But when it comes to sound these 7 virtual synths more than hold their own. The tactile controls are difficult to beat. There's no doubting the joy of using a real hardware synthesizer. Create an account or login to get started! Audio is your ultimate daily resource covering the latest news, reviews, tutorials and interviews for digital music makers, by digital music makers. He's also taught all aspects of recording and music technology at several NY audio schools, and has been writing articles for Recording magaz Read More. Joe is a musician, engineer, and producer in NYC. I also didn't include any audio examples-how can you boil the characteristic sound of synths that each offer so much variety into a few seconds of one or two patches?
![omnisphere 2 and zebra 2 omnisphere 2 and zebra 2](https://img.youtube.com/vi/FgvmSBHko_U/maxresdefault.jpg)
This faithfulness to real analog sound brings with it a bit of a CPU hit, but users have embraced it, so this Diva may be worth her high-maintenance ways. But two things set it apart from other analog modelers. Diva, on the other hand, is a more dedicated analog-style synth-it models the sounds of various classic analog synth modules. The centrally-located modulation grid offers an easy way to connect modules, and helps visualize signal flow in complex patches.
![omnisphere 2 and zebra 2 omnisphere 2 and zebra 2](https://u-he.com/products/zebra2/assets/images/uhe-zebra2-screenshot-osc_editor.jpg)
OMNISPHERE 2 AND ZEBRA 2 PATCH
Only modules used in a particular patch are displayed, reducing front-panel clutter, and making for a more streamlined interface. The U-he line includes several synths, but I want to focus on two of the most popular, Zebra 2 and Diva.
OMNISPHERE 2 AND ZEBRA 2 FULL
A comprehensive set of envelopes, modulators, and an arpeggiator is rounded off with a full array of audio effects-everything needed to achieve classic analog synth sounds with the warmth and edge of traditional hardware synths is included.Ī faux LCD panel helps simplify programing the more tweaky features, and flexible routing allows for the two oscillator layers to cross-feed the filters, making for an especially nice bit of analog character in the digital world. No less than six! Sylenth is designed to do one thing-emulate classic analog synthesis-but do it exceptionally well.Īll the virtual analog components were carefully designed to offer the rich sound of their real analog counterparts, with alias-free oscillators, and filters that include nonlinear saturation and self-oscillation options. The overall subtractive architecture is familiar enough to be accessible to most synthesists, yet it offers extra levels of flexibility, accessed from the various programming tabs in its center panel, like the Routing panel, where you can view and tweak the signal flow of the various modules that make up a patch, and the drag-and-drop icons that make quick work of building up modulation patching. Playability includes nice touches like the Orb, a real-time joystick-type controller that can simultaneously vary many parameters. Like many of the synths on this list, Omnisphere currently Omnisphere 2 combines a number of synthesis techniques, including both oscillators and sample-based source material including user waveswavetable synthesis, granular synthesis, and even FM.Ĭombining a huge factory library with comprehensive programming options, the emphasis is on heavily processed sounds of all kinds, from traditional synth tones to dense swirling pads to arpeggios to shifting, chugging, twinkling soundscapes and musical noises that defy easy description. And I selected synths that are not emulations of specific classic hardware models, but stand on their own merits. I tried to limit this list in a few ways, to make it more manageable I stuck to synths that are-at least to me-geared to playability, and not primarily sound design or scoring effects. All three allow combinations of very interesting synths and samplers into a single instrument or patch.Īs you say not so easy to combine the many amazing standalone iOS instruments in a standalone DAW.Any top OK, top-7 list of virtual synthesizers will, ultimately, be pretty subjective-everyone has their own idea of what constitutes the coolest toys when it comes to making and mangling sounds for creative musical ends.
![omnisphere 2 and zebra 2 omnisphere 2 and zebra 2](https://midissonance.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Signalo-rectangle-scaled.jpg)
So far I've found FLSM, SunVox, and Caustic to be nice ecosystems for building scientific-super-synths inapp. The method you mention, building patch/instruments with separate synths, is something I've really been zeroing in on lately in iOS. There are too many (for the example Factory is another I wanted to mention.) Sadly these things are still a pain in iOS. If you have Logic just open some of the layered arp patches and you know why it is always better to combine several synths/tools, add external FX and midi FX. I love to layer my synths and save it as Logic patch/instrument.
![omnisphere 2 and zebra 2 omnisphere 2 and zebra 2](https://img.audiofanzine.com/images/u/product/normal/u-he-zebra-2-48061.jpg)
(.then there is Alchemy 2, Sculpture, Zebra, Reaktor, Chromaphone, Avenger etc.