Interesting. I'll definitely be sure to check those out. Man... they really gave me a LOT of synths. So many I apparently can't keep track of them all. lol
 
Thanks, all.

Rapture with the (free) Muz3um expansion pack installed.

Ya beat me too it @b rock :)
 
Muz3um has a bunch of Moogs (and Moog Arps) and is available for Rapture (as above) ... and Z3TA+2!
The Z3TA+2 version goes even further including the Original Muz3em and 540 new patches that take advantage of Z3TA+2 features
Z3TA+2 Muz3um (free)

duplicate entry of above (somehow(?)) - editted out

These muz3um patches being referred to... they sound awfully familiar. Is it possible it's one of the free downloads Cake tosses into my account every so often or got included with one of my Sonar/included synth downloads? Or is this something that is strictly available on a third party site?
 
Anyway... just watching a bunch of vids on the included synths to get an idea of what's what. The Pentagon does seem to be able to get that old analog type sound and does indeed look to be a good synth to learn about stuff as a synth n00b. I also forgot it could be used as a vocoder which is cool. I'm kind of wondering what it could do to an electric bass track as a vocoder.
 
Thanks for all the insights, guys. Cheers.

MinimogueVA is freeware, and a pretty rendition of a Minimoog.
 
I used it for quite a long time, but it IS 32-bit, and therefore you can sometimes get BitBridge weirdness when using it in a 64-bit Sonar install.
 
BUT, if you use it in a 32-bit install of Sonar, it sounds fabulous, particularly for free.
 
They also have an ARP2600VA as well, which is a free rendition of an ARP2600 - it too is 32-bit.
 
I would vouch for these 2 synths, used in a 32-bit Sonar, and potentially used with JBridge.  (I began to have enough instances of weirdness using them in 64-bit Sonar with BitBridge that I stopped doing so.  BUT, I never had those problems using either one in a 32-bit Sonar).
 
I have subsequently bought the Arturia V Collection, which comes with crazy good Moog synths, along with a total of something like 8-9 synths.  I caught them on a 50% sale, I think it was $150.
 
Bob Bone
 

+1 for MinimogueVA.
 
I also like this guy's stuff:  memorymoon.com (although it's not free, it's still pretty inexpensive).

Also Craig Anderton's Minimoog Tribute: Rapture Expansion Pack from the Cakewalk Store.
Down from $49 to $9.95 at present.
 

 

I can really, really recommend getting a "knobby" basic synth to learn synthesis on. Alternatively, a properly mapped controller with a layover of the knobs/sliders meanings will help a ton. It will help to make sense of things waaaaayyy faster than clicking around with the mouse might. I hadn't realized you're new to synthesis as a whole, I wouldn't recommend Z3TA+ in that case, cause it kind of assumes you know what all the "building blocks" mean.

Also, the "Synth Secrets" series done by Sound on Sound is GREAT if you want to learn what's what in synthesis, even just reading the first few articles should help tremendously. Google them, they're free.

Great stuff. I'm glad I posted this because I'm definitely finding lots of cool stuff to look at based on the suggestions here. I am very much a synth beginner so I don't really have the benefit of having worked with the gear as it all evolved over the past 30 years or so which makes it very intimidating to look at these crazy thingies on my computer. So yeah... I am liking the looks of the Pentagon because I'm guessing it is laid out like an older hardware synth (but a complex one) with similar controls.
 
I'll be looking into those SOS columns as well. I catch on to stuff quickly but when you have no idea where to start it can be tricky especially when you are a couple decades behind the times. lol
 
Cheers.