Can you tell what synth this is?

[D-Collector]

Guessing time! Listen to this clip and tell me what synth you think it is.



I added some reverb on a couple of sounds.

Ok, let add some options then:

a. Roland D-50
b. Yamaha DX7
c. Roland JX-8P
d. Roland JV-1080
e. software

[sam]

JX 8P...

[BlackGnosis]

c

[OriginalJambo]

I'll go with the JX-8P as well, but it'll probably be software.

Sounds great whatever it is.

[druzz]

i dont think its a JX .
my guess is d-50

[invisibleairwaves]

JX-8P, I think...none of the other answers seem too likely except for e, which is too vague.

[EmptySet]

It does sound like a JX8P like others have said, but I'm used to getting tricked on these, so if you told me it was the 1080 or something, I wouldn't be surprised.

[D-Collector]

I am honored that most of you think it is a JX-8P, because that was the intention! The sounds are in fact coming from PoiZone VSTi, with my own patches. I really think the soundtrack patch came out nice! This is hands down the best soft synth I have used, it really does sound like an old analog synth to me (unlike most of my other VSTs).

So, OriginalJambo you were right



I owned a JX-8P before, but now I have a great substitution!
Be aware that the presets are s**t though, but it is so easy to make great sounds..

Here is some Vangelis PoiZone:

[Pro5]

it does resemble an 8P in patch sound, but (and no you won't believe me) I wasn't fully convinced it was an 8P. It sounded like 8P-lite if you will. It was lacking some life and didn't quite have the depth of the 8P. Hard to quantify and unlikely anyone will believe me now anyway. (been playing with my JX8P just an hour ago which is probably why this demo sounded a bit too 'good' to be the real deal). Great patches though, they sound good enough in their own right.


edit > listening to my 8P now, I think some of the difference in your patch is 'less noise' (op-amps and old tech), slightly brighter/cleaner top-end, oscillators a bit too tame (esp noticeable on the higher notes which sound too 'perfect'), and some difference in the filters when the filter changes (on the first patch) the hardware ones get a little more electronic (based on "soundtrack" preset). Other than that it's very close and would fool almost anyone if you just said it WAS an 8P (without a choice) - in some ways it actually sounds 'nicer' than the 8P but I'd better not say that too loudly.

[D-Collector]

it does resemble an 8P in patch sound, but (and no you won't believe me) I wasn't fully convinced it was an 8P. It sounded like 8P-lite if you will. It was lacking some life and didn't quite have the depth of the 8P. Hard to quantify and unlikely anyone will believe me now anyway. (been playing with my JX8P just an hour ago which is probably why this demo sounded a bit too 'good' to be the real deal). Great patches though, they sound good enough in their own right.


edit > listening to my 8P now, I think some of the difference in your patch is 'less noise' (op-amps and old tech), slightly brighter/cleaner top-end, oscillators a bit too tame (esp noticeable on the higher notes which sound too 'perfect'), and some difference in the filters when the filter changes (on the first patch) the hardware ones get a little more electronic (based on "soundtrack" preset). Other than that it's very close and would fool almost anyone if you just said it WAS an 8P (without a choice) - in some ways it actually sounds 'nicer' than the 8P but I'd better not say that too loudly.

You are probably right Pro5. I fiddled around a bit with the filter in PoiZone, this was the closest I could get. And for the other points, well it's software after all..

I originally wanted to demo the "soundtrack" patch only, but I thought why not try some other ones too.. The soundtrack sound is the one I am really satisfied with. I sampled the real patch from my 8P before I sold it, and when I A/B the real and my software version it could certainly have fooled me if I wasn't aware.

The sad news is something happened on my computer that corrupted some of the patch files, including soundtrack.. But I will re-create it and I am well on my way on making a full bank of vintage sounds for PoiZone!

[Scories]

The sad news is something happened on my computer that corrupted some of the patch files, including soundtrack.. But I will re-create it and I am well on my way on making a full bank of vintage sounds for PoiZone!

That's why many of us hate softsynth; even though they can sound very good, they still crash.

[D-Collector]

Well, it was partly my fault because I accidentally deleted the folder containing my latest patches (don't ask me how, but I was cleaning up a folder structure), then when I recovered them with special software they would not load in PoiZone. It was not the softsynths fault. Fortunately, I had made a backup of said folder the day before, so I ended up only losing a couple of sounds, including soundtrack. I chalk it up to my own carelessness.

Seriously man, my hardware stuff through the years has crashed on me many, many more times than software has. Some years ago I was sceptical of softsynths too, but now? No. If you know what you are doing with your pc, everything's fine. It's like, everyone complains about windows. I am a heavy PC user and I haven't had a major problem since I started with 3.1 in 94.

Now, with the sounds I am able to make with synths like PoiZone, a lot of gear I wanted to buy has now become less interesting. But that does not mean I don't want a wall of synths! I love hardware to!

[Scories]

I bought a few softhsynth (Minimonsta, Oddity, Tassman...) but I don't play much often with them. There is always a little bug with the controller, the sound card settings, a few crashes and other small annoying things that kills my spontaneosity. I prefer to use basic analog synths and FX for the thick vintage tone, digital synths for complex sound design and computers for recording, editing and post-production. But I whish I could be diving and swimming in softsynths & softwares, just like you!

[D-Collector]

It's unfortunate that you experience these things, because there is a lot of fun to be had with a good working software setup, along with hardware of course! Crashes and bugs would probably kill my inspiration too. It is very possible that I have just been incredibly lucky with my PCs through the years...