The VST Synthesizer Tier List
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 29 июл 2022
- Back with another synth ranking tier list, this time we are doing software / softsynths / VSTs. What do you think? Agree or disagree with my rankings?
Feed your synth addiction on Perfect Circuit to help support me:
bit.ly/3vpZ8KL
🎵Miles Away - beacons.ai/milesaway
Join Discord Server: / discord
Synth Presets: bit.ly/35hVVzi
#synth #synthesizer #tierlist #synths 
Видеоклипы
Another nod here for Pigments, lovely synth. Two others I would add personally are 'Phase Plant' (which could be the Serum-killer best ever soft synth IMHO) and Unfiltered Audio's 'Lion', which takes a bit of work but is really cool with a MASSIVE amount of amazing FX and modulation options.
Thanks for sharing! Phase Plant is so cool, I've tried it before but don't own it so I can't comment, but it seemed really sick. Will try to pick it up
@@MilesAwayOfficial Definitely S tier
@@profoundofficial4801 Cool. I bought Phase Plant during one of our many covid lockdowns. Vital has been described as a "Phase Plant-killer" in other places and, for free, I think it could be
@@petertarrant937 Yes Vital is awesome aswell. I believe serum/phaseplant/vital are all super powerful and each has its unique strengths 💪
Phase Plant has a pay model that I really don't like. You basically buy an incomplete synth and then you have to buy every part individually to have a complete synth. At the end, the price is massive.
Can't believe you missed out Pigments, Spire and Zebra 2.
I only included synths I own or have previously owned! Zebra I've tried and it's sick but I don't know it well enough to rank. Hans Zimmer is a big fan right? Spire and Pigments I am very curious to try!
@@MilesAwayOfficial try phaseplant & rift!
Me neither, I've got Pigments & Spire, but I did chose U-He Hive over Sylenth1, concerning missing U-He synths.
And PhasePlant.
Don’t forget vanguard 2
I've found that TAL Noisemaker is a really good free synth from TAL. Also, great list and I lvoe your music. Will be checking a lot of these out!
Cool, thanks for supporting and I will check out Noisemaker :)
I would put TAL Noisemaker in D tier. It's very limited and it doesn't sound that good compared to the synths of this list. It certainly can't compare in any way to VITAL (which is free) or even the open source Surge XT (which is free as well).
Solid categorizing! Was really wondering where you landed on the Serum Vs. Vital debate and liked what you had to say about it. I tend to use soft synths as a place holder for when I'm ready to track my hardware, but sometimes I won't lie I'll get lazy and just use the soft synth. lol. Just to add one if you haven't had a chance give the Knifonium from Plugin Alliance a shot when they put it on sale. It's pretty solid. Great video as always, thanks for sharing your thoughts on all these soft synths. FM8 was my first true love when it came to soft synths so it was nice to learn that Skrillex used it to make his growls. I was one of those that thought it was done on Massive. Cheers!
Glad it was interesting to you! Yea - although I usually do track mostly hardware, I really do sometimes like the sound of Serum and other VSTs.
I haven't even ever heard of Knifonium so thanks for the shout there, need to check it out!
Of the ones I know I completely agree with you. Pigments would definitely be high on my list though. Surprised it wasn’t included.
I need to buy Pigments! I only included VSTs I've owned
Have you tried Ana 2? Curious where you would rank it. I have that and Omisphere/Trillian right now and not sure what else I would want to invest in.
Tried it but don't own it so can't really comment!
I also only use these two and have used many. I am thinking about Gforce OB E...
Cool overview mate. I would Super8 is misunderstood perhaps. It is a weird synth. A hybrid from what I understand of the Roland Alpha Juno and the prophet 5 filter (that's what they modelled apparently). I'm undecided about it too but playing around with persistently has gotten me into interesting territory. The only disagreement I have is Monark. I'd put that up to the A tier :).
But quick question though. What might be a hardware synth that could replace Diva? Prologue perhaps with its digital multi function oscillator? Or Summit maybe? I've been moving to hardware more and more but I'm finding Diva is just so tough to replace. Have you had any luck replacing it in hardware by chance? Thanks, cheers. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for watching! You are making me inspired to give the Super 8 a second chance. It definitely seems quirky and interesting on paper, and I do like they made it run standalone outside of Reaktor. Monark is definitely a contender for A tier, it's the bass synth on many of my most popular releases :)
For your question, I think Summit is a much better replacement for Diva than Prologue, it sounds closer because of the creamy 24 or 12 db filter choices, has a really similar reverb, delay and chorus, has the option to do 3 oscillators, and more. Prologue doesn't really sound like any plugins I know, except for maybe if there is a polyphonic Korg Ms20 VST because the Prologue filter is similar! It's its own thing for sure.
@@MilesAwayOfficial Thanks. Much appreciated. I think for the moment it appears near impossible to replace Diva. I just have too much invested in terms of time, sounds etc. I'd have to go through and recreate a bunch of sounds in hardware (doable but time and all) and I just don't have the time at the moment.
Yeah the Super 8 is an interesting synth. I would say though it's a bit of an investment that may or may not work out. Maybe Nathan Coley's art installation comes to mind when I think of this synth:
www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/106064/there-will-be-no-miracles-here
...but then every now and again it surprises.
The sound of the V collection synths has improved massively. And the SQ-80 is fantastic. So, it's a little unfair to Arturia V comparing an old version on sound, when that's exactly what they've improved. Although, I understand you haven't tried the latest version. But, Arturia Pigments is their S tier synth, especially as each new version is adding great new synthesis models, making the price super value, especially as it often goes on sale for 99 or so. I prefer it to Serum, it's more powerful/flexible. UVI Falcon is even better than Alchemy. And Phase Plant is the other S tier synth. While Korg Native OP-6 is a big modern improvement on what Dexed can do, and you might find programming it much more fun.
I have to agree with this comment. The V Collection is sounding pretty good to me, and Miles should check out Pigments. A phenomenal synth.
