User Forum

robertroff · #1 27-11-2005, 09:00

Hey everyone, I was about to order Komplete 3 from a four product upgrade, but am now looking for alternatives basically because a lack of confidence in the company that is building up inside me from continued incompetence on their part.

One of the things I was most looking forward to was absynth, it is possibly one of the coolest synths I've tried. Does anyone know of any similar synths in case I ditch Komplete?

cheers,

Rob

Pi_314 · #2 28-11-2005, 22:52

I can understand your concern. I have considered dumping NI altogether myself and it may still happen. My first impression of Absynth was very high, but after buying and over time, it is just another synth in a list of many.

Dave Bourke · #3 29-11-2005, 01:28

It is (still) possible to buy Absynth alone from NI.

Many people say that Crystal (freeware) is an Absynth-alike. In many respects, this is so, but not, crucially, in all of the most important ones. Nevertheless, Crystal is a truly astonishing synth that is better than many commercial offerings.

It's available for Windows and Mac:

http://www.greenoak.com/crystal/index.html

Kind regards.

robertroff · #4 29-11-2005, 10:17

ya, I've got crystal, it's pretty cool. And yes, I could buy Absynth alone, but I was thinking that I'm not sure if I want to pour more money into N.I. when I often get frustrated by them.

Problem is, I just love the software, I'll probably still get komplete. Guitar Rig 2 is just too good. And I've been falling in love with the fm7 and absynth demo. Crystal just doesn't sound the same (although great...and free!)

Thanks anyway,

Rob

Ringo_Mop · #5 01-12-2005, 22:43

As a relatively satisfied NI user and from a strictly neutral point of view, if you want an Absynth substitute you would do best to look for synths that do not try to emulate old analog stuff but instead embrace the digital age as a new way to make sounds. Absynth is definitely a digital beast.

With that said, I really like the synths from VirSyn. Especially Tera. I'm not really sure what they were going for with that one but it makes some insane noises and pushing the randomizer button is very satisfying. Just be aware that it is from a very small company and potentially buggy although mine has been mostly stable. They also make one called Cube which I do not have but plan to download a demo to try. They are an interesting little company.

Here are a couple of links. Please consider these to be companions to NI products. I use both of them. Be sure to dig some of the sounds on the second link.

http://www.virsyn.de/en/E_Home/e_home.html

http://www.trippler.net/music/Virsyn...syn_tera2.html

ew · #6 02-12-2005, 03:24

I'll agree with Ringo_Mop's endorsement of Tera myself; it's a phenonemal synth that covers lots of bases. It probably comes the closest to Absynth of any commercial product. I couldn't imagine working without either Tera or Absynth myself.

Cube's the best of the additives out there IMO. You'll have fun with the demo, R_M

ew

Spirit · #7 02-12-2005, 11:15

I suggest Rhino and Sytrus

Dave Bourke · #8 02-12-2005, 21:22

Woops! Forgot to recommend Cameleon 5000.

Kind regards.

tubaman · #9 02-12-2005, 22:57

This is an interesting question, because you're not really looking for a subsitute because you need one, but because you have fears about NI. I have read many of the complaints about NI on these forums, and I can see some are valid, maybe, but there's a l;ot of complaining about NI and how they run business. There's a lot of products to maintain and thousands of customers who seem to demand or at least expect perfection and I haven't seen perfection in any company. NI products are pretty cool and that's what it's about for me. Worst case is you have a few dys or a week of hassles getting authorized after getting a new computer, so what? Look what you end up with. The point is, there isn't really ANYTHING like Absynth or Reaktor or any of these NI products. I would stick with them becaus ethey continue to improve and at least they have forums for us to complain on and I do think these posts get read. But yes, get Cameleon and Atmospheres and Tera and all the rest. They all live happily together and help us make beautiful musik !

dtobocman · #10 05-12-2005, 17:10

I've never heard a synth (software or hardware) that has the ultra-vibe of Absynth. Cameleon is useful and nice but nowhere near as "drenched in vibe" as Absynth.

Respectfully, as soon as you use Absynth in a way that absolutely "makes" your song (or cue) you will realize that, unlike any other synth out there, there's just no substitute for Absynth... by a long shot, in my opinion.

a Knight of NI · #11 05-12-2005, 17:24

Dave Bourke wrote:

Woops! Forgot to recommend Cameleon 5000.

Kind regards.

I'll second this one as well. Highly recommended.

robertroff · #12 06-12-2005, 04:29

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I went ahead and ordered the komplete upgrade from my four products anyways, so it looks like I'll be getting absynth.

