Native Instruments – Massive
Price: $230
Web: www.native-instruments.com
Format: VST,
AU, RTAS, AAX, standalone
The fact that Native Instruments have
managed to get three of their synths onto this list is testament not only to
the fact they know how to make great instruments, but also to the depth that
these plugins offer. Massive perfectly epitomizes this, and NI rightly call it
the ‘go-to choice for bass music and electro producers’.
Each
selected wave is in fact a wavetable oscillator, combining at least two source
waves
Simply loading up its initialized setting
delivers the edgy trademark sound that Massive is renowned for (trust us,
you’ll know it when you hear it), and by layering up three of these oscillators
with octave offsets you’re already well on the way to producing some seriously
tough results – but that really is just the tip of the iceberg. Each selected
wave is in fact a wavetable oscillator, combining at least two source waves.
The Wt-Position controls enable you to morph from one was shape to another –
for the default wavetable oscillator ‘Square-Saw I’, for example, the
Wt-Position control moves from square to saw. In use, changing the Wt-Position
settings creates many combined shapes between the two extremes, and there’s a
choice of 85 wavetable oscillators including everything from typical
pulse/sawtooth combinations to vocal effects and metallic sounds.
The three main oscillators are supplemented
by a dedicated modulation oscillator (for ring, phase and position modulation)
and a noise generator. The wavetable oscillator design also lends itself to
dynamic sounds at the core level, as you can actually modulate the Wt-Position
controls. So, you can see why Massive is great for very direct sounds, but also
for direct sounds with some organic movement, should you wish.
Of course, being from Native Instruments,
this powerful oscillator design is accompanied by a plethora of extras,
including insert effects, master effects, an excellent patch browser and
well-implemented twin filters. However, it’s the modulation setup that’s the
gem here. Not only is it a simple-to-use drag-and-drop system, but four of the
eight modulation sources can be allocated to LFO, stepper and performance
modes, the last of these enabling the construction of excellent rhythmic
modulations from a library of envelope shapes.
KV331 Audio – SynthMaster 2.5
Price: $99
to $269
Web: www.synthmaster.com
Format: VST,
AU, RTAS
MusicRadar’s ‘Best Software Instrument of
2012’ is a do-it-all synth with an attractive price tag. The brainchild of
Turkish developers KV331 Audio, over its six-year gestation period it’s morphed
from a PC-only VST instrument into the cross-platform v2.5 we have today – but
throughout that time it’s retained its core aim of offering multiple synthesis
types in a semi-modular framework, flanked by an excellent range of effects.
SynthMaster
uses a multipage interface that’s functional rather than fancy, splitting the
main screen into six pages (Layer 1, Layer, 2, LFO, FX, Browser and Preset)
However, to label SynthMaster purely an
affordable jack of all trades is to miss the point by a pretty wide mark. This
synth is deep, and has become progressively deeper with each version update.
The result is a design not only bursting with presets (500 factory and a
further 650 via the expansion pack) but full of programming flexibility for
those who like to get their hands dirty.
Let’s take a look at things in a bit more
detail. SynthMaster uses a multipage interface that’s functional rather than
fancy, splitting the main screen into six pages (Layer 1, Layer, 2, LFO, FX,
Browser and Preset). Layers 1 and 2 underpin its architecture, and each
features two oscillators, two filters, four modulations and various envelopes,
including multistage (up to 16 nodes). These feed into twin global effects
busses. There’s plenty of functionality at the root level, including multiple
oscillator types (wavetable/virtual analogue, wave scanning, vector and
additive), and each layer includes its own arpeggiator and five insert effects
slots. There’s a 64-slot modulation matrix and four LFOs, including user editable
stepped and glide types.
This could all be a bit daunting for the
new user, but it’s all pretty logical, and there are of course lots of
well-categorized presets, as well as access to the online preset library. And
once you really dig into SynthMaster you’ll find fantastic touches at every
turn, offering enough flexibility to create truly impressive sound, such as
twin independent arpeggiators and a comb filtering mode for the filter. Oh, and
then there are the two-dimensional multipoint envelopes, and the ability to add
noise to the LFO output. All in all, SynthMaster is an incredible product at a
great price that gives back what you put in and then some.
LennarDigital – Sylenth1
Price: $214
Web: www.lennardigital.com
Format: VST,
AU
Sylenth1 appeared on the scene five years
ago and pretty much blew the vast majority of subtractive synths out of the
water. Delivering lots of analogue warmth, an upfront sound and liquid-sounding
filters, it still produces great results today, and makes an ideal all-rounder
synth. Packed with presets (over 1300) and with additional ones available free
of charge, the 214 asking price is also very competitive.
Sylenth1’s
oscillators are arranged as two pairs (parts A and B) via two filters, and
split across two tabbed pages
So, what’s included? There are four
identical oscillator sections, each with up to eight-voice unison (so with all
oscillators firing, that’s effectively 32 voices per note). You can choose from
eight oscillator waveforms, including three pulse options, random and noise,
and each waveform has individual phase offset, pan and inverse settings. Unison
is applied at oscillator level, along with detune and stereo spread. So,
combining multiple oscillators with octave or other offsets can enable you to
achieve massive sounds at source.
Sylenth1 is also blessed with an extensive
master effects section. Situated slap-bang in the middle of the interface, it
offers eight tabbed pages for Arpeggiator, Distortion, Phaser, Chorus, EG,
Delay, Reverb and Compressor. Each effect is activated using the accompanying
check box, so at a glance you can always see what’s active. Overall, the
effects are simple but can take an already great-sounding patch to the next
level.
Sylenth1’s oscillators are arranged as two
pairs (parts A and B) via two filters, and split across two tabbed pages. In
workflow terms, this is the only chink in Sylenth1’s armor, but you can copy
and paste settings, which speeds things up a bit. Also missing are the usual
retro-influenced filter types, beyond the obvious high-, low- and band-pass.
Even so, with individual filter saturation (drive) you can still conjure up
some tasty filtering.
As noted, Sylenth1 doesn’t offer quite the
depth of some of its competitors, but that doesn’t seem to stop it from
producing not only amazing sounds, but sounds that you can tweak with ease.
Similarly, it’s also simple to program from scratch, all of which makes it a
great option for those after punchy, upfront sounds.
