bitflipper

Meanwhile, I'm downloading synth demos like a desperate speed-dater. Diva ate my CPU and then smugly issued an unlady-like belch.

What was said regarding the quality settings is absolutely true.  You'd have to have a pretty ancient POS for DIVA to swamp your CPU at the lowest setting.  Yes, you can hear a difference between Draft and the second from the top setting (don't recall it's name), but I could hear no difference between the top two.
 
As long as you're in synth-audition mode, don't overlook u-he's other masterpiece, Zebra 2.  That one is on a lot of folk's top five list, including my own.

I like Zebra a lot. I have Zebralette, the trimmed-down teaser version. I've done entire songs with it, and they sound good - in a 1970's JM Jarre sort of way. But that isn't really my style. I'm more likely to use synths in such a way that you might not even notice they're in there unless you're listening closely. Kinda hard to hide Zebra.

I did hear a lot of potential in Diva, and intend to re-install the demo for another go, now that I know about the quality setting.

I feel your pain Bitflipper, if I hear another synth demo or programming tutorial of an incredibly complex synth engine, and then demonstrating how to do "wobble" sounds I'm going to scream.

What a rediculous question.
 
Every synth I've seen recommended here I've heard used in an EDM context.
 
Cryo made a good point about a synth being bred for EDM and it also being very versatile regardless, but I can't for the life of me think of a 'non-EDM' synth.
 
You choose a synth on the basis you can get the sounds you want from it surely.
 
I'm gonna go for a non-Jazz trumpet next or maybe a rock-less guitar.
 
Non-EDM synth....lol.  No wonder the kids cringe at us old farts.
 
Seems more like an image based question from someone who wants to come across as a 'seat of the pants' bush pilot rather than a more seemingly sissy airline captain to me.
 
In which case, forget Chromaphone and get Tassman from the same company.  It's the nearest ITB thing to a modular synth setup and covers pretty much all the ground you can get from a rake of different VST's, you could probably earn a degree by learning how to tame the beast but it's all there.  It is a monster and will give you the real 'seat of the pants' experience.
 
Spend some time with it and get past the ubiquitous super-saw presets that sell most synths these days and you'll get pretty much anything you want out of it.
 
You'll get real 'Man' points for mastering that one and probably any sound you can get from Chromaphone as well into the bargain.  Man, it probably even burns diesel and leaks oil when it's running too. How cool is that?

Well, if I was after "man points" then the synth for me would have to be FabFilter's Twin 2. The depth of that synth is scary. The only thing I see that's missing is the ability to import samples as an alternative to standard oscillator waveshapes.

It may indeed by a "rediculous" premise. Of course, any synth is capable of broader applications than its online demos and factory presets might suggest. However, features and ergonomics will be skewed toward a particular market segment. Recreate Tomita's "Snowflakes are Dancing" with any of the synths featured in KVR's one-synth-challenge series and I'll consider that proof I'm wrong.

I get what you are saying to a degree I guess they are all pitched at the market that is likely to produce the biggest return for the vendor regardless of the underlying capabilities of the synth.
 
 
Listen to some of Wookiees music he gets some great vintage vibes out of the stuff he uses and he's got a great talent for getting different sounds working together to make a whole.  He's got a good example up in the Songs forum just now.  I'm pretty sure he uses some of the Arturia stuff. 
 
I do find though the more time you spend understanding a few synths well the easier it becomes to unravel the challenges of getting that right sound and moreover looking for the actual capabilities you are after starts to make more sense.
 
I still stand by the recommendation of Tassman especially if it is still going for the $99 it was offered for awhile back.
 
 

For me Chromaphone was one of those instruments whose demo sounded way better than actually trying to work with the thing.  I'm sure you can get very good sound from it.  But it sure sounds tinky up close and personal. 

Agree about "Snowflakes..."  what an accomplishment.  And to think of when it was done and what Tomita had to work with.  Just flabbergasting.  I still have my t-shirt that came with my album.  It, of course, doesn't come close to fitting me now tho;-)

Snowflakes was entirely Moog, apart from a few effects and stuff. My first venture into Isao Tomita music was Firebird. It was Isao that turned me on to Debussy, Mussorgsky and Stravinsky. Up until then I would only listen to Planet Suite and I only picked up on that when I went to the London Planetarium in 1971 (I was eleven) with school. My classical tastes are still a bit limited though.

I'm sorry you don't rate Chromophone. I'm having a ball with it. I've been experimenting with automating some of the many parameters, which sounds great, to my ears. And I generally turn off all of the synths internal effects and apply my own reverbs, delays and stuff.

One thing I like about all of the A|A|S stuff is that they utilise physical modelling and I think is it that that makes their synths that little bit different.

As for ditching Chromophone and just using Tassman, I'd rather not. I agree, that Tassman is the father of all the A|A|S synths and can do everything the other synths of theirs can do. But I'd rather stick to Chromophone and Ultra Analog knowing that the interfaces and sound options are simplified to deliver what one expects, if you know what I mean. I just don't want to spend the time building modules and what have you in Tassman. I have the whole gamut of A|A|S synths by the way...

I got Komplete 8 when I got Sonar X1 and I kinda agree that the synths on the surface seem more geared toward techno stuff.  I've had to dig really deep into FM8, Reaktor, etc to get some normalish sounds out of them.

I recently got Omnisphere since so many here keep mentioning it.  So far it has been the best synth to play with and the sounds are so great.  purtting the sounds into the mix seems key, burying the sounds or layering things on top really helps.

I recently bought Alchemy.  1st day I wasn't impressed with the sound patches, but using Alchemy and playing with all the settings really changed things up.  it's a tweaker toy less a patch player, though it does that well too.  really have to turn the knobs and play to it going.  which is fun but so far not my go to synth.

I got Rapture and Zeta 2 and Dimension Pro which have some use but so far they are okay.

So far Omnisphere has just been fun to play with and the sounds are so well done, layering and playing really makes some interesting sounds.  I haven't gotten bored playing with Omni, just jam for hours playing and tweaking. 

after reading all the posts I don't really se what your hunting exactly for.  you have some of the best toys on the block.  what are you trying to hunt down that your not finding?