Dr SynC

This was the first modular soft synth I ever bought, and honestly I still think it is the best. I recently bought Reaktor, which is indeed very nice and strongly supported, but SynC Modular's ability to do DSP primitives all the way down the simple math - and do so with surprisingly good performance - is unmatched.

Quite literally, you can do almost anything in SynC Modular.

Programming it is relatively complex, not even counting the fact that DSP programming itself is a black art. I have no way to judge how it compares to Reaktor in this sense, but my opinion is that SynC could have benefited from some UI improvements.

Alas, SynC is no longer supported. NI, in a brilliant move, hired Dr. Sync to work on Reaktor, thus killing the one product that really could have made a dent in Reaktor's market.

There are not as many publicly available ensembles for SynC Modular, which is a shame but is understandable given there will be no further updates to the program. So, if you want out-of-box experience, you probably will be happier with Reaktor. If you want to be able to prototype literally any DSP algorithm in a visual language, SynC is the tool for you. It's for the hardcore DSP/synthesist enthusiast, not really the general artist-public.

SynC is still my favorite soft synth, bar none. Reaktor 4 made a dent in SynC's position, but SynC still outshines it in my view.Read Review

This is a really good modular synth and deserves continued development. Unfortunately this doesn't seem likely as the principle developer is now associated with NI.
The VSTi is extremely flexible but can be a little confusing if you are not already familiar with modular synth construction/design. Because of this the quality of the GUI is really important but is let down on this level.

The quality of the sounds is excellent and the available ensembles are of a very high quality. For what you get for your money, it is an extremely worthwhile purchase.Read Review

This software is fantastic value... Provides Reaktor-like interface, but is classier and simpler in concept in several ways (eg.. to add ninth input to eight- way add in Reaktor means deleting module, creating 16-way add, and recabling all 9 sources. In Sync you just right click module, and change input no. from 8 to 9)
Also, editing goes much deeper than in Reaktor; Filters can be opened up and tweaked, or designed from scratch; in fact almost anything is possible if you know the maths!
Unfortunately some important features in Reaktor are missing from Sync; Chiefly the audio inputs, multiple audio outputs, and support for MIDI Clock (although workarounds are possible for the last one)
In my own opinion, if those last three features were added, I would buy Sync in preference to Reaktor even at the same price!
Finally, Sync has a great user support network: I have learnt lots by studying the work of some of the Sync Gurus... 10/10!Read Review

This thing is a steal for the money. I don't regret buying it. I wish there was as many users as there are for Reaktor. This thing sometimes acts strange in Orion Pro. I don't really use it at all anymore. I got it for the dx 7 emulations. If you want to create your own synths get this. If you want to start to play right out the box, and have all of your knob tweaking recorded in Orion I would not recomend this.Read Review

A deep and musical sounding modular synth. Similar to N.I. Reaktor but a bit more complex. Great if you have the time to dig deep and still worthwhile because of the terrific user base and user synths.
Rich sounding pads, impressive capabilites at modeling sound and a decent visual presentation. For the $49 USD there isn't competition. It's a shame there will be no further development. Still, SynC Modular is like a great instrument, it has lots of capabilities that make it worthwhile.

Pros: fairly low CPU useage, excellent sound and effect capabilites
Cons: no longer in development, fairly steep learning curveRead Review

I met SM at its own very beginning on the net and I've found it useful again on its competent VSTi implementation, good considering the present VSTi hosts on the market. As a tool for constructing synths on the same mood as Reaktor it's an endless world of possibilities. My rating considers it as a product itself and tries to be fair to the present standard. Considering that it has been completely developed by one person I should rate 10 in all categories. Nevertheless anyone wanting to use it should consider that making synths is not so easy (creating virtual electronic it has been hard at times for me, but it means the same difficulty than Reaktor). Since its creator abandoned its development to join NI almost a year before results a bit outdated especially compared with Reaktor3. All in all, its price makes it an unbeatable platform and the results (first class sounding synths) worth to have a try on today's 2Ghz Pentium world. The support list is great with good free synths to try.Read Review

Sync Modular is a very useful tool for creating sounds.
If I have the need of a certain sound for a VSTi or stand alone synth, ruther than waiting for one to be released and buy it I just build it myself.
Although SM doesn't come with the full potential of synthesis in the included examples, the Sync Modular forum and the links at the home page reveal a very good user base and variety of synthesys types: from FM and subtractive to wavetable and acoustic emulations (almost impossible for to do in Reactor). SM goes very deep in the structure, from the very basic building blocks, allowing user configurable oscilators,filters, EGs, LFOs, sequencers etc. If you don't like something in an ensamble just go in and modify by adding or removing objects or just deconnecting modules.
Even though the SM development has stopped, the user support is more alive than ever before and as of this writing the user base is growing also.

AdaerusRead Review

What can I say. This baby put me on the (cheap) path to Reaktor 3 when Dr Sync jumped ship to NI.

EXTREMELY deep, like Reaktor, .....probably too deep for me (got the inclination but not the time to build synths).

Sounds as good as Reaktor and fairly light on the CPU considering it's not optimised for PIII...although this obviously depends on the ensemble.

Excellent yahoo community with access to loads of ensembles.

And to think Computer Music slated it and rated it 5/10 - oh dear.


Newsflash 10/01/02.....and now just been updated to v2.21 with Audio-In module so can be used as effects plugin.

This awesome synth just got even better ;=)


swayzakRead Review