FTP - Best soft synth(s) for FTP

[musicamex]

The more i learn about my FTP the more i am enjoying it.  I think  I would like to add some additional soft synth possibility.   No doubt there are many suggestions already covered on V Guitar, but i thought it would be good to get them under one heading.  After your responses, i can try to summarize the responses for future readers.
Please only include soft synths that work smoothly with FTP and or  FC1.  Links are always helpful along with personal tips and caveats.

I am interested in 3 basic catagories:

1)  FREE
2)  BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK
3)  BEST REGARDLESS OF COST
4)  AVOID WITH REASONS FOR WHY

Looking forward to your input and expertise,  as always.
Muchas Gracias

[Elantric]

get an iPad AIR or newer, and then you can use many IOS synths - many are under $10
As explained in the

FTP FAQ
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=8427.0



and


IOS App Area
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?board=132.0

[musicamex]

Thanks for the response,  Elantric.  I am SO heavily invested into windows (tower integrated with my studio mixer ), new laptop i had built especially for my FTP,  and the FC1 i hope to integrate,  plus 2 other laptops we use for personal stuff,  plus android tablets, think i am stuck on windows.  Funny, I started out with a souped up fat mac when floopies were 64k.  We started sailing and cruising,  and i switched to an equally feeble by todays standards windows laptop  (Ninja) because Windows offered the only navigation etc software option, and other useful things at that time.  I only briefly used mac again when the hamburger box ones came out.  Now I  fear it is too late and expensive to switch everything back to mac.  I think Macs lost allot of users in the early days because of the closed architecture compared to windows seeding and fertilizing software development.

[Elantric]

I think Macs lost allot of users in the early days because of the closed architecture compared to windows seeding and fertilizing software development.

And conversely - IMHO - Windows lost a lot of users after Windows 8, 8.1, 10 "Metro GUI" torture and lack of privacy issues.

While Macs gained big time after 2007 once they switched to intel CPUs and Bootcamp allowed running your OS of choice

for past 7 years, many USA PC magazines awarded the Macbook Pro as best Windows laptop 
http://www.cnet.com/news/macbook-pro-declared-best-performing-windows-laptop/
But for Roland / Boss GT/GR/VG / GP /SY gear there is no doubt the Mac OSX USB drivers deliver lower latency compared to the Roland / Boss Windows ASIO drivers   
 

[Elantric]

I suggest check out KVR for latest VSTi/AU softsynths
https://www.kvraudio.com/

[ConstruKction]

I absolutely love Synth1. It's free, sounds mighty, and you can tweak everything.

http://synth1.com/



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[musicamex]

And conversely - IMHO - Windows lost a lot of users after Windows 8, 8.1, 10 "Metro GUI" torture and lack of privacy issues.

I couldnt agree more, Elantric  Windows 7 was sandwiched by pure torture.  I stuck with windows 7.  I actually still have some mac stuff i inherited and maybe a recording studio mac tower i could purchase.   Perhaps the switch, at least for my studio , might be worth it.  If i get the specs, maybe you could coach me on it's value? 

I think my live gig days are going to get a "haircut".  Now that i live 2 1/2 hrs from Margaritaville on a dangerous rd only 50 mi but 2.5 hrs of hairpins and grades it means staying overnight or being on the road with the people we played for....pretty hammered usually.  Time to chill and get more creative with my toys.  Maybe i will actually have time to learn the new world of music technology what seems to be geometrically  more complex year after year.

[musicamex]

Maybe time for a subscription to Computer Music.   I wonder if they would send to Mexico.   Also some across border downloads are difficult or impossible even with "Hide my ip server"

[Rolloq]

Yamaha Dx7.

http://asb2m10.github.io/dexed/

Rolloq   

[musicamex]

I absolutely love Synth1. It's free, sounds mighty, and you can tweak everything

http://synth1.com/



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Thank you.  I will try this.   I should have wifi in my studio this afternoon!   One small step for man...one GIANT step for rock in my isolated location......

[shawnb]

My son & one of his friends have started creating music for fun - some ambient & some EDM.  They've been trying to go freebie.  They showed me Synth1, and its wide palette of sounds, and I must admit it's very impressive.  Equally impressive is that folks share samples & configs.  There is a pretty decent library out there of shared content.

I believe it's a single poly synth though, and mono mode (6 distinct channels, one per string) is important to me as it best utilizes the guitar as a midi controller.   

The selections for pure mono mode are still a bit limited, but getting better.  There is even some IOS support for mono mode out there now.

I use Sampletank3 & am very pleased with it.  Biggest limitation is it is 100% sample-based. 

