New to Synthesis

I'm thinking about buying a Virus, just waiting for that moment my desire to own one overwhelms my desire to keep my money.

In the mean time, I've been reading the basics of synthesis, checking out some tutorials, reading manuals, playing with stuff. Chances are I'm wrong, but is there anything in Komplete (perhaps one of the Reaktor synths) that is closer to the Virus than Massive? Something polyphonic that uses modeled oscillators instead of samples, two or more oscillators, mulitimode filtes, etc...

 

yes : RUHR, modular mini 2

ciao herw

 

Thanks. Have you tried Mercury ?

 

Try them all!

http://www.native-instruments.com/de/community/reaktor-user-library/all/all/all/all/virus/latest/1/

 

OP,

I am also new to synthesis but loving reaktor for the cheer amount of stuff availble out there. As far as virus like, I feel depents what you are looking for. Monark sounds more analog, razor is more cutting, massive has more routing options and is much easier to integrate with your daw.

IMHO where virus is untouchable is the pads. The amount of voices and tuned effects make it shine here. I think Massive can do some phenomenl pads and virus like if you increase the voice count (unison), slight detune the voices and turn panning and get creative. Your CPU will feel it though.

Interested in what others have to say.

 

In my opimion i agree with fusionid in it really depends on what you are looking for. Can you give examples?

For pads in a certain area i don't really think any komplete softsynth can do. They need the characteristica. Like making characteristic soft moogy leads, and certain soft, silky and meaty pads. They sounds to hard and clinical.

For many pads massive, absynth and fm8 can do well. Also some in reaktor. Also by stacking and so on.

In reaktor there as wehkah show is many trying to be virus like.

Maybe you can try Stephan Beckers synths. (Same person that made Mercury.) For instance his Nord synths, and his Tritium. Also his ZS and Mx and others. They can do many sounds very well at a very low CPU usage. Not for the softest sounds and the softest pads in my opinium.
The synth is often a kind of emulations of virus synth i believe.

For Pads i (Lars Bo Hermansen . LBH) have made snapshots for eg the synths F A T P A D, Mister thick and Phobos. They have characters of it's own in my opinion.
(Not virus i guess - but try eg icepad too.)
You have to search for Reaktor ensembles that contribute with it's own and work for you. Most reaktor ensembles really mostly sound like Reaktor no matter what in my opinion. Hope that will change in the future.
The workflow in the ensembles and methods differ and some ensembles do have it's own character. But what are you looking for? What is Virus sound for you? Which Virus sounds - Pads Leads ....?

You can also look at eg Eric Le Guenan's synths and eg blue and black lotus.
If you make some sounds i'm interested in having them. Maybe you can upload your sounds to the user library then.


About learning synthesis, then yes HERW has made some tutorials, and his ModularX.

You can also try Stephan beckers old juno 106 ensemble. The one with the original hardware GUI. It's a good synth to learn about the basic stuff just by playing. And that stuff you can take with you when learning more. I think you can download a Juno 106 manual on rolands web-site.

 

Forgot to mention SoundSchool Analog synth in the Reaktor Classic library for learning synthesis.

 

Thanks for all your responses... I somehow lost track of this thread, but I do appreciate your efforts.

On youtube I really like the sounds of the Club X Sounds that vol. 2 video has some good examples. I'm not particularly interested in the pads, I'm particularly drawn to the aggressive polyphonic sounds, especially the low end sounds (not exactly basses). I hear a bit of a growl, a certain resonance in the low end that I'm not hearing anywhere else.

I've been playing with Junatik & watching the video tutorials on Youtube, very good stuff.

 

I quite agree about the certain resonance in the low end. For me it's a missing part of the softsynths i know. The softsynth i know can do efforts, and some other good stuff, but not quite the same resonance and timbre.

However: The sounds i guess you are looking for, i think you for a good part will have to make by stacking sounds, Especially the polyphonic (huge) sounds.
(You can eg have more variations of a preset and stack them and play unison or chords, Or do the same stacking different presets. Sometimes just tune the oscilators in the intervals you need. It all draw CPU power so i guess you must have a good CPU.)
Some sounds you maybe can find or make without stacking.
(Also the Virus use stacked sounds.)

In Komplete my first thought was, that you should have a look at Razor. There are eg speciel filters and dissonance effects and fx.
Then Massive, Photone and maybe Lazerbass and Carbon2.
But also Absynth, FM8 and other Reaktor ensembles like eg Monark and Spark and even Prism can contribute. Eg Monark has some rawness in the lower end that you may is searching and it's and old school build synth. Spark is rather dirty so take a look at that one too. Really - all can contribute.
(None of them are beginner synths.
Massive is maybe the most easy to learn, as it very much is build as a old school synth. Also good to learn from. )
But Actually i think you can use all NI synths in the process. Also synth from the Reaktor user library.

I think you have to explore all the synths possibilities, as they each can contribute. I can't point at a single NI synth. But you can find sounds you can use. Especially to build from. Also from Junatic.
(PS. I was refering to Stephans synth that look like the hardware synth Juno 106. But just you are happy it's okay. Also remember Reaktor SoundSchool for learning purposes.)

I don't think i can contribute with more. I am also interessted in finding that speciel resonance and other things i for the moment don't know a softsynth that can do. But the above can do something to use, with more or less work.

EDIT: Maybe RAZOR and Lazerbass work good together and maybe Photone theese three can be a place to start for the sounds you search.
It Also depend a little on the specifik sounds you are searching. I'm not quite sure wich you mean from the video.
Perhaps it's Massive and Monark you should start with also because they are oldschool build and maybe easier to use.
But still - i think all the synth can contribute. But some maybe easier to use than others.
It's up to you and find out what's best and most easy for you and give you some results you can use.

Massive is perhaps the single NI synth that overall comes closest to a Virus. And it can do many things.