I just want to clarify that this is no ''top'' whatever plugins. It's the most used plugins by industrial bands that we know of in no particular order. If you have more informations about what plugins bands are using don't hesitate to share it :) I probably forgot some important plugins, maybe an Episode 2 would be cool too? hehe Also leave a like, helps a lot the algo!
@@Tonepusher they’re fantastic plugins! I recently started using Phase Plant more and more because i have pretty much all the Kilohearts plugins and it’s so versatile and open ended you can make any sound with it
@@apoplexiamusic yeah man Phase Plant is a GREAT plugin. I don't own much of Kilohearts stuff although I know that I should haha You're making me think that I should go download the distortion one that is free haha I also use a lot Pigments lately, I love it. My go to granular synth.
Best NIN album: The Downward Spiral. Had a huge headache after the first listen, what was going on was INSANE. Since then, it’s No 1 with no competition.
Haha yeah DS is a HUUUUGE album. Very very influencial not only for fans of music in general but also for all music producers and sound designer. Still today it sounds like the future haha Having this said, my favorite would be PHM hehe Totally in love with the drum sounds on this one.
Once again a great video. And as (I think) I have said before I am glad that industrial music fans and creators are finally getting some love on RUclips Keep up the great work!
thanks man! I never thought that I would get that kind of traction on YT with Industrial hehe But I'm happy to share my love for industrial with people! 🤘
synths can mimic other synths, *Surge XT* is a free, open-source, soft synth that one could coax industrial sounds out of as well ( check the skin library for something you can spend hours at ) .... it's the synths your most familiar with that will make the sounds you're looking for. Serum looks like a premium Massive .. some props on the sound quality and CPU efficiency; I am looking into it.
I completely agree, technically any synth could be ''industrial'' hehe But some of them can achieve certain type of sounds easier than others. Some also sounds angrier hehe
@@Tonepusher Surge XT has distortion, so one can easily get over driven sounds, it's a hybrid synth engine also...people have no idea until they sit down with it, it can do industrial.
@@Tonepusher download all the documentation also ...the synth, the skin, the documentation .. it's a good super synth when you feel like you need a fresh angle
Surge is great!! You can get a lot of good Industrial/Ebm sounds out of Synth1vst as well. I've used it for sounds across multiple genre's for years now.
True! Vital is one of the best if not the best free plugin out there. But imo it's still too young to put it in there. Let's see if it pass the test of time hehe
Looks like a native instruments commercial lol, don't get me wrong they are great. Here are some of my choices that get you there fast: u-he repro, Waldorf ppg wave, synth1, arturia ensoniq, kawai k1, vavra, amigo sampler, Waldorf largo, Tal sampler with emu library samples, arturia dx7 with dexed presets, pulse code drum machine, glow reverb, eventide effects, infiltrator, GRM Ina effects, glitch machines tactic, web sampler and for some quality presets for vsts mentioned in this video check out Cage audio.
True, there's a lot of NI in there 😅 But I'm not the one choosing for these guys 😂 The stuff you named are all classics which I approve 150% ! haha Especially Arturia DX7 and u-he repro, love em!! Never tried Waldorf stuff tho (shame on me) haha I have to
NI loves to release updates as brand-new, paid products lol. Another phenomenal video! I feel ashamed that I don't know the sound from the Doom soundtrack!
Great video once again. There's just an error, the Rez synth from Radio isn't actually from Omnisphere, it is from Trilian, another VST by Spectrasonics used by Flake in Untitled and Zeit, it was used in the amazing Weit Weg lead for example.
@@TonepusherNot really, I've been a Spectrasonics user for quite some time, I have all the software of them, and what they did was basically integrate Trilian and Keyscape in Omnisphere, but of course, you need to have Trilian and Omnisphere for the integration to work. There is also Trilian Creative and Keyscape Creative, that has presets which use soundsources of those with the ones of Omnisphere, they are pretty great, I mean, Spectrasonics stuff in general are pretty great.
@@dudu046 Yeah Spectrasonics stuff is amazing. Although last time I used Trilian was YEARS ago haha But I remember liking it. Thanks for the clarification though. Can't always be right! haha 😅
Since you made the video about the top ones used and you mention bands that synths are not their main sound (3T, Ramm etc)... the top industrial soft synths are (excluding DAW ones) Vanguard / Sylenth / Massive / Nexus Reaktor /Absynth / FM8 / Battery U-he stuff, and Serum came in the picture a bit later. Omni is not as popular as the above. Of course other ones were used throughout the years but the above are the most used ones since the beginning.
Some of the software you named are not synths. Also all the synths I listed are backed up with actual proof that they used it. I'm not going to name synths that ''I think'' they use hehe I need proof. And also Vanguard was mainly used in the Aggrotech scene and not really the more traditional industrial, same for Nexus which is a rompler anyway hehe And also just so you know I did name FM8 and Massive hehe
@@Mythos91Tube hahaha dude first time I pressed that trancegate back in the day my mind was blown. XD Yeah the timeline was Vanguard, Sylenth1, Massive, Serum ... at least that's what I remember. I think that I could name a song for every Vanguard preset lol
I love how you keep bringing up the name 3TEETH, I'm like "ouais, bon gars". Last year's album was a juggernaut and my AOTY... but it flew under the everyone's radar it seems, really surprised me. They used the Access Virus a lot too I think (there's a new plugin version of the thing but I didn't explore it too much yet).
