KVR Audio

Lejurai · Post by **Lejurai** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 9:59 am

Ridan wrote:Where are you guys seeing Synthmaster for $79?
http://www.kv331audio.com/purchase.aspx
Very tempted to buy it..

I see an ad here at kvr saying "-25% after demoing". I don't remember what it was.. Maybe some campaing and I also used some similar "-x% after demoing" -thing and I paid about 35e of my copy of synthmaster ^^

redsunmuzik · Post by **redsunmuzik** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 11:24 am

What about Z3ta?

pdxindy · Post by **pdxindy** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 8:53 pm

EnGee wrote:
pdxindy wrote: Synthmaster more easily makes the cpu spike and so I can get crackles in situations where the average cpu level might be lower. And depending on the tools and setting you use in Synthmaster, you can hit the cpu hard too.
This was true with version 2.6 so that I sold it, but lately I demoed 2.7 and ot is very stable with lower cpu usage than before without spikes or crackles. It's now a great buy IMO. I should have been more patient and not sold it

Thanks for pointing that out... I was still on 2.6 and updated to 2.7.x and indeed you are right... the cpu spikes are gone...

Examigan · Post by **Examigan** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 9:54 pm

redsunmuzik wrote:What about Z3ta?

Z3TA+2 is sometimes on a 50% off sale, and it's not a bad synth

EnGee · Post by **EnGee** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 11:50 pm

pdxindy wrote:
EnGee wrote:
pdxindy wrote: Synthmaster more easily makes the cpu spike and so I can get crackles in situations where the average cpu level might be lower. And depending on the tools and setting you use in Synthmaster, you can hit the cpu hard too.
This was true with version 2.6 so that I sold it, but lately I demoed 2.7 and ot is very stable with lower cpu usage than before without spikes or crackles. It's now a great buy IMO. I should have been more patient and not sold it
Thanks for pointing that out... I was still on 2.6 and updated to 2.7.x and indeed you are right... the cpu spikes are gone...

You are welcome

But, I have a criticism about SynthMaster! The Comp filter in the digital section seems incomplete if I compare it with the comb filter in Blofeld (or Largo). Maybe I didn't try enough, but I couldn't see where I can spreed the 'spikes' of 'resonances'. I could only move a bunch of them left or right. I hope I'm missing something, but if not, then I hope it will be in a future update.

The other filter types are great really! Especially I liked the dual one. Very nice idea

I'm also playing with the demo of Curve 2.5 of Cableguys. I don't know how it slipped from my hands in the past! I really like it a lot. It sounds great and can produce almost everything with not much cpu! I can put it in the same league of SynthMaster really, although SynthMaster has many additional synth types, but Curve 2.5 is a fantastic synth. Probably I will buy the two! (Damn this GAS! No cure for it!).

kv331 · Post by **kv331** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 11:53 pm

pdxindy wrote:
EnGee wrote:
pdxindy wrote: Synthmaster more easily makes the cpu spike and so I can get crackles in situations where the average cpu level might be lower. And depending on the tools and setting you use in Synthmaster, you can hit the cpu hard too.
This was true with version 2.6 so that I sold it, but lately I demoed 2.7 and ot is very stable with lower cpu usage than before without spikes or crackles. It's now a great buy IMO. I should have been more patient and not sold it
Thanks for pointing that out... I was still on 2.6 and updated to 2.7.x and indeed you are right... the cpu spikes are gone...

MORE optimizations on the way, especially for the analog filter

paulmatthew · Post by **paulmatthew** » Wed Oct 07, 2015 3:44 am

Good affordable synths are Synthmaster and Sonic Academy ANA for the sound you're going for

recursive one · Post by **recursive one** » Wed Oct 07, 2015 6:31 am

This thread made me revisit Synthmaster, and it sounds much better than I remember. I mean, it does sound really good! There were some sound engine improvements at the 2.7 update, weren't they?

Or maybe I'm finally in the right mood to appreciate it's sound.

kv331 · Post by **kv331** » Wed Oct 07, 2015 1:19 pm

recursive one wrote:This thread made me revisit Synthmaster, and it sounds much better than I remember. I mean, it does sound really good! There were some sound engine improvements at the 2.7 update, weren't they?

Or maybe I'm finally in the right mood to appreciate it's sound.

Thank you! I hope we'll make it sound better!

