bitflipper


Intriguing feature in Synthmaster:

Multisamples in WAV/AIFF formats could be imported into SynthMaster as SFZ definitions, by simply drag and drop of the WAV/AIFF files onto the oscillator waveform view on the plugin window.

Does this suggest that any wave file could be a sound source, similar to what Alchemy can do? (And Omnisphere users wish it could do, too.)

Rapture and Dimension Pro can also load these files as oscillators...
 
Drag and drop too...
 
I agree with the poster who said that Tassman is a winner...
 
It has a clunky GUI and the handling is a little funky - funky and clunky - but it sounds funking great !
 
There are so many fantsatic synths available these days and we are all a little spoilt really 
 
I do have a good laugh though when a synth has been out 5 minutes and it becomes somebody's "Go To"
 
My favourite synth right now is Tassman with Rapture and Z3TA+2 used as daily workhorses...
 
Charlatan is a GREAT sounding freebie and I've dialed some bass sounds out of that one that are killer..
 
In fact - Charlatan has replaced Diva in the bottom end of my world 

Eddie
A few years ago I purchased Kickaxx from Way out where - it turned out to be almost unusable - totally unstable. 
I think it was originally a Mac only program which they ported to windows but NEVER got it right. I do believe they just dropped it and this became YET ANOTHER member of my software cemetery!
If you look at this website now, there seems very little in the way of activity - I would just check they are still in business before even risking looking at another of their products!
Cheers
Nigel

bitflipper


I don't think that Kontakt is ever going to be a suitable substitute for real programmable synthesizers, but who knows? Omnisphere and Alchemy both do an impressive job of straddling both worlds, even if neither of them is ever going to be anybody's go-to general-purpose synthesizer.

After being initially impressed by SynthMaster, I've since set it aside, at least temporarily. The presets I listened to weren't a very effective advertisement, being heavily EDM/trance-oriented. I'd have tried more of them but the synth went all wonky on me and wasn't responding properly to MIDI input. 
 

I agree...Kontakt is a sample player and it does that very well - but it is not a synth at all... 
 
NI had the audacity to advertise Retro Machines 2 as a synth,but it's just a bunch of samples with the usual pixel perfect GUI... 
 
I thought that Retro Machines 2 was trash,so that's where it ended up in no time flat ...  
 
Synthmaster is OK - I was given an NFR version - but there were so many bells and whistles that it gave me vertigo - so it's gone to soft synth heaven now...
 
There's a lot to be said for simplicity 

I do have a good laugh though when a synth has been out 5 minutes and it becomes somebody's "Go To"

Or when an old one's been declared to now be unusable :)


I did try Charlatan once, when KVR had chosen it for their One Synth Challenge. Wasn't for me. I'm more of a Fender Precision kind of guy, and more likely to use a standup acoustic bass sample than a synth for bass parts. 


Of all the synths I've heard over the past few weeks' research, my favorite so far has been Helix. Unfortunately, it appears to be abandonware. But at $149, it's not being sold at abandonware prices.

Bit , you should really consider Diva , it's excellent , easy to tweak and dammm it has a sound !!

i like also Saurus from Tone 2

And i just got Omnisphere (+ moog tribute) + Trilian : simply because you have all you need in one synth !!! from deep analog to true instruments !

I prefer the idea of expending one synth with sound than  having a lot of synth ....the trilian synths are just crazy , basses but damn good as all around synth on higher pitch !!!! lol

bitflipper


Don't those require a dongle?

I just ran the demos with no problems - maybe different if you buy ? They've only just run out, so I haven't done anything about it yet, but I thought that certainly at US prices they represent reasonable value even taking into account Steinbergs reputation. Tone 2 Saurus is quite nice too - the demo is time limited in the sense that it turns off after so long and has save disabled, but you can just fire it up again straight away if you just want to play with it and it does come back on as you left it while you are still in the same project. Bit more expensive than the Steinberg ones though.

The copy protection for Retrologue and Padshop Pro is Steinberg's soft eLicenser, IOW, a virtual dongle.

I had originally downloaded both, and tried both but focused mostly on Retrologue - not that Padshop Pro isn't nice but I instantly ended up digging Retrologue so much that I bought it almost on the spot - and just couldn't put it down since. 

I've also got a copy of Cubase on the way, so I'll have the option to further try the included Padhop and upgrade it to the Pro version in the near future if it works for me.

 Hi Dave, thanks for making the different synths little clearer. If I understand correctly the EDM synths are the basic ones that sound like 80's Casio sounds. Yea, I have no use for them. Most of my synths that I have are sample based.
 I do have one synth that I have 14 hours of the trial Access Virus that I think fits your bill but it is currently a powercore only plug I think. I don't think it's sample based but I'm completly overwhelmed by the sounds it has in it's presets. I've never heard anything like it and I'm pretty sure the devil is going to make me buy it before long. Hopefully they go native soon.

Yeh, AFAIK the only "authorized" Virus emulations are the tc powercore and a TDM version for PT. There do appear to be a few soft synths that purport to emulate the Virus, but whenever it's come up on kvr those users that actually own a real Virus loudly proclaim that it is physically impossible to emulate in software!

As an owner of almost every Virus (hardware) model ever made, I would say that it's one of the most versatile synths on the market, but certainly wouldn't be considered a non-EDM synth.  The Virus is bred for EDM and that is what most associated with.  As I said, it's packed with features, very very versatile and can be used for a wide variety of styles, but I think that the are far more suitable and cheaper options on the market, most of which have been mentioned already, for someone seeking a non-EDM synth.