Great Free Synth......

[bubba]

Hi Fellas:

The guys at Novaflash have been making and giving away some very good looking and powerful soft-synths for quite a while. Their newest, Oxytoxin. is their best yet. It may be the best free synth out there. Take a look..........

http://www.numerisson.com/novaflash/oxytocin.htm

Peace: bubba

[brandondrury]

This is the most complicated looking website I've ever seen. Ouch!

Either way, this synth looks like it is worth looking into. I'll download it.

Brandon

[studiodekadent]

Those synths were made in SynthEdit. The sound quality is not the best for software. Best sounding softsynths are Powercore Virus (on TC Powercore. It sounds exactly like a Virus B! But inputs processed through it stay cleaner due to no A/D converters), and Native Instruments Reaktor (which allows you to build your own synths, samplers, FX, etc).

[bubba]

Hello dekadentstudent:

You must be young - I will forgive your rudeness. I've had many Access synths over the years. No Powercore Virus though - when I saw the price drop from $1250.00 USD to $399.00 USD in less than two years, I assumed that the demand was not as great as it could be. You will notice the price of the Oxytoxin. Some people are just decent people. BTW: There are some commercial Synth Edit synths selling very well nowadays. Algo Music comes to mind. You might want to try this synth - I'm sure that you didn't. Very good Osc and filters. BTW: Most devs just use Synth Edit for GUI's anyway. You should visit KVR more often. Have a nice day.

Bubba

[brandondrury]

The sound quality is not the best for software.

I heard some of the flash player samples (obviously compressed) but the synths seam to be fine to me.

You make it sound as if there is some sort of objectivity involved with this synth thing. Maybe to some degree, but when compared to more organic music (where half ass production will completely piss on a drum sound, for example) the differences from synth to synth seam to be....more self serving, I guess.

I'm fairly new to the synth world. I don't have much interest in getting overly involved in keeping up with the lastest gear. However, I do have a question.

What do you think of the synth sounds of something like The Downward Spirl by Nine Inch Nails?

Brandon

[bubba]

Hi Brandon:

That is all one synth - Oxytoxin. They just have a picture of the separated modules in order to explain their function to guitar players, drummers and wrestlers. (Nothing personal). I believe that my young knowledgable friend made the same mistake. The download link is very difficult to see. It is right under the header of the page. No Mac - just PC VST - one for XP and one for Vista. Quality for a synth is in oscillators and filters. You want no aliasing oscillators (stay in tune as you go up the scale) and big, fat, nasty analog filters that scream. This synth has all of that in spades. The presets are not dripping with delay in order to cover up aliasing. This may be the best synth for free ever.
On another subject, there are rumors flying all around about TC Powercore. They have lost the exclusivity that they enjoyed with the Sony Oxford plugins as they went native. The Virus and other optional plugins may not be far behind.

Peace: bubba

[studiodekadent]

Originally Posted by brandondrury

You make it sound as if there is some sort of objectivity involved with this synth thing. Maybe to some degree, but when compared to more organic music (where half ass production will completely piss on a drum sound, for example) the differences from synth to synth seam to be....more self serving, I guess.

Actually there is objectivity in the synth world: does Synth X assist you to achieive your musical ends? If yes, its good. If not, its bad. Remember, making music requires a musician, so its not 'subjective' per se. Specific musical ends require specific means.

What do you think of the synth sounds of something like The Downward Spirl by Nine Inch Nails?

Well, TDS uses quite a few synths. To my knowlege, they are: Minimoog ("Closer" bassline is a classic example), Oberheim Xpander, SCI Prophet VS, Waldorf Microwave (Microwave 1, with analog filters), lots of Digidesign Turbosynth (with "use sample as oscillator" frequently used), and finally, the Oberheim OBMX (see bassline of "The Becoming" and probably a few other basslines on the album, maybe "Eraser" and "Heresy" as well).

The OBMX gives a unique sound because of its, well, bad filters... They sound quite thin. However, the thinness allows for a very direct, concentrated sound that sounds heavy without overwhelming the mix. The sound is unique and I think it works within the context of the songs.

Overall, TDS has very interesting synth sounds... kind of similar to Skinny Puppy's Too Dark Park in that the synths sound more low tech and grungy and organic rather than cybernetic and the like. It works in making the album stand out, and retain its unique sound. I like TDS's synths, overall.

[brandondrury]

want no aliasing oscillators

Are you sure? I've even tracked intentionally with mics out of phase before and that's about as "dumb" as it gets.

Actually there is objectivity in the synth world: does Synth X assist you to achieive your musical ends? If yes, its good. If not, its bad.

Yeah yeah, I know all about that. I guess I feel like I can achieve whatever it is I'm trying to achieve with the synth stuff I have fairly easily.

I like TDS's synths, overall.

Maybe not specific to the synths themselves, I find that the album itself has this 800Hz thing going on way more than I remember. Maybe it's just the changes in audio production trends, but I'd prefer my industrial to be a tad harsh and a tad thin.

With that said, The Downward Spiral is one of my top records of all time.

I guess my point is a great record is a great record even if engineering decisions weren't 100% ideal to me. That's why I don't care how X synth was made or whatever. Either I like it or I don't.

Brandon

[bubba]

Dear Brandon:

Like distortion, intonation problems are only problems when you can't control them. Most synths give the operator the ability to detune oscillators intentionally, but thr "detuning" is the same for every note. Imagine if it wasn't.

Peace: bubba

[brandondrury]

Roger that!

...although I could imagine using a "good" and in tune synth for the main layer and then putting one of these "not so good" synths underneath the main one. Depending on the amount of bad intonation, this could be great for "big" parts. It works with electric guitars and vocals.

Brandon