Computer Music Top 10 virtual synths episode 1

[mDubzSex2MyEars]

Fuck everybody opinions.If you're not a well-known professional artist who actually know wtf their doing,then you shouldn't speak on what synth is the best.Period.

[FunnyVideoCollector]

U-he Diva is the best.

[TurkishMusician313]

Omnisphere is best . 

[danyjr]

fuck Massive, only noobs use that piece of junk.

[willman1661]

@danyjr Why?

[kroser1983]

@danyjr what would you suggest, im just curious as i thought massive was pretty good, i can program pretty much any kind of sound i want

[mDubzSex2MyEars]

@danyjr Lol,look whose talking about "Noob".Are you even a well-known artist to make a strong opinion.I guaranteed you probably don't know wtf you're doing.Don't get mad at the synthesizer,get mad at your dumbass self who can't won't it.

[remixerone]

Very strange TOP 10... !!

[JSprayaEntertainment]

1st onmisphere , hands down ...

close second would be EWQL plug ins ,

3rd ?

[TurkishMusician313]

@JSprayaEntertainment Omnisphere is enough

[danieladapter]

haha massive vst

[SjokkoladeBolleMusa]

Massive on 8th :O nononon, there must be some kind of mistake here ?

[Phidel3]

@SjokkoladeBolleMusa yeah... come fucking on!! massive is simply amazing...

i basically only run on logics built in synths, fm8 and massive... and i dont seem to need anything else...

[MattPopOfficial]

If I had to pick just one synth it would be Sylenth1, I loved it since it came out and I always come back to it.

[Tamedstylez]

I have Slynth 1 and its a very powerful tool to use, and the interface is easy to learn fast.

[Strikabeat]

MASSIVE!

[musiccomputing]

Sylenth is freaking awesome. Its one of my all time favorites. You guys should check out our StudioBLADE keyboard workstations. It's windows 7 equipped and will run all of your favorite Plug-ins. Check out or profile for videos!

[ultimatemixvive]

,.,.,.,.,.,

[Jerraph]

Wow, CM need to learn about mixing. The voice in the music clashes wonderfully with the voiceover so we can't hear it.

[australiandj]

I have all these synths and raptures shit!!!!

[gentecopada]

@australiandj you mean it is shit or that it is THE shit?

[DeefexNYC]

yeah, rapture is pretty good

[seanuel]

<3 massive and rapture

[GeromeMouawad]

hey please what is that tune on 4:18 ? thanks

[AlexeyfromMoscow1981]

where is terratech komplexer???? some reaktor? These are simply different synthesizers, a massive on the eighth place and absynth on the second as that is strange if for considering that one and таже the company has let out

[sendfx]

@AlexeyfromMoscow1981 komplexer is sweet

[iCgalz]

ni massive is my fav. i always use it.

[MicrosoftSamTalks]

That computer is sexy. I would like to put my USB cord into that one. As I am a computer, and those are my reproductive cords.

[Alterstateresearcher]

This day and age when you can buy a near mint condition Roland Alpha Juno 1/2 or a Korg Poly 61 for under 200 US dollars with shipping included. Only certain virtual soft snyths would be worth getting bootleg. Then even still, you will perfer to use your buget analog hard synth over the VST counterpart.

[SparkySubie]

@Alterstateresearcher I wouldn't be so quick to jump to that conclusion, hard synths are definitely a lot more fun and rewarding, but compared to softsynths they're not as convenient. Can't really save presets unless you have motorized knobs, or unless you record the position of all your knobs. And good luck running multiple instances :p.

[frydchde88]

@Alterstateresearcher I agree that analog is the BEST (eheh I started with a 200€ Alpha Juno ^^), everyone should have one, but VSTs can be VERY handy.. the best is obviously to have both worlds, there's plenty of amazing freeware.!

[DackIsBack]

You can't beat analog if price is no object, But the possibility of a sub-£100 software set-up are virtually unlimited, Provided you have the laptop and midi input.

[robdrums69]

Tip!

Ik Multimedia Website - 4X1 soon to be 5X1 Group Buy for Sample Tank $49.99 - Go get it !!!! Before time runs out !!

Robdrums69

[nicsevern]

miniscule price tags... prick! sylenth on its own costs about £100!

[joeab09]

Well in comparison to buying £10,000 quids worth of analogue synth.... thats miniscule

[mantaray9992000]

yeah. in the industry, £100 is nothing. (psst, full microsoft office is more expensive)

[TheReddwarff100]

@nicsevern

Not if you know where it get it it,s not.