Thanks for the comment Desmond! That's fair, I have not kept up to date with the V collection. Maybe I'll see about doing a video if I can get an NFR. Also, Pigments is the most recommended synth in these comments so I think I definitely overlooked it. Super excited to check it out!
@@MilesAwayOfficial Pigments is really great. Maybe, Serum is still the best wavetable. And Serum wins on the huge number of patches available out there. But, where Pigments shines is the new models they've kept adding with each new version. Samples+Granular, Harmonic, VA, modelled filter choices etc... It's grown way beyond just being a Serum wavetable competitor. And, I suspect they'll just keep adding, as they develop new tech in their other synths. The UI is very nice too, very clean, and well thought out. I think I'd probably recommend it to people, if they are just buying one softsynth. Especially as it regularly goes on sale for 99, which is total steal compared to UVI Falcon, Phase Plant+Kilohertz bundle or even Serum ... Oh, btw, I completely agree about NI Razor, it's quite special in it's own way, underrated and I hope NI build on that idea, code it natively, expand it. The sounds are too unique for them not to develop it further.
@@MilesAwayOfficial Pigments is Serum + Alchemy + a little bit of vintage flavor. Honestly it's in a class of it's own and it's much easier to use than alchemy and serum. And its Arturia's best soft synth by a far margin. If I could take all my alchemy and serum patches and transfer them to pigments, I'd never look back. The only other synths you'd need are the character ones like legend or gforce stuff
I *independently* made the same overall comment. Glad others agree. And I also agree w rec to check out Pigments, since you don’t have enough soft synths already! ;)
Fantastic video dude, very useful info
Thanks! More synth videos coming very soon :)
I agree with you except Repro-5. For me it is S tier :D i also encourage everyone to try UVI Vintage Vault, they are sampling vintage synths, sounds better than Arturia's offer in my opinion
Totally fair! I think for me if I didn't spend so many years with DIVA I would have been more excited by Repro, but sound quality wise it's so good I agree. I just love running the Minimoog Oscillators into the Jupiter 8 filter as a Poly synth in Diva :)
Between Falcon and Vintage Vault, UVI are killing it. Just not as much exposure to these tools as Arturia has for theirs, unfortunately. UVI stuff is really all one needs. With Serum and Diva, perhaps. Or Hive. Or……
yesss. sounds as fat as a diva if u want
I use Kontakt a lot but my favorite synths are Falcon and VPS Avenger and Nexus is great for arps as well.
oh man, Massive brings back so many memories... I designed sounds on that I couldn't get out of any analog/fm synth... I remember using Nexus - thought it was very good at the time, pretty much a preset synth to me. I agree about being a D though. Also, I really like your channel btw, you're very pleasant to listen to. I love synths although I don't own one haha xD will cya in future vids man
late reply but thanks so much for watching! appreciate you :)
For me, writing modern pop/electronic music, the combo Pigments 3, Phase Plant, Spire and VPS Avenger does the job really well. Four amazing sounding synths with different character and strengths.
My other go to "tier" is the AIR music tech synths, all from the old Protools OGs Xpand2, Hybrid, Vacuum Pro to Loom 2 to newer MPC originated Hype, Electric, Bassline and Tubesynth. These guys sound amazing, are SO cpu-efficient/saving, and - a myriad of hits have been created partly or completly with them.
Really, whatever gets you/us creative are the "best" synths/instruments.
Cool! I've never tried the air music stuff, but your go to's I keep getting recommended. I agree workflow has to come first. Thanks for watching and stick around for more synth content!
Yeah I was actually really shocked that Arturia’s minimoog didn’t sound very close when I first heard it. I was working with a friend on some music and he had it and I could NOT get the sound I wanted dialed in like I could on my Poly D.
Yea for real! It’s still really commendable how ambitious it is, but at the same time it gives me more respect for companies that totally nail the emulation of a vintage synth
@@MilesAwayOfficial yeah it goes to show that not all virtual instruments are created equal.
@Rhizosphere no i don’t really use synth plugins, I try to use hardware as much as possible. Computers just annoy me 😂
@Rhizosphere yeah definitely…there are some good sounding VSTs out there, but software is just frustrating for me. I love the immediacy of my Rev 2 and Poly D.
It is a pretty old emulation although I think they did update the filter several years ago, but it is pretty behind alot of newer emulations. That said, it is relatively CPU light and have great presets. It does a decent emulation for basic stuff but falls apart when you try to push it to the extremes with deeper modulations and more aggressive tones.
You included U-He Tyrell (free version of only part of the Zebra2 engine, I believe) but didn't mention Zebra2.
With its granular capabilities and many synthesis models, I wonder how Pigments would compare with Alchemy.
What about Arturia V collection or UV I Falcon???
Good list - I was very VERY curious as to why you didn't include Hive 2. My guess is that it's just not your genre? Still would like to hear your opinions on it. Thanks!
Thank you! I only included VSTs I own. otherwise it would be just me talking with no experience, but I love U-HE so I am sure hive rocks!
I won't do Native Instruments because they make you use Kontakt.. and that software wouldn't register my serials.
So I googled it and people were saying to install the OLD V1 version...
Which that version would let me activate serials, but it wouldn't let me add my libraries.
Going back to the V2 installer (which confusingly installs V3), again, it wants me to register my serials.. but the registration just hangs and never completes.
Short story: I don't have time for your sales funnel if your software is broken, Native Instruments.
Is there anyway to improve the Dexed UI? That's the only gripe I have with it, but it is a fantastic synth
ah that's fair, the downside of freeware!
man where was this review when i needed it lol
haha welcome! synth videos weekly :)
Great video, I love lists like this, even though you forgot UVI Falcon ;-)
Might be getting falcon soon to do a video, stay tuned!
+ there's this amazing Oberheim VST synth called OB-Xd , which just is insanely good sounding for a digital thing.
I need to check that out! Would love to compare to my real OBx8!