Yeah man, tbh 3TEETH right now (imo) is the band that represent the best industrial music. The production, song structure and visuals are next level. And there's no compromise, they're heavy and raw but at the same time they have songs like ''Drift'' that are super melodic. From a producer point of view (and also graphic designer) these guys know what they're doing hehe I also love the evolution of the vocals that went from super modified to something more ''in your face'' and wide like Rob Zombie or old Manson. 🤘
@@kittavares4334 Yeah I've played a festival years ago in Toronto where 3TEETH was on the bill. They opened that night, they only had 1 album out. And right when they started I knew they were in another league. Insane stage presence, super cool visual. ''Slavegod'' blew my mind haha
All good synths, but I admit I love Dune 3 most for its patch randomizer where you can randomize presets with other presets and come out with amazing sounds. Pigments for its interface and patch making and Korg's new wavestation and modwave for interesting sounds. Mix those with arturias ms20 filter and compression and wow.
haha yeah well the MS-20 filter is legendary for a reason! I never tried the DUNE3 though... There's so many really good synths out there that I still have to try like DUNE3 or Phase plant.
Between Dune 3 and Phaseplant, I choose Dune every single time. Phaseplant is quite quirky and fun, but the sound quality of Dune and the effects is at another level (and has a very low CPU footprint, honestly I have no idea how they pull it off)
@@dnalord77 well I'm not surprised Synapse Audio makes very high-end products. The latest collab with HZ too is interesting although I'm always suspicious when plugins are associated with artists. Smells too much like the marketing gimmick to me haha BUT from what I heard it sounds good too.
@@Tonepusher Dune 3's patch generation called GENETICS allows you to create new patches by selecting 2 to three patches and combining those settings and randomizing them, a real game change for creating patches. The sound quality is amazing and the low CPU usage makes it my go to synth most of the time, just using genetics and playing around i can lose track of hours. highly recommended! The legend HZ i'm definitely going to have to get at some point.
IMO Phase Plant is a great all-in-one synth. FM, wavetable, granular, sampler. And it's so modular, you can basically have endless* generators, endless outputs, 3 separate FX chains that contain endless FX, endless LFO tables and much, much more. It's almost like a mini DAW. Oh and free lifetime updates. *Not actually endless, but probably your CPU won't handle it.
Yeah I understand, I'm more into the earlier stuff too! However PHM would be my favorite hehe But I understand that The Downward Spiral is much more important in music history.
@@Tonepusher True, there are tons of good synth’s out there. If I needed to make a sound, I used to grab sylenth1, wich also has a simple to use GUI. Nowadays Vital is my favo to go to. So easy to program and sounds good. But yes you are right, Phaseplant, Rapid, Dune, Zebra to name a few…. Very good synth’s…. Plenty to choose from.
haha well that is a bit simplistic but I see what you mean I don't think Vital is the future though. IMO Steve Duda will probably make an update on Serum and just obliterate the competition once again. My opinion might be biased though loll
1. Would love to see your take on Surge XT. I think it’s a fantastic plugin, especially a free one, and like Serum, you can throw pretty much anything at it. 2. Would also love to see you put together either a video with your recommendations for Industrial tracks/bands/albums or maybe a Spotify Playlist as a primer for those who want to do more of a deep dive into industrial music.
Vnv Nation also used Reaktor at their debut. For me Rammstein are more associated with Ensoniq Synths than plug-ins. Vanguard was also a lot used in the aggrotech period. According to me the downward spiral is NIN's best album but I also like the more catchy Pretty Hate Machine. I've made a cover from something I Can Never Have some times ago.
Yeah you're 100% right, I remember watching an interview with Ronan where he was showing his computer. ( Future Perfect era) I have to find that video! I'll make a video about Vanguard, the whole video will be about it. It's too iconic haha I mean it's the WHOLE aggrotech sound of the early 2000s. I LOVED it haha Yeah I love the whole vibe of PHM, the drums sounds are just perfect.
SERUM and VITAL are king... but most of the industrial bands over the last 5 - 10 years are deep into Native Instruments... you hear a lot of the their sounds over and over in many songs. Producers hear NI as soon as it in a song, similar to hearing compression with NTT, or reverb wit Omnisphere, they create a very specific sound. We need a new version of SERUM, still my favorite and most used synth because it is low overhead and so versatile, but they could use some updates.
Yeah Serum is the way to go haha But I heard and read that Steve Duda is working on a new version(2) which would probably be a big update. And you're right NI stuff is EVERYWHERE lol I wouldn't say it's a bad thing because I love their products. Bands that are 100% designing sounds from the ground up is more rare than we think. I do appreciate it a lot when it's the case though.
Never cared for Serum. I use the mystery islands control plugin for the virus, as it does all the heavy lifting with sound generation, and signal processor in my studio. Also the Integra-7 does a lot of work also, but the Roland srx plugins are quickly replacing it. If I had no hardware, I'd prolly go for something like TAL U-NO-LX, Dexed, synth-1, or the Arturia SQ-80 plugin over serum. I know a lot of people enjoy Serum and theres a lot of presets libraries for it. But I'm just not enthused with it.
Tbh these are all GREAT plugins, but I still think that Serum's versatility is where it's at. You can sound analog, digital but also mean af. Don't get me wrong I don't think Serum is for everybody, I get what you mean, but I do think its the best 🤷🏻♂️ haha 😂
Another brilliant vid, keep it up. I unfortunately have all these. An idea for a future video may be some more obscure or unknown plugins used for industrial. Just a thought, though; you don't have to listen to me.
when I had a fast enough computer, it was Komplete 10....then I started collecting all the other NI synths, until it whent subscription, because I had already spent my money, and it didn't make sense at that point......I published two Reaktor user library synths, and some utilities.
Yeah turning a ''product by product'' company into subscription is dumb...Just like WAVES did not so long ago. I mean they could but DON'T include past products into it. Idk, there's a better way of doing this hehe
@@Tonepusher I am looking into Serum, and that seems your best mention .. that's not too bad to get into ... I like my quick tweak synths for bread and butter sounds, and only grab a super synth when the goal is beyond that ... but it's like you said, if I only could have one synth.
