Members nat whilk II Posted June 21, 2006 Members Share Posted June 21, 2006 I know, I know...a tired topic. But new stuff keeps coming out, and the tweekers seem to be creeping up, albeit slowly, on the gap between "analog-analog" and "virtual-analog". I'm in the same position as a zillion other synth users - I have some very nice soft synths, a couple digital hardware synths, but no true analog unit. I want at least ONE true analog - mainly for bass and for running audio through the filter. None of my softsynths, and I have a decent collection, really hits the analog spot. What softsynths come the closest to holy grail of analog emulation as far as the pure sound is concerned (I don't care that much about operational aspects of emulation, and whether the softsynth has emulated scuffed tolex or cigarette burns, etc) nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nyssa_temp Posted June 21, 2006 Members Share Posted June 21, 2006 well, even analogue synths sound different, so to award the most analogue sounding softy is a bit of a task. An MS-20 sounds nothing like a Juno or Polysix and so on. There are all kinds of different ways to sound analogue, so I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J3RK Posted June 21, 2006 Members Share Posted June 21, 2006 If you want THE most analog sounding, you should pick up a Creamware Scope board. As mentioned above, the Korg Legacy collection does a pretty nice job. It sounds excellent and fairly analog, I just don't like the synths it emulates much. Timewarp is another one that is fairly faithful to what it is trying to emulate. I don't know if they fixed it or not, but I've heard complaints of aliasing. I never heard any when I was playing with it, but I was mostly making big ARPish bass sounds with it, so I wouldn't have noticed anyway. The G-Media stuff gets mixed reviews. Some people love it, and say it sounds incredibly analog. Others say it sounds plasticy. I've played with MiniMonsta and ImpOSCar a bit, and I thought they sounded excellent. (whether analog or not) I like Novation V-Station quite a bit for a simple, fixed architecture analogy subtractive. If you want the best digital recreations because you like the software work-flow, then pick up a Creamware Scope Project. For the price of a couple of premium soft-synths, you'll have 6 DSPs running the best emulations around. I believe you can still get it with the Synths and Samplers pack thrown in, which includes MiniMax among others. (around 10-15 synths if I remember correctly) They sound incredible. It's also an excellent audio interface to run your other softsynths through. There are a lot of 3rd party (even some free) synths for it as well. It also comes with Modular III, which sounds incredible. Anyway... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChipCurtis Posted June 21, 2006 Members Share Posted June 21, 2006 I have VAZ Modular (a soft modular synth), and my opinion (and the general consensus over at KVR Audio) is that it's one of the most-analog sounding softies out there. It also comes in non-modular formats such as VAZ 2010, etc. I'd also look into Minimonsta... never tried it myself but it's said to be the best of the Minimoog emulators out there. If you want to go real analog, look for a used Sequential Pro One or a Moog Prodigy... it won't set you back that much (circa $500) and they sound great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J3RK Posted June 21, 2006 Members Share Posted June 21, 2006 Originally posted by ChipCurtis I have VAZ Modular (a soft modular synth), and my opinion (and the general consensus over at KVR Audio) is that it's one of the most-analog sounding softies out there. It also comes in non-modular formats such as VAZ 2010, etc.I'd also look into Minimonsta... never tried it myself but it's said to be the best of the Minimoog emulators out there.If you want to go real analog, look for a used Sequential Pro One or a Moog Prodigy... it won't set you back that much (circa $500) and they sound great. I forgot about VAZ. I don't have a copy, but I've heard some clips from it. I agree that it sounds quite good. I wish I could find more clips from it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mytee2.0 Posted June 21, 2006 Members Share Posted June 21, 2006 ive heard timewARP and VAZ are the best NI stuff will get the job done though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J3RK Posted June 21, 2006 Members Share Posted June 21, 2006 Originally posted by myteeGTi ive heard timewARP and VAZ are the bestNI stuff will get the job done though Reaktor 5 especially. I didn't think about that one at the time. I don't know about analog emulation specifically, but R5 totally impressed me sound-quality-wise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nyssa_temp Posted June 21, 2006 Members Share Posted