Chiming in here and thanks for ranking these... that was interesting. Everyone has their own favs, of course. Not having Serum for a long time and learning the workflow of Vital, plus the new update really took the clunkiness away, it has really been used a lot more than Serum (at least for me). Two synths that I would highly recommend - Pigments 3 (as others have mentioned) and VPS Avenger. While, I am still getting used to how Avenger works, it has so much in it... almost too much - I mean 8 OSC's?
Thanks for watching and for your ranking!
Great list of synths, i agree with your tiers.
Some others i would recommend, best first.
VPS Avenger
Equator 2
Pigments 4
Europa (Reason Rack plugin)
Spire
Great recommendations thank you! A lot of people have recommended me Pigments and Avenger, I'm gonna get them eventually for sure!
I’m also a big fan of Serum but you should take a look at Kilohearts PhasePlant. To me PhasePlant is exactly what a next generation Serum should be. I’m still using Serum sometimes but I would say that 90% of the time if I make similar patches on both synths, the PhasePlant one ends up sounding much better. The oscillator section is very flexible and the effect section is definitely the best in any synth on the market now. I’ve tried a lot of soft synths over the years and I always came back to Serum because it just sounded better. It cuts through the mix where other synth tends to sound muddy. Now with PhasePlant, it’s the first time that I get this cut through the mix sound like serum does but with much more possibilities.
I want to ask… I’m considering either getting Phase Plant or the UHE collection which has Diva, Dune, Hive, and Zebra. I’ve heard many good things about Phase Plant and I’m big on having a bunch of features in a synth (I LOVE modular synths hehe), but I also care about sound quality and right now I already have a sound exploration synth (Alchemy). Do you think Phase Plant tops the UHE synths or should I get the collection instead.
@@lemonysticket That’s a tricky question because Diva has a bunch of oscillators and filters modeled after famous vintage synths so it’s really good for vintage analog sounds. As opposed to Phaseplant that is better for modern synth sounds like Serum can do. I’m not saying that Phaseplant can’t make vintage analog sounds but Diva will be much easier, faster and get better results for this particular type of sounds. But for Dune, Hive and Zebra, I’m pretty sure Phaseplant can do all what they do much better. Personally what I would do is buy the Kilohearts ultimate bundle once it gets back to the 50% off special. This will give you Phaseplant plus all the snap in effects, then I would buy Diva.
Great comment! I will make sure to check out Phase Plant this year.
Miles Away serum preset pack!? Hell yeah 😍
Yep - can't wait to show ya! More info soon, just cleaning all the names up and making sure it's perfect for you guys :)
Even though I'm one year late to the party I really appreciate this video. Thanks a lot.
Have you tried/listened to Knifonium by Plugin Alliance?
Welcome to my channel! I've heard of that one but never tried it!
Omnisphere is a high B for me. It's a little too long in the tooth and the workflow is lacking compared to newer synths. UVI Falcon is my S Tier synth along with Vintage Vault and several other modules. Sounds just as good as Omnisphere but way more functionality. Nice video.
UVI Falcon looks amazing, I really wanna try it now cause I agree the workflow of omnisphere is why it's not a mainstay for me!
What's your favorite hardware synth or controller for controlling Omnisphere?
Haven't used that feature too much sorry!
Well done - agree with most of your decisions. Adding to your list, I'd have u-he Hive 2 in A-tier. Is very similar to Dune 3, though prefer the overall sound by a notch or two. It is my primary workhorse to get ideas underway quickly. The other two I'd add to your A-tier list are Synapse Obsession and Legend which are my preferred Oberheim and Moog emulations.
Thanks Jason! I just took a closer look at Hive 2, it looks so sick. Am I correct in thinking it might be a bit of a Sylenth-inspired take by U-he? It definitely has the amazing U-he sound I love.
Excellent - I don't know Legend or Obsession very well but I'll check em!
@@MilesAwayOfficial Is possible, I only tried Sylenth once many years ago. I actually stumbled across Hive 2 when u-he had that massive sale a couple years back in conjunction with NI. I downloaded all of the demos and spent a good hour or two with each. Hive 2 just hooked me out of the gate, though really all of the u-he synths are phenomenal. As for Obsession, given you have OB-E I don't think you're missing much in Oberheim sound but for those without either would highly recommend as a solid alternative. Finally, Legend. My personal favorite for workflow and sound but Model 72 is also amazing. Softube Model 84 and Repro are the only other soft synths I'm looking at to complete my own vintage collection. Prefer cherry picking from the best and knowing well vs. something like V-Collection which is tremendous value, but IMO something about the sound from most of their synth emulations...they just don't pop in the manner I'm expecting.
@@fromoutwest totally my feelings on V collection too! Ok that's cool, I definitely will check these out, thank you Jason! Stay tuned for more synth videos, music and tier lists :)
I independently made the same rec re: Obsession. Glad it’s not just me. The sound is incredible.
You really really must. I actually don’t have Legend yet but if it’s in the same league as Obsession…. Which I hear it is….
Pigments, Falcon, and Synapse Obsession are must tries!!!
Noted! Thanks for the suggestions!
I would say the CURRENT versions of Arturia's V collection is an S. The SQ-80 is dead on accurate and it is a very esoteric wavetable synth that not many people know and it supports MPE. I owned one. Its great. The EP 73 is arguably one of the best ones out there. The buchla music easel is excellent. These plugins thrive around the edges and the more recent models, not necessarily the old ones they originally came out with. Stuff like the synclaiver, emi, sq-80, buchla, emulator, etc. I have to admit the arp2600 model made me eventually get an arp 2600. Also keep in mind with much of analog gear there is a great deal of variation that happens from identical synths. Especially for things like minimoogs and arp 2600s. Unless it is a DCO synth, two identical models can sound radically different because of component differences and how they were maintained.