@@RulgertGhostalker Yeah well right now I think Serum is the best software plugin not only because it sounds good. It's the versatility and the amount of resources online for beginners OR advanced producers. It's endless hehe And yeah the UI is pretty simple...drag and drop stuff.
@@Tonepusher yeah, I like the Serum GUI...it looks nice to work with, but sound quality and lower latency is even more critical...it's mostly the work they did to keep it resource light that I would pay for.
@@RulgertGhostalker yeah 100% serum is SO light hehe I never had to worry about that at all, also very very stable. I don't remember that it crashed my computer. I think it never did actually.
@@Tonepusher It definitely has its own thing going on, I can't believe no one in 2024 has emulated it yet. Its much more than distortion like Trash (which I like) I just use it for sample mangling.
Got a bit of a different type of comment here and I'm hoping you can make use of it. I'm not a musician whatsoever. What I am though is a huge nine inch nails fan and have been since the 90's. However, with the advent of AI I've been experimenting with music; something I never thought I'd do. Between looking up old NIN performances during the self destruct tour and me researching things like Suno and Mulbert RUclips thought I'd like your channel - which I do even though most of the things you talk about I really have no idea what you're saying (ex: plugins... what do they plug into???). I just know you're an industrial music fan and you seem really sincere and that's enough for me. What I have now is an earnest interest in creating music. BUT... I want to do it in a minimal way. Outside of buying a guitar, an amp, and a microphone I have no desire to have all these keyboards and physical parts. 90's NIN is my favorite music wise but technology has come a LONG way since then. What I do have instead is a smartphone, an iPad, and a beefy PC. I also don't want a ton of music software either. The two times I have looked up how much these plugins cost (this video and the video where you highlighted a 'Virus' plugin) the s--t was expensive af for someone that wants to just f--k around. So the challenge I'm posing to you is to come up with a video that's thesis is 'minimal bedroom NIN studio'. Can I get NIN sounds using Garageband and 1 other plugin? Can I get there using Audacity? Can I get there doing something really off kilter like trying to use Davinci Resolve to make music? I don't care where and how the sounds come from as long as it's cheap and I don't have dozens of programs running to accomplish my goal. And let's say you know exactly what I'm talking about and let's say you provide suggestions to get me going and I f--k around for a year or two and I manage to create something worth a damn. What's the minimal gear I would need to buy on top of that to go play at a local bar or dive club? I adore the work of Trent Reznor and Mick Gordon. They're visionaries. Me? I'm looking to get as close to them as possible for as cheaply as possible with as little gear as possible. It's not just about saving $ and physical space... the constraints I'm listing here are part of the art form as well. An infinite canvas can be overwhelming intimidated but once you start to limit it, those limitations become avenues for freedom. And I can't be the only one with these types of thoughts and aspirations.
Hey man! thanks for the comment. Yeah tbh these guys started in an era where there was no computer. But still, they were broke just like us haha The machines they used most of the time were the ones laying there in the studio they rented OR machines that they bought with what they had. Some of these machines became expensive because of them. My point is, we all (most of us) start at the bottom. In 2024 there's SO many free softwares, and GOOD ones, that you could make a career without buying anything hehe On top of my head right now I would use: Reaper (main daw) Vital (main synth) TAL synths STLTones (guitars) Random Free old school drum samples Just with that and some creativity you could make an awesome album. I understand that the learning curve is steep but there's many tutorials online to help you. and btw THANKS for the video idea haha it's already in my notepad :)
@@dbefore7165 Exactly! and to me limitations=creativity ... Synths and plugins companies created that false ecosystem where new producers think that they need 100 plugins and expensive stuff to make music when in reality you don't. And most cult albums came from artists that were limited and used what they had in hand at that moment.
@@Tonepusher thanks for the response and understanding where I was coming from! For example I have a background & education in illustration & painting. If someone came to me with the type of request I just gave you I would say: "If you want to do physical art experiment with inks and oils. Instead of worrying about colors focus on an achromatic type of painting called a grisaille. Then if you want to do color, use colored oils to go over the grisaille you just created. You could also elect to scan your grisaille or pencil lines into software like Affinity Photo and do all your tonal and colorwork in there. If you wanted to go the 100% digital route also consider drawing programs such HiPaint for Android tablets or Procreate for iPad. Whatever route you take you don't need more than two programs and won't exceed $100 in software. It's the physical art supplies that are going to cost the most. Finally for art basics you want to watch every video by Proko that you have time for." There are an INFINITE amount of ways to get into art but to just get someone up and running in a minimal fashion this is what I would suggest. To me it's far more important a person STARTS than to adhere to industry standards or w/e the f--k. I will look into the software you listed and give you my feedback on their accessibility via your Parteon (just signed up!). If you're seriously pondering the 'bedroom NIN studio' idea accessibility is very important because if it's too hard... the question becomes, "Why not just use Suno/AI?" Why didn't Reznor recreate every sound via a physical arrangement of things and hit record? Because synths/computers were FAR more practical. That was 30 years ago (wow I'm old) and the game has changed in a big way since then. Anyways thanks again for the response! And what is a DAW?
When is a plugin developer going to create the OB-Mx???? I mean that IS the nine inch nails sound I remember from the 90s. I'd pay omnisphere prices for such a vst synth. It's strange noone has done it yet.
hey! lol yeah I guess that it's not a super well known synth. I know that Bill Leeb of FLA has one (maybe two) in his basement :D loll Maybe you can ask Behringer for a clone? haha!! I'll google that though, maybe there's a plugin out there that we don,t know of.
Yep a rare bird released buggy and broken by Gibson after they bought up Oberheim post bankruptcy , but designed by the great Don Buchla basically contradiction in a box .
What a terrible, waste of time list. I've been making Industrial music for 30 years and I've never used any of those plugins. Don't waste your money on these expensive things, it's not what synths you use, it's entirely down to how you use them. If you run any synth plugin through an amp-sim, you get instant Industrial. DO NOT BE FOOLED into spending lots of money, just use what you already have.