One tip about the analog filter: Try playing with the pregain & drive parameters. they'll help you achieve really good analog sounds!

excessional · Post by **excessional** » Wed Oct 07, 2015 1:40 pm

I'd say the three best regarded that you can pick up on sales for around $50 are Synthmaster, Z3ta+2 and Air Hybrid.

Synthmaster is the standout choice really.

OP doesn't say if he's into synthesis or just wants 1000+ decent presets he can tweak a little - if the latter then Synthmaster Player is ideal and can be had as low as $10 on sale. About 1100 presets, most of them quite decent and with a dozen parameters to tweak on each - really anyone on a budget who doesn't have it should pick it up when it's on a sale.

Z3ta+3 is very solid - but development seems pretty stalled on it - it also has about 1200+ presets.

Hybrid 3 also goes on sale for $49 quite regularly (or comes free with various midi hardware from time to time).

Obviously if you program from the ground up you can make them all sound very much the same, but I do own all three and, to my ears, the presets and set up of the 3 predispose them to certain types of sound.

To my ears at least Z3ta+2 tends to have great grungy dirty low end stuff going on.
Synthmaster feels the most organic/analogue and warmest.
And Hybrid 3 sounds clean and crisp with great hi-end.

For OP's needs I'm sure any of the three will do - and Synthmaster is easily my favourite, but I'd venture to think he might really like Hybrid 3 for the types of sound he's after....

Shiosan · Post by **Shiosan** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 12:00 am

excessional wrote:OP doesn't say if he's into synthesis or just wants 1000+ decent presets he can tweak a little - if the latter then Synthmaster Player is ideal and can be had as low as $10 on sale.

I should've mentioned that. Sorry.

Personally I want something in between. I don't need 1000 presets but 5-10 solid presets is enough for me, I can then ground up and build my own sound. I just don't want clones of same sound over and over.

Since I prefers to have something not so over priced but has good balance of complexity and simplicity, Synthmaster and Zebra 2 (although it's bit out of category in terms of price, I can find some good used one if I had to) are my top choice for me. I haven't tried others, I just got a new job and going through a hellish days now...

I also noticed that most of the modular (or semi) has better filter options which is very useful for progressive house. I am quite comfortable using modular since I just came out of Reason, which whole thing is like a giant modular synth. I still need practice, but I would rather feel more "home" to it.

EnGee · Post by **EnGee** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 12:38 am

Shiosan wrote:
I should've mentioned that. Sorry.

Personally I want something in between. I don't need 1000 presets but 5-10 solid presets is enough for me, I can then ground up and build my own sound. I just don't want clones of same sound over and over.

Since I prefers to have something not so over priced but has good balance of complexity and simplicity, Synthmaster and Zebra 2 (although it's bit out of category in terms of price, I can find some good used one if I had to) are my top choice for me. I haven't tried others, I just got a new job and going through a hellish days now...

I also noticed that most of the modular (or semi) has better filter options which is very useful for progressive house. I am quite comfortable using modular since I just came out of Reason, which whole thing is like a giant modular synth. I still need practice, but I would rather feel more "home" to it.

There are many choices indeed! But let's consider budget and the kind of synthesis:

I would suggest the following as a start. It would cover many grounds.
SynthMaster Factory -> $75 (The best 'General Purpose Synth' for the money now IMO)
LinPlug Octopus -> $20 (Crazy value for money, FM Synthesis is very capable of many sounds)
-------------------------------
Total less than $100 for two synths can grow with your ability to create your own sounds

and maybe later, when another kind of sounds might be required, some of the great synths IMO for not so much money:
Steinberg Retrologue -> $50 (Great Rolandish Jupiter synth, Excellent Pads! but only installed in one computer!)
Air Loom or NI Razor or NI Massive or Waves Codex -> ? (Additive or Wavetable? Your call!
Loom is fantastic and easy to have complex sounds with the morph function. Codex has excellent 'lively' sound. It's a little bit different than other wavetables synths) All those can be own for about $50 each in Sale or from the Market Place.

D N A · Post by **D N A** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 4:29 pm

+1 for Synthmaster

Also, kvr market is great resource - for a hundred $, you can probably buy at least 2 very nice plugins

iPlogger · Post by **iPlogger** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 5:32 pm

Another vote for Synthmaster!

rod_zero · Post by **rod_zero** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 6:07 pm

If you want to learn synthesis Syntorial is other option, will teach you a lot.

What is the good "affordable" vst synth?