Thanks for the comment Christine! I really need to revisit the new V Collection, these sound super intriguing! That's super exciting if the plugins sound good pushed to the edge, cause for me, that is the biggest limitation of software vs hardware - I like to push my gear and that can reveal flaws. ps. super jealous you have a 2600, that's incredible!
The Synclavier especially is a fascinating effort. I can believe it's quite true to form given they got the original programmer and his copy of the software that's on those old boxes. It's hard to use but just intrigues me. One of the pad presets has a bell tone that just chimes in a second or two into the note and when I heard that I immediately set about just trying to break that down for over an hour. I can see why it gets overlooked given how different it is to work with but I wish it got more love as a hidden gem of the digital side of the V collection. I also hear the MS 20 clone is really good but haven't had time to try it out much since I upgraded to Collection 9 on the holiday sale.
Yes. Arturia seems to have become one of the most improved companies. They were historically kind of known for somewhat mediocre emulations, but their newer stuff is pretty good and their digital emulations and effects are very cool. And one thing Arturia does get right are amazing presets. They do have a bit of older emulations that aren't up to par with newer synths like the mini v. But even that synth has very usable presets.
Pigments though which is Arturia's take on a modern synth really knocked it out the park as it kind of blends the new technologies with the old filter emulations and such they are known for.
Put me also on the list of Arturia lovers ❤️ Been with them quiete a while and it is and was impressive how this company evolved. Check the new CS80 from them (pretty close). On the other hand the new synths are really cpu hogs. So sometimes I choose less demanding softsynths like Diva. Never would imagined I say that one day 😅
I'd be interested to hear how this subject develops. Those times I've gotten to play with retro gear, they sound amazing, even if limited by today's standards. Maybe it's that I'm not applying the post effects which I should, but I have to say that many of the Arturia V collection (older ones like the Prophet) sound to me like I've got a blanket stuffed in my speakers. They sound rather dull and muted to me.
However, I agree that the SQ sounds amazing, as does the Emu and the CMI.
Another fun list 😀 Obviously this goes out of order as soon as there is a software update (like Arturia Pigments or V9 Collection where they re-worked some of their existing synths and add some new ones), but also you don't know what you don't know (like Kilohearts, UVI, whole bunch of Reason's, and I am not even touching BitWig or VCV, or Korg and Roland own VSTs, etc 😉), so yeah cool 👍
totally, only put stuff I own / used to own! So I'm sure newer Arturia updates will make it rise in the ranks
Really Enjoyed This 👌💯 I got to Vital 😅 Brilliant Video as Always 🤩 🙌
Thanks for the visit Jay, glad you enjoyed!
I think Pigments should've been included in the list!
I only included synths I own/have owned! Many people here are recommending Pigments, I need to try it!
Is it your favourite synth?
@@MilesAwayOfficial you should try it for sure :) it's not my favorite synth (I prefer hardware over software and my two favorite ones are the Peak and my eurorack) but in the realm of software synths pigments is one to mention for sure! It has a really nice UI and many, many, fast to use modulation capabilities. It has virtual analog, wavetables, sample based synthesis, additive synthesis (via partials)and granular synthesis, dual filters, with many different filter models, plenty of nice effects and much more to offer. It also has a nice interactive manual to learn it (more synths and plugins should do it like arturia imho). Cheers!
@@MrJemabaris excellent! That sounds really nice to use, cheers. And big thumbs up for the Peak! I'm still trying to find one locally to borrow or rent so I can make a similar patch set to my Summit one (people keep asking for it), so stay tuned there :)
@@MilesAwayOfficial Can't you just make a patch set for Peak on your Summit? It's basically the same thing twice, no?
One, Surge XT, Pigments, Phase Plant …
We need updates to your tier lists (expanding/updating both) 😎👍🏼
On it! I will definitely do a tier list update this year, stay tuned!
Hi Miles and thank you for all you do. We quite clearly have similar taste based not only on this video but others, including your hardware synth tier video. Also FYI I just got an OB-6 and planning to get your sound pack. Worst thing about that synth for me is the factory presets, at least for my use. I like mellower sounds, mostly, and so many of the fac presets are quite harsh or otherwise not usable for me. But I digress! I share your views on Arturia V Collection but some of the recent updates are getting a lot better. If you haven’t heard their latest CS-80 plug, I think it’s actually quite good. Could just be me. But might be worth another look. But if you’re already used the new one, never mind. :) Thanks again!
Congrats on the OB! Agreed, the factory presets besides 007 and a few others aren't great. Thanks if you ended up getting my pack! I also highly recommend J3PO's OB6 pack. Between mine and his, you will never need the factory presets again ;)
Thanks! I did indeed buy it! Haven’t installed yet but will do so today. And yes, I’m a J3PO fan so I got his while the OB was still en route! Got a couple others after previewing them and may get Matt Johnson’s and then I think I’m good! Oh, and make some of my own, using existing presets or from scratch. And P.S., you will not be disappointed with Obsession. Mark my words
Thanks man! Nice comparison but we have a lot more :) ...maybe for round two:
- Parawave Rapid (I just installed the Demo but I think its a very nice Synth with one of the coolest resynthesis capabilities)
- KV331 Synthmaster 2 (possibilities are endless ...all forms of synthesis plus multisample import and the sound quality is top notch)
- UVI Falcon as its own and some really nice libraries like the PX Memories for example (its like an modern, slightly updated Kontakt version)
- Synapse Obsession and Legend (Never tried these plugins but I heard a lot of good things about these Synapse synths)
- VPS Avenger (Really cool stuff going on here ...Multisamples, all forms of synthesis, drum engine, very nice ARP and SEQ)
- Cubase Retrologue (I think its free now and the sound quality is very good)
- Cubase Pad Shop (very nice Granular and Spectral Synthesizer)
And some thoughts about plugins these days Vs hardware would be very interesting because I bought the Novation Summit last week and compare it to all the usual suspects of VSTs and some of them comes really close if not better in some cases without any analog overdive and distortion. So whats your thoughts about this? Is it just about a good hardware Midi controller in the end?
