Softsynth equivalents

[the_noodlemeister]

Has anybody got any recommendations for Softsynth equivalents of the Roland Jp8000, and the Access Virus B? Also, what other softsynths are ideal for trance / dance? Predator and Sylenth (Virus B) and Superwave 8 (JP8000) have already been recommended - any others? Thanks in advance.

[Ashe37]

Predator and Superwave P8 are pretty much the ones i have been using for those exact purposes. Also look at V-Station and Bass Station.

[tekkentool]

have a look at reFX vanguard, it's my favourite trance synth

[the_noodlemeister]

Cheers guys, i'll check those out
Any others also welcome

[th0mas]

u-he ACE sounds amazing. I got the demo and after an hour of stressing out every time it played the "static sound" that plays periodically through the demo I bought it, it's awesome.

[griffin avid]

Access Virus B?

I think most people point towards the Rob Papen synths.

[the_noodlemeister]

How / where do i obtain the U-he ACE, reFX Vanguard, V Station? Are they solely downloadable? Or can they be purchased in CD-rom form (like Predator)?

[tekkentool]

How / where do i obtain the U-he ACE, reFX Vanguard, V Station? Are they solely downloadable? Or can they be purchased in CD-rom form (like Predator)?

They're all downloads.

Refx vanguard
http://refx.com/?page=products/vanguard/summary

V-station
http://us.novationmusic.com/products/v_station?option=6

u-he ACE.
http://www.acesynth.com/

[Hugo76]

In the online user library for Native Instruments Reaktor, there are numerous excellent synths that could compete with these any time.

[Ashe37]

and conversely, you could buy Predator, Vanguard, V-station and ACE for the cost of Reaktor.

[stikygum]

Ace sounds good, but no mention of Zebra. I think that's one of the nicer softies out there.

[Hugo76]

and conversely, you could buy Predator, Vanguard, V-station and ACE for the cost of Reaktor.

But then again, for the price of Reaktor you get over a thousand synths + countless effects, sequencers, samplers etc
Mind you, though, this can quickly get a bit overwhelming, so it just might be wiser to concentrate on one or two synths instead....

[metrosonus]

the few softsynths that I would use would be VStation, Largo and Absynth.

[the_noodlemeister]

Are these RTAS or VST?
Also, do i need some kind of software to use softsynths in vst format?

[krushing]

Are these RTAS or VST?
Also, do i need some kind of software to use softsynths in vst format?

As a rule of thumb, the bigger commercial products tend to be in all the popular formats. Check the manufacturers' sites. And yes, while some plugins offer standalone operation, usually you need a VST host. It can be as simple as Hermann Seib's VSTHost, or as complex as a fully-fledged DAW...