Which is better, ready made synths or modular?

[johndunn]

It's a given that ready made synths are, well, ready made. You don't need to spend hours upon hours patching them together, and they are already proven to work so you don't need to dump it and start over when it proves unmanageable.

On the other side, there is price. Ready made (most of them) cost a fair chunk, while Modulars are free. Steak takes money, stew takes time.

Assuming the above cancel out (I know, they never do, exactly, every situation is different, etc., but try), which will provide 1. a better live musical instrument, 2. a better ensemble for creating small pieces, or 3. a better orchestra for large scale composing such as soundtracks?

...and why?

[netguyjoel]

I personally think, IMHO, ready made synths are not the problem. It is presets...which often times are only tweaked w/ filters & a controller or two. Modular, can really be yours and only yours. The time and effort needed to produce a great modular patch, takes a considerable amount of time, for those willing to put in the time, the results are self evident, with the time invested...and as for the soundtrack/film score stuff, I think combining synths (ready made and modular, combined with pristine orchestral sample libraries) have produced the best results, from what limited knowledge I have...It's like tattoos....good tattoos are not cheap, & cheap tattoos are not good. The money I have and will pay for third party synths are worth every penny...especially when you compare them to buying hardware...for what it's worth...it's just an opinion....
best wishes...

[siriusbliss]

I no longer have time or intense knowledge for setting up modular patches.
However, many of the 3rd party patches over the years are very good for starters.

Since I'm busy, I prefer the full-blown synths with all the community-supplied presets, and then I tweak from there.

Greg

[dawman]

For live work whichever loads the fastest.
I have my emulations from Zarg with a couple of fast loading Patches by Assaf, and analog synths that never need load time.

[iSiStOy]

The previous months, I probably bought more scope plugs than the past 5 years (& only 2 synths bought on purpose:Prowave & Xor) and I must say that they give entire satisfaction. It has a cost, of course, but what a great pleasure to be able to use them as they are, tweak presets, route them into sthg else and have quality sound.

Let's not forget a real "in between" solution exists: the RD Slots.

Bios (woww!) was also a really good surprise.

Now, with Modular & Flexor3, I feel the possibility to get sick and "personalized" synthesis but my idea is more to use it as a processor for input signals or 4 creating insane modulations for other devices. I prefer to use the "stock" flexor patches and customize them for that purpose.

Any other synth sound is coming from HW (proper synth or sampler) and it takes time to adapt to machines as well.

[cortone]

I agree, SpaceF's BiOsc4 (and it's little sister AnOsc) bridges a gap between the Modular and the ready-mades incredibly well! BlackBox II is the best bang for the buck in Scope, IMO. Add in the fact that it can load all of the RD II and Flexor modules alongside Mehdi's satellites, and you have a powerhouse that can only be beaten by SolarisV as far as flexibility and variety are concerned (again IMO, I don't have MultiSynth or QWave for comparisons). You also get some crazy-good FX and other tools. Deserving of far more attention than it gets on PlanetZ!

Cheers,
Cory

[iSiStOy]

Definitely!
I am still asking myself about RD slots though...
I think I'll probably need the sdk to produce my own .dev from flexorIII modules patching one day or another!