Serum vs Dune 2

[mutantdog]

Comparisons between Massive and Serum are justified. Both have wavetables with position knobs. Both excel in nasty inharmonic sounds. Both have a drag-to-destination modulation. There are others. But they are also very different beasts, Massive contains more flexible routing, additional FM/RM/PM features, some of the most distinctive filters in dubstep and drum & bass. Its also a lot easier on the CPU and both synths take a very different approach to unison than each other. There's more I'm sure.

If you like Massive, then Serum will certainly have an appeal. But Massive is still a very capable synth in its own right, perhaps you're looking for something different, more in the VA realm. In this case, perhaps Dune2 is the way to go then.

[V0RT3X]

You can do stuff like this in Serum, which is currently not possible in Dune2.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJG_emYa_Kk

[Igro]

Some folks are desperate tweakers. They never agree to the sound they want. They are constantly making/adding little changes thinking it is better than a few minutes ago. If you are one of those (or a psycho-perfectionist), avoid Serum (and any synth with wide wave-shaping capabilities).

[musiclover55547]

Some folks are desperate tweakers. They never agree to the sound they want. They are constantly making/adding little changes thinking it is better than a few minutes ago. If you are one of those (or a psycho-perfectionist), avoid Serum (and any synth with wide wave-shaping capabilities).

I could not agree with you more. I posted this in a thread that focused on AUs (Mac) Modular:

"Modular evokes thoughts of endless tweaking & refining. I'd prefer focusing this energy on Mixing, Reverb, Compression, Dynamics, Stereo Imaging and the like.

I prefer WT, Spectral, traditional VA, and some of the aspects of Granular & Additive. Some

Dune 2 is very good, and as of late I've really gotten to like Spire's sound. Both have some WT functionaility, though I see them more as VA. Serum is obviously what excels here, and I'll add that the synth too can be used with a broader brush than I see online with the traditional Basses / Wobbles. The synth is capable of so much more. I'll add that Alchemy is fantastic for so many different sorts of synthesis, similar to the new Falcon.

Dune 2 adds limited FM. Hive is good for quick & easy. Sunrizer is fun now & again as it feels the most like true VA to me, and that might just be a purely subjective statement. However, it's not a go-to synth for me like Alchemy or Dune 2.

I very much prefer working with non-modular VA, Differential Unison, WT, and Spectral.

What I will say is that I tend to adjust presets and the like, turning off most (if not all) the FX (Reverb, Delay, etc.) I focus on such FX (in addition to compression, phase, etc.) in the channel strip and with the Sends, as well as the AUX Buses, Stacks, VCAs, etc.

Bouncing to Audio also adds another dimension for such processing.

I suppose I'd rather focus on the signal processing than the modular nature of some synths & other plugins / HW. As said, I prefer my own reverbs, compressors, phasers, etc. in the channel strip, not in the synth itself. Individual plugins that focus on reverbs/compressors/eq etc are generally much better.

However, a built in ARP and/or SEQ / MSEG (Dune 2, Alchemy, Spire, Sunrizer) is one I'd prefer in the synth itelf, though unless used as a modulation source, this is not really FX. Serum could consider adding elements of their ARP plugin in a similar fashion to how Xfer includes the LFO tool. However, I use Logic & its MFX can handle the job too. ARPs (or at least Sequences) by LFO are not a great substitute in my opinion as it involves that much more detail work (read: tweaking.)

[pdxindy]

"Modular [i.e. endless tweaking] evokes thoughts of endless tweaking & refining. I'd prefer focusing this energy on Mixing, Reverb, Compression, Dynamics, Stereo Imaging and the like.

Modular may evoke such thoughts for you... that does not mean your thoughts are an accurate reflection of how it actually is

[musiclover55547]

"Modular [i.e. endless tweaking] evokes thoughts of endless tweaking & refining. I'd prefer focusing this energy on Mixing, Reverb, Compression, Dynamics, Stereo Imaging and the like.

