What are your current 3 favorite component modeled VA synthesizers?

VST, AU, AAX, CLAP, etc. Plugin Virtual Instruments Discussion
RELATED
PRODUCTS

Post

Oh yes, it's time for another "what are your favorite" post on KVR. :hihi:

Anways I'll get the ball rolling..

Mine are (in no particular order) are these.

Image

Fxpansion Strobe - Whenever I need a quick VA sound I often reach for this simple synthesizer. If you dig a bit deeper you'll find that it can cover quite a range of sounds when you start using the transmod system. I often find that Strobe can hold its own in a busy mix which is always nice. Anyhow it's a great one and definitely a synthesizer I'll never be selling! I think the first thing i thought of when testing this was that the presets reminded me of sounds I heard out of classic 90's electronic dance records and that was a good thing! I usually don't use the Fusor instrument but when I do i sometimes like using 3 instances of Strobe to create some very big sounds..

Image

Diva - I was a bit skeptical that U-he could pull this off, but they did and now I am pretty much a believer in their modelling abilities. Nothing sounds as lush as Diva when it comes to polyphonic synthesizer sounds, and the first preset you play called "deep space diva" is proof. The filters in this actually do scream and self resonate very nicely and there is no stepping in the filters at all. I'm not so sure i could make A/B comparisons on the individual components to see if they hold up to their real world counterparts, but i don't really use diva for recreating vintage classics. I really enjoy diva because i can make Frankenstein synthesizers of my own using their parts :borg: ! One thing i often test with VA synthesizers is how nice the free running oscillators sound on their own without any FX or filtering and Divas oscillators really sound "alive" much like a analog synthesizer. I have got the chance to play with a Moog Voyager and i did those same listening tests on that and I found that Diva can mimic the behavior of analog components very well.

Image

Saurus - I owned this at one point and sold it, regretted selling it and now I'll be buying it again next. I'm not a Tone2 fanboy by any means and quite often i think their marketing is a bit of a joke. However there is something pretty special about Saurus and I think it can hold its own quite well. I would not say it models any particular vintage synthesizer really well but like Strobe it seems to excel at capturing the "essence" of old synthesizers. It also seems to hold its own very well in the modern VA department as well and can create very good EDM style electro bass and lead sounds. Again I don't think it really mimics or emulates any one particular synthesizer well but for what it can do it does it very well. One of the nicest things about this is that it is very CPU friendly so you can easily use multiple instances of Saurus for backing tracks without having to freeze them and this is always welcome for me as I don't like freezing while I'm jamming.


Anyhow I'm interested to read what others have picked lately. :tu:
Last edited by V0RT3X on Sat Oct 25, 2014 11:53 pm, edited 2 times in total.
:borg:

Post

DCAM: Synth Squad and U-He DIVA for sure. Don't know about Saurus.
AIR Vacuum Pro, AAS Ultra Analog 2, Fabfilter Twin 2 are worth considering.
My latest crazy track "The Quick Brown Fox sampled the Lazy Dog": http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 4&t=425647
15 Free DIVA Presets: http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 8#p5892108

Post

Synchanter wrote:DCAM: Synth Squad and U-He DIVA for sure. Don't know about Saurus.
+1 on this. Would put Rob Papen Predator as my #3.

Post

Synchanter wrote:DCAM: Synth Squad and U-He DIVA for sure. Don't know about Saurus.
AIR Vacuum Pro, AAS Ultra Analog 2, Fabfilter Twin 2 are worth considering.
I see the AAS Ultra Analog 2 show up quite often, i might have to demo it.

**Updated**

Well i demoed it, and tbh I didn't really like it. First off it sounds like there is some kind of brickwall limiter on the output so the sound that comes out on louder patches sounds squashed. I can't find a way to turn that off..

Next off the resonance in this sounds really "sharp" and not in a very convincing way either. Maybe i'm just spoiled with the likes of Diva and Cytomic the Drop. I really thought the layout was nice, but the GUI screams for a resizing option!

It's not bad, but I wouldn't be reaching for this over something like Synthsquad or Diva for realistic analog synthesis emulation. The oscillators sound pretty good though, they sure did a good job with that!
Last edited by V0RT3X on Sat Oct 25, 2014 9:08 pm, edited 2 times in total.
:borg:

Post

AAS Ultra Analog VA-2 is my low CPU solution for Diva, (they share a common sound character in many respects). And it's usually the first I open and use for straight analog. (I haven't made the jump to buy Diva - just play with the demo still).