[musicamex]

I use Sampletank3 & am very pleased with it.  Biggest limitation is it is 100% sample-based. 

Could you explain this re the limitations of being sample based?

[musicamex]

You can download from sources such as Google Play.  They also ship worldwide.  I don't think being in Mexico would be a problem with downloading.  No need for hiding ip address.

I see now the publication is available as a download.  Actually more ecological.  But being UK based with sales, ads etc might not be all that useful for me.   I mostly bring in my gear from the USA.   Otherwise shipping and customs kill us musicians here.  But the way the £ got hit yesterday, maybe everything is "on sale" if paying in dollars.  Sorry for the Brexit pains the UK must be feeling.  Hard when a country is almost equally divided.   But that is democracy........?

[shawnb]

Could you explain this re the limitations of being sample based?

There are several ways to make a synthesizer make some noise, and they fall into 2 groups: either you construct the sound yourself using oscillators & circuits & math, or, you sample something & play that.   SampleTank is ONLY the latter, hence the name. 

There are synths out there that are NOT based on samples, that construct waveforms thru "frequency modulation (FM)", "additive synthesis", "subtractive synthesis" or various other techniques, & those tend to sound much better for synthy stuff.  Lots of fun reading if you google these terms.  (https://theproaudiofiles.com/sound-synthesis-basics/)

For SampleTank to play a synthy sound, they have to record one, because that's all they do is play back samples.  But if you want a very convincing piano or sax or another acoustic instrument, sample-based is usually the way to go. 

[musicamex]

Thank you.   More food for thought.  There is so much to learn compared to the  Buddy Holly days.  If you needed a guitar cable back then, there was only  a couple of choices at a mom and pop music store.  Now if you bought one of each cable at a guitar center, they would fill the trunk of your car, and could become a forum topic several pages long discussing various merits or lack of them.  Guitar playing seems to have allot more science involved than it used to.  As much as i enjoy making the myriad of sounds that a v guitar novice can make, compared to what many here can access, modify, understand and then play,  i find myself often grabbing an acoustic guitar and playing, unplugged on the sofa, watching birds come to the bird bath, accompanied only by their chirping, and the breeze through the bamboo and pines. Its like being connected without being connected.  Both paths have their merit.  Whatever blows your hair back is my philosophy.

[chrish]

With a sampler, you can play birds, whales, wind, thunder, waterfalls, and all the nature sounds out there. Some musicans record these types of sounds with small portable digital recorders and transfer the files to their sampler synth and change the waveforms by passing them though filters and fx and modulation. Lots of choises and possibilities.One of the members here has a very good demo jamming with crickets.

[Smash]

iProphet for iOS is a very big, lush sounding, analog style synth

[musicamex]

With a sampler, you can play birds, whales, wind, thunder, waterfalls, and all the nature sounds out there. Some musicans record these types of sounds with small portable digital recorders and transfer the files to their sampler synth and change the waveforms by passing them though filters and fx and modulation. Lots of choises and possibilities.One of the members here has a very good demo jamming with crickets.

What software sampler could i use to take my own recorded sound, transfer it into the program and then play with it to modify it?  I am guessing sample tank that came with FTP is just a collection of their own sounds without the ability to do what you describe.  This concept you describe sounds really interesting to me.  Thank you for turning on a light bulb.

[chrish]

Quote- ''i find myself often grabbing an acoustic guitar and playing, unplugged on the sofa, watching birds come to the bird bath, accompanied only by their chirping, and the breeze through the bamboo and pines. Its like being connected without being connected.  Both paths have their merit.'' 
unquote- the best way to transfer a self recorded nature sample into a sampler would be to find one where you could just drop the recorded wav file into the sampler (as opposed to re-recording the sample). I'm guessing that most softsynth samplers would allow you to do this, or maybe just record directly in a phone or ipad sampler app? But i would have  defer to those here who are more familiar with software samples. 

I use hardware gear because i prefer to edit sounds using the buttons on the unit itself and because ever since i was a kid engrossed in science fiction star trek, i have always wanted a console full of lights and buttons. :-)

When i read your post, that i quoted above, i thought about the emotions that are involved in the scene you described observing the beauty of nature. When i introduce those sounds into my playing, or use impressionistic nature synth sounds, hopefully those emotions come out in the music. 

[BBach]

It's not cheap, but Spectrasonics Trillian is a gas. I don't have Omnispere 2, but I'm sure it is  even more of a gas. The Trillian basses are stellar and have all sorts of suprising programmability and modulation capabilities. It is eight part multi timbal. There are all sorts of synth samples included, which can be programmed in infinitely different ways that are totally different from the presets. If I remember correctly, it was about $275, which would put it in the "if money was no object" category.

