Is every synth a compromise?

[RichardT]

Yes, in some ways I think every synth is a compromise. At the same time, so are all musical instruments. It’s not a problem, so long as we know the limits and capabilities of our instruments.

It does mean that you may need a number of synths in your arsenal. I guess I have around a dozen soft synths and synth-like sample libraries that I use regularly. Others have considerably more than that.

[Eddy Deegan]

I love my Hermod but Cre8audio's NiftyKEYZ keyboard case is also very useful as it can do anything from 1 to 4-voice polyphonic Eurorack control, either with splits or layers.

The Winterbloom "Castor and Pollux" (Juno-style dual oscillator module) works wonderfully with it, and I've also got a 2HP Pluck in mine.

[Arpangel]

Trouble with modular polyphony, is that you do need multiples of everything, it gets very expensive, and, unwieldy.

[t-sun]

There’s always Max/MSP.

The only synth that didn’t feel like a compromise that I loved was Vaz Modular. I guess the issue is that you’ll need a soft synth of you want a truly unlimited tool. Of course, the limitations are usually why i LIKE a piece of gear.

[Martin Walker]

The only synth that didn’t feel like a compromise that I loved was Vaz Modular.

I'm glad someone other than me remembers Vaz Modular - I had great fun reviewing its various releases donkey's years ago

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/so ... modular-21

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/so ... y-vaz-2010