[cozmovox]

The difference between emulations and the real

thing is like the difference between a veggie burger and a meat burger.

softsynths, however are a good EDUCATIONAL tool.

. Once you decide to go for it, buy yourself

a real synthesizer, that's if you're concerned about SOUND.

Check my first video, and you'll know what I mean.

[NielsShoe]

After trying the Zebra demo it's perfect sounds like a Horg but it's a bit old school so Im getting Omnisphere it sounds better than any hardware synth and 7000 patches yes its sample based but it can also do complex pure synthesizer sounds that can be mixed and added to the samples it's an all in one master of all virtual insatrument so I'll get that. Zebrea is a definate 2nd for pure synthesizer none sampled

[NielsShoe]

Glad I saw this video I was going to buy FM8 but after seeing this video and trying Zebra 2.5 demo I'll get Zebra.

[landibabe]

haha the synth is wide!! lol! the wideness has nothing to do with the synth, but with the effect used over it!

[HELLoURBAn]

ok sylenth1 2009 is top 3 i like this over alot of vsti......what the hell oddity come on it was ok at best...........sylenth1 and nexus are the best synths vsti ...but one of my fav vsti alot of people dont know about is genesis.......then theres discovery pro......gladiator........man they need to do a 2009 top ten.....where we can vote to.....

[djzmo]

From this part of the top 10, all of them are amazing, I personally love the Sylenth1. Massive is great too, but 2 years have passed since this vid and the wavetable synth who takes the crown is Waldorf Largo by now (It may be better than the Sylenth1 too, but that was the first synth I got in loved with, so I wont stop using it :P).

[Skullcracka]

This is why Kontact continues to rule. They start with great "REAL" sounds while giving you the same features as this video game sounding shit. I hate Kontacts interface but it has no serious competition. Rapture is cool but if you ever bring in a multisampled horn, piano etc. good luck trying to assign root keys and hear all your samples mapped (the way you want them) across the board. Just ordered Kontact 3

[ud2hb4]

Kontakt is a sampler not a synth.

[Skullcracka]

Do you know of anybody that actually samples using Kontact? Look at the features within Kontact. It's a Sample based synth. But it is a synth! A well done sample based synth can do both outrageous and usable sounds. I think the problem is some companies aim at DJ's and others go for Producers. THere is where the divide starts

[lukuntri]

@ud2hb4 kontakt has best virtual organ "vintage organs" it includes hammond b3,c3,m3 vox continental and farfisa compact but it doesnot have good syntheser

[vjmagick]

@ud2hb4 so are you saying that a sampler is not a synth?

[vjmagick]

sampling is even more synthetic than analog in my opinion

[abelizable]

i swear is there a synth with nice lead sounds .. i'm sick of all these spacey sounds .. i want some tangible shit

[lolthatguy123]

Pretty much all the synths listed in this video produce amazing lead sounds... You just have to know what you're doing (or browse presets lol)

I personally recommend Massive and Nexus

[abelizable]

i've seen massive .. it's filled with all these techno loops .. nexus is good though

[lolthatguy123]

I own Massive and I can safely say that the "techno loops" make the minority of the preset sounds. Besides, it's more fun shaping your own sounds. Massive is VERY easy to work with. Nexus is entirely presets, though the quality is top notch and allows for some customization. Nexus has more loops that Massive with expansions included, but costs a shitload : / $400-$1800. Omnisphere and Titan are two incredible synths (packages) too, but VERY large (and costly). Reaktor is awesome as well.

[dreamrecorder]

yeah i agree... just too many software synths out there in the market. Drive consumer nuts. But personally you need to know what is the sound that you wish to accomplish in your composition. I love the impOSCar.

[DJQobra]

Stop using presets then shitty. =)

[BluntedBeyondBelief]

whats with all this techno shit, there isnt one video on youtube thats showcases the use of synth in funk

[Allynav]

do u kno how to assign da drums to axiom pads??

it would help alot

[MonoGenerator]

what programm do you use???

[Totyo3]

Ableton's Analog is quite good, really clean interface and great sound quality, its my second favourite beside the Sylenth1.

[FUHGI]

pro-53 is one of my favorites ...

[AyTownAffiliate]

i agree, i love pro-53

[Lightbringer09]

Sylenth FTW!!

[AaronRes]

Is it just me or is the guy talking about sylenth using fl studio...?

