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Synth demoing update - and then there were 4...

Submitted by Arp on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 18:38
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Two contenders have been knocked off - Massive and Jupiter-8V.  Massive sounds really good, but it's a total CPU hog.  Jupiter-8V sounds just ok and it's CPU usage is erratic.  So goodbye to both.

I like the sound of both Surge & Sylenth - the latter especially.  Sylenth just sounds like some old hardware.  And it's got a helluva filter to play with.  Unfortunately, it looks as old as it sounds (anyone remember Steinberg's Model E?).  As good as it sounds, I can't get over the interface, and I'm totally being spoiled by Twin2 & Zebra2 in this department.  Virtualized instruments should be designed to be used with a mouse & keyboard.  Surge has a leg up on Sylenth here, but produced some errors.

The two leaders of the pack are Twin2 & Zebra2.  I can't get over how easy to use Twin2's interface is - it's what softsynths should aspire to.  Don't assume that we'll map everything to a controller with a zillion knobs - assume that we'll have a computer keyboard & mouse, and maybe a midi controller or two.  Zebra2 isn't that far behind in the gui department, but Twin2 has set the bar REALLY high.  

Zebra2, otoh, confused me a bit with the breadth of options.  It's a modular synth, which is huge.  The possibilities are mindboggling, and it's going to take some time to figure it out.  Smartly, it includes a single-oscillator version called Zebralette that I found easier to navigate.  Amazingly, it sounded exceptional - sometimes big, sometimes fat, somtimes way trippy.  I was feeling pretty good about keeping Surge & Sylenth as dark horses, then I went back to Zebralette after them and ... no way.  1/4 a Zebra impressed me as much as Surge and almost as much as Sylenth.  Two more down.

Here's my updated list of contenders:

 

  • FabFilter Twin2 ($169): Best. VST. GUI. EVER.  And I love the sound.  The filters rock too.  It *might* make me forget about Imposcar.  Maybe - I like it that much.  The real question is, do I like it more than Zebra?
  • G-Force Imposcar ($130): It sounds as good as I remember, but I think I like Twin2 & Zebra2 a bit more for a workhorse.  Regardless, I will buy it some day and have to keep it as a dark horse.
  • Rob Papen Predator ($179): Still haven't installed it yet, but it's got an uphill battle.  WAY uphill.  If a friend didn't love it, it wouldn't be here.
  • u-He Zebra ($199): It has enough options to confuse me, but its little 1 oscillator sibling Zebralette hints at what's possible with 4 oscillators and total control.  Urs must be a genius to keep this from being a CPU hog.  And you can rearrange the signal flow while it plays with no hiccups whatsoever.
  • Arturia Jupiter 8V ($257): Underwhelming sound, CPU hog.  And I think I'm done with GUIs that are replicas of hardware.
  • FAW Circle ($199) the overall sound just doesn't do anything for me, in spite of the beautiful GUI
  • Korg Legacy Analog ($199) Dongle for demo = Fah Q, Korg
  • LennarDigital Sylenth ($180) Really old, fat sound.  Really old interface too.  Still, what a filter.
  • NI Massive ($229) CPU hog
  • Vember Surge ($150) Pretty nice, but not worth $150, especially when Zebralette (ie 1/4 Zebra) can sound as nice

 

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