Zynewave.
nikosI’m pretty new to the music production game and would like some recommendations. I would like to compose ambient and IDM type music.
I got the CM edition of Podium, audacity, some vst effects (kjaerhus classic, Camel crusher, and Glitch), and a few instruments (Triangle II, Crystal, discodsp Highlife). I’m also considering buying the Novation V-station synth, the Silverspike Reverb.it effect, and either the Waldorf Attack or the Microtonic drum synths. They seem to be stable, very good quality, and cheap. I’d like to keep the effects and instruments I have installed to a minimum so that I can learn them thoroughly.
So, after all that, I’d like to ask a couple of things. First of all, are the effects I selected enough? Did I miss anything important? Also, what is missing from this setup is some good quality sampled instruments, especially electric and classical pianos, and organs. Can someone recommend some good quality, cheap sample cds I could load into Highlife or would it be better to save up for a commercial sampler which comes with a good sound library (and if so which one)?
Sorry for the very long post. I appreciate any help.
Maxhttp://www.hgf-synthesizer.de/ – a must-have synths for an ambient. Free versions included.
http://www.device.arcanedevice.com/ – very interesting devices for glitch-noise-IDM music. Donationware.
Why did you decided to buy V-station by the way?
How about Xiosynth (hardware synth/controller from Novation music)?
http://www.novationmusic.com/product.asp?id=32&Type=1&bArchive=False
It’s quite inexpensive. But actually I don’t have any experience of using Xiosynth.
edit: Regaring electric pianos – there are very good donationware VST synths from soundfonts.it:
http://www.soundfonts.it/?a=cat&b=2
They are not samplebased, but really worth looking IMO.
nikosHi Max, thanks for the reply. I just watched the video for the Protoplasma 21 synth. Wow! The sounds this little thing makes are incredible. I’m downloading the free version as I write this. The effects look interesting too.
About the xiosynth, I have considered it, but it doesn’t look so interesting too me. I already have a keyboard controller, and the demo sounds in the product page sound horrible in my opinion.
I’ve tried a lot of free and commercial synth demos. I liked a lot of them but the ones that blew me away were the v-station, z3ta+, and absynth (especially absynth!). Of these, the v-station is the cheapest one at about 60 euro, so…
Max@nikos wrote:
About the xiosynth, I have considered it, but it doesn’t look so interesting too me. I already have a keyboard controller, and the demo sounds in the product page sound horrible in my opinion.
Yep, if you already have a keyboard controller, XioSynth is not so interesting for you.
Sylenth1 synth is also very good. It costs €139, but it sounds just great.
I’m currently saving money to buy it…
nikosHaven’t heard about the Sylenth 1 before, but it sure sounds nice! However for the same amount of money I can buy the v-station, the attack, and the reverb. Decisions, decisions…
Another advantage of the v-station is that it seems to be as simple as an analogue synth can be, an important point for a beginner such as me. Also it has a great gui and a easy to read manual.
Could I also have some suggestions for the sample cds as well? I will check out the programs you mentioned but they are only electric pianos, i’d like to have some organs and a few classical ones as well.
Thanks a lot for your help, I really appreciate it.
Max@nikos wrote:
Could I also have some suggestions for the sample cds as well? I will check out the programs you mentioned but they are only electric pianos, i’d like to have some organs and a few classical ones as well.
Yep, there are only electrical pianos. For a drawbar organ sound you may try AZR3 or ZR-3 from Rumpelrausch Täips. It’s free/donationware and also not samplebased. Here’s the link: http://rumpelrausch.de.vu/
But for some reason site is not working in Opera for me, so use IE.
Regarding classical piano sound – it’s a hard question for me. I need this kind of sound too; I’m trying to find good sampled piano that fits my music for at least a year – and I can’t find it.
Visit http://www.sonomic.com – they sell downloadable samples and even downloadable cds (I bought some Zero-G cds at sonomic). You can preview sounds before buying and decide yourself.
@nikos wrote:
Thanks a lot for your help, I really appreciate it.
No problem, I’m glad to be helpful.
nikosVisit http://www.sonomic.com – they sell downloadable samples and even downloadable cds (I bought some Zero-G cds at sonomic). You can preview sounds before buying and decide yourself.
Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks.
(Oh, by the way, I can’t stop listening to the Sylenth demos. What a great, warm sound this synth has. I have to try the demo.)
MaxYeah, Sylenth1 is just cool.
By the way – regarding reverb – do you know that the full version of Podium comes with a zReverb plugin? You may be interested in purchasing Podium in this case.
You can find some information about this plugin here: http://www.zynewave.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=783
StubeeOh, by the way, I can’t stop listening to the Sylenth demos. What a great, warm sound this synth has. I have to try the demo.)
The V-synth is a great little synth, anything by Novation is for me, but I think you will eventually be dissapointed and wish you had spent the extra bucks on Sylenth 1.
It truly is the loveliest soft synth I have ever heard! And considering the sounds you get out of it, its incredibly easy to program with minimal switching between pages.
Try searching the forums for recommendations on free Reverb plug-ins. Havent used the Podium one myself (still on CM edition like yourself) but if it’s good as the rest of the program you cannot go wrong. 😀
nikosSylenth is truly a great find. I’ve been playing with the demo for two days now, and I keep being amazed with the sounds it makes. I was always reading in forums and magazines about synths that sounded warm but could not understand what that meant. I think I do now 🙂
About buying a licence for Podium, I will surely do that once I decide that Podium is the one I’m going to stick with. I’m still trying out other hosts in order to find which one is a better fit for me, although I have to say, yesterday I tried the Cubase SX demo (which I found in one of my Mogwai CD’s strangely enough!), and I was frustrated with the dozens of overlapping windows. I liked the midi fx though, is there anything similar available for Podium?
So, thank you both for your help, I’m going back to my Sylenth now.
ZynewaveI liked the midi fx though, is there anything similar available for Podium?
If you refer to MIDI plugins, then that isn’t supported in Podium yet.