So exactly what are the BEST synths available for the CW car

Basic Pitch · Post by **Basic Pitch** » Sat Aug 30, 2003 9:33 am

Greetings all,

Well after some reconfiguring, tech support, a few calls to Asus, M$, Crucial, CW a trip to CompUsa and a new mobo, it looks like I am up and running with a fresh dual boot of XP running in standard PC mode with my PowerPulsar and a nice .pro Paul@ helped me accomplish to get me started.

So now that things seem to be working nicely and the nForce2 seems to like the CW cards, I started browsing the synths that are bundled with the card, some stand out and some sound like the run of the mill VSTis available, though I must say its sort of hard to get a true appreciaton for some of the starting presets with (1) voice and no effects, but then again, they are just presets

So now I am wonding after reading a thread that stated the older synths were toys compared to some of the latest and greatest.

So what I am asking basically is, lets have this thread be sort of a poll, post your favorit synths, synth mods, patches for a specific synth and what not, you could add links or names what ever you like, I just really wanna get a true taste of what the card can offer, and while I do like the sound of alot of the synths, I am hoping there is just the select few special synths out there that are must haves, the ones that REALLY stand out as special synths and such.

Anyways any help is appreciated

Cheers!

Mr Arkadin · Post by **Mr Arkadin** » Sat Aug 30, 2003 10:29 am

Well of the 'standard' synths, i like:

Prisma

Lightwave

Vectron Player (could do with more presets though)

Of the 'additional purchase' CW synths i like:

MiniMax http://www.creamware.de/en/products/sof ... efault.asp

Pro One http://www.creamware.de/en/products/sof ... efault.asp

B-2003 http://www.creamware.de/en/products/sof ... efault.asp

ModularIII http://www.creamware.de/en/products/sof ... efault.asp

Of commercial 3rd party synths i like:

Zarg's Prophet http://www.zargmusic.com/ourproductcata ... og&UID=113

wavelength's uberplastic http://www.track0.com/wavelength/devices.html

Zarg's Solaris (i only have the demo though) http://www.zargmusic.com/ourproductcata ... og&UID=114

Of the free/shareware synths i like:

Neutron's Sonic Attack http://www.planetz.com/forums/viewtopic ... orum=16&22

Space F's Synthetic http://www.planetz.com/forums/viewtopic ... orum=16&36

wavelength's plastic (for $20 all wavelength's shareware bundle is worth getting) http://www.track0.com/wavelength/shareware.html

Also i like Mr Arkadin's extra presets for MiniMax, Synthetic, Sonic Attack and Pro One SOLO. He's great.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Mr Arkadin on 2003-08-31 16:32 ]</font>

decimator · Post by **decimator** » Sat Aug 30, 2003 10:30 am

One synth first : Solaris !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

to grab at http://www.zargmusic.com/

229 $ and a steal : the best value for money CW or native ...
Massive features & sounds

You *have* to buy it, simple as that ...

Then Stephen Hummel synths : http://www.track0.com/wavelength/devices.html

Nasty as hell, a *major* player of the game !

Otherwise ask John Bowen the Python Pro demo and fly beyond the dull presets !

I've got also the modular III and Vectron, when before year 2246, the Flexor modules will be released, the Mod will be a kind of a beast !!!

Vectron is just addictive ... go beyond the player : there's quite a lot of modulations on the full version !

I consider the Minimax,Pro One and Six Strings also on my purchase list ...

Anyway I hate those 60 min CW demos !!

Try the other tools as well ...

My picks, next one ->

Basic Pitch · Post by **Basic Pitch** » Sat Aug 30, 2003 10:39 am

Just curious,

But, how well do these synths stand up to some of my favorite native synths such as:

Pro53
Reaktor
V-Station

As an example, IMO I think those three synths have an amazing sound quality to them, ofcourse the synths have build in effect processing which makes them sound alot better than a flat signal, but just curious on how you think the CW stuff stands up against some of the top native synths?

Cheers!

