Old 01-18-2018, 05:00 PM   #1
mykrobinson
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Default Synth Recommendation

asking for a friend who is new to reaper and enjoying it,but he is a keyboard player primarily.

What are some recommended free or inexpensive synth plugins he can check out?

Thanks
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Old 01-18-2018, 05:12 PM   #2
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Hey myk

U-he Diva for analog tones from Jupiter 8 through Oberheim and supersaw sounds. Their new Repro sounds awesome but I haven't tried that one yet.

*edit*

I missed the free or cheap part. Synth 1, SQ8L, OBXd, for starters.

https://bedroomproducersblog.com/201...vstau-plugins/

https://bedroomproducersblog.com/201...stiau-plugins/

https://bedroomproducersblog.com/201...stiau-plugins/

Last edited by Doc Brown; 01-18-2018 at 07:25 PM.
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Old 01-19-2018, 01:44 AM   #3
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Synth1 definitely plus Dexed for FM sounds (as in Yamaha DX7). https://www.kvraudio.com/product/dex...gital-suburban

Plenty of other recommended options, all free, in https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=52382

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Old 01-19-2018, 01:51 AM   #4
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By and large the most powerful cheap synth is Synthmaster.

kv331 very have sales at -50%. Wait for those times and you get it at around $60. Synthmaster one is a simplified version of it that is well worth the price (esp. when on sale at around $40).
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Old 01-19-2018, 09:56 AM   #5
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What kind of sounds is he going for? Does he like to use presets, or does he prefer to design his own?

Another vote for Synth1 here. Modeled on a Nord Lead (2?), thousands of presets on the web, easy to use.

I (mostly) feed my GAS from VST4Free, where I recently found the Analogue Sounding Synth:
http://www.vst4free.com/free_vst.php...om_ASS&id=2853

Anything by FullBucket

u-He's TyrellN6 has presets that i love but I'll be damned if I can figure out how to program it myself.
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Old 01-19-2018, 04:06 PM   #6
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I have some links on my web site below. There's lot of good ones.
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Old 01-19-2018, 04:42 PM   #7
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u-he Tyrell N6
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Old 01-19-2018, 05:16 PM   #8
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Quote:
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u-he Tyrell N6
+1 awesome VA synth, and it's free, and there are tons of free patches around for it too, tho it's a doddle to program
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Old 01-19-2018, 11:24 PM   #9
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I think AIR Music Tech's Hybrid 3 is still $1 for a few weeks. It's spectacular! It's similar to Massive but it's laid out in a really fun way, and it's pretty accessible for beginners in my opinion.

https://www.pluginboutique.com/meta_...d-3-Expansions
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Old 01-20-2018, 02:12 AM   #10
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Deffo buy Hybrid for £1! It's bonkers fun. You will not regret it.
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Old 01-20-2018, 08:14 AM   #11
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Oh and BTW, I just came accross the free HY MIDI sequencers/arpeggiators by the japanese guy Hyakken.

http://www.vst4free.com/index.php?pl...enerators&l=15

Pretty awesome, with a nice vector interface.
He now sells extended versions of these plugins on his website.
https://hy-plugins.com/
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Old 01-20-2018, 08:31 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zargon the Destroyer View Post
Deffo buy Hybrid for £1! It's bonkers fun. You will not regret it.
+1, Hybrid is great synth and for the price...
My first synth invest was Sylenth1 and I've never regretted it!
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Old 01-20-2018, 08:38 AM   #13
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But Spire is a lot better and sounds a lot better than Sylenth1 imo. I believe Spire has replaced Sylenth1 in many/most EDM studios. It might well be the fatest software synth around. It's not cheap though.

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Old 01-20-2018, 08:46 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lolilol1975 View Post
But Spire is a lot better and sounds a lot better than Sylenth1 imo. I believe Spire has replaced Sylenth1 in many/most EDM studios. It might well be the fatest software synth around.
May be, I don't know Spire. I don't use so much presets neither, I've started sound design with Sylenth1 and had great experience but of course regarding synths or sounds it is more about pesonal taste right?
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Old 01-20-2018, 09:17 AM   #15
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I've invited him to join the forums and gave him the link to this thread. Hopefully he'll chime in soon.

Thanks, guys
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Old 01-20-2018, 10:11 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Desty Nova View Post
May be, I don't know Spire. I don't use so much presets neither, I've started sound design with Sylenth1 and had great experience but of course regarding synths or sounds it is more about pesonal taste right?
Yes.
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Old 01-20-2018, 12:26 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mykrobinson View Post
asking for a friend who is new to reaper and enjoying it,but he is a keyboard player primarily.

What are some recommended free or inexpensive synth plugins he can check out?