Please let me know what you think about that. Cheers!
Wow awesome recommendations! I will check these out. For your question: I will always like hardware synths because i grew up playing instruments, not clicking a mouse and looking at a screen. But sound wise, VSTs are just so close now! The only thing that VSTs still haven't nailed in my opinion is analog distortion and high resonance VCF lowpass filters. So, I think the best set up is using VSTs + 1-2 analog synths like a Sub 37 and an OB-6 to have access to all the flavours!
Check out SonicProjects OP-X PRO-II. The guy did an incredible job emulating the Oberheim with this VST. I think you might really enjoy it. Have and love the u-he Diva (it just feels/sound analog - Incredible)!
some other great synths that i own, myself:
UVI Falcon (such a good synth, despite me not using it as much, but i plan to change that)
KV331 Synthmaster
Parawave Rapid
Melda MSoundFactory
Sonic Academy ANA 2
Roland D-50 (the VST version)
Surge (its a free synth, but its just spectacular)
great list! I might check out Surge, never heard of it
Interesting list! What about Halion 6, Avenger and Korg Collection 4?
only included VSTs I own! those look great though :)
For additive synths... Loom II from AIR Music tech is one the most edgy, full sonic registred vsti's I've ever owned/used. Just try it out, you will be blown away. My setup right now is a Virus C DSP emulation as a Virus C, Loom II for additive, UVI Falcon as my "super workstation", just amazing, Procletya for VA paired with Dune 3, OPx4 originally MPC synth from AIR (for pure modern FM) and the Arturia Mini Freak from Arturia for great multiengine possibilities.
I also own Pigments, V collection 9, Phaseplant, Softube Parallells, all Waves synths and many more, but the way I make music, since I started in the late 80ies,is to translate each vst instrument to real instruments in question of feel, sound and function. All my songs should be avle to play live with two keyboardists, drummer, bassist/guitarist and each of these "keyboard players" have three synths each and a piano. If I was to use 16 softsynths at the same time, It would not inspire me or feel real. So I use 6 synths at a time, with different character to get a full sonic range.
I would put electra2 in the list. Hoping to see some piano plugins, philharmonik etc in the future.
Good to see Dune 3 up there. It's absolutely;y ridiculously versatile as a synth. The filters, the 8 parts, Ability to sound Digital or analog...can do subtractive, FM, Wavetable, and now can be used as a sampler as well.
** Also has the Random feature that lets you take any 3 patches and combined them and then lets you mix the level of how much you want of each of the sound to combine...Then it creates a random patch from that....With that setting as it is, you can press random and get like 30 completely different sounds....Put in one additional patch to cycle a new one...And create more random sounds with that.
You can take the paid sounds you have and combined them with other paid sounds using this same thing or with your own and then have stacks of folders of free interesting sounds.
I still haven't even scratched the surface of what is possible but Dune 3 is my starting point on everything I do. It's so easy to get an idea down and into Logic quick with Dune 3 and then I can use my hardware synths to record along with it after.
It works well layering with hardware synths as well because it can sound analog but with it's own unique style.I literally haven't felt the need to buy any other soft synth yet because aside from specialized or niche/free ones.
I have Dune 3, Dexed for FM, Alchemy is free in Logic Pro X, Have the Korg Wavestation & Mono / poly plugins as well for added 80's sounds.
I haven't felt the need to get Diva because Dune is that good, but there are probably at least 10+ other synths I'd like to try....don't have the money for it though.
late reply but great comment! You are making want to use Dune again, I have moved to a mainly hardware set up recently but that sounds so great!
@@MilesAwayOfficial Yea the "Genetics" as it's called or (randomizer) as it is, is the coolest feature...
It's good for making weird sounds you would never be able to come up with, and then you can mellow those weird sounds out with a normal patch and blend that with something else...So man options, but if I ever need a sound, I just find the 3 closest things to it and run it through that until I get something close, then run that through it and repeat..** If I find a patch I like, I'll make like 3-4 variations of it to give some variety I can stack as well.
And it just sounds so fat an analog....And I've only used it on the lowest setting...I'm not even using it on the best quality mode, of which I think there are 3-4.
have not watched yet. checking for Diva ranking. im more of a hardware guy but i love surfing presets in the soft synths. edit: ok you get it
What, no Pigments?
I keep getting it recommended, I think I need to try it! I only ranked synths I own.
low key an underrated/not as well known new one is the UAD minimoog VST - I've tried multiple diff minimoog emulations and nothing compares in terms of accuracy and tone in VST form. I own a Moog little phatty and for bass tones I honestly choose this VST moog emulation more than an earlier Moog hardware model. If I had the $$$ for a subsequent 37 or something, I'm sure that would be an improvement, but I honestly was blown away to how realistic this VST is. Even the tuning of the different oscillators is so realistic feeling, you can't just snap on to an exact +5, +7 etc. Defs check it out!
Wow! Need to check it out. I love uad plugins but haven’t tried that one. Thx
"To my ears, Dexed sounds just like a DX-7"..."I've never owned a DX-7". Okay.
That memorymoon was used for the sub focus track solar system. His most streamed song.
Oh so cool! I love his music
Miles i just bought Diva and played your Deep Space Diva. Went down an Octave and WOW!
So good right! Welcome to the gateway drug to hardware LOL
Badass review
Thanks!
Great review was very interested to watch to see what you like. Couple of things I want to say.
Mangle is no longer available, I was looking into this just recently since I have a new affinity for granular synths.
Also it appears you like hardware synths, check out the 1010music lemondrop synth, looks tiny and very cool for granular work. Reviews on RUclips shows it has some great potential to create some very nice sounds.
My recent interest in Granular is it can create really cool background ambience sounds that interest me for inspirational uses to get started on creating new tracks.
NI forms is pretty interesting as well.
Anyway keep up on the great videos.