@@sv0g391 I got FM8 for free, some Plugin Boutique offer, but I still haven't used it and my first polysynth was a brand new DX-9, way back in 1983 or '84. We used Massive for a while but I eventually found better synths for those parts, so it never made it on to any of our albums. I didn't like using Massive at all and I was never convinced of its wound quality, either. There was a digital harshness to it that I didn't like.
bahaha !! I understand why though, I had the same feeling with Massive. Everyone had it, but me... lolll Every time I look at it my brain goes... dubstep. 😂
Massive is 100% where it's at. I would say that 90% of what I produce is done in Massive. It's just intuitive, easy to program and sounds great, even after all these years. Massive X sucks. I don't know why NI even calls that synth "Massive" since it's not even the same engine. I'd much prefer an update to the original Massive with more modulation options.
@@ClosetoHumanMusic tbh I never used it until I wanted to make preset packs, just because I'm a hard headed mf that don't want to use what everybody uses lol. And also because it was (and still is) the most popular vst. BUT, after 4 years of using it almost daily, I get why people do. It's super easy to use, you can do anything with it. And if you're not into sound design at all well there's an infinite choice of presets online... I think the only big downsides are that the FXs are very limited (1 of each) and the number of OSC also. Which wasn't the case with Massive haha also thanks for sharing the ''behind the scenes'' of your music, people like that stuff (and so do I lol) 🤘
@@sv0g391 Massive X sounds fine, but the GUI is awful and unintuitive. I wish they wouldn't call it "Massive" cuz it's not even close to the same thing.
All these bands are great bands!!! But they are industrial Rock bands, not Industrial bands like SPK, Genocide Organ, Throbbing Gristle, Esplendor Geométrico etc etc.
I 100% agree with you, however, saying ''industrial'' is like saying ''metal'' ... It's a general term. Metallica is metal and so Darkthrone and Cannibal Corpse too. I just don't want to put barriers. So if I want to talk about NIN, Rammstein, Skinny Puppy, FLA or Throbbing Gristle ... I could If I want hehe
I just want to clarify that this is no ''top'' whatever plugins. It's the most used plugins by industrial bands that we know of in no particular order. If you have more informations about what plugins bands are using don't hesitate to share it :) I probably forgot some important plugins, maybe an Episode 2 would be cool too? hehe
Also leave a like, helps a lot the algo!
@@Tonepusher they’re fantastic plugins! I recently started using Phase Plant more and more because i have pretty much all the Kilohearts plugins and it’s so versatile and open ended you can make any sound with it
@@apoplexiamusic yeah man Phase Plant is a GREAT plugin. I don't own much of Kilohearts stuff although I know that I should haha You're making me think that I should go download the distortion one that is free haha
I also use a lot Pigments lately, I love it. My go to granular synth.
Best NIN album: The Downward Spiral. Had a huge headache after the first listen, what was going on was INSANE. Since then, it’s No 1 with no competition.
Haha yeah DS is a HUUUUGE album. Very very influencial not only for fans of music in general but also for all music producers and sound designer. Still today it sounds like the future haha
Having this said, my favorite would be PHM hehe Totally in love with the drum sounds on this one.
@@Tonepusher They are all just a notch apart! I just loved it when the mayhem started with Broken after the more synthoriented PHM. 🎸🤘🏻
@@obiedecker4038 well every NIN album have a different flavor without being too different too. 🤘
I completely agree , to me is Trent's Masterpiece
Took maybe half of a year to make sense out of it but it's been top 1 album for me since then.
"If you don't have Serum what are you waiting for?" Linux support. Though, I am pretty happy with Vitalium (Vital).
Yeah Vital is a reaaally good alternative!
Once again a great video. And as (I think) I have said before I am glad that industrial music fans and creators are finally getting some love on RUclips
Keep up the great work!
thanks man! I never thought that I would get that kind of traction on YT with Industrial hehe But I'm happy to share my love for industrial with people! 🤘
synths can mimic other synths, *Surge XT* is a free, open-source, soft synth that one could coax industrial sounds out of as well ( check the skin library for something you can spend hours at ) .... it's the synths your most familiar with that will make the sounds you're looking for.
Serum looks like a premium Massive .. some props on the sound quality and CPU efficiency; I am looking into it.
I completely agree, technically any synth could be ''industrial'' hehe But some of them can achieve certain type of sounds easier than others. Some also sounds angrier hehe
@@Tonepusher Surge XT has distortion, so one can easily get over driven sounds, it's a hybrid synth engine also...people have no idea until they sit down with it, it can do industrial.
@@RulgertGhostalker I heard of it, but I never used it,. Now I'm curious haha I'll check that out right now!!
@@Tonepusher download all the documentation also ...the synth, the skin, the documentation .. it's a good super synth when you feel like you need a fresh angle
Surge is great!!
You can get a lot of good Industrial/Ebm sounds out of Synth1vst as well. I've used it for sounds across multiple genre's for years now.
Vital synth is Boss now and it is free :D for industrial mayhem its sick
True! Vital is one of the best if not the best free plugin out there. But imo it's still too young to put it in there. Let's see if it pass the test of time hehe
Love Vital. The best point to start, easy UI, big community. The FM part is bit unfinished but therefore we got Dexed.
@@Tonepusher Oh its freaking ace i use it for them cyberpunk basslines works a treat
@@ExOccultis 100% Vital is the way to go. On top of that you can also follow Serum tutorials as it's almost the same UI, just a different look haha
@@celtislam true, it's great for aggressive stuff
lol was about to comment Flake right as you got to that part about omnisphere
haha yeah he abused Omnisphere
Looks like a native instruments commercial lol, don't get me wrong they are great. Here are some of my choices that get you there fast: u-he repro, Waldorf ppg wave, synth1, arturia ensoniq, kawai k1, vavra, amigo sampler, Waldorf largo, Tal sampler with emu library samples, arturia dx7 with dexed presets, pulse code drum machine, glow reverb, eventide effects, infiltrator, GRM Ina effects, glitch machines tactic, web sampler and for some quality presets for vsts mentioned in this video check out Cage audio.
