Favorite soft synths?

[bill5]

Off the top for me:

FB3300
EZKeys
Absynth

Eyeing Zebra and Serum which I hear good things about. Need good presets though (which is why Massive will never make my list). Also this does not include "specialty" synths which are not really general, broad synths but have a niche sound etc.

[kbeaumont]

Omnisphere 2
KV331 Audio SynthMaster
Mainstage built-in synth Alchemy

On IOS:
Sunrizer
Magellan
Animoog
Thor
Polysix
Korg Module

[JazzMastaJim]

My top 4:
- Proteus VX: I don't always use it in the final mix (although sometimes I use a couple tracks), but it's great for quickly putting together a rough arrangement while composing.
- PG-8X: I still love my Roland JX-8P's pads and other sounds, but my physical instrument is getting very old (1984) and it's not always convenient to pull it out of the case & set it up for recording. The PG-8X VSTi is the next best thing, as its sound is basically indistinguishable from the keyboard's.
- Ample Guitar: Astounding acoustic guitar simulation. This and my Jupiter-50 together cover 90% or my guitar tracks.
- EZ Drummer: Does a drum module count? As realistic-sounding as perhaps anything else in its class, and much easier than trying to record an actual drum set -- especially since I'm a keyboardist!

[Phil O'Keefe]

I'll start with my iPad... maybe I'll come back later to post the ones on my DAW...

I've purchased others, but I have the following currently installed on my iPad. Ones that are listed in bold are the ones I tend to use the most...

Arturia iSpark
iMPC
iPolysix
Odyssei
Arturia iSEM
iProphet
Z3TA+
EHX Mini Synth
Sensual Sax
Syntronik
iMini


Sensual Sax looks as cheesy as they come, but it is actually really good - they took the complaints I had in my review and fixed them all, making it an excellent V.I. for use with a MIDI wind controller.

[bill5]

- Ample Guitar: Astounding acoustic guitar simulation. This and my Jupiter-50 together cover 90% or my guitar tracks.
- EZ Drummer: Does a drum module count?

No, and neither does Ample stuff. Soft synth, not guitar/drum VSTi. (I agree about both being good though)

[Music Bird]

Synth1: I use this one a lot
blooo: I use this one a lot too
Dexed: nice DX7 emulation, which isn’t dated, especially the harmonica and e. piano sounds which I use all the time!
PG8X: I like the brass section sounds, I don’t even think they’re dated!
Musyng Kite Standard Drums VST: yeah I use this for drums, even though they cut through too well and sound really live
Tyrell-N6: same with PG8X, I replace all horns in a midi with this stuff and Synth1 or Dexed.
MinimogueVA: don’t use it as much, but it’s great as well.
SQ8L: like this one as well, unique presets and sound design.
FB-3100/3200/3300: nice for anything except bass, weak on bass.
scrooo: some nice sound designs for this. I’ve gotten a nice tuba sound out of it.
Arppe2600 VA: nice one as well
TAL-Uno-62: I think it sounds just as good as an old Juno.
TAL-Elek7ro and TAL-Noisemaker: nice bass and lead machines
Phutura: once you get into sound design on this one, you can get past the EDM/rave presets.
Anything else by Full Bucket Music, and anything by GTG and Elektrostudio is worth mentioning too. OP-X Pro is on my list!

[moogerfooger]

moog model 15
moog model D
iSEM
MS 10
poly 6

[bill5]

Synth1: I use this one a lot
Dexed: nice DX7 emulation, which isn’t dated, especially the harmonica and e. piano sounds which I use all the time!

These are 2 of the few I've tried that I didn't like...Synth1 I can't get past the ridiculous 80s look and feel, which is dumb, it shouldn't matter, working on that...and Dexed I just thought brought nothing special at all to the table and I thought the presets were weak (preset jockey here). I'll have to re-look at the EP and harmonica. I have no problem having a "niche" soft synth for a particular sound.

[Tullsterx]

Sylenth1 - I run two instances of this
NI FM8
TyrellN6

Those are pretty much the only synths I use. The rest of my setup are sample players (Sample Tank, NI Vintage Organs) or modeled pianos.

[Ed A.]

Apple's Logic Pro/MainStage: Sculpture, Alchemy, RetroSynth,
AAS Chromaphone 2.

[koolkat]

VB3 II organ
Ample Sound bass
Lounge Lizard EP's
AAS (various synths)
Acoustic Samples KontraBass

[Tullsterx]

In my live rig I use:

IK Multimedia Total Workstation Bundle,
NI Vintage Organs,
NI Scarbee Vintage Keys;
Tyrell N6,
Sylenth1 x 2,
XLN Addictive Keys,
NI FM8

Sylenth is by far my fav. But I use FM8 and Tyrell N6 for some things, usually during some song where I'm using my 2 instances of Sylenth for something else. The IK Multimedia stuff, Sample Tank and Sonic Synth have some good stuff if you start digging around, but those are samples. I use those for quite a few things as well. Plus I layer them all together at times to get really deeply layered and nuanced textures if necessary.