Late reply! Thanks for the awesome comment. I too am a massive Granular synth fan :) so far Alchemy is my fave plugin, but I would really like to get a new one !
Sad to hear Mangle is gone, but yea I know it didnt even install on my M1 macbook, so I guess its gone. I actually reached out to 1010music to review the lemondrop but unfortunately they had sent out all their review units already, it looks sick! Do you like it?
@@MilesAwayOfficial I don't own one, but have checked out a lot of reviews on the Ytube. Not sure if I will end up buying one or not. I just picked up Quanta on a nice coupon code from plugin boutique. So far I like it.
maybe somebody else said it but yeah the V collections has evolved quite a lot and I don't think you can lump it all together; latest versions of the jupiter and prophet are way improved in sound quality (as well as the CS 80 I hear). Besides some of the synth they have I'm not sure there's another emulation outthere (thinking of the buchla and synclavier which are favorites of mine). Originaly I got to the V collections because CPU usage on U HE was really way too high but it seems arturia is getting there in terms of sound quality (of course a ton of people are gonna disagree). Also worth a listen: the AAS CV-1 which sounds fantastic; and is also really the most optimized plug-in compared to the big names in virtual modular.
Totally fair! Will try to update when they go on sale next
Synths I use regularly not on the list: Spire, Zebra, Hive, Pigments.
I still hate Apple for killing Alchemy (I'd have to switch not only Win to Mac, but also Ableton/Reaper to Logic just to use it).
I've just got Vanguard2 and I imagine I'll use it plenty. Other things I like are _physically modelled_ synths, like AAS' stuff and ExpressiveE, though they're not the kind of thing you use in EDM.
For Serum people, Vital's ability to resample a patch to a wavetable makes it a great sidekick: you can export a wavetable from Serum, do stuff with it in Vital, resample to a new wavetable in Vital, export that wavetable back to Serum.
Something I wish Arturia would do with the V-Collection is to have a consistent non-vintage-vibe ui so as to present the facilities of each emulation in a consistent way for those of us who are interested in the sound, but not so much the 'vintage experience'. I mean, basically they all have oscillators, filters, modulators and effects. So perhaps a UI that works like Pigments, but with the V-Collection sound engines.
Yea agreed! As happy as I am Logic users got alchemy for free, it sucks it came at the cost of everyone else.
No Surge XT ???
Totally agree with your list, i was hoping to see zebra, vps avenger or spire in there though...i have most of these synths and Diva is the one that i would normally use
I need to try Avenger! Lots of recommendations. Thx for watching.
17:00 my heart broke lmao 💔😂 still great vid!
haha sorry, i did Sylenth a bit dirty here for sure but it's still a solid synth!
Diva is hands down the best synth I’ve ever used
amen
Cpu 😖
fr no cap
I couldn't help but smile when you started talking about Diva. My experience exactly. Never paid for a soft synth until then, but that opened the gates. I had it about 2 or 3 days in the demo when I realized I kept going back. So I paid the fee. I loved it so much, and since I had Tyrell and Zebralette and loved them as well, I tried the other U-he plugs in demo. Too late. I fell in love and paid the money. Anyone who writes software that good deserves to be paid so that hopefully we will see more from them. I now own the free ones along with Diva, Hive, Zebra legacy and the Pro bundle one and five. I love those synths. I don't use all the synths mentioned here, but largely agree with the ones I do have, tho for me, all the U-he's are out of the park homers!! It's hard to believe how good they are. Love Dexed as well since I had and still have one of the original early DX7's which had one of if not the best keybeds ever put in a synth in the non weighted class. But even tho I own the real thing, it hasn't been turned on since I got Dexed. Just too easy to use as a plugin. Good video by the way.
Thank you! Yea U-HE are so good. My gateway drug into spending way too much on hardware synths LOL
@@MilesAwayOfficial Lol! I started with the hardware synths in the "old days" because there were no soft synths because there were no PC's lol! I go back to the 50's and 60's but I'm thankful I have lived long enough to see the modern tech. It's beyond belief what we have to work with now and compared to the cost of that early stuff, today's tech is somewhat affordable.
Arturia V Collection has a lot of great sounds. They keep improving it in new versions. I have V9
Arturia Pigments is an excellent synth. Dune 3 is underrated. Most people don't know how good D-16 Lush 101 sounds. Sylenth1 2.2 still sounds great. Yes 64 bit for a long time.
Viper by Adam Szabo has the Access Virus sounds. VPS Avenger, Korg Wavestate Native VST, Full Bucket synths (free or donation), Hideaway Studios and Hollow Sun Kontakt stuff.
GForce OB-E and a lot of other great GForce sounds. Roland Cloud synths such a Juno 60 and 106 sound very good for the old sounds. Cherry Audio synths ...
Great list! I agree Dune is underrated :)
I see that you have Dexed, and I give you OPS7! It has:
-Different DAC and filter settings
-You can layer 2 sounds and detune the layers, making it a DX1/5 emulation as well
-Extended mode allows for additional waveforms (TX81Z, OPL3, SY77), feedback, noise, panning per operator, and vibrato and pitch envelope effects can be disabled per operator!
-It costs $25 on Black Friday
-Amazing interface
-Amazing patch compatibility. It also works with the new Volca FM 2
Dexed is free i believe, but the OPS7 is a monster unit.. im glad they released a SW version... Im waiting on the ModWave VSTi.. Now THAT one would be nice to have and i can get rid of my hardware LOLLLL
@@PedroAnastazi I think you are confusing Plogue's OPS7 with Korg's Opsix, which is also amazing.
@@jackcimino8822 yes ur right, I was thinking of the korg units & typing out others.. My bad.. That's wot u get w 3hrs sleep.. Lollll
wow! I need to try that. Thanks Jack! Stick around for more synth videos :)
You seem like you really dig synthesis. You have got to try Pigments, obviously. And Hive - It’s like Diva with a modern bent. And FALCON (there’s nothing one cannot do in Falcon), VENGEANCE (although you don’t really need it if you get Falcon first)… and PHASEPLANT. You seem particular about workflow, so not sure how you’ll feel about Phaseplant’s unique modular structure. But the way it marries sound generators to the snap-in effects, you’ll feel like the other synths have had you with one hand tied behind your back. It’s liberating. And it sounds great too. Try the fully customizable multiband fx of multipass, too, outside of Phaseplant.
