I want to use only one synth

[zerocrossing]

Some of my best recordings were done using nothing but an ATC-1 and drum samples. It's a fairly versatile synth, though, and most of the plugins that can match its sound quality are actually more limited.

I've built ATCish things in Softube Modular or Reaktor Blocks that are pretty close to the quality, but I keep my ATC-X because there's nothing better than just having it all there and ready to go. No CPU use, just great analog sound. I can't imagine doing a full track with it, but a big part of my music involves mixing very digital sounds with analog, acoustic and electro-acoustic type sounds.

[osiris]

[Uncle E]

I've built ATCish things in Softube Modular or Reaktor Blocks that are pretty close to the quality, but I keep my ATC-X because there's nothing better than just having it all there and ready to go. No CPU use, just great analog sound. I can't imagine doing a full track with it, but a big part of my music involves mixing very digital sounds with analog, acoustic and electro-acoustic type sounds.

Yeah, I was doing a lot of tech house back then. The ATC-1 was perfect for that. Fantastic presets, too.

[eLawnMust]

Nothing wrong with the 'one synth' as we have 'one ring' to rule them all... However it doesn't have to be a 'great' synth just a musical one...

Both AXS & Dreamstation have nice 'musical' singular multi-timbral synths, the rest is samples... Made a number of tunes in AXS-

[DMG68]

For the OP. You can try it, pick one synth and make a few songs, maybe you have to do it a few times with different synths to find your one, or maybe to find you don’t want to go this way. Nobody can answer for you, I believe you’re going to have to try it out yourself.

[machinesworking]

I've been thinking a bit about this lately. 30 years ago it was too expensive for someone to just own dozens of synths and samplers. You would scrimp and save until you got a decent sampler, a few synths and maybe a drum machine, and you lived with them until you traded them for upgrades etc. The downside is obvious, but the upside is you generally really knew the hardware you had.

A friend of mine uses Hive almost exclusively. He's just like that, he fixates on things he loves, Damage II and Hive on almost every song. I think these days I at least know less than half my plugins to the level that I knew hardware back in the day, and that's IMO the one negatives of too many choices.

[empphryio]

More and more, as I write and learn the software synths I use (I will never own the hardware so who cares anyway), I find that i just want to work with as few synths as possible. Maybe even just one, percussion sounds aside.

Is this common I wonder? I dont' even mean the multi purpose stuff like Pigments or Diva or Vital or whatever. Those are all fine, but for me they lack character. The Arturia stuff, which I'm sure gets criticised by way cooler folk than I, is more what I mean.

Does this ultimately limit more than it inspires? Who would want to listen to an album solely of DX emulation music (who wouldn't?). Now let's party like it was Edgar Froese in the eighties!

I wrote 9 tracks in January with just AuroraFM including percussion. FM can make great percussion. Used many old dx7 sysex patches. It was a good month.

[VOODOO U]

I'd get bored to kingdom come if i had only a few synths.
I want hundreds, THOUSANDS!
It's absolutely awesome opening the vst browser and finding synths I haven't used yet because there's just so many and they got overlooked.

[Moe Shinola]

One synth? No way, there's too many obscure little synths out there with unique character. The more, the better.

[Constructed Identity]

I had only one synth for a year when I started. Learned everything there was to know about it and loved it. But I think if you want to make interesting, diverse music you have to use many sounds. I would tell anyone to get a portable recorder to make your own samples.

[Jac459]

More and more, as I write and learn the software synths I use (I will never own the hardware so who cares anyway), I find that i just want to work with as few synths as possible. Maybe even just one, percussion sounds aside.

Is this common I wonder? I dont' even mean the multi purpose stuff like Pigments or Diva or Vital or whatever. Those are all fine, but for me they lack character. The Arturia stuff, which I'm sure gets criticised by way cooler folk than I, is more what I mean.

Does this ultimately limit more than it inspires? Who would want to listen to an album solely of DX emulation music (who wouldn't?). Now let's party like it was Edgar Froese in the eighties!

I can relate.... But it can change overtime.
I mean I have tons of soft synths and generally I have a tendency to use always the same even when I force myself to change. But it isn't consistent.
There are periods it is reason rack, sometimes phase plant, and now it is avenger 2....

[ghostwhistler]

Of course e verything can change. Musical tastes always shift. But regardless of which synth or style of synth i use, the point i think would persist

[The_Anarchivist_00]

I myself am going thru a self inflicted One Synth Challenge, been going on for at least 2 years. Without being specific about choices, I had to isolate what the hell I wanted. That is hard. At the end of it all, what is the goal, I ask myself. Endless hours of mod wiggling? A hit song? WTF do you want (me). You got to isolate that stuff, or you're fvcked. I've ended up with an array of less than 10 instruments. From a sound design standpoint, I would see myself delving onto only one a day or two. From a music production standpoint, sound quality is the most important (that's why I was rec'd u-He's stuff. Others exist obviously.) Access to a high number of sounds is second, quickly. Anyway, you have to isolate what you want first. That's what I am saying.

[Uncle E]

From a music production standpoint, sound quality is the most important (that's why I was rec'd u-He's stuff. Others exist obviously.) Access to a high number of sounds is second, quickly.

u-he has both those areas covered. So many presets! I actually find it to be a bit much but that’s my problem for never favoriting the good ones.

[PatchAdamz]

1 is 1 step away from none.

3 is a better number, you can do much more......

With 3 synths you can rule the world.