True, there's a lot of NI in there 😅 But I'm not the one choosing for these guys 😂
The stuff you named are all classics which I approve 150% ! haha Especially Arturia DX7 and u-he repro, love em!! Never tried Waldorf stuff tho (shame on me) haha I have to
My grandma should definitely have these plugins, I'll tell her. Thanks
Don't worry , I was there yesterday, she already has them 👌🏻
NI loves to release updates as brand-new, paid products lol.
Another phenomenal video! I feel ashamed that I don't know the sound from the Doom soundtrack!
The Doom 2016 OST is basically the peak of industrial metal sound design
I still go back to Pretty Hate Machine more than any other NIN release. It's a classic for me.
Me too. I was 18 when it was released. I have so many good memories connected to that album.
100% man, probably my favorite NIN album. Good blend of old school industrial and ''mainstream'' rock! Love it! Also the coverart aged well hehe 🤘
It's cool to know that you like Industrial! 🤘
Thats the record that pushed me into industrial in my early teens and started the downward spiral. ^^
For me my favorites are Broken and Downward Spiral
Great video once again. There's just an error, the Rez synth from Radio isn't actually from Omnisphere, it is from Trilian, another VST by Spectrasonics used by Flake in Untitled and Zeit, it was used in the amazing Weit Weg lead for example.
Yes you're right, although I might be wrong but I think that some of Trilian sounds were merged into Omnisphere 🤔
@@TonepusherNot really, I've been a Spectrasonics user for quite some time, I have all the software of them, and what they did was basically integrate Trilian and Keyscape in Omnisphere, but of course, you need to have Trilian and Omnisphere for the integration to work. There is also Trilian Creative and Keyscape Creative, that has presets which use soundsources of those with the ones of Omnisphere, they are pretty great, I mean, Spectrasonics stuff in general are pretty great.
@@dudu046 Yeah Spectrasonics stuff is amazing. Although last time I used Trilian was YEARS ago haha But I remember liking it. Thanks for the clarification though. Can't always be right! haha 😅
Some day I will own Serum.
Also some day I'll figure out Sytrus and FM synthesis haha
LOLL I feel your pain, FM synthesis is like learning how to speak chinese. It's possible, but...good luck 😅
Since you made the video about the top ones used and you mention bands that synths are not their main sound (3T, Ramm etc)... the top industrial soft synths are (excluding DAW ones)
Vanguard / Sylenth / Massive / Nexus Reaktor /Absynth / FM8 / Battery
U-he stuff, and Serum came in the picture a bit later. Omni is not as popular as the above.
Of course other ones were used throughout the years but the above are the most used ones since the beginning.
Some of the software you named are not synths. Also all the synths I listed are backed up with actual proof that they used it. I'm not going to name synths that ''I think'' they use hehe I need proof. And also Vanguard was mainly used in the Aggrotech scene and not really the more traditional industrial, same for Nexus which is a rompler anyway hehe
And also just so you know I did name FM8 and Massive hehe
@@Tonepusher you did yes! Battery got there by accident
Shout out to those who used ReFX Vanguard back in the day! 😉
haha ngl I think I'll make a full video just on Vanguard 😅 it was EVERYWHERE (especially Aggrotech haha)
@@TonepusherTrancegate go Brrrrrr! 😂
@@Tonepusher I think Sylenth 1 has replaced it. Maybe Massive to a lesser extent.
@@Mythos91Tube hahaha dude first time I pressed that trancegate back in the day my mind was blown. XD
Yeah the timeline was Vanguard, Sylenth1, Massive, Serum ... at least that's what I remember. I think that I could name a song for every Vanguard preset lol
I love how you keep bringing up the name 3TEETH, I'm like "ouais, bon gars". Last year's album was a juggernaut and my AOTY... but it flew under the everyone's radar it seems, really surprised me.
They used the Access Virus a lot too I think (there's a new plugin version of the thing but I didn't explore it too much yet).
Yeah man, tbh 3TEETH right now (imo) is the band that represent the best industrial music. The production, song structure and visuals are next level. And there's no compromise, they're heavy and raw but at the same time they have songs like ''Drift'' that are super melodic. From a producer point of view (and also graphic designer) these guys know what they're doing hehe
I also love the evolution of the vocals that went from super modified to something more ''in your face'' and wide like Rob Zombie or old Manson. 🤘
@@Tonepusher Yeah, they're bringing the shit, and the concept/lyrics are really cool too. I'm a fan since the first LP.
@@kittavares4334 Yeah I've played a festival years ago in Toronto where 3TEETH was on the bill. They opened that night, they only had 1 album out. And right when they started I knew they were in another league. Insane stage presence, super cool visual. ''Slavegod'' blew my mind haha
All good synths, but I admit I love Dune 3 most for its patch randomizer where you can randomize presets with other presets and come out with amazing sounds. Pigments for its interface and patch making and Korg's new wavestation and modwave for interesting sounds. Mix those with arturias ms20 filter and compression and wow.
haha yeah well the MS-20 filter is legendary for a reason! I never tried the DUNE3 though... There's so many really good synths out there that I still have to try like DUNE3 or Phase plant.
Between Dune 3 and Phaseplant, I choose Dune every single time. Phaseplant is quite quirky and fun, but the sound quality of Dune and the effects is at another level (and has a very low CPU footprint, honestly I have no idea how they pull it off)
@@dnalord77 well I'm not surprised Synapse Audio makes very high-end products. The latest collab with HZ too is interesting although I'm always suspicious when plugins are associated with artists. Smells too much like the marketing gimmick to me haha BUT from what I heard it sounds good too.