PS. thanks for getting the thread started guys

decimator · Post by **decimator** » Sat Aug 30, 2003 10:54 am

I have Reaktor 4 and I now use it for samples manglers but with D-Mute D-Filter all the sounds of my natives have been significantly enhanced ...

Otherwise they just can't fight : it's poodle vs pitbull !

The only ones that can resist are Arturia's Moog and Oddity ...

Frankly, you're entering an another realm : poor natives !!!

astroman · Post by **astroman** » Sat Aug 30, 2003 11:25 am

I only compare synths without FX applied. Otherwise it would simply lead into chaos. Most anything in SFP can be used as an FX and one can really build killer chains not present in any native synth, let alone sending something through Modular

I'd like to mention the Python Pro, as it often seems not to get the attention it deserves.
It has a very different sound engine from the other virtual analog and sample based snths.
Really outstanding - it's remarkable that the Hartman Neuron uses a similiar engine.
2 instances of Python Pro interconnected by a Modular patch comes quite close to the Neuron's structure.
Of course the Neuron has a completely different approach in handling it's sound 'data' and a phantastic user interface

But it just shows how sophisticated Creamware's concept is. The Python was originally developed with Modular 2 and then optimized as a standalone device.

cheers, Tom

Spirit · Post by **Spirit** » Sat Aug 30, 2003 12:05 pm

If you're using the *raw* sound of Reaktor as a base to judge by then you can call every SFP synth superior. Likewise Pro-53 is OK, but nothing special. Again take just about SFP synth and you'll hear better.

Prisma is my favourite because of the excellent modulation routing and silky tones.

Lightwave also has some very creative routing confugurations possible, although I'm not such a fan of the waveform approach.

And call me Old School, but I think Celmo's BasmannIII stands up very well to the new competition.

I like the new Wavlength synths, but I can't handle the GUIs - yeah poor reason I know, but that's just me.

But most of all I'm a fan of Modular-III. It's such a good system - and relatively easy to learn - that I simply haven't found anything that much better that deserves the money.

Flexor seems to have good potential to expand the Modular system into completely new terrain, but I don't expect it will be released this year (that is if it even exists which I'm beginning to doubt).

Kamurah · Post by **Kamurah** » Sat Aug 30, 2003 5:57 pm

My votes:

Purchases:

MiniMax is fantastic (and sounds quite different than the Arturia Moog Modular native plug)

Johy Bowen's Prophet Plus (which I recently purchased) is phenomenal. For "real" analog sounds, it surpasses my Access Virus easily.

I have heard great things about Solaris, but have not heard any mp3's or tried a demo, so I cannot comment firsthand.

I am looking to purchase Vectron before too long.

Freebies:

Goofy Basssynth: Very flexible and good sounding
Plasma Drumsynth: I actually bought this one before it was donationware....and it is worth the money I paid. Nice snappy drums (synthetic of course)
Dubsub: If you like sub bass....ya gotta check this one out
Three-o-Three: no comment needed
Kickme: It does nothing but kicks....but oh man.

Other than those...the CW synths are quite good. Lightwave, Prisma, and even Bluesynth are very capable in their own right.

Have fun

Kamurah · Post by **Kamurah** » Sat Aug 30, 2003 6:04 pm

BTW, you asked for a comparison to Pro-53, Reaktor, and V-Station.

The CW Prophets are much fuller in sound and wider in texture than the NI versions. I like Pro-53, but it just doesn't cut through like the Prophet Plus.

V-Station is a unique plug (IMO)....and a good compliment to CW synths. Because it has effects and an arpeggiator built in it is unique among a lot of VSTi's/AU's. Hard to directly compare....but after playing with the demo, I am going to purchase it to compliment my CW setup.

Reaktor- Perhaps I too am a little biased, but if you enjoy programming in a modular type environment, then there is little to compare with the CW Modular. Reaktor has a huge database of modules, but I still feel that the sound of CW surpasses it.

Your mileage may vary.