Modular may evoke such thoughts for you... that does not mean your thoughts are an accurate reflection of how it actually is

I wholeheartedly agree-- it's my subjective viewpoint re: Modular. However, I do like my third party reverbs & compressors much more, and that's more objective: they are just far better in most cases. Also, such a strategy enables you to better gain stage / balance the mix with your sends, not directly on the channel strip itself. For instance, I rarely put a reverb on the individual channel strip; I use a common Auxillary Send instead and adjust the amount accordingly.

[stillshaded]

Sounds to me like some people are selling dune 2 a bit short. Also IMO it has a much better overall sound than serum. Tried serum several times. Although it is impressive, I was not very happy with the sound.. Which was a bit confounding considering all the features.


Not only does dune have much better filters (IMO of course), it has some other tricks up its sleeve. For one thing, you can use oscillators as a mod source. So you're basically dealing with a modular synth. Now, the wavetables aren't spectacular as they are in serum, but I have gotten a lot more results that I am happy with. Combing the very good filters with a little audio rate modulation here and there, and some subtle random modulation, along with some subtle (again) unison (think two voices with slight detuning) usually sounds VERY impressive. I've gotten some cool sounds out of serum too. They are definitely very usable. But I have ear for "organic" sounds, which is surprisingly difficult to get in serum. It usually ends up sounding flat to me.

ThAts just my opinion of course.

[stillshaded]

One thing I will say, is that dune doesn't tend to make sharp edgey, crystal clear kind of sounds. I think due to the filter, it tends to sound kind of round or warm.

However, I prefer massive for this type of thing. It has more character than serum IMO. Although it is seen as a bit dated, you can really get a lot of really great sounds out of it.

[musiclover55547]

I hear you and it's good to get others' opinions. Serum's base OSCs are more akin to Massive IMHO.

Spire has a very recognizable sound too-- almost a hybrid of Virus and Sylenth (to me that is ) I've grown to like the sound quite a bit. However, it's sequences are not easy to work with (to say the least.) Perhaps I'm spoiled as Dune 2's & Alchemy's MSEGs are a whole lot easier, and Serum has the comprehensive LFO Tool built it.

I forgot to mention Synthmaster: it's semi-modular but sounds very good, and it too has MSEGs. Rob Lee's patches show off the synth quite well, the same with those from Aiyn Zahev Sounds. I too like the sound of its base OSCs.

[pdxindy]

I hear you and it's good to get others' opinions. Serum's base OSCs are more akin to Massive IMHO.

Spire has a very recognizable sound too-- almost a hybrid of Virus and Sylenth (to me that is ) I've grown to like the sound quite a bit. However, it's sequences are not easy to work with (to say the least.) Perhaps I'm spoiled as Dune 2's & Alchemy's MSEGs are a whole lot easier, and Serum has the comprehensive LFO Tool built it.

I forgot to mention Synthmaster: it's semi-modular but sounds very good, and it too has MSEGs. Rob Lee's patches show off the synth quite well, the same with those from Aiyn Zahev Sounds. I too like the sound of its base OSCs.

I like the functionality and sound of Synthmaster... but the GUI and the way it is organized is not so easy on the eyes or what I would call intuitive. I much prefer Zebra as an all round semi-modular synth.

I prefer the sound of Dune to Serum... though neither truly makes my ears smile

[mostlyjustj]

I demo'd them both but I really can't decide, because they're actually similar to each other, but both have their pros and cons.

Are you sure you demo'd them both? Did you look at the title bar of each one to make sure it was the synth you thought it was?

To me the title of this thread could have easily been "Microsoft Word vs McDonald's Egg McMuffin". They have nothing to do with eachother.

[mostlyjustj]

Serum's base OSCs are more akin to Massive IMHO.

Haha... no need to be humble, sir - this is indeed simply a fact.

[mostlyjustj]

If you like Massive, then Serum will certainly have an appeal. But Massive is still a very capable synth in its own right, perhaps you're looking for something different, more in the VA realm. In this case, perhaps Dune2 is the way to go then.

This!

[e-modic]

Serum has some good Filter Types but Dune 2 is just a tick ahead in development good Filters. Serum misses the analog feeling.

[D N A]

If you like Massive, then Serum will certainly have an appeal. But Massive is still a very capable synth in its own right, perhaps you're looking for something different, more in the VA realm. In this case, perhaps Dune2 is the way to go then.

Well described - I agree