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Post by mobeach on Mar 4, 2014 17:23:27 GMT -6
What is your favorite synth and why? Do you feel one is good for strings while others are better for brass, woodwinds etc?
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Post by popmann on Mar 4, 2014 18:32:26 GMT -6
You need to be specific. Nothing I call a synth is good for anything acoustic....you mean virtual instruments?
I have the best brass and strings I can find. The horns are still, frankly for mock ups....Mojo Horns in Kontakt. I'm torn since the real ones don't sound ALL that different than the mockups I send in many cases...but, then....they DO...anyway--I bought VSL Chamber and Solo strings because they're barre none the best for pop (small ensemble) strings. They're stupid amounts of money. But, at the same time...You won't get a single tune cut with a small section for the price, so...there are others that do the big sweeping orchestral strings fine enough. But, my benchmark for pop string arranging is Eleanor Rigby and some David Campbell stuff--none huge orchestras. Even using the "best" of those makes a pop song sound cheesy.
I've got one on the DAW right now (personal) that is gonna need horns. I'm trying to get this one to turn a profit...so...we'll see if I can live with the Mojos...maybe hire in a sax, since it has a big counter melody line in the arrangement.
But, mainly, I'd say if you're not well versed enough in arranging for strings and horns....save the money...having "sounds" is mostly meaningless unless you know how to arrange them and program them to sound real. 90% of the "fake sounding" (ie distracting) sounds on home recordings have little to do with the sound itself. More to do with people plugging in notes with a mouse or playing chords on a keyboard. Also know that you WILL have to program--lots of manipulating controllers with the mouse, keyswitching, etc-- to make it sound real. the cheaper ones are actually better for just stabbing at some chords quickly, IME.
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Post by mobeach on Mar 4, 2014 20:31:37 GMT -6
Hardware keyboards/synths. I have an old Korg X3, pretty nice strings and ambient orchestral sounds. Besides that I use soft synths.
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Post by drbill on Mar 4, 2014 21:07:38 GMT -6
Hardware? Prophet 5
Software? Omnisphere
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Post by mobeach on Mar 4, 2014 21:13:39 GMT -6
+1 on the Omnisphere! I also have an NI Komplete bundle. Akoustik Piano has some nice sounds, and of course there's Massive, FM8 and Absynth.
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Post by joseph on Mar 5, 2014 0:05:54 GMT -6
What is your favorite synth and why? Do you feel one is good for strings while others are better for brass, woodwinds etc? If you want realistic you should look at kontakt eg berlin woodwinds and cinebrass. If you want traditional synth sounds then there are a lot of options, from vintage arp, oberheim (obx famous brass and xpander) and sequential circuits (prophet, pro one early 80s soundtrack for instance) to new moog/oberheim/korg. They are all different, so you will have to decide which tone and personality suits your music and budget best. There are late 70s stringer/ensemble synths as well. |
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Post by popmann on Mar 5, 2014 0:22:45 GMT -6
I've never been much of a synth guy. But, I've owned like 9 million for the emulations of other things.  I've consolidated now to just a Korg Kronos. I sampled in a bunch of custom pads from my D70 and Gigastudio eras....so, I have all my custom old sounds...plus the Kronos....plus a USB connection to a MBAir that I can run software on. I've yet to do much more than run a Kontakt instance for Mojo Horns, though. I tested running VSL--seemed to be fine, but we will see when I go to actually try to do a full arrangement on it. Anyway--audio of the software stuff comes out the Kronos's nice sounding outs. Kronos+Mojo+VSL VIPro2...that's my digital kit now...Yamaha wire and wood...Hammond C3 and 122...if the Kronos were to belly up, I think I'd just buy a nice old Wurli--that tends to be most of what I use it for--it's dedicated EP engine is the best hard OR soft I've ever played. So, a few years ago, the choice was do I want to buy a nice Rhodes and Wurli, pimp their action and keep them tuned...and still have to have my old Kurzweil as a controller, or just bite the bullet and get the Kronos that I would sample in my old pad synth stuff, use as controller, AND a nice feeling keybed for EPs.... As a side note--I've been doing writing demos in it, too...which has turned out to be really fun and quick. No need to turn on the big DAW...just fire up a drum beat in the Kronos and start laying audio and MIDI...nice sounding unit. Dangle the sm7 off the back...go to town. |
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Post by nico on Mar 18, 2014 5:56:55 GMT -6
Hardware : Roland Jupiter 8 : does it all ( mono, poly, unison, arpeggio, pads, strings, leads, basses, sfx ....) too bad the price is up there with vintage U47 etc....also the Nord Lead 2, still a fav here for stabs, arps, leads, strings
Software : Diva from u-He, couldn't believe the sound when I hit a 4 note chord, nor could my CPU! ( cpu hog )
If you're looking for categories ( my preference here, not " the best " )
Brass : oberheims, jupiter 8, jx3p, juno106
Woodwinds: Moog Mini ( sweet square with a bit of noise thrown in and let the analogue old models take care of the pitch unstability which can be aŵesome ), jupiter 8
Strings: ARP Solina, Jupiter 8, juno106
Bass: SH101, Moog Mini, Jupiter8
Leads: Moog Mini
Pads: Jupiter 8
Regards,
Nico
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2014 11:21:26 GMT -6
mojo sounds terrible. WIVI is where it's at.
