ORIGINAL: WhyBe

ORIGINAL: thunderkyss

well I've got a FantomS, and in another room, I've got an X8...... there are still so many things I wish they'd do, that would make them more like Softsynths....

For instance, I compose a lot in Sonar.... It would be nice, if I had a VST interface like the TI has, where the exact settings I use can be recalled from the project file...... instead of me having to write a note, saying which patch I used, or which Performance.... Then I'd be free to manage my performances/patches, independant of any project that currently sits unfinished on my hard disk.

You could always use the Sys Ex view in Sonar to dump your hardware synth state into your Sonar project. This way your hardware can be recalled to its exact state as when you were working on that particular project. It's the closest you can get to the convenience of softsynth total recall.

I've been told, but I have not been smart enough to figure that out yet.

I'm new to the music scene, but I feel it is only a matter of time until software synths take over. In my opinion, PC/Macs are extremely powerful and more than capable of pushing out what hardware synths can given the right software. As someone said, it is all software (save the few true analog synths out there).

Software synths are considerably more cheaper than the hardware synths. As the hardware synths lose market share, their prices and resulting profits will drop. They will find themselves in a position to have to compete with the software synths. As a result, you will start seeing the sounds of today's high end hardware synths end up in software. Will Roland, Korg, and others still be around? Sure they will, but they will mostly offer software synths in the future - just to stay alive. They may even dominate in the software synth market.

PCs have changed the face of many industries. The music industry is not in any way immune from the changes the PC market has made in the world.

I feel this thread has responses that are somewhat emotional. Not many people like change, and quite a few of you have been doing this for a very long time. You like the way you do things. I understand that. However, what really mandates things are consumer demand and competition. And, I'm just afraid these hardware companies will be forced in the software arena.

Issue number 102 of Computer Music magazine (July 2006) includes a number of side-by-side comparisons between freeware synths and comemrcial products. In most cases, the freeware holds its own; in one or two cases, it's ranked more highly.

There are plenty of great soft synths out there, and some of them are free. I use plenty of commercial instruments, but everyone should have Synth 1 and Crystal, to name two, in their VST Plugins folder.

As to whether software synths in general are any good -- of course they are.

Regards, Lightninrick

ORIGINAL: awilki01

I'm new to the music scene, but I feel it is only a matter of time until software synths take over.

Just what I felt when I was first exposed to NI's Generator back in the late 90s (Reaktor's ancestor). I thought it was rather funny when they released softsynths like Pro-5 and B4 a few years later and people were raving about those amazing developments when the technolgy had been there for years - Generator just wasn't stripped down and packaged as a single synth recreation with a pretty GUI - and admitedly, it was far from being user-friendly. But the essence of those synths was already in there.

Both has their pros and cons.

With 2+gig softsynths, I am hearing far more detailed sounds than most hardware (overall).

One thing hardware synth sounds tend to have though is character (I'm talking character).

My hardware sounds tend to jump out at me, hit harder etc, wheras my software sounds are more uncolored sounding. This could be a sound card issue (Layla 3g).

What's interesting is this thread kinda started as "what can I get that's like a hardware workstation like a Triton or Motif or whatever". There have been a lot of suggestions, but they are tending towards the single application/niche synth stuff - not that analogs are not cool, and not that I mean they can only sound like one thing or another, but workstation synth lovers seem to tend towards things that cover a lot of bases and do each of them pretty well - not expecting stallar all the way around, but not a slacker in every area either, like the VSC - weak everywhere.

There really aren't many "ready made" softsynth replacements, and that's why I mentioned SonikSynth2 and SampleTank as options - as well as dimension and some others. Everything else is just a lot of fiddling around to get sounds that work well together.

Just a few other thoughts. If there are others out there, I would like to know what some of them are - GM not a requirement. I know there is something in the Kompact like, right? Anyway, I looked around, checked demos, read reviews, listened to online mp3 demos, and checked out the forums for each product as well as weighing the prices and the SonicReality/IK stuff worked for me.

