat dubstep wobbles. Although Zebra is also capable of doing that, it's actually much harder from my experience using it because the wavetable that Massive has is very close to the typical target tone, and in Zebra I've had to play around with it quite a bit to emulate the fat sound of Massive (in fact, at one point I've managed to recreate the Modern Talking wavetable somehow). Maybe you're just comparing the initialize patches?

Maybe I will try another experiment with Zebra. It has been a while since I'v tried it, and I know a little more about different types of Vst synths, so I see no reason why I should not give it another go!

As for the sound, I find that some of the waveforms in sylenth 1 and fm 8 are a bit warmer/fatter than massive, and a tad heavier in the 60-500hz range. I could be very wrong as well. I did small experiment my self because one day I noticed that some of the waveforms in sylenth 1 sounded a bit "bigger" which had my head spinning.

Although I dont use modern talking much, I do process with other plugins on my bass sounds for vocalish sounds on some of my songs (like this http://youtu.be/GVZKf55JpHQ?t=1m30s) and I usually get better/fatter results with Fm8 than massive. Funny thing is, I saw in a post that skrillex said the same things in a interview with musicradar I think(?) that he gets better growl sounds with fm8.

I also use massive for heavier sounds as well that I cant get with other synths (or with my synth skills) and I really do like the scream filter and the phase modulation osc. I use it alot in my bass heavy sounds, but usually I eq off the low end and use an another synth with bigger low end range