Vintage synths in software

[The Paul meister]

Hi everyone,

If you're looking for a load of vintage hardware synths in software, check out the Roland Cloud and the Korg Cloud.

Cheers, Paul

[IAA]

You could also add, Moog, softtube, Arturia, UVI, IK, U-HE etc etc. None of which require a cloud subscription necessarily.

Just saying.

Ian

[The Elf]

Yep, loads of options. I'll add GForce and Cherry Audio.

I very much like the Arturia option - and no subscription required.

[The Paul meister]

Hi all,

I thought there would be more options. I was interested to see what other software people would suggest once I’d posted the first two.

Cheers, Paul

[muzines]

I was interested to see what other software people would suggest once I’d posted the first two.

You sort of framed your post as a recommendation, not a solicitation for other opinions.

You might have had more responses if you'd framed it more as a question along the lines of "what do people recommend for the following kinds of instruments?" instead...

Arturia, u-he, TAL, GForce, Synapse, Softube, Martinic, DiscoDSP, SonicProjects, Waldorf are others apart from Roland and Korg that spring to mind, but if you want a more comprehensive list, check out the KVR plugin database...

[The Paul meister]

Hi Muzines,

Good point and thanks for your suggestions.

Cheers Paul

[OneWorld]

I too like the Arturia representations, and one VSTi I came across was the Korg Triton. I once had a Triton but let it go when I went on a quest to go In the Box.

I went back to hardware in some cases, I couldn't find a convincing software replacement for the Roland XV1080, nor the EMU XL1 - and anyway, up until not too long ago, the hardware was cheaper than the software alternative.

I couldn't justify buying a Triton again, and didn't have the room anyway, but then came across the Korg VSTi and it really is a joy to use. What I can't do is find a way to output MIDI from the arpeggiator as I could with the hardware, but hey, I can live with that.

[The Elf]

I couldn't justify buying a Triton again, and didn't have the room anyway, but then came across the Korg VSTi and it really is a joy to use. What I can't do is find a way to output MIDI from the arpeggiator as I could with the hardware, but hey, I can live with that.

I've hit this barrier too - the plug-in seems to have no MIDI output. It's a shame. because it's a simple arpeggiator to get up and running with custom patterns.

[BigRedX]

I think sometimes that we can get too precious about searching for a particular sound. Most modern synths (both hardware and software) should be capable of getting you a suitable sound if your are prepared to work at it. Yes they all tend to have an individual "character" but how much of that can you you hear in the mix with all the other instruments and effects?

I was getting into playing and programming synths when most of these "vintage" synths were just what was currently available. My personal synth journey went: EDP Wasp, Korg MS20, Casio CZ500, Ensoniq ESQ1, Nord Lead, and apart from the jump from monosynths to polysynths each new acquisition was a suitable replacement for the previous synth and I never wanted to go back because there was a sound my last synth did that wasn't possible with the new one - especially once it was part of the overall band sound.

Maybe it revolves around whether you program your sounds from scratch or if you scroll through the presets looking for something that can be tweaked. I started with synths that didn't have patch memories and the fact that those that do rarely have anything close to what I want for my music, so I almost always start with a "blank" patch and build from there. Given that I've found that these days Logic's ES2 synth does pretty much everything I want.

[The Paul meister]

Hi BigRedX,

Thanks for the heads up on the ES2 synth. I'd never tried it until now. Sizzle morpher is a nice breathy pad that sounds a bit like Breathy vox in the normal Logic category menu.

Cheers, Paul

[olifreke]

I now feel a urge to make a spreadsheet of all the vintage synths and which have been made into a software equivalent.

I'll probably try to resist that urge as it will take ages and not be looked at by anyone!

[The Paul meister]

I would look at it!

[sonics]

I'm not letting anyone see mine. It's chock full of personal observations which might offend!

[t-sun]

One of the more amusing trends that emulation is doing these days is emulating vintage, low bit-rate samplers to get a vintage grainy 'feel' and also fix the often terrible user interfaces that made them a pain to use during their heyday.

The TX-16W was absolutely hated in its' time because of the original Yamaha OS. The independently designed TyphoonOS that came later made it far friendlier to work with but it was long past the point when people were trying to move on to newer samplers. TX-16Wx is a free emulation with a modern interface and is one of the few software samplers that allows you to actually sample directly into the virtual instrument.

QasarBeach CMI IIz is, as the name implies, a complete hardware emulation of the Fairlight CMI IIx (with features from later models such as multi-sampling). It includes the sequencer and can open up lots of vintage sample formats. It's 'donationware' which is 'name your own price', but also means you can try before you buy. Runs on Windows, Mac and Linux.

And it's just barely vintage at this point, but since there's another thread about it already it's worth mentioning the DSP56300 emulator that replicates the hardware of the Access Virus series. You do need to provide ROM image files to make it work, but it is extremely accurate. Interestingly, they've got a version of it emulating the Virus Ti line, but won't release it because it's still being sold. The 56k line will reach End of Life fairly soon, so hopefully the company sees fit to collaborate with the open source team and offer the ROMs for sale. But, who knows what the legalities of that might entail.

[Arpangel]

I’m a Reason user, still my favourite soft synths, and samplers.