Part 6.Virtual synthesizers.
Hello friends!
Today I want to touch a topic that is so comprehensive, that It took me a while to figure the way to cover this subject. Today we are going to talk about virtual instruments.
There are so many of them that a year will not be enough for you to try them all.
In the distant, pre-computer times, musicians played instruments, synthesizers, and samplers. It was customary and the recording process was fine-tuned to the smallest detail. With the advent of computers, it became possible to create virtual analogs of these instruments or create new instruments that never existed in the physical world. I caught the beginning of this process and I will tell you, not everything was simple and smooth. At first, there were not enough resources to make an acceptable sound, then, when computer technology advanced, a struggle began with the sound delay, in order to create a comfortable environment to play music in real time on the computer. The tools became more and more complex and reliable. And only now, after a quarter of a century, these instruments began to sound almost the same as real analog synthesizers. It has been a long journey ...
For the sake of simplicity, I need to divide all available tools into two categories.
- Virtual synthesizers.
- Samplers - programs that can load banks of live instruments (guitars, violins, drums, etc.)
Then I divide all instruments into paid and free ones. We will consider the best representatives of free tools. Then we will consider some of the paid ones that cover the blanks in free tool kits. I will leave the paid tools for your consideration by posting links to the main sites that reviews such tools.
In this article, I will talk about virtual synthesizers.
Virtual synthesizers.
Once upon a time, these iron machines occupied an entire room. Now they fit into single computer and this is a huge relief for all recording studios. I confess I am very selective about the sound. Having listened to a new instrument, I immediately understand whether it is the good one or is it just another one of a thousand similar ones. Therefore, I will give you the best of what is now available.
Number one is the physical modelling representative, the Dexed synthesizer. It was based on the legendary instrument from the 80s Yamaha DX7. Dense, thick bass, sonorous leads, various bells, and percussion are part of what this instrument will do just fine. In addition, Dexed understands the native Yamaha DX7 preset format, which gives us tens of thousands of settings available for download from the Internet.
Number two is the instrument with a complicated fate - Surge. Once upon a time, this tool was paid. It was unique for its time. The hard, punchy sound made it one of the strongest instruments in dance styles. Later, when its creator switched to DAW Bitwig production, he made the code for this tool public and made it free, for which many thanks to him! After that, a group of enthusiasts continued to develop this wonderful tool. Now we have a great WT synthesizer with rich, but free sound.
Number three is simply the legend of virtual instruments! This synthesizer is considered the most downloaded in the history of virtual instruments. Please welcome! Guest from Japan - Synth1. Already legendary, the instrument created by Ichiro Toda partly repeats the iconic 90s Nord Lead 2 synthesizer, which was and still used today in a huge number of wonderful compositions that you love. It is a VA synthesizer with clean sound and great filters. It has a minimal load on the system and a huge number of ready-made presets on the Internet. I love it!
At fourth place on my list is the new synthesizer, which appeared in an updated version this year. Odin 2! Analog god of free virtual synthesizers. I confess, when I downloaded it from the Internet, I had great doubts about its sound. A lot of manufacturers declare a real "analogue" in sound, and only a few make it. But Odin 2 lives up to its name! At the very first sounds, I remembered those large instruments with a huge number of knobs that I twisted at the end of the last century. It is a miracle! Thick analog basses, tight leads, delicious pads! This is exactly what is sometimes lacking in many decent composition. The set of presets is not large. You need to twist it with your own hands. I warn you in advance, the tool is very resource demanding. Perhaps, in the future, developers will optimize the code and this load will decrease.
And in fifth position, the real cherry on top of the cake! This is a love at first glance! This is a sound design geek's dream! The pinnacle of programming! It is just a monster in terms of capabilities! Synthesizer Tranzistow! I warn you right away, this synthesizer is shareware. That is, you can use it, but in return, you must prepare your preset bank and send it to its developer Hrast Programmer. What can this synthesizer do? It covers almost all kinds of synthesis; it has excellent analog sound thanks to its wonderful filters. In addition, it comes with just a huge number of presets that are impossible to listen in one day! But there is one drawback. It has a very, very unfriendly interface. The fact is that initially Hrast wrote it exclusively for himself, so it was easy for him to work with it, knowing where everything located. But for me, it was immediately very difficult to navigate. Therefore, you will download it at your own risk. In any case, you need to know about this tool!
All the above are my top free virtual synthesizers. These are the best of the best! They practically cover all my needs at the present time. At the end of this year, another free instrument that I really anticipating is announced - the Vital WT synthesizer. As soon as it comes out, we can say that the set of virtual synthesizers will be complete.
From additional resources, I recommend visiting the following page:
Here you will find emulations of various Korg instruments that also have a great sound.
In the next article I will talk about samplers and free and paid tool kits.
Stay tuned…
Andru (Namaste) Shaitar
webdisweb@gmail.com
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