It was basically just a matter of wether i wanted to put most of my eggs in basket or not, and the amount of money i wanted to spend. if I hadn't order komplete, I wouldn't have bought absynth, because i can't justify the price to myself personally, which is why I wanted to look at alternatives. Not that i don't love my N.I. synths, but I would say if i wasn't buying a large package, and i wanted a single synth, i would rather go with a small company who has more reliable support, and would be a little quicker on bug fixes (and probably cheaper) etc.

I have to say though, Tera looks and sounds great. I flipped through the presets, and it often has a sound quality that reminds me of some of my logic synths, at times sculpture, at times the es2, but far more versatile. I bet that thing would cut through a mix quite well eh? and as i find myself slowly shifting to Ableton live from Logic, it's definitely something for me to keep in mind for the future (or tera 3...), for when I'm looking for that certain sound character that i find it has in common with those logic synths.

cheers,
rob

tasmaniandevil · #13 06-12-2005, 17:59

Check out the preview version of this : http://www.u-he.com/Zebra2/

From the possibilities, the sound and the ease of use it will become a pretty good challenger to Absynth.

Ringo_Mop · #14 08-12-2005, 02:39

Absynth is great. Tera is great. I'm sure that there are other great ones but I have decided to draw the line (for now). I have enough stuff on my computer as it is that, when combined with external digital and analog instruments and other hardware (of which I have a small amount, just the basic stuff for 25 years now) I could probably play with the stuff 24/7/365 for the rest of my life and not come close to exploring every possible sound and combination. It really is just this side of infinite.

I know that everyone (including me) feels that their ultimate masterpiece, their Sgt. Pepper or whatever is just around the corner in the next soft synth or plugin - but it's not. It's in your head. I have at my fingertips a million times more than the Beatles did when making that LP. I can make my own virtual partners. I can "play" instruments that I don' t know how to play. I have a virtual collection of analog keyboards and classic digital synths to where I can get just about any sound from a medieval harpsichord to the latest digital bleep. A sound for every genre or style. What else do I need?

Since I am from the "old school" and started playing before anything was digital, you might think that I would diss the digital stuff, but that's not true at all. I did back in the 80's and maybe 90's, but I don't now. I used to be like the others, saying "that's not music, they're not really playing" but that is far from the truth. It's all playing. Nothing writes the songs for you, OK well some stuff does but that's not the same thing. For great music you still have to write the song, regardless of what it is played with.

But with that all said, what I mean by drawing the line is this - now that single programs made of up 30, 40, 50 GB and more of just samples of one instrument are out, for example I just read about one that is over 30GB of just a Les Paul, dirty and clean, with all sorts of different amps and conditions - I would prefer to just play the d@mn things! I have no problem cranking out the guitar. I would much rather play it than assemble loops. And as a self taught guitarist, I hardly think that some sampler would sound like me as I didn't learn "properly."

In five years 30GB of Les Paul samples will seem commonplace on computers with mega-terabyte hard drives. But by then there will probably be some sort of revolutionary new hardware or software out that will change everything (again).

For now I am drawing the line at huge bloated programs full of gigabytes of minutely different guitar etc. samples. And any more softsynths and plugins too. I like my NI stuff and I like Tera and the other stuff that I have. If I can't make music with what I have now (I can though) then all of the gigabytes worth of guitar samples won't help me.

PS - Perhaps a large symphony and brass collection is a bit different - one person can take the place of fifty and those collections have a lot of different instruments. But 30+ GB of one guitar's samples in every possible combination is a bit much. Just learn to play the guitar, it would probably be easier.

robertroff · #15 08-12-2005, 03:30

I couldn't agree more about the overload of tools it is easy to get wrapped up in. I've tried to keep everything to a minimal amount in the past. It was only two years ago that I told myself "ok, I only want one other synth program to add to logic, which will be reaktor session", which turned into reaktor, then kontakt, then Komplete. I know that I have enough to last a lifetime, and I will try to avoid any temptation to get that shiny new synth around the corner, but I am also discovering that the interface that you are most comfortable with is the most important thing, rather than the actual potential of the tool in absolute terms. In that respect, something could come along which really changes your way of working and writing. And since I am still learning synthesis, it can help to have a couple of synths that approach sound design from a different perspective. But since I did decide on Komplete, I think I will now be more than...well, complete.

And ya, as far as huge sample libraries go, I'm not a huge fan. A decent collection of live/electronic drum hits/loops, and some orchestral/piano/whatever sounds (that aren't possible from a synth) and I'm good to go. I think we are still in a period of such crazy sudden change as far sample bank sizes go, everything will be outdated in no time, so like you said, you really have to draw your own personal line somewhere, and I too have done it. Except for the new intel mac powerbooks when they come out of course.... and probably that new novation remote 25 SL thats around the corner.... but that's it!

cheers,
Rob