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Apr 24, 2023 · Hardware synths vs software synths: which is right for you? By Andy Jones. last updated 24 April 2023. We compare the hard and soft synth routes for price, practicality, sounds, investment and more. (Image credit: Future) Jump To: Cost. Choice. Practicality. Sounds. Learning curve. Investment. So which is best overall?
- Arturia Pigments – The Sound Designer’s Synth
- U-He Diva – The “Analog” Monster
- Xfer Inc Serum – An EDM Favorite
- Ni Komplete 14 – Best Software Synth Bundle
- Spectrasonics Omnisphere 2 – Presets, Presets, Presets!
- Kilohearts Phase Plant – Modular But Direct
- Plugin Alliance DS Audio Thorn – Trap and EDM Galore
- Sugar Bytes Aparillo – FM with Orbiter
- Newfangled Audio Generate – Chaos Oscillator and Buchla Vibes
- Vital Audio Vital – One of The Best Free Software Synths
Arturia is famous for hardware synthesizers, controllers like the Beatstep Pro, and, of course, the V Collection, which emulates just about every legendary synthesizer in history. But the French company also makes Pigments, one of the best and most powerful software synths on the market. With its excellent GUI and workflow, Pigments is a joy to use...
Picking an u-he synth for this list wasn’t easy – ALL of the Berlin-based developer’s software synths are among the best in the industry in terms of sound. When it comes to raw analog power and the sheer amount of presets available, however, Divastill reigns supreme. If the product name made you think u-he is a bit aloof, that disappears into thin ...
Serumhas been around for over eight years and is still actively supported with regular updates and new features. The software synth is the brainchild of Steve Duda, known for his collaborations with deadmau5. Consequently, Serum is especially popular in the EDM and techno genres. The synth’s basic structure is fairly standard: two oscillators, one ...
When it comes to Native Instruments Komplete 14, picking the single best software synth to put on this list is impossible. From Monark’s basses and Razor’s leads to FM8’s groundbreaking FM workflow to the organic power of Massive X, the Berlin-based industry giant has consistently set standards with its software synthesizers over the past 15 years....
Seeing Omnisphere purely as an emulation of other synths doesn’t do it justice! On the one hand, the regular updates always come with additional presets, many of which feature extremely creative sound design. Omnisphere 2 has 58 effects, a very good arpeggiator, and “The Orb”, the Circular Motion Interface, which randomly modulates parameters and c...
Phase Plantby Kilohearts has a growing fan base thanks to its modular, multi-layered approach. The ability to apply effects and modulations to each individual synthesizer voice is just one of the countless ways to build extremely complex sounds. While beginners may face a bit of a learning curve due to Phase Plant’s modular workflow, fans of modula...
Sometimes it doesn’t have to be more, bigger, louder. Sometimes it’s enough to simply get the basics right and improve upon the things that bother you about the competition. Synth A sounds great, but is a nightmare to use. Synth B has a complex engine with endless routing and modulation possibilities, but the effects sound like they’re falling asle...
Sugar Bytes’ software synthesizers have always been quite exotic. Aparillois no different. A standard modulation matrix simply didn’t cut it for this 16-voice polyphonic FM synth, so they came up with the “orbiter”. The complexity of the sounds that Aparillo creates from just a single MIDI note is hard to beat. This makes it great for things like c...
First came Pendulate, then Generate. The interface, sound, and workflow of this software synthesizer (which is distributed by Eventide) are rather unusual compared to most other synths on this list. Generate does a lot of things differently. The developers looked at the Buchla approach to modular synthesis for inspiration, with a “chaotic generator...
First things first: Vitalis free. Sure, there are paid versions that offer additional wavetables and presets, but all features are available in the free version. Moreover, Vital is simply outstanding in terms of an intuitive workflow and a wide variety of sounds. There’s also a very active user community with its own Discord server, where you can f...
A software synthesizer or softsynth is a computer program that generates digital audio, usually for music. Computer software that can create sounds or music is not new, but advances in processing speed now allow softsynths to accomplish the same tasks that previously required the dedicated hardware of a conventional synthesizer .
Nov 16, 2023 · In this article, we’ll look into the six main types of synthesizers, what features define them, and how to choose the synth that will best serve your creative vision. Types Of Synthesizers Analog. Let’s begin with a rivalry as old as time — analog versus digital. What’s the difference?
- Arturia V Collection 9. Image 1 of 8. Let's start with the big one. Incredibly, Arturia's retro collection of virtual synths is up to its ninth incarnation and this latest update is arguably the set's biggest yet.
- Cherry Audio Miniverse. Cherry Audio has joined the throng and finally got round to making its own special take on what, by our reckoning is THE most emulated synth of all time, Moog's Minimoog.
- Softube Model 84. 1984 marked the arrival of a certain six-voice synthesizer (the Roland Juno-106) and now Softube has created the Model 84 Polyphonic Synthesizer plugin, which offers all the quirks and non-linearities of the original hardware.
- Air Audio new instruments. Air Music is responsible for many of the effects and instruments found in Avid’s Pro Tools and Akai Professional’s MPC products, and now it’s launched seven new plugin instruments for everyone.
Omnisphere is the only software synth in the world to offer a Hardware Synth Integration feature. This remarkable innovation transforms over 65 well-known hardware synthesizers into extensive hands-on controllers that unlock Omnisphere’s newly expanded synthesis capabilities.
Mar 11, 2013 · A software synthesizer is a software application designed to emulate some type of hardware synthesizer. Some software programs focus their attention on emulating one specific synthesizer — often a well-known vintage model, while others have a wide range of capabilities.