Post

LuSH-101, ACE, Diva. (and Loomer Aspect!!!!!) 8)

Post

Diva, Synth Squad, Monark

Saurus I like the feature set, but the sound is not there for me. IMO, it needs an HQ mode. It's currently like a draft mode... works fine for some stuff but falls apart for others.

An analogue synth never aliases... to me then, that needs to be one of the marks of a good emulation, that it is hard to make it alias.

Post

TAL's Bassline-101. Just that.

I like Monark though, just never use it.

Post

Diva and Strobe.. yes!
Saurus.. hmm... I own it but rarely use it. Something I don't like with the sound, IMO it's a bit too generic for a "true analog" synth. I have always the feeling with Tone2 synth there is some psycho-acoustic effect/enhancer added instead of some deep modelling of analog behavior. The good thing is only the low resource usage.

Post

Xils 4, PolyKB II, Syn'X. They dont cover all my needs though so I'll add Monark, Aalto, ImpOscar, SEM V, Ultra Analog ( Doesnt sound that analog btw, but can make pretty unique things I like ), and the Korg LCAE. Syn'X has vintage DCOs also, so thats also a very specific sound.
http://www.lelotusbleu.fr Synth Presets

77 Exclusive Soundbanks for 23 synths, 8 Sound Designers, Hours of audio Demos. The Sound you miss might be there

Post

pdxindy wrote:Diva, Synth Squad, Monark
Those three get my vote as well, but Saurus would be a close runner-up.
Logic Pro | PolyBrute | MatrixBrute | MiniFreak | Prophet 6 | Trigon 6 | OB-6 | Rev2 | Pro 3 | SE-1X | Polar TI2 | Blofeld | RYTMmk2 | Digitone | Syntakt | Digitakt | Integra-7

Post

4damind wrote:Diva and Strobe.. yes!
Saurus.. hmm... I own it but rarely use it. Something I don't like with the sound, IMO it's a bit too generic for a "true analog" synth. I have always the feeling with Tone2 synth there is some psycho-acoustic effect/enhancer added instead of some deep modelling of analog behavior. The good thing is only the low resource usage.
Yah i have noticed something very unique about the tone2 sound, i wonder if maybe there are parts of AkustiX implemented in Saurus and their other synthesizers?

I personally like the generic tone of saurus and i think it makes a decent bread and butter style VA. Yes I don't think it is anywhere as convincing as DIVA or synthsquad in the actual modelling department, but i guess i like it because it's a nice mix of modern and vintage. My most liked aspect of Saurus is definitely the low CPU usage!
pdxindy wrote:Diva, Synth Squad, Monark

Saurus I like the feature set, but the sound is not there for me. IMO, it needs an HQ mode. It's currently like a draft mode... works fine for some stuff but falls apart for others.

An analogue synth never aliases... to me then, that needs to be one of the marks of a good emulation, that it is hard to make it alias.
I don't think i've ever heard drastic aliasing in saurus at least not when I owned it. It might have also been because I never really pushed it for anything other than basic sounds. Yes higher oversampling options would be nice!

Someone mentioned that Saurus has 2x oversampling built into some of the modules so maybe it only happens when you run it at low sample rates?
Last edited by V0RT3X on Fri Oct 24, 2014 8:56 pm, edited 2 times in total.
:borg:

Post

You don't mention if they are your fave bought or free synths :wink:
Anyway here are mine:
Bought - Xils3 LE and TAL Bassline 101.
Free - Synth-1
:tu: All is good

Post

TAL 101

Thats it. Its the only one i have physically A/B'd. Its very close.

Lots of stuff prob sounds quite close, but there's more to it than the sound. Its about the physical interaction. The fun factor!

Currently im only playing a guitar....

Post

V0RT3X wrote: Yah i have noticed something very unique about the tone2 sound, i wonder if maybe there are parts of AkustiX implemented in Saurus and their other synthesizers?
After watching this video, i would definitely say yes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ402ruluRo

I wasn't aware of AkustiX before, but it reminds me much of "that" Tone2 sound, so i figure they have those effects in most if not all of their synths too.

Post Reply

Return to “Instruments”