Thanks
to some degree a good answer will depend on what kind of sounds you and he are interested in having...

also... after checking out what it there for free, and IF you like what they do in reaper, you guys might consider spending some doremi on paid for synths...

here is one:

http://www.memorymoon.com/me80.htm
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Old 01-20-2018, 12:56 PM   #18
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The trouble is if you're a cheapskate like me you get spoiled by the good free ones. Some of the paid synths are good but they never seem quite worth all that money in comparison to things like Synth1, Dexed and Firebird which are about all I need. Well plus the XILS3 CM (VCS3) which is pure nostalgia.

Plus I'm sure some of the hype is pure fashion. Notice how often you don't hear "It's versatile, easy to program and sounds great" but instead "All the star producers on the latest tracks use it".

Steve
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Old 01-20-2018, 08:57 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by slipstick View Post
The trouble is if you're a cheapskate like me you get spoiled by the good free ones. Some of the paid synths are good but they never seem quite worth all that money in comparison to things like Synth1, Dexed and Firebird which are about all I need. Well plus the XILS3 CM (VCS3) which is pure nostalgia.

Plus I'm sure some of the hype is pure fashion. Notice how often you don't hear "It's versatile, easy to program and sounds great" but instead "All the star producers on the latest tracks use it".

Steve

I'm a big synth 1 proponent and I agree with some of what you say but the difference between synth 1 and U-he Diva in terms of sonic quality and thickness is not even close. Some of my favorite soft synths are free like OBXd, synth 1, SQ8L, etc... That being said they are on a different level than Diva, Repro, The Legend,and others and it's not even close. The aliasing tends to be a problem with free synths also but it's doable and worth it for me at times. I'll use free and expensive if they sound good. I use more hardware these days but I'll always have a place for good software also.
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Old 01-21-2018, 01:29 AM   #20
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Charlatan is funky little synth. Takes care of most generic uses. I'd say free rompler would be nice to have (any recommendations?). Its lays itself well to 2 pages of 8(9) knobs+8(9)faders
Synth 1 for me is hard to program, idk why.

Phutura - authentic alpha juno

u-no-lx - juno60/106

manx gigmate - probably best mono free mono vst

tyrell n6 - advanced analog synth. Great at playable (piano/synthep sounds) sounds. Fat and funky

zampler can be nice - but no presets

antii - asynth, taurus - taurus is 1 page of nanokontrol, asyn is 2 pages. They're great

Check Romploid (dubturbo) - those gangsta horns - its hilarious!

For some non-generic synthsis try Thesys 2
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Old 01-22-2018, 03:18 AM   #21
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Totally agree with whoever praised Sylenth. Unrivaled SQ.
If you are looking for the same SQ but alot more live perf. tweaking
and something that will blow your mind for any kind of music, but for sure for
EDM, Dubstep, Electronica, Dance, ETC. >>> SERUM!!

Now, since BOTH of those plugins are both definately NOT free,
check out not only u-he Tyrell, but the entire u-he site, as they have tons of free
plugins. Also check out KVR Audio, a website that reviews software and hardware,
and has contests, and features downloads for retail, shareware, and free software,
and the biggest listing of plugins anywhere, and a decent customizable search.
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Old 01-22-2018, 07:36 AM   #22
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There are lots of great free synths

Bedroom producers blog is a great place to start and don't forget to check out their best free plugins of the year for great synths.

https://bedroomproducersblog.com/free-vst-plugins/

Here are a couple other best free synth links.

http://www.musictech.net/2016/10/best-freeware-synths/

http://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/...-synths-615790
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Old 01-22-2018, 05:21 PM   #23
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Besides ones people have mentioned like Dexed and Synth1 I love these too:

https://www.kvraudio.com/product/min...by-voltkitchen

https://www.kvraudio.com/product/pg-8x-by-ml-vst

https://www.kvraudio.com/news/artifa...-to-v1-4-18719
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Old 01-22-2018, 08:53 PM   #24
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You can always make REAPER your synth, with ReaRack (see signature below). Fun and educational.
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Old 01-24-2018, 02:38 PM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lolilol1975 View Post
Oh and BTW, I just came accross the free HY MIDI sequencers/arpeggiators by the japanese guy Hyakken.

http://www.vst4free.com/index.php?pl...enerators&l=15

Pretty awesome, with a nice vector interface.
He now sells extended versions of these plugins on his website.
https://hy-plugins.com/
I really like HY as well. Very creative. I've emailed the developer a few times and he's quite responsive.

My recommendation for a true keyboard player (though not cheap), would be Omnisphere/Keyscape. Or go the Kontakt route as there are many cheap/free gems for it.

For a modern synth I'd recommend Serum or Spire, and for old school virtual analog Repro or Diva.
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Old 01-25-2018, 01:56 AM   #26
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I only paid $60 for a complete DAW that does all sorts of brilliant stuff.

A single synth that costs loads more than that definitely doesn't count as cheap in my eyes.

Steve
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