[LzI]

He is using sylenth IN fl studio...

[brwest16]

Excellent Video. i have some issues with zebra 2, but hopefully i will work through them.

[WARDISWARD]

surge is wavetable besed ( real wavescanning like the waldorf microwave )

Way better than massive .....

Zebra 2 deserved winner

[auctionstuff]

Does anyone know what type of controller the guy talking about Sylenth 1 is using?

[juzzepe]

This is midi keyboard/

[pedx1ng]

Looks like a Novation Remote SL 61 to me.

[trasan17]

omg. geeks xD

[st1lldreaming]

Yeah, we make great music though. :)

[skeetupinmygrill]

^^^^^ jealous because he doesnt know what any of this means

[MrTeaB]

massive is wavetable too, and deserves to be alot higher than 8 if your making dnb/dubstep/grimey bass. i started with z3ta but now use massive, massive is easier than z3ta and has a fatter sound, although it costs a fair amount more cpu.

one word tho, if your thinking of buying a synth--->OMNISPHERE ☺

[DarkShroom]

Massive is low on this list because it doesn't do anything new, although I agree it does sound lovely I almost always use it to fill out top end. Sometimes I just use the raw waves because they sound so good.

It's a huge shame however you cannot use it as an insert effect however because the modulation section and quality of the filters is so good. I suppose they designed it to be "analougue" and trendy

[nativeops]

just bought the group buy for the sylenth1. that thing is the shit!!

[brosseadent]

where is nexus ???

[nativeops]

HA, nexus aint no synth foo!

it's a rompler.

a sample based rip off of REAL SYNTHS.

Nexus is for FAGS!

[brosseadent]

no this isnt

[DarkShroom]

yep, nexus is just a big sample library, get it if you want to sound the same as everyone else

[Honormeone]

it has some decent strings

[darkblitzrz8]

@nativeops yall sound offended

[DecentralizedByGuilt]

@nativeops all synths are actually samplers you dumb stupid shit

[rekaepa]

@nativeops I agree except for one minor detail :P

I use it only for the piano and nothing more

[hoegaardenglas]

BORING!!!!!!!!!!

[rkarnataka]

It is only you. You can program any kind of sounds out of these beasts. Just tweak until you have "modern" sound, whatever it is.

[ringmod]

I thought the 80's were getting popular again :P

[boulifb]

Where are Arturia's vintage synths?

[synthisist]

Exactly. With all respects to Computer Music, but it's true. All the Arturia products are Fantastic. The CS80V is incredible.. Very VANGELIS!!!!

But all of them are great too.. Moog, Arp, Prophets

Also, G-Force, especially the "String Machine"- This is my personal favourite!!! FANTASTIC. VERY JEAN MICHEL JARRE.

(+ Oscar etc)

IK Multimedia Sample Moog with all the Moogs

Korg Legacy (Polysix + Monopoly).

Soundburst Northmood - Clavia Nord.

OPX - Oberheim + STRINGER string synth

+more

[THkaas]

the sylenth 1 man is dutch! he talks very funny english lol...

[Szerbiack]

Where is oscar , octopus , reason`s monster thor ?

[THkaas]

yeah octopus is awesome!

[thedarkspirit]

Too many great synths out there. ;)

[abbaroc]

image line syrtus is a vst from the designers of fruity loops

[googleboughtmee]

rapture is more like a rompler imo, u may as well include nexus if going in that direction

[djanthonyw]

Rapture is not a rompler, Dimension Pro is.

[FubuMushu]

Why is popcorn not on there :(

[ONIGIRIWARRIOR]

flstudio official website : "Sytrus is a powerful and versatile synthesizer featuring six customizable operators for FM (Frequency Modulation) and RM (Ring Modulation) synthesis."

[Keithx402]

where the hell is image-line's Sytrus

[ONIGIRIWARRIOR]

Poor Sytrus is outdated compared to the incredible FM8.

No need to have 2 FM synths.

[xicotam]

Sytrus is not Fm Synth you idiot.

[xicotam]

sytrus is Hybrid :p

[xichae]

In summary: 10. Surge 9. Sylenth1 8. Massive 7. Rapture 6. Oddity 5. FM8 4. Albino 3. z3ta+ 2. Absynth 1. Zebra 2

[fleego17]

Some of these are good, but some are crap too, was sort of hoping ReFx nexus would have been in the top 10 :( lol

[djanthonyw]

Nexus is not a synthesizer.

