Softube or Reaktor block's

[tq]

I got Softube, Reaktor and Voltage Modular, and there is no better or worse. In terms of playfulness and versatility, VM is probably the best - but it also subjectively sounds worse than the other two (and many people think so, too). It's always a tiny bit thin and lifeless to my ears, even with some of the premium modules from 3rd party developers. Still, you can get extremely decent sounds out of it, if you're not after *that * fat sound. Reaktor is also pretty flexible, and a tweaker's heaven. However, if you like "pre-made" modules - beyond the sometimes quite geeky machinations found inside the user library - then it's a bit more limited, with two larger 3rd party add-ons to chose from (EuroReakt and Toybox). Sound is great, though. Softube has a really superb, 'alive' sound - it really sounds 'modeled after the real thing' much more than the others, and to my ears, that was worth the investment. The patching is a bit more clumsy than with the others, which usually leads to more simple synths in my case, but as the sound of the individual modules is so great, I don't need to build super complex chains of modules for cool sounds here.
So I think VM is more for the people that like to build stuff and toy around with endless options, Reaktor is for the tweakers that want to go deep but don't want to compromise on sound, and Softube is a bit more for 'players' who love a 'life like' sound that is close to a real modular. But as always, YMMV.

[Parseq]

I have both but prefer the flexibility of Reaktor. It can also interact with my real modular via Midi or a DC interface.

[chk071]

I love the sound of Reaktor. Not sure if Softube Modular can compete with it. Some blocks and modules are really high quality.

[tq]

Hi there, as I have both, I can subjectively say that Softube can compete with Reaktor in terms of sound and 'depth' and actually even surpasses it. Indeed, their modules sound very 'alive' and 'real' (if that means anything), and they are closer to the real thing than Reaktor in some ways. I specifically bought into their eco system *because* of the sound, despite owning Reaktor already (plus Toybox and EuroReakt). The patching and handling could be improved, though, and on my Apple Silicon Mac, their plug ins are not production ready yet (Rosetta somehow works, but has some nasty memory leaks, and no native version as of yet). I would argue that the sound and analogue modeling is the major plus of Softube - but not so the other aspects like playfulness and ease of use. However, I would also agree that the Reaktor modules can sound great (I love to add a Driver module to anything, really, as it makes things super fat ). But as I said: YMMV.

[Rastkovic]

I love the sound of Reaktor. Not sure if Softube Modular can compete with it. Some blocks and modules are really high quality.

Yes, it can and in some cases it's "better" than Reaktor. I also love the Bento Box modules and I use it quite often, but the Doepfer and the (additional) Model 72/84 modules in Softube Modular are just of stellar quality.

Btw: If you use the FX version of Softube Modular, you can use the two inputs as CV inputs. Just place Reaktor before, or use it in VCV Rack. This opens up a lot of new possibilities....

[Azbest]

Reaktor because it's free.

[chk071]

I love the sound of Reaktor. Not sure if Softube Modular can compete with it. Some blocks and modules are really high quality.

Yes, it can and in some cases it's "better" than Reaktor. I also love the Bento Box modules and I use it quite often, but the Doepfer and the (additional) Model 72/84 modules in Softube Modular are just of stellar quality.

TBH, I wasn't that impressed by Softube's Model 72. Somehow sounded a bit artificial, and "over the top" to me, TBH.

[zerocrossing]

I’ve got both, plus Voltage Modular. All have their benefits and weaknesses.

Voltage Modular: decent sound, low CPU, wide variety of modules, easy to use, cheapest.

Reaktor: great sound, super large variety, a bit wonky in the UI dept.

Softube Modular: best sounding, not that much variety, some aspects of the UI are a PITA, expensive.

[Rastkovic]

I love the sound of Reaktor. Not sure if Softube Modular can compete with it. Some blocks and modules are really high quality.

Yes, it can and in some cases it's "better" than Reaktor. I also love the Bento Box modules and I use it quite often, but the Doepfer and the (additional) Model 72/84 modules in Softube Modular are just of stellar quality.

TBH, I wasn't that impressed by Softube's Model 72. Somehow sounded a bit artificial, and "over the top" to me, TBH.

To be honest, I've not much used the VST plugin version of Model 82. I'm more interested in the single parts, so I can combine them with other modules and eliminate the weak points.

[SLiC]

Softube, Reaktor VCV Rack and Voltage Modular are all great. VCV Rack is my personal favourite and its free so no excuses for not owning it! I also love Reason, you can get some great CV control and there are a lot of fun Eurorack style modules like Grids (drum mapper), Complex-1 and some great Noise Engineering modules.

[Ah_Dziz]

Blocks then vcv then softube. After all the time it's been around it's still kind of a weak offering in my opinion.

JJ

[Rastkovic]

I love the sound of Reaktor. Not sure if Softube Modular can compete with it. Some blocks and modules are really high quality.

Yes, it can and in some cases it's "better" than Reaktor. I also love the Bento Box modules and I use it quite often, but the Doepfer and the (additional) Model 72/84 modules in Softube Modular are just of stellar quality.

TBH, I wasn't that impressed by Softube's Model 72. Somehow sounded a bit artificial, and "over the top" to me, TBH.

To be honest, I've not much used the VST plugin version of Model 82. I'm more interested in the single parts, so I can combine them with other modules and eliminate the weak points.

Ahh, you mean the Moog emulation. I don't know, what I read/think yesterday. Model 82?!

The single parts of Model 72 are also sounds excellent to me, most of the time I use it for Mother-32 style single oscillator patches. I don't understand "over the top", over-the-top compared to what? To digital synths?

Had different analog gear in the past few years. Doepfer, Moog, Macbeth, Pittsburgh Modular, Elektron. Softube Modular for me, is in terms of sound the closest thing to analog modular/monosynths.

[gentleclockdivider]

VCV is nice but the vector graphics put a considerable strain on my cpu
The fan goes into high speed , and I have a desktop pc

[Smurphd]

if you want the Buchla modules or a software emulation of the rubicon or some other specific module that happens to be one of the few they offer, that would be the only reason to get softube I think. for a modular its quite limited and the ui and experience just sucks. seriously its one of the worst ive tried, how they managed to end up there and think its great is way beyond my limits of understanding, which admittedly don't stretch far. and like any other softube emulations its seriously heavy on cpu. Reaktor on the other hand is almost limitless, its almost only your skills and imagination that set the limits for what can be done, and for software I actually like the sound. its way harder to use than softube though, which if you know your way around modulars, its just plug and play. personally I love the Bitwig grid and vcv rack if only I had a massive cern like computer to run it. I own the softube thing, but I rarely use it and id never recommend it. maybe after I get a new and way faster Mac ill use it some more, but I don't really see for what, theres nothing in there I find particularly great, I don't own the Buchla modules though, which is actually why I got it in the first place, but after realising how much I hate the ui and how limited it is im not spending 250$ or anything more at all on that system. also it seems to be kinda dead, I never see any new modules for it. I think they failed big time on this.

[4damind]

Softube comes very close to Eurorack modules, which is not surprising. After all, they emulate some well-known Eurorack modules. The sound is excellent. However, there are not many modules and the usage is frankly terrible.
Voltage Modular has a lot of modules and the usage is very good. If it's more about virtual modular systems and not so much about accurate emulations of Eurorack modules, this would be the first choice for me.