June 21, 2006 Originally posted by J3RK If you want the best digital recreations because you like the software work-flow, then pick up a Creamware Scope Project. Indeed! Had totally forgotten about that. Not only are the softsynths on these boards great sounding, the system as a whole is simply a pleasure to work with. All routing possibillities, mixer, FX etc. in nearly one interface (at least in split-screen :-). This is the bomb when it comes to virtual patching. Havent got it myself, unfortunately, but my studio buddy does and have had for years. And to go all the way, one should get the dedicated controller for the Minimax which also functions as a standalone synth. Totally integrated! (yes I nicked that from the newest Virus range, but I just find that phrase so goddamn funny!) I also agree on TimewARP. Its true to the original 2600, and sounds a GREAT deal better than Autoria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MuzikB Posted June 21, 2006 Members Share Posted June 21, 2006 Wayoutware's TimewARP2600 Korg Legacy Collection MS-20 Muon Software's Tau 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nat whilk II Posted June 22, 2006 Author Members Share Posted June 22, 2006 Lots of good suggestions with a fair amount of consensus, which I didn't expect. Craig A has been touting the Creamware stuff for a while now, but it's a bit pricey. I also can't help but wonder about future support for a PCI board. I have a Korg Oasys card that I have to run in an old PC on Win98 because driver development was axed. I downloaded the TimeWarp 2600 demo. Wow, a bit of a puzzle working out the signal flow - I don't mind but it's a different kind of beast from what I'm used to, since my first synth was a K2000. A little buggy, too maybe - at least on my system running it as a VST under Sonar 4. Crashed my system twice - and once I got tons of noise when I upped the voices above 1. The noise went away after a reboot/reload. Lots of presence, heft, and bite to the sound - that's part of what I miss in the softsynths I have. And the filters and oscs are really smooth - another thing I'm looking for. Thanks for the tips. I'm surprised no one has weighed in yet with "you're wasting your time - buy an analog if you want analog". nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mildbill Posted June 22, 2006 Members Share Posted June 22, 2006 you're wasting your time - buy an analog if you want analog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J3RK Posted June 22, 2006 Members Share Posted June 22, 2006 MuzikB's mention of Tau reminds me that AudioRealism's Bassline plugin is about as true to what it emulates as it gets. Like in the class of the Creamware stuff. Amazing little VST. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MuzikB Posted June 22, 2006 Members Share Posted June 22, 2006 Originally posted by J3RK MuzikB's mention of Tau reminds me that AudioRealism's Bassline plugin is about as true to what it emulates as it gets. Like in the class of the Creamware stuff. Amazing little VST. But do you need that synth SO dead on that your willing to pay $126.00 for it? If it sold for half that, I'd buy it but $126.00 for a software TB-303? Come on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J3RK Posted June 22, 2006 Members Share Posted June 22, 2006 Originally posted by MuzikB But do you need that synth SO dead on that your willing to pay $126.00 for it?If it sold for half that, I'd buy it but $126.00 for a software TB-303? Come on. Well, seeing how a 303 goes for what $1000-$1500ish these days, and Bassline is closer than many hardware emulations, yes, it is totally worth anything in that general range. It sounds a quite a bit better than Tau (if one were to ask me.) I've used Tau quite a bit, and it just doesn't respond the same way. Also its square wave isn't the hollow boosted sawtooth style. (or if it is, it just doesn't sound right) The sequencer on Bassline is far better than the real thing to, yet retains all the important parts, like the accent and slide functionality, and how they effect the filter. I could never get Tau to sound exactly the way I wanted it to. It sounds good, just not as much like a 303. I'm all for innovation, but I've always liked acid tracks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J3RK Posted June 22, 2006 Members Share Posted June 22, 2006 Originally posted by Plastic Baby + eleventy twenty If its real analog you want you ain't going to beat the real thing, a cheetah ms6 module or oberheim matrix 1000 will provide scrumptious analog niceness at low budget prices, if thats what you want. If you went software for the work-flow though, finding something to approximate analog when you need it is a bit more important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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