Thank you for the recommendations! I am actually gonna be doing a video on Falcon, so stick around - it was my most requested VST from this list and I am not disappointed!
@@MilesAwayOfficial Good call man. I’m here for it
What about Pigments, UVI Falcon, Softube Modular?
all good options! like I mentioned I only rank VSTs I've owned and used in my Miles Away releases
Im only just starting with VST synths really - as Im a hardware gut BUt my space is full lol. I have 3 currently, and not sure If I NEED any more lol. first - Equator 2, for use exclusively with my Osmose for MPE - Egan matrix is not the easiest to sound design with (not as bad for editing existing sounds) and this is geared towards MPE. Second, Diva - analogue playground, and 3rd OBx.... as Ive been thinking of swapping my OB6 desktop with an OBx8 desktop - but lack of onboard FX puts me off..... This kind of solves things lol - between OBx and my OB6 i dont think I need theX8..
Equator2 is by far the coolest softsynth I've used in years. I am gonna do a 2024 version of that list and Equator2 will be S-tier for me.
ola, nice tuto. for warm, analog and precise (fast bass) what you recommand .. best vibes ;)
Diva or Repro are my faves!
@@MilesAwayOfficial i try u-he, uad synth opal, moog ! and other warm .. ;) best vibes
Why is there no name labels on the screen? Label the plugins name
As others have stated; Pigments. The UI along with the great sound capabilities are what elevates it as a core/do-it-all design though I could not see putting in the effort if one has already mastered one of your other S tier such synths. I disagree on Super 8. The factory patches are (unsurprisingly) weak. The "essentials only" old school analog design is elegant - adding only a couple of "extras" to something like a Prophet 5 layout. A light (or heavy if going for such sounds) touch of mods is always needed or it does sound thin.
thanks for the feedback! definitely need to try pigments and also give Super 8 another chance
you missed the VPS Avenger from Vengeance Sound & keilwerth Audio.
Wish i had seen this video before black friday
I would put Synthmaster in my tier list. Great preset box, inexpensive, definitely deep for programming, though I don't actually enjoy programming it like some synths. Harmour, as another additive option. Also Surge XT. That one has gone open-source and it's accumulated the "OP featureset" that is common in open source projects, but it's still remained fun to program. I went and made one of my computers a Linux music station running Ubuntu Studio with Renoise as the DAW, and Ubuntu Studio ships an absurd quantity of FX plugins, so with Surge there, and VCV Rack if I really want to go deeper and do modular sounds, it's really only sampling that remains the open question(but not that open...after all, it's all going through Renoise, which is an amazing sampler, I can take any loop and slice it up rather than go the sampled-instruments route).
Really, I've kind of slimmed down what I look for in a synth to: Can I EQ the oscillators(that describes the core difference between Moog and Juno timbre), can I adjust the envelope curvature(that's what defines snappiness and texture), can I emulate various different filters well, and is it either of: easy to program/stacked with presets? The rest of the features kind of get lumped into timbre as "this one can do more complex sound effects" vs "this one can only do sawtooth brass". The perceived sound quality is pretty much always juiced by adding either transient shaping or a compression/EQ pass, so I don't really go chasing after high quality output like I used to. It just means I have to stick something on the FX chain to feel warm fuzzies when demoing presets.
Totally agree on your assessment there! Synthmaster I've heard of but not tried, that sounds really tempting - I wanna check it out! Surge I've never even heard of!
what about Surge XT?
Absynth is still an amazing instrument even though the UI is a bit awkward. Take the time to use it and it's capable of fantastic sounds. I make ambient music and Absynth is always the bed of a track, mainly factory presets with tweaks running through Supermassive. Sounds epic!
Great point! I can imagine for ambient its still pretty unparalleled. I remember loving the built in Granular FX
@@MilesAwayOfficial It has a unique sound and I've not heard any other softsynth quite like it. It's almost as much of a pain in the arse to program as a DX7 but it's worth the effort!
it's a noob tier list. Absynth should be A tier. Even after the Serum era of VSTs, Absynth still does a million things that wavetable synths CANNOT do.
which bundle of Kontakt?
The magic of Kontakt is there are so many options for libraries based on what you love, but some of the ones I use the absolute most are : NI Alicia's Keys, Una Corda and Noire, Heavyocity Damage, Output Analog Brass and Strings, 8Dio Anthology Strings, Spitfire Olafur Arnalds Toolkit
Finished watching. Bravo. Synapse Audio (note correction pronunciation btw; it’s a neurobiology term as you might know) Obsession is also way up there for me. At least an A. Of course, I expect to be using it less now that I have the OB-6. But I will probably still use it! Actually I just realized you don’t have ANY Oberheim emulations on here. Interesting. Lastly, thank you for assuaging my guilt about owning so many virtual synths! I have a smallish fraction of this number and heretofore seemed like a lot! Then again, I don’t have as much need for them due to the amount of music and styles of music I do, nor do I review synths for others, etc. But still, thank you for making me look/feel restrained. :)
Re: Oberheim: I mean, V Collection includes OB emulation and I know Diva covers that ground, but as far as dedicated OB emulations….
Thanks for the great comments!
I forgot to add the GE-Force OB/Sem emulation I did a review on but its an A also. Definitely need to try Obsession as I love Dune. And you can never have too many VSTs haha! I will say though I pretty much only rarely use the ones outside of A and S on songs, but its good to have those flavours available :) new tier list video coming soon, stick around!
I just played an Ob6 yesterday. I think I actually like Obession better as it comes with effects.