[Elantric]

If I remember correctly, it was about $275, which would put it in the "if money was no object" category.

I'm from an era where $275 was about 1/2" the cost of one Casio CZ-101 ($499 in 1985 dollars)   -so $275 in 2016 is relatively cheap.

[yuri]

After NI and  various   kontakt libraries  , samplr tank ,etc etc ,I rediscovered again Apple VST quality...  I recently used all of  same place - my Macbook pro with  his  daw Logic Pro X2 and only  his instruments  Alchemy etc ..  all apple VST  for FTP is great  for me

[Elantric]

I rediscovered again Apple VST quality...

Technically the instruments supplied with Apple Logic-X are called Apple AU (Audio Unit) Instruments  - not VST
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_Units
http://www.apple.com/logic-pro/
http://www.apple.com/logic-pro/plugins-and-sounds/

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201532


VST is a Steinberg creation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_Studio_Technology

[BobbyD]

It's not cheap, but Spectrasonics Trillian is a gas. I don't have Omnispere 2, but I'm sure it is  even more of a gas. The Trillian basses are stellar and have all sorts of suprising programmability and modulation capabilities. It is eight part multi timbal. There are all sorts of synth samples included, which can be programmed in infinitely different ways that are totally different from the presets. If I remember correctly, it was about $275, which would put it in the "if money was no object" category.

Spot on bro.  I LOVE Trillian for laying down bass lines with guitar. I was going to purchase a bass for recording bass lines but Trillian is so realistic, I enjoy laying down bass lines using FTP guitar as much or more than playing  bass.  Omnisphere 2 is off the charts.  You have to experience it to understand.  Even is using another controller, it's pretty dope.   Please keep in mind that all spectrasonics synths require to be opened  a DAW which in my case is Ableton and can not be used stand alone.  I know Elantric uses his Ipad so he should be able to definitely tell you the best stand alone plugins because I do not believe an Ipad can host a DAW but I could be completely wrong.

Thank you.   More food for thought.  There is so much to learn compared to the  Buddy Holly days.  If you needed a guitar cable back then, there was only  a couple of choices at a mom and pop music store.  Now if you bought one of each cable at a guitar center, they would fill the trunk of your car, and could become a forum topic several pages long discussing various merits or lack of them.  Guitar playing seems to have allot more science involved than it used to.  As much as i enjoy making the myriad of sounds that a v guitar novice can make, compared to what many here can access, modify, understand and then play,  i find myself often grabbing an acoustic guitar and playing, unplugged on the sofa, watching birds come to the bird bath, accompanied only by their chirping, and the breeze through the bamboo and pines. Its like being connected without being connected.  Both paths have their merit.  Whatever blows your hair back is my philosophy.

So true bro. I remember the days when all I did was plug my Les Paul into a wah wah into a Mesa Boogie and I rocked hard without giving any though to gear and all my thought went into my playing. We  are living during a period of time which may have special name like the Renaissance age, because technology is evolving exponentially and I think no industry  has been more impacted by technology than music for both gigging musicians and home hobbyists/producers.   IMHO, you have two choices:   1.) Stick with the simple true and tried method of keeping it simple and using your fingers to make the music interesting because the very best music I have ever heard, especially from guitarists required ZERO technology and 100% fingers and talent.  2.) completely embrace technology because once you really understand MIDI and analog gear like CV, LFOs, using expression pedals, and how the two worlds interact, that is when the real fun begins and opens a new world which I am still trying to figure out.   I am going to post soon and I hope Elantric jumps in because he is a true guru and the smartest person I haver met when it comes to music technology.   I recently sent an email to Mitch Gallagher from Sweetwater who is a true guru in this industry and same question to the product Manager from TC Electronics and was given to opposite answers.  That alone should tell you something about technology.   I am counting on you Elantric to come thru like you always do if you are reading this!!

[Elantric]

Spectrasonics products are great - but they do not run on an iPad

https://www.spectrasonics.net

I do not believe an Ipad can host a DAW but I could be completely wrong.

There are several DAW's on iPad



Auria offers third party plug ins that comply with their proprietary Auria Plug format ( PsP, SugerBytes)
http://auriaapp.com/Products/auria


Garageband now supports Apple AU plugins, and other DAW apps are supporting AU format which is expanding each month with new additions. 
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=18800.0
http://musicappblog.com/tag/au/



Read several pages of iPad synths that run standalone or inside iPad DAW apps (Cubasis) here:
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?board=132.0