Synth vst options

mcmac74

Active member
I've noticed there are a lot of individual sounds available as free vsts, particularly pianos. I was wondering if there are vsts that mimic a complete synth with various sounds/ effects / instruments available within the single vst ( that I'd command with a midi controller) I only ask because it seems a laborious task to download numerous instruments, some of which you may not like and cant hear until you've got it loaded in your DAW.

Any advice welcome

Thanks
Mark
 
I'm guessing that the word "free" is the operative here, so, if you're looking for a free synth vst with a lot of patches, these two are the ones that come to mind for supernumerary presets (Synth1 and DeXed):
YouTube video here:
YouTube

Note that the links to the presets on the YouTube page are no longer active. Use the links below.

Synth1 vst (a la Clavia Nord Lead 2 Red Synth):
KVR: Synth1 by Daichi Laboratory (Ichiro Toda) - Synth (Analogue / Subtractive) VST Plugin and Audio Units Plugin

25000 presets for Synth1 here:
25,000 Synth1 Presets

Dexed vst on YouTube (Yamaha DX, TX synths):
YouTube

Dexed vst download:
Dexed

Dexed/FM8/Yamaha DX/TX soundbanks/patches:
http://bobbyblues.recup.ch/yamaha_dx7/dx7_patches.html
https://patches.fm/#/

BTW: Sonic Sirius also did these two videos (Not that there's any shortage of this type of video but these are from a notable soundware developer):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9C_z7mt4oM&t=5s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJz5U1Ze_Xw

I hope this helps.

Paj
8^)
 
Thanks Paj..Not entirely sure how to use all this but i've downloaded the dexed dll to start and will see how i go.

Cheers, Mark
 
yup, sorry about that. Looks like EMU/Creative completely abandoned their legacy products.

Yeah, the headphones look nice.
 
I'm guessing that the word "free" is the operative here, so, if you're looking for a free synth vst with a lot of patches, these two are the ones that come to mind for supernumerary presets (Synth1 and DeXed):
YouTube video here:
YouTube

Note that the links to the presets on the YouTube page are no longer active. Use the links below.

Synth1 vst (a la Clavia Nord Lead 2 Red Synth):
KVR: Synth1 by Daichi Laboratory (Ichiro Toda) - Synth (Analogue / Subtractive) VST Plugin and Audio Units Plugin

25000 presets for Synth1 here:
25,000 Synth1 Presets

Dexed vst on YouTube (Yamaha DX, TX synths):
YouTube

Dexed vst download:
Dexed

Dexed/FM8/Yamaha DX/TX soundbanks/patches:
http://bobbyblues.recup.ch/yamaha_dx7/dx7_patches.html
https://patches.fm/#/

BTW: Sonic Sirius also did these two videos (Not that there's any shortage of this type of video but these are from a notable soundware developer):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9C_z7mt4oM&t=5s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJz5U1Ze_Xw

I hope this helps.

Paj
8^)

Paj, i've downloaded the 36MB preset file which is .RAR. When following the Youtube video on how to install the presets in synth1, it shows this rar file being opened before files are extracted. My computer is asking me which programme to use to open the file which has left me a bit stumped... Please advise where i go from there?

Regards
Mark
 
You can use 7zip to extract a rar file. It's a free download but might contain bloatware.
 
mcmac74:
I use the full version of WinRAR but sometimes 7zip will work "better" (I have had files that caused WinRAR to stop with a detected flaw but 7zip successfully extracted them).


Download 7-Zip from SourceForge.net

It's been a while since I set up Synth1 but I do remember that the contents of the 25000-patch library RAR file is supposed to be extracted to a folder created/called "zipbank" in the "Synth1" folder that is created in your VSTplugins directory (where the Synth1.dll file resides) when Synth1 is installed. The 25000-patch RAR file contains a turd load of RAR and ZIP files. Don't further extract these (~256) RAR/ZIP files. The "zipbank" folder should end up loaded with all of these (~256) RAR/ZIP files for Synth1 to be able to read/access the patches they contain.

There are a number of YouTube videos for Synth1 and Dexed.

To complement these two synths, I would suggest that you keep your eyes peeled for giveaways/specials for Air Music Tech's Xpand!2. It's been given away as a free bonus or sold for as low as $1. It's a decent quality ROMpler for the times when you might say something like "I need a tuba sound." It doesn't have deep synth parameter-tweaking capabilities but it holds it's own with 2500+ presets and a variety of sounds that can be combined in its 4-layer engine---and it's easy to use.


Paj
8^)
 
You can use 7zip to extract a rar file. It's a free download but might contain bloatware.

mcmac74:
I use the full version of WinRAR but sometimes 7zip will work "better" (I have had files that caused WinRAR to stop with a detected flaw but 7zip successfully extracted them).


Download 7-Zip from SourceForge.net

It's been a while since I set up Synth1 but I do remember that the contents of the 25000-patch library RAR file is supposed to be extracted to a folder created/called "zipbank" in the "Synth1" folder that is created in your VSTplugins directory (where the Synth1.dll file resides) when Synth1 is installed. The 25000-patch RAR file contains a turd load of RAR and ZIP files. Don't further extract these (~256) RAR/ZIP files. The "zipbank" folder should end up loaded with all of these (~256) RAR/ZIP files for Synth1 to be able to read/access the patches they contain.