I truly love Obsession. But your comment seems to suggest that OB-6 does not have effects. First of all the OB-6 can sound like no VST can, and it has lots of effects. But anyway, I’m with you on Obsession! The OB-6 certainly does not replace it (for me). Some overlap, but each is different.
I was searching for Pigments too :D
Whats about Msoundfactory, Backbone, XLN-Xo, Mdrummer, Pigments,Hive2, Falcon, Icarus, Groove Agent, Elekra, Gladiator, Halion, Phaseplant. (Serum lol- yes cool ..but..VST3...hmmm)
all good suggestions!
What do you think of Hive 2?
Haven't played it much besides the demo but it sounds great!
Have you tried Parawave Rapid?
I have not! Is it new?
Appreciate the info...but i have to diagree with you big time on Super 8. A few reasons:
- simplicity and speed of creating patches overall.
- SH 101 style blending of oscillators
- Mod matrix is super fast - almost modular quality to it.
- The oscillators (8 in total!) themselves sound great and are eaily (and individually) motion controled.
- 8 OSCs per voice with polyphonic LFOs option.
- Total Madchine MK3 & + integration (imo is the perfect hybrid of hardware, real instrument environment with power of software/DAW 😁
This is a great comment! Because of you I actually just re-installed Super 8. Maybe I wrote it off too fast :) thanks!
@@MilesAwayOfficial 😎. Cool. Maybe you'll get more out of it this time. I guess it depends on the style of music too. It's great for weird Boards Of Canada stuff :) Clarification: When I say "8 oscillators" I am referring to the four individual oscillator waves you can blend in each main oscillator 👍
Can you link the synth you said was good and free?
DEXED
www.kvraudio.com/product/dexed-by-digital-suburban
where would you put PhasePlant?
Haven’t used it thoroughly enough to give a fair ranking but it’s really good!
Hey Miles - Love this type of video 👍 It's great to hear what others think of stuff. In a recenbt very rough count, I probably have over 200 soft synths 😱 so I'm not likely to make a video like this 🤣 and even if I only listed ther ones I use it would be a long list. What do I think I should buy more...? 😱
Glad you enjoyed it! Damn, 200 soft synths haha
@@MilesAwayOfficial Yep! I should either get a life or make more music 🤣
@@IanWaugh hahaha 🤣
You want some cool CS-80 type sounds? You should check out Vangelis by Luftrum for Omnisphere 2. Basically it's a library of the famous sounds from Blade Runner, but they sound really good. You could argue on how authentic it is, but man does it sound good. And it's cheap, I think the library is like $60 or something, can't remember off the top of my head.
Nice recommendation thank you! Will check out :)
UVI Falcon is easily an S Tier for anyone who knows what they're doing.
Falcon is on my list to get for sure! For this ranking I only included VSTs I own. But Falcon looks super sick.
Falcon is the end-all be-all, hands down. Good call
I absolutely adore the v collection personally
definitely need to check out the newer updates~!
Awesome job! Thank you for the great video 📹 I hope all is well in Your world 🌎. Mark Bensette Aux Bois 🇨🇦.
Thanks for watching! Hope all is well too Mark :)
Also Arturia V collection doesn't really work on Apple silicon. Which is why I am here. Looking for a replacement. haha
That's rough! I didn;t know that
Works great for me, maybe they updated it
I really want to buy Diva... But I make music in the HipHop/RnB/Reggae/Jazz/Trap Soul/House space ... I like incorporating synths if the sounds feel right, and a lot of really great songs in that space use unique synth sounds which are really effective. But with Diva almost all the presets are for electronic / techno etc which isn't a surprise, most synths lean towards that space naturally, but theres usually presets that work / can be tweaked.
I know a decent amount of sound design... I could maybe learn more and improve but... idk man its so time consuming and I aint got much of that these days.
Those genres you mentioned use really simple, but tasteful sounds. Take 1 oscillator into the filter. Its all about the playing/writing, not the sound design. Avoid the presets. Start from Minipoly/Minimono template and just filter down. J3P0 is a much better person for those genres than me, definitely study his videos!
Anyone with a list in text so it's easier to look for these synths?
What about Vengeance VPS Avenger?
Need to try it! Only included VSTs I've confidently used/owned
The last time camel audio alchemy was on windows, it was 32bit back in 2000
I do understand why Omnisphere got an A tier. That UI and thousands of presets are a bit daunting for someone used to modern ultra clean UI. But for me it's an automatic S-Tier. It sounds amazing, you can do every kind of synthesis, use samples etc The preset are also fantastic. I'm a film composer and Omni gets used in every single projects. I would recommend trying the new sonic extensions that they released last year. Much cleaner UI and crazy sounds.
Totally fair! I can see it being S, this is just a personal list and I don't find I use it that much these days, although you are inspiring me to fire it up again!
A few more for the list: Ana 2, Avenger, Babylon, Carbon Electra, Tracktion F.'em, Spire, and Zebra 2.
Great ones I need to check out !
Massive should be atleast on A, if you know how to use massive you automatically becomes top 1%
True, fair point - massive is timeless!
Just here to check if Serum is on top... Good man!
Of course lol 🙌
I have FL Studio and Komplete 9 + few other interesting synths I got for free or cheap over the years.
Massive X is a massive recourse hog, but it sounds amazing.
ANA 2 is my favorite. Icarus 2 sounds also good. But ANA 2 is my way to go 😄
i used the original ANA but need to give the second one a try!
You missed all the Rob Papen synths, they are amazing.
I only reviewed synths I own here, but I've heard those are great! Which is your fave?
I think if you gave Vital a second chance, you'd have put in the top tier. I overlooked it for a long time cuz it was free, but I was wrong. It's a real workhorse. You can do things in it that you can't with Serum (and vice versa)
Fair! I definitely respect it a lot, just didn't find the workflow as fast. But I'll give it another shot!
@@MilesAwayOfficial New sub by the way, because of this video. I forgot to mention that.