Sonik Synth 2 review/opinion

I just wanted to take a moment to review SonikSynth 2, which was my "musical" Christmas gift for 2004.

I love this thing. I was specifically looking for a way to expand my pallette of sounds in general, with an emphasis towards the keyboard side of things and this is just the ticket. Since I do mostly mainstream sorts of music, and TRY to play other instruments, this is a great package for filling in the holes. The sw1000xg has been a great performer, and I'll probably still use it (midi only), but this thing may completely stomp it in a mix in terms of quality, so I may find that I DON'T use it anymore!

I already owned SampleTank2XL, but I think this is a MUCH better package overall for my needs and the two will complement each other fantastically. They should cover most of the bases, though a capsule or two may round it out some more. Not to mention the great upgrade price I got.

There are so many sounds in here, but that's not all there is to it for me, just like the SIZE of samples isn't everything. There is a variety that spans the whole spectrum of the sorts of things I may need, and the quality is consistent across the board, unlike so many other sound sets which have a few great ones and a lot of duds/filler. I'm sure there's some stuff in here I'll never want/need to use, but that's a taste thing - I don't feel like it's "missing" anything though. Just about any TYPE of sound is here.

I have not yet become a real fan of the A.pianos...don't know why, they didn't sound as good to me as a lot of the other stuff, but that's fine - they are certainly at least at workstation quality pianos - and some of the "effect" pianos may come in very handy. The Mellow Grand sounds quite real, however, to me.

The Elements: Wow. Can you say "overboard". It seems that just about every waveform choice from most every type of synth, in multiples (like several different versions of a sawtooth from the same synth or synthline). Individually, probably not that useful, but with effects or stacked into combis - unbelievable.

It's quite amazing how quickly you can build a rather flat and uninspiring snippet of sound and combine and twist it to be spectacular, huge, smooth, etc.

I took a few minutes and took an element wav (with efx like chorus/delay/rev) and simply combined it with a built in patch (Dont Cry) - lovely big spacetaker! In moments of my time. Combis will have a place in my future. This is familiar territory for those who have used the sw1000xg card before, but these sounds are so much more noble.

There are so many combinations of things that can be done in here, there should be no worries that you'll be using the same keyboard sounds as anyone else. While SS2 seems very capable of emulating so many synth sounds that have been coined over the years, there's a wealth of potential for very original and useful sounds that NO ONE ELSE will have put together.

I'm quite satisfied with SS2, especially as a gift from my wife...loads of inspiration and great kick-off starting points, I don't even know where to begin with it!

More information can be found at www.esoundz.com

Is Sonik Synth 2 considerably better than version 1? I bought the original and was underwhelmed. I thought many the sounds were kind of average.

I would say Sonik Synth 2 is a MAJOR improvement over Sonik Synth 1. The Buzz over at KVR estimates there is about a 1/8 to 1/7 overlap between the two. There are many improved sounds, and many many additional sounds. They have enhanced the synth collection tremendously. There are many sounds taken from vintage synths, many atmospheric sounds, and a huge section of elements which you can use to add a personal touch to your sounds.

There are enough sounds in each other catagory to give you a great basic set of bread and butter sounds, too.

I've only had Sonik Synth 2 for a week, and I've been totally into it. There are over 5000 sounds in the set, and it takes a long time to just go through it and see what is all there. I don't like every sound in the set, but there are tons of gems. I have found a lot of sounds I just enjoy playing. If you're a keyboardist, it's a true playground.

To me, the real power of this package is having a great set of sounds, under the control of a nice GUI. The GUI allows you to easily assign voices to a midi channel, and blend sounds into combinations. There are great FX, and editing features, that allow you to make some fabulous sounds, which can have your own flavor. It's been compaired to a sound kitchen, and I think that analogy applies well. You can add a little of this, and a little of that, and a dash of this spice and that spice to make something quite special. It's all pretty straight forward, but very very deep. I haven't had any problems learning it.

I just ordered Sampletank 2 XL, so I can't make a compairison between them yet. I can say though, that I got Sonik Synth 2 as a Christmas present too, and it's the nicest present I have ever gotten! If you have Sonik Synth 1, you can upgrade to Sonik Synth 2 for $200. IMHO, it's one of the best deals around.

Hey BC and Cap'n Spanky:

Here is a post that answers the SS1 to SS2 comparison question you guys have:
KVR Link

ORIGINAL: Blades
Hey BC and Cap'n Spanky:
Here is a post that answers the SS1 to SS2 comparison question you guys have:
KVR Link

Interesting. Thanks, Blades!

Another update: I just noticed that they have added some mp3 files at the www.esoundz.com and www.sonicreality.com sites. They give a little more of a picture of some of the possibilities in SS2.

BUMP - I hope I didn't offend anyone with the last post, I really do just want your opinion.
John

I have Sample tank2 xl and I like it, but like everyone else I want more. Some seem to think SS2 sounds better than Sampletank, thats why I'm interested. I think what I like are blends of Acoustic instruments, guitar, piano, harp etc, also blended/layered with more electronic type sounds. For the most part I know what I like when I hear it.