@@Tonepusher Dune 3's patch generation called GENETICS allows you to create new patches by selecting 2 to three patches and combining those settings and randomizing them, a real game change for creating patches. The sound quality is amazing and the low CPU usage makes it my go to synth most of the time, just using genetics and playing around i can lose track of hours. highly recommended! The legend HZ i'm definitely going to have to get at some point.
Oh that's a cool feature! I'd love to try that especially for pads and "morphing" sounds.
|With Teeth| or |Year Zero|, too difficult for me to choose.
Thank you for your videos.
great albums for sure haha hard to choose! np man 🤘🏻
IMO Phase Plant is a great all-in-one synth. FM, wavetable, granular, sampler. And it's so modular, you can basically have endless* generators, endless outputs, 3 separate FX chains that contain endless FX, endless LFO tables and much, much more. It's almost like a mini DAW. Oh and free lifetime updates.
*Not actually endless, but probably your CPU won't handle it.
Yeah lots of sound designer friends are using Phase Plant because of the endless possibilities hehe
My all-time favorite NIN album is The Downward Spiral….. Having said that, I’m not much of a fan of the albums after Hesitation Marks.
Yeah I understand, I'm more into the earlier stuff too! However PHM would be my favorite hehe But I understand that The Downward Spiral is much more important in music history.
Vital is THE synth ! Free, easy to use, a brilliant gui, cool effects, and tons of free presets !
Yeah well it is probably the best free synth out there, but I wouldn't say it's THE synth haha
@@Tonepusher True, there are tons of good synth’s out there. If I needed to make a sound, I used to grab sylenth1, wich also has a simple to use GUI. Nowadays Vital is my favo to go to. So easy to program and sounds good. But yes you are right, Phaseplant, Rapid, Dune, Zebra to name a few…. Very good synth’s…. Plenty to choose from.
Vital is the future... though serum is a beast.
Run any synth through a distortion plugin and your good.
haha well that is a bit simplistic but I see what you mean
I don't think Vital is the future though. IMO Steve Duda will probably make an update on Serum and just obliterate the competition once again. My opinion might be biased though loll
1. Would love to see your take on Surge XT. I think it’s a fantastic plugin, especially a free one, and like Serum, you can throw pretty much anything at it.
2. Would also love to see you put together either a video with your recommendations for Industrial tracks/bands/albums or maybe a Spotify Playlist as a primer for those who want to do more of a deep dive into industrial music.
Vnv Nation also used Reaktor at their debut.
For me Rammstein are more associated with Ensoniq Synths than plug-ins.
Vanguard was also a lot used in the aggrotech period.
According to me the downward spiral is NIN's best album but I also like the more catchy Pretty Hate Machine.
I've made a cover from something I Can Never Have some times ago.
Yeah you're 100% right, I remember watching an interview with Ronan where he was showing his computer. ( Future Perfect era) I have to find that video!
I'll make a video about Vanguard, the whole video will be about it. It's too iconic haha I mean it's the WHOLE aggrotech sound of the early 2000s. I LOVED it haha
Yeah I love the whole vibe of PHM, the drums sounds are just perfect.
Frail has to be my favorite simply cuz I don’t get a pop vibe and it has a nice raw feel.
Hey Tonepusher! When using static noise as animated background, the whole picture quality suffers a lot, that's why I stopped using it.
SERUM and VITAL are king... but most of the industrial bands over the last 5 - 10 years are deep into Native Instruments... you hear a lot of the their sounds over and over in many songs. Producers hear NI as soon as it in a song, similar to hearing compression with NTT, or reverb wit Omnisphere, they create a very specific sound. We need a new version of SERUM, still my favorite and most used synth because it is low overhead and so versatile, but they could use some updates.
Yeah Serum is the way to go haha But I heard and read that Steve Duda is working on a new version(2) which would probably be a big update.
And you're right NI stuff is EVERYWHERE lol I wouldn't say it's a bad thing because I love their products. Bands that are 100% designing sounds from the ground up is more rare than we think. I do appreciate it a lot when it's the case though.
great video, again, very useful and complete! Ciao!!
hey thank you :)🤘🏻
Another great video ! Keep going !
Merci, I'll sure do! :)
Ha, who probably asked Mick what synths he used in the Q&A comment section? ;P
was it you? haha tbh I didn't look
It's very kind of him to answer all questions like that. I guarantee you he wouldn't anymore haha
@@Tonepusher Yep, it was me 😂 And yeah, Mick is the man! He really answered a lot of questions in the nicest, most down to earth manner. :]
Never cared for Serum. I use the mystery islands control plugin for the virus, as it does all the heavy lifting with sound generation, and signal processor in my studio. Also the Integra-7 does a lot of work also, but the Roland srx plugins are quickly replacing it.
If I had no hardware, I'd prolly go for something like TAL U-NO-LX, Dexed, synth-1, or the Arturia SQ-80 plugin over serum. I know a lot of people enjoy Serum and theres a lot of presets libraries for it. But I'm just not enthused with it.
Tbh these are all GREAT plugins, but I still think that Serum's versatility is where it's at. You can sound analog, digital but also mean af. Don't get me wrong I don't think Serum is for everybody, I get what you mean, but I do think its the best 🤷🏻♂️ haha 😂
Another brilliant vid, keep it up. I unfortunately have all these. An idea for a future video may be some more obscure or unknown plugins used for industrial. Just a thought, though; you don't have to listen to me.
That's a good idea for sure! Lots of artists are using obscure plugins! thanks for the idea :)
@@Tonepusher Turbosynth!