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Post by jazznoise on Mar 18, 2014 14:38:58 GMT -6
I, in general, like the Korg series. MS-20, Mono/Poly and the Polysix are 3 great staple synths.
But then I like my "vintage" not-quite-synth-but-not-an-acoustic-instrument stuff too. Arp String Ensemble, Mellotron, those cheap italian organs. My Casio SK-1 is great for messed up, crude sampling
I have a good few Clav and Rhodes emulations - none of them make me an A1 keyboard player, sadly.
If you're just looking to play, it's gotta be an Arp 2600..or Max MSP.
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Post by nico on Mar 18, 2014 17:13:04 GMT -6
+1 on Polysix jazznoise, completely forgot about that one, it is awesome for basses/pads and the arpeggiator is yummy + very easy to program/get to gripes with |
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Post by jazznoise on Mar 18, 2014 18:13:40 GMT -6
I forgot the Juno 106. I use the TAL VSTi of it - if you want bright/crunchy synth sounds, or even just the chorus effect, it's perfect. nico - the Mono/Poly let's you sequence each of the 4 voices. It's a really interesting effect and means you can make you some really rhythmic accents. |
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Post by jimwilliams on Mar 19, 2014 11:26:46 GMT -6
The one with the broken power switch.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2014 14:39:07 GMT -6
Yeah, Mono/Poly was great for rhythmic sounds!
For the hands-on feeling with wicked digital sounds i love the JD-800 still, crazy machine.
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Post by bentley on Mar 21, 2014 17:28:48 GMT -6
Do I have to pick just one???
Not sure that I really have a favorite for anything but always tend to play pads on the Juno 106, JP-8000, or Virus. If I need more realistic sounds I'll go for whatever I have ITB but most all of my stuff is electronic. I seem to be using the modular for most of my bass these days.
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Post by mobeach on Mar 22, 2014 5:53:23 GMT -6
I'm sure most keyboardists have a favorite for strings, another for pads, another for piano samples etc..
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Post by henge on Mar 22, 2014 6:38:47 GMT -6
Zebra is what I have installed for quick synth stuff and I think it sounds great. Not a ton of sounds like Omnisphere but the ones that are there sound great and are extremely usable imo.
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Post by mobeach on Mar 22, 2014 8:04:28 GMT -6
I like Akoustic Piano by Native Instruments, Bosendorfer, Bechstein, Steinway with choices of studio, Jazz club, Cathedral and Concert hall. Nice sounding reverbs and EQ built into the program as well.
Ultimately I would like a Kurzweil PC3K8, awesome machines.
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Post by henge on Mar 22, 2014 8:10:05 GMT -6
I like Akoustic Piano by Native Instruments, Bosendorfer, Bechstein, Steinway with choices of studio, Jazz club, Cathedral and Concert hall. Nice sounding reverbs and EQ built into the program as well. Ultimately I would like a Kurzweil PC3K8, awesome machines. Check out Imperfect Samples Steinway and Upright. Excellent pianos...best soft pianos I've used. |
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