[C30X]

Indeed, it just plays samples :S

[fleego17]

i know, its a rompler

[spider853]

it have a build-in synthesizer

[RatkoUSA]

What year was this video made? Are any of these programs shareware?

[01010100]

With the old analog gear going up and up on price I have started to use more and more my virtual synths mostly I use Albino and Z3ta+ they are really good, I still have a couple real synths an Opera 6 and a Sy85 yamaha, but I find myself using mostly the vitual synths now.

[kadaceus]

Another one worth of mentioning is FIREBIRD. AWESOME & NEVER HEARD before features. VERY light on cpu too,i mean very - you cud run 4 instances in a whole track on a 1gigahertz p3 with no glitches-and that is for chords too!!!Besides, this little beauty have some feat,especially in the oscilator section and filter section that NO OTHER synth on the market have.And no,am not talking wavetables-am talking whole voice sentences as osc start points followed with by some weird rhytmic loopy thingie..

[kadaceus]

Yea i hear you wardiswar - Vember Audio - SURGE is THE best sofite iv heard in quite a while - plus its VERY light on cpu and beats down Massive for exmpl hands down - given Massive will eati 30 or more percent of your cpu juice.And thats for a monophonic lead. God forbid you struck a 3 note chord with it!!!!

[ChicagoDannyD]

What good is a list advertised as the top ten that only goes up to five? It's misleading to say the least. Bait and switch.

[ployk]

don´t know, most of them are just too opulent. too much sound and settings, too less atmospheres and workflow. like a hunt for the preset that would replace a song.

therefore my list:

korg ms-20 (quick, easy and kicking)

zebralette (freeware; small '1 osc, no filters' version of zebra 2)

polyvoks (freeware; a russian thing, bit trashy but really love it)

emily (freeware; simple organ synth, but really a fantastic sound)

n.i. massive (the first good of ni, fantastic sound)

[WARDISWARD]

vember audio surge is awesome ....personally I think it is way better than ni massive ...

check,it out ...the developer needs the cash ....

[RedForce75]

Let's be realistic : for most of the vintage gear, very few touring musician can use them (because they're not enough reliable and requires lots of specific knowledge, and also... bloody expensive). And even in the studio, plugins are much more convenient and happen to be uses more often.

Anyway, there now are lots of perfect emulations. Perfect in the sense that you wouldn't make the difference hearing a recording. Oddity certainly is one of those.

[LoonyDJ]

Sylenth _0_

[hexfix93]

software is ok at certain things, one thing they CANNOT DO is replace analogs. not even in their wildest wishes.. and i hate these assholes who hype these things that are really worth 50cents.. or throw ins into a daw...

[maxhodges]

>>software is ok at certain things, one thing they CANNOT DO is replace analogs

tell that to cEVin Key. Unless you music craps on his, you got a thing to learn young jedi

[CountlovE]

Software synth's suck. Get the real thing. If I want bananas I get real bananas. Not banana flavoring.

[Bollocks3000]

...a shit musician will sound shit no matter what he uses, on the other hand a musical genius could make good use of two spoons and a kazoo..

[CountlovE]

Agree, but most software synths use the same Audio Engine for sound. Any Native Instruments synth sounds like Reaktor. A CS80V from Arturia sounds nothing like a real CS80, and you can't beat Analogue.

Sorry to disappoint you. But you can justify your own reasoning in any way you seem fit.

[yasuodances]

It sounds like your a bit sour but maybe i'm wrong.

Obviously these soft synths are doing some thing right if they're making even the best producers hide or get rid of there analog gear, right?

What is this Audio Engine that everyone use that is the same?

[CountlovE]

Um, not really. Remember when the DX7 came out? Everyone did the same thing. Plus synths are not only used for music.

And speaking of producers in music. I haven't heard anything mind blowing lately.

[yasuodances]

Well from my views of seeing, there's a good majority i see on msg board forums and a few pro producers who have dumped there hardware for soft synths in music production.

Speaking of producers doing mind blowing, I'm sure you know that it's not what equipment you use is how you use what you have.

Like Bollocks3000 said...

"musical genius could make good use of two spoons and a kazoo.."

Or even a spoon and a fork for better variation in frequency.

:-p

[maxhodges]

>And speaking of producers in music. I haven't heard anything mind blowing lately.

Saul Williams via Trent Reznor?

[CMSpecial]

Stay tuned for Episode 2 - where we countdown numbers 5 to 1 - it'll be posted up on 12/11/07. CM