@@apoplexiamusic haha yeah that could be one for sure, I really need to make a video about that software.
when I had a fast enough computer, it was Komplete 10....then I started collecting all the other NI synths, until it whent subscription, because I had already spent my money, and it didn't make sense at that point......I published two Reaktor user library synths, and some utilities.
Yeah turning a ''product by product'' company into subscription is dumb...Just like WAVES did not so long ago.
I mean they could but DON'T include past products into it. Idk, there's a better way of doing this hehe
@@Tonepusher I am looking into Serum, and that seems your best mention .. that's not too bad to get into ... I like my quick tweak synths for bread and butter sounds, and only grab a super synth when the goal is beyond that ... but it's like you said, if I only could have one synth.
@@RulgertGhostalker Yeah well right now I think Serum is the best software plugin not only because it sounds good. It's the versatility and the amount of resources online for beginners OR advanced producers. It's endless hehe And yeah the UI is pretty simple...drag and drop stuff.
@@Tonepusher yeah, I like the Serum GUI...it looks nice to work with, but sound quality and lower latency is even more critical...it's mostly the work they did to keep it resource light that I would pay for.
@@RulgertGhostalker yeah 100% serum is SO light hehe I never had to worry about that at all, also very very stable. I don't remember that it crashed my computer. I think it never did actually.
Turbosynth! I have it installed on my pc with sheepsaver, its a pain in the ass to use.
Yeah I really want to try it even tho I know it's not something I'll use haha Just for science haha
@@Tonepusher It definitely has its own thing going on, I can't believe no one in 2024 has emulated it yet. Its much more than distortion like Trash (which I like) I just use it for sample mangling.
Using it as a "sampler" is probably the way to go right now. I think that Reaktor would probably be able to emulate it pretty accurately
I’ve had omnisphere for like a decade now and it sounds great but Jesus is their UI hot garbage.
yeah the UI is not great...Takes time to get used to it. But once it's done, it's one of the best ever.
I agree, it feels ummmmm dated.
@@Mr2it3881 They 100% should update the UI
Got a bit of a different type of comment here and I'm hoping you can make use of it.
I'm not a musician whatsoever. What I am though is a huge nine inch nails fan and have been since the 90's. However, with the advent of AI I've been experimenting with music; something I never thought I'd do. Between looking up old NIN performances during the self destruct tour and me researching things like Suno and Mulbert RUclips thought I'd like your channel - which I do even though most of the things you talk about I really have no idea what you're saying (ex: plugins... what do they plug into???). I just know you're an industrial music fan and you seem really sincere and that's enough for me.
What I have now is an earnest interest in creating music. BUT... I want to do it in a minimal way. Outside of buying a guitar, an amp, and a microphone I have no desire to have all these keyboards and physical parts. 90's NIN is my favorite music wise but technology has come a LONG way since then. What I do have instead is a smartphone, an iPad, and a beefy PC. I also don't want a ton of music software either. The two times I have looked up how much these plugins cost (this video and the video where you highlighted a 'Virus' plugin) the s--t was expensive af for someone that wants to just f--k around.
So the challenge I'm posing to you is to come up with a video that's thesis is 'minimal bedroom NIN studio'. Can I get NIN sounds using Garageband and 1 other plugin? Can I get there using Audacity? Can I get there doing something really off kilter like trying to use Davinci Resolve to make music? I don't care where and how the sounds come from as long as it's cheap and I don't have dozens of programs running to accomplish my goal. And let's say you know exactly what I'm talking about and let's say you provide suggestions to get me going and I f--k around for a year or two and I manage to create something worth a damn. What's the minimal gear I would need to buy on top of that to go play at a local bar or dive club?
I adore the work of Trent Reznor and Mick Gordon. They're visionaries. Me? I'm looking to get as close to them as possible for as cheaply as possible with as little gear as possible. It's not just about saving $ and physical space... the constraints I'm listing here are part of the art form as well. An infinite canvas can be overwhelming intimidated but once you start to limit it, those limitations become avenues for freedom. And I can't be the only one with these types of thoughts and aspirations.
tech has comea long way, but the basics and theory havent changed so anything worth doing isnt easy
Hey man! thanks for the comment. Yeah tbh these guys started in an era where there was no computer. But still, they were broke just like us haha The machines they used most of the time were the ones laying there in the studio they rented OR machines that they bought with what they had. Some of these machines became expensive because of them.
My point is, we all (most of us) start at the bottom. In 2024 there's SO many free softwares, and GOOD ones, that you could make a career without buying anything hehe On top of my head right now I would use:
Reaper (main daw)
Vital (main synth)
TAL synths
STLTones (guitars)
Random Free old school drum samples
Just with that and some creativity you could make an awesome album. I understand that the learning curve is steep but there's many tutorials online to help you.
and btw THANKS for the video idea haha it's already in my notepad :)
@@dbefore7165 Exactly! and to me limitations=creativity ... Synths and plugins companies created that false ecosystem where new producers think that they need 100 plugins and expensive stuff to make music when in reality you don't. And most cult albums came from artists that were limited and used what they had in hand at that moment.
@@Tonepusher thanks for the response and understanding where I was coming from! For example I have a background & education in illustration & painting. If someone came to me with the type of request I just gave you I would say: "If you want to do physical art experiment with inks and oils. Instead of worrying about colors focus on an achromatic type of painting called a grisaille. Then if you want to do color, use colored oils to go over the grisaille you just created. You could also elect to scan your grisaille or pencil lines into software like Affinity Photo and do all your tonal and colorwork in there. If you wanted to go the 100% digital route also consider drawing programs such HiPaint for Android tablets or Procreate for iPad. Whatever route you take you don't need more than two programs and won't exceed $100 in software. It's the physical art supplies that are going to cost the most. Finally for art basics you want to watch every video by Proko that you have time for."
