I definitely understand that Slart, but whatever is powering the free-standing synth isn't trying to manage anything other than producing sound from the synth.  They also do have electronics in them that can influence the sounds (I've got friends that make stomp pedals and they're always going on about how using one diode over another makes a huge difference).

That said, I also realize I don't have any true analog synths (I love their sound, but not the cost, hassle, short-comings and having to tune them). 

So, I'm just curious where synth technology has gotten to and what people find is good.  And, I haven't been disappointed!  Lots of good suggestions to investigate.  I'm like Rain from the sound of it, but I also like the ability to do some EDM if I want.  I'm not looking for a synth to simply produce a nice strings sound, I'd like to be able to produce lots of fun stuff too.

I do believe that they sound different - just like an amp model from POD Farm sounds different from the exact same model on a POD. 

Whether it's the additional conversion or whatever, I have no clue. In fact, in order to get closer to the hardware using POD Farm - and other amp sims - I had to integrate a hardware compressor in the signal chain to give a bit of that bite to the sound.
Similarly, there are many cases where I actually prefer a sampled version of the synth (as long as it's properly done) to models. 

In fact, my sampler is by far the most crucial instrument in my DAW. I write entire tracks w/ nothing but EXS-24. 

On the PC, I used to rely mostly on DiscoDSP's HighLife - which was free for a while. No advanced features for multi GB libraries like scripting and such, but a more direct/old school approach.

For analogue sounds U-He's Diva really impressed me and is on my wish list.

 
This one, an analogue sounding monster with lots of modern refinements and original ideas.
 
If you only get one then go for this one.
 
For bargain basement coolness then any of the Korg legacy ones at $49 a pop are no-brainers.  I'm not so sold on the analogue ones of those but man you can get a proper M1 or Wavestation for that price and of course with the digital stuff they are indeed complete bit for bit replicas.

I'm not looking for a synth to simply produce a nice strings sound,

I am not aware of any synth that can do that in any case. Pure synthetic pseudo-strings are among the most difficult challenges. Bells and brass seem to be easier to simulate. My philosophy is that if it can be done by a performer on a wood and wire instrument, then the only excuse for trying to do it electronically is to save money. Even the best samplers/libraries (and I do not consider sample playing to be synthesis) do not have the subtlety of a good performer. It seems a major shame that given the almost infinite sonic palette available from a computer, much of the computer produced music we hear is just playback of recordings of a couple of dozen ancient instruments. 


Some interesting sounds can certainly be had by processing wave forms from sampled acoustic instruments. That is the strong point of a hybrid sampler/synth like Rapture. If you have the time and interest, programmable synths like Z3TA are much more interesting. The downside is that you tend to find all your time making sound, and less time making music.


If you have not read this free book by Simon Caan, that would be the place to start scroll down the page for the link for the free pdf. His Cakewalk Synthesizers (not free but worth the price) is the best approach to the Cakewalk synths.


http://noisesculpture.com/how-to-make-a-noise-a-comprehensive-guide-to-synthesizer-programming

Can you use a keyboard with knobs and sliders to control a softsynth's parimeters as if they were it's own?

That depends on what the knobs and sliders are controlling. Many (but not all) contemporary keyboard synths have the ability to send controller data from the device to a computer. Almost invariably control is by MIDI over either dedicated midi outputs or via midi data through a USB or other data connection. In that case the keyboard can be used as a MIDI controller, and if the softsynth is capable of accepting mapped MIDI from an external controller to the parameter you want to control, then it can be done. 

soens


I don't know anything about this, but if I may ask...

Can you use a keyboard with knobs and sliders to control a softsynth's parimeters as if they were it's own?

.

In most cases, yes.
 
For example I have my A-800 mapped to control Minimonsta. Pretty much every control in Minimonsta has an assigned cc so you can map it out however you want. There are 17 controls, not enough controls for every single parameter but you probably would not want to control everything in real time anyway. You should also be able reassign things line aftertouch to control a parameter, filter cutoff or modulation depth are the most obvious.

 

There's one more thing that affected my choice in that I looked at acquiring a few soft synths at one time and for the same price I ended up getting on the Reason path.
 
Not only did it have 3 very useful synths built in it had a complete virtual studio rack full of supporting devices which turn it into to a standalone sound designers wet dream, not only is it standalone but rewired into a DAW it becomes basically a 64 channel multi-out VST that covers pretty much all of my sound creation requirements in a single easy to use package.

Don't forget many of the synths mentioned have demo versions so you can give them a reasonable workout before deciding what to buy.

Thanks!

my stable of synths is limited.

they include:

Native Instruments Komplete: Kontakt, Battery, Absynth, Massive, FM8, Reaktor, Guitar Rig

Miroslav Orchestra

East West limited silver (free version no ilok)

A few of the cake sound packs for Sound Center

The NI Komplete is a few hundred bucks but everything else was free or just a few bucks.... ($20 or so) 

The NI Komplete is well worth the money as a great place to start and in the Komplete package you save a considerable bit of money over individual purchases.