Synth Effect vs external effect

VST, AU, AAX, CLAP, etc. Plugin Virtual Effects Discussion
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Hi

i own fabfilter bundle and logic stock plugins
as well as falcon zebrahz alchemy and avenger.
I wonder when is it better to take a synths internal
effects vs external effects. For example should I put reverb and delay on from alchemy or use Pro-R on the same track? Which synth of those mentioned has the strongest integrated effects?

Thx

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Here is everything related to your question

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NeoKortex88 wrote: Mon Mar 18, 2019 8:57 pm I wonder when is it better to take a synths internal
effects vs external effects.
Choose whatever sounds better to you. I don't know any synth which has effects which are on par with good dedicated effect plugins though.

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I always considered synth effects a waist of resources. Its just to make the presets sound nice out of the box to be able to compete. Devs have to put them in to increase sales, as most customers are amateurs...

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chk071 wrote: Mon Mar 18, 2019 9:08 pm
NeoKortex88 wrote: Mon Mar 18, 2019 8:57 pm I wonder when is it better to take a synths internal
effects vs external effects.
Choose whatever sounds better to you. I don't know any synth which has effects which are on par with good dedicated effect plugins though.
In terms of flexibility, perhaps not. However, Repro’s effects have set a bar in terms of sound quality :shrug:
Last edited by el-bo (formerly ebow) on Tue Mar 19, 2019 8:47 am, edited 1 time in total.

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NeoKortex88 wrote: Mon Mar 18, 2019 8:57 pm Hi

i own fabfilter bundle and logic stock plugins
as well as falcon zebrahz alchemy and avenger.
I wonder when is it better to take a synths internal
effects vs external effects. For example should I put reverb and delay on from alchemy or use Pro-R on the same track? Which synth of those mentioned has the strongest integrated effects?

Thx
The biggest advantage to using internal effects is that once they are stored within the preset and the synth, the same preset will work in whichever DAW or OS you choose to use, and won’t suddenly break if the effects become unsupported or you decide to sell them :tu:

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Most of the time, I prefer external effects, especially delays and reverbs. You can pan and process (EQ, compression, side-chaining, gate) them separately from the actual synth sound, and send multiple synths through the same reverb so it doesn't sound like the song was recorded in 15 different spaces.
Saturation, compression, EQ, phaser, chorus etc. feel more like they're part of the synth preset itself.

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Depends....sometimes i find internal FX better than any third party tool.
F.e. Mod FX from Alchemy or plate reverb from P900.
Also often you have more options to modulate internal stuff.
At the end let your ear decide.

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chk071 wrote: Mon Mar 18, 2019 9:08 pm I don't know any synth which has effects which are on par with good dedicated effect plugins though.
I know many.

Take the old Alchemy1, it has/had reverb from Arts Acoustic. Now in version 2, it also has convolution reverb, so it's as good as the IRs supplied or the ones you feed into it.

The old Synth Squad synths had the great sounding Breverb.

MODO has great amp simulators.

Uhe Repro effects are top notch, with a vicious waveshaper that would make a superb standalone effect.

Strobe2/Cypher2 have amazing sounding Chorus (Amber Chorus), a Formant filter and various ring-mods plus some unique stuff like the PhaseModArray all of which are 'stand-alone' kind of quality.

The effects that come in Tone2 Electra are also great sounding. On par with standalone stuff (in fact I guess these effects come from the dedicated and excellent Warmverb)

And so on....

The days when effects in synths were an afterthought are largely long gone. Yes, there are still examples of 'weak' effects bundled in some synths or maybe effects that are simplified, but overall, I see some very good effects, definitely on par with dedicated plugins.
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VSTi and hardware synth sound design
3D/5D sound design since 2012

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I'd agree that it doesn't necessarily make sense with reverb and delay, but then having been tinkering with the FX modulation options in Rapid recently, there's a lot you can do that would be irksome to extremely difficult using external fx (e.g. keyfollow for filter delay frequency) and you have essentially 7 separate send channels if you require them.

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I tend to use third-party for delay (because I just love Echoboy that much) and reverb (because it's more cohesive), but for chorus I almost always do synth. For phaser, I do third-party if I want a more vintage feel (PhaseMistress) or synth if I just want the movement.

The biggest advantage of synth effects is they tend to be more immediate to apply and the settings save with the preset. I have a text file where I make note of combinations of saved sounds and third-party effects that I like, but that's pretty cumbersome and inconvenient. The biggest advantage of third-party plugins, at least the ones I use, is they tend to be extremely customizable, and you can combine the character of any instrument with them.

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Its all down to the synth and/or company that makes it. I love T2's verbs in the synths, I remember V-Stations Chorus was nice and it's verb. Alchemy had nice delays, so some synths their in built effects are really good. But most of the time I just reach for external ones, probably as I know them better, just from using them more often, especially when using audio.
Don't trust those with words of weakness, they are the most aggressive

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external, everytime

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I used to be much more prejudiced against internal FX.
But ironically enough, based on convenience/usability, I still use external FX all the time.
By convenience/usability I mean, in terms of control during mixing or even in the sound design stage, as I tend to stack synths on top of one another basically everytime and that requires external FX to process the entire thing as a whole.

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IMO some VST's/synths have amazing built-in effects ie. serum, nexus. On the other hand, some don't :( But its entirely your call. Try them both out and see what suits your track better.

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