There are a number of YouTube videos for Synth1 and Dexed.

To complement these two synths, I would suggest that you keep your eyes peeled for giveaways/specials for Air Music Tech's Xpand!2. It's been given away as a free bonus or sold for as low as $1. It's a decent quality ROMpler for the times when you might say something like "I need a tuba sound." It doesn't have deep synth parameter-tweaking capabilities but it holds it's own with 2500+ presets and a variety of sounds that can be combined in its 4-layer engine---and it's easy to use.


Paj
8^)

Cheers...I'll get those installed on synth 1 tonight hopefully.

I had a look at air expand!2 Paj and noted it's going for £10 on one site...The fact that it sounds well ordered and has a slightly less imposing 2500 presets tempts me to get it now....

Mark
 
I've now had a go at getting the presets into synth1...It's not gone particularly well...The synth VST loads fine but when i try and load a preset there is nothing in the External zip... . All the 25,000 presets have been loaded into the zipbank folder in Synth 1 but have clearly not transferred across

Any Pointers?

I don't know much about file paths etc but i suspect the issue maybe something to do with where the folder sits and how it was opened. I initially installed winzip but then when i tried to use it wanted payment so i went for 7zip. Both the synth 1 folder and the presets have been put in the usual path to VSTs. I've rescanned etc but not showing at all. Using Reaper
 
Last edited:
"I had a look at air expand!2 Paj and noted it's going for £10 on one site...The fact that it sounds well ordered and has a slightly less imposing 2500 presets tempts me to get it now...."

. . . as long as you won't get upset when you see it goings for $1 or free. IMHO, it's worth more than £10 and it offers more than a lot of specialized one and two voice VST romplers that you'll come across, but, again, it will surely be cheaper than £10 in the future. There's also the issue that Xpand!2 is also part of the AIEP3 bundle upgrade that regularly goes on sale for as low as $60 and is LOADED with great stuff (although you do need at least one AIR Music Tech plugin to get the upgrade offer). If you just want to get an orchestral+ jones on in the meantime for free:
VSCO Community
Free VST plugins download : DSK Music
ORCHESTRAL TOOLS (64-bit only)
LABS - Free Virtual Instruments

And, don't forget to check these out:
Top 10 Free Software For Music Production in 2019 - Audio Plugin Deals

There is simply no shortage of free stuff on the net, some of it exceptional and much of it quite useful.

Paj
8^)
 
Last edited:
You might want to check out Deals page at pluginboutique.com --- they have iZotope's Iris, BreakTweaker, Stutter Edit, Trash, and the Elements series all on sale for $8.88 each for their 8th Birthday Sale until March 2. Iris and BreakTweaker may not be the easiest to quickly learn but that's because of their enhanced feature sets. There's not much doubt about their pedigree and quality.

Paj
8^)
 
The snag is that if you have over 3000 samples, you think you have everything until you don't! Auditioning endless numbers of sounds is everyday music technology now. If you buy the full Kontakt package, you will STILL keep buying more - PLUS, your ideal sample collection will be different to mine.
 
The snag is that if you have over 3000 samples, you think you have everything until you don't! Auditioning endless numbers of sounds is everyday music technology now. If you buy the full Kontakt package, you will STILL keep buying more - PLUS, your ideal sample collection will be different to mine.

Amen! The other day I started randomizing a single Massive patch and it just went on and on. If I spent as much time on The Market as I do on music and audio, I'd be buying NI---the company, not just the products---among others.* Thank God the passion is not for opioids.

Paj
8^)


*"Not that there's anything wrong with that!"
---Seinfeld
 
I bought a Native Instruments S61 mk 2 master keyboard as it appeared to offer quicker access to sounds by having a short sample of every patch rather than load, discard, load discard - and two things have happened. First is I have probaby thousands of sounds I didn't even know were already on my system, and second, the time saving is not as great as I thought as I now even more to choose from.

I should have realised when the time it took to grab all the little samples went on for ages - and this is just the NI libraries, now I find I use the stand alone ones even less! As a result my 'go to first' sounds are all different!
 
Sadly there are many ways to manage sample libraries, and the free and cheap ones often just give you zillions of .wav files and no real organisation. Then you have ones that come up as huge collections but with easier ways to interrogate the library, then you have the Kontakt libraries - easily my go to ones because with the Kintaky keyboard (my best investment for Kontakt) you have a built in browser that grabs a few seconds of each sound you can navigate too, and then audition quickly. Waiting a minute to load up a complex sample set that half a second shows you is totally wrong is a real pain - and once you are into VSTi samples and synthesis your library grows crazily.

I tend to get emails, I go to the site and listen to a few examples, and if I like them I buy them if they offer value. It also means I have thousands of samples I have never ever listened to - especially of their title starts with a Z not an A!
 
Back
Top