ORIGINAL: jlgrimes

Both has their pros and cons.

With 2+gig softsynths, I am hearing far more detailed sounds than most hardware (overall).

One thing hardware synth sounds tend to have though is character (I'm talking character).

My hardware sounds tend to jump out at me, hit harder etc, wheras my software sounds are more uncolored sounding. This could be a sound card issue (Layla 3g).

This is my main gripe with most ROMpler softsynths....the dinkies....that stale, lifeless sound. When the dinkies are conquered, I'm all in. Until then, I'm goiung to keep my eye on all the new softsynths.


I won't blame the soundcard for softsynths sounding slightly different. I record my hardware synths into my soundcard and the sound played back is exactly as what I recorded. So I don't believe the soundcard is coloring the softsynth whatsoever.

ORIGINAL: mosspa

ORIGINAL: DSandberg
... when I listened to Korg's online MP3 demos of the "virtual" Wavestation, it didn't sound even 1/10th as rich as the Wavestation EX currently sitting about three feet to my left. I was quite disappointed by those demos ... I'd much rather have heard the virtual version of some of the WS presets, for the sake of comparison.

Tell me what you want to hear and I'll gladly make you a short MP3 and send it to you. Better yet, send me a WS patch of your own unique design and tell me how to play it (or send a MIDI file).

Now that would be downright awesome. I wouldn't need to hear anything other than a couple of the default patches played on a note or a chord for some period of time (like ten seconds or so). Here are three simple examples that would tell me a lot more than Korg's demos did:

WS-EX ROM patch 1 "Deep Atmosphere" ... hold a C-D-G chord right around the middle of the keyboard and let it evolve for a little while

WS-EX ROM patch 9 "Time Traveler" ... same chord as above

WS-EX Card WPC-00PIII patch 39 "Rain Dance" ... hold a lower C note (C4) and let the percussion play for a little while, and maybe throw in a few high notes at some point

If you really do feel motivated to whip up a clip or two based on the above, you can get them to me at mystic_fm (at-sign) yahoo (period) com, and I'd be ever so grateful to receive them. (Oh how I long for the days when one could post such information plainly on a forum without fear of robots.) Or just post them somewhere and give me a link ... that works too, if it is easier for you.

I do have a question about the "virtual" Wavestation ... does it provide any ability to modify the patch while playing it in the same way as one can with the vector position joystick that the hardware keyboard has? Don't know if I could call it a Wavestation if those abilities aren't available in some way (and so I hope they are, because I'd love to have my WS sounds in the computer and not be slaved to an aging keyboard).

By the way, I should clarify something to others in this thread who seemed to take offense at my prior post: I wasn't doubting the word of others in the thread that have both instruments, and I know that online demos MAY not reflect the reality of the instrument. I was simply expressing that, having only Korg's MP3 demos to guide me, I was left with the impression that the "virtual" Wavestation didn't sound the same as my hardware. That was meant as a possible indictment of those demos, not of the word of others in this thread. I was hoping that owners would assure me that the Korg demos are not representative of the product, because I was very interested in the "virtual" Wavestation up until I heard those demos, and believe me when I say that I'd love to feel confident that I could ignore the demos and go ahead with a purchase.

- David

You can find out for yourself too.

Korg Legacy Collection Demo

There really aren't many "ready made" softsynth replacements, and that's why I mentioned SonikSynth2 and SampleTank as options

I tried SonicSynth and SampleTank - while good technology and good sounds I didn't find the sound design had the character and bite of the top "hardware" workstations. Some of the best sound designers are still working exclusively for Korg, Roland, Yamaha etc.

Strategically I think a combination of Spectrasonics (Stylus RMX drumkits, Trilogy basses) and Korg Legacy Collection would be good areas of focus for musicians interested in Tritonesque or Motifesque production. Hopefully Spectrasonics will do some Rolandesque guitars in the future.