There are an INFINITE amount of ways to get into art but to just get someone up and running in a minimal fashion this is what I would suggest. To me it's far more important a person STARTS than to adhere to industry standards or w/e the f--k.
I will look into the software you listed and give you my feedback on their accessibility via your Parteon (just signed up!). If you're seriously pondering the 'bedroom NIN studio' idea accessibility is very important because if it's too hard... the question becomes, "Why not just use Suno/AI?" Why didn't Reznor recreate every sound via a physical arrangement of things and hit record? Because synths/computers were FAR more practical. That was 30 years ago (wow I'm old) and the game has changed in a big way since then.
Anyways thanks again for the response! And what is a DAW?
@@Tonepusherexactly right, the best electronic albums of all time were produced with a crappy Atari st, 8 meg sampler and a couple of synths.
When is a plugin developer going to create the OB-Mx???? I mean that IS the nine inch nails sound I remember from the 90s. I'd pay omnisphere prices for such a vst synth. It's strange noone has done it yet.
hey! lol yeah I guess that it's not a super well known synth. I know that Bill Leeb of FLA has one (maybe two) in his basement :D loll Maybe you can ask Behringer for a clone? haha!! I'll google that though, maybe there's a plugin out there that we don,t know of.
@Tonepusher nice! I hear they're junk!! LOL 🤣 but sound freaking awesome when they work haha! Great video btw 🥂
@@vertigopulse haha thanks man 🤘
yeah $10k+ junk 🤣
Yep a rare bird released buggy and broken by Gibson after they bought up Oberheim post bankruptcy , but designed by the great Don Buchla basically contradiction in a box .
@@Death_By_Media hmm interesting I didn't know Buchla made it!! nice! His modular stuff is incredible.
What a terrible, waste of time list. I've been making Industrial music for 30 years and I've never used any of those plugins. Don't waste your money on these expensive things, it's not what synths you use, it's entirely down to how you use them. If you run any synth plugin through an amp-sim, you get instant Industrial. DO NOT BE FOOLED into spending lots of money, just use what you already have.
BONES!! You really never used Massive or FM8? They are also cheap nowadays (some bundle deal).
@@sv0g391 I got FM8 for free, some Plugin Boutique offer, but I still haven't used it and my first polysynth was a brand new DX-9, way back in 1983 or '84. We used Massive for a while but I eventually found better synths for those parts, so it never made it on to any of our albums. I didn't like using Massive at all and I was never convinced of its wound quality, either. There was a digital harshness to it that I didn't like.
Are these good for logic too?
Yeah I think they're all available for MAC too.
@@Tonepusher thank you for getting back to me! I just started and was wondering if these plugins were more universal or not
@@goblinzaku6211 no problem man :) yeah they are very very mainstream hehe
Waiting for some video about Adam Szabo Viper :)
Idk if I'll make a full video about it, but it's definitely on my list of synths to cover in my videos ;)
@@Tonepusher Cool, 😎 I love your stuff.
@@montazownianr1 thanks man for the support man. Every comment is important hehe :)
with the Virus emulator out, it lost its relevance for me
@@lukasgruber1280 Still Viper sound closer to Virus.
Serum is literally the one plugin I DON"T have. Hahaha! Now I'll never be a good Industrial artist...
bahaha !! I understand why though, I had the same feeling with Massive. Everyone had it, but me... lolll Every time I look at it my brain goes... dubstep. 😂
@@Tonepusher 😂😂😂
It is over! Just quit 😅
@@sv0g391 ohh it's not my friend, just google it! haha There's many sub-genre that are still super trendy. Big crowds.
@@sv0g391 🤣🤣🤣
Massive is 100% where it's at. I would say that 90% of what I produce is done in Massive. It's just intuitive, easy to program and sounds great, even after all these years. Massive X sucks. I don't know why NI even calls that synth "Massive" since it's not even the same engine. I'd much prefer an update to the original Massive with more modulation options.
Also fun fact: I've never used Serum.
@@ClosetoHumanMusic tbh I never used it until I wanted to make preset packs, just because I'm a hard headed mf that don't want to use what everybody uses lol. And also because it was (and still is) the most popular vst.
BUT, after 4 years of using it almost daily, I get why people do. It's super easy to use, you can do anything with it. And if you're not into sound design at all well there's an infinite choice of presets online...
I think the only big downsides are that the FXs are very limited (1 of each) and the number of OSC also. Which wasn't the case with Massive haha
also thanks for sharing the ''behind the scenes'' of your music, people like that stuff (and so do I lol) 🤘
Massive X is one of the top two three best sounding soft synths.
@@sv0g391 Massive X sounds fine, but the GUI is awful and unintuitive. I wish they wouldn't call it "Massive" cuz it's not even close to the same thing.
guess my shits not djent enough
All these bands are great bands!!! But they are industrial Rock bands, not Industrial bands like SPK, Genocide Organ, Throbbing Gristle, Esplendor Geométrico etc etc.
I 100% agree with you, however, saying ''industrial'' is like saying ''metal'' ... It's a general term. Metallica is metal and so Darkthrone and Cannibal Corpse too. I just don't want to put barriers. So if I want to talk about NIN, Rammstein, Skinny Puppy, FLA or Throbbing Gristle ... I could If I want hehe
He is kinda right though. You make a video about soft synths and synths are not most of these bands' main instrument.
Maybe at some point actually demo the plugins. Listening to 10 minute video where you hype them just isn't that interesting
Well you can hear every single one of them except Reaktor. I showcase MANY presets hehe
Still forgetting about viper screw omnisphere we have flex
Sytrus and PoiZone are two my workhorses.
As for me PoiZone has superior arpeggirator tool.
Every synth should have a damn arpeggiator!
@@Tonepusher yeah, and PoiZone has the best of them ))
I guess daw synths should not ve included in such list, but FL synths even 3Osc def have been used a lot lot lot in industrial. You are spot on