VST Synth recommendations needed

[Fragle]

Hey there,

i'd like to experiment with some synthie/ambient sounds to add some textures and melodies to a few songs. However, I'm an absolute newb as far as synths are concerned ;-)
Style-wise I'm looking for something along the lines of Hypocrisy, Pain and so on...
There seems to be an overwhelming amount of plugs, so I was hoping that maybe you guys could recommend me a few that cover those sounds quite well?

This is strictly intended for songwriting demos, experimenting with stuff etc, not full productions, so freeware is prefered
Also, it should be relatively easy to use, not only because i've never worked with synths, but also because I don't want to spend hours dialing in sounds when creativity strikes and i just want to quickly lay down a few ideas.

Thanks!

 

[Toxic Grind Machine]

Some of my favorites, not freeware:

- Omnisphere
- Razor
- Absynth 5
- nexus II
- Vanguard and/or Toxic III
- Zebra

Just to name a few.. again, not free but im sure there are demos you can try.
These are plugs that are relatively easy to use as well out of the box, but with lot's of depth if you choose to dive in these synths deeper.

 

[nezvers]

^ and non of them are free!
http://www.youtube.com/user/vstplanet/videos - tons of free synth, listen what you like.

 

[anotherpaul]

Check out free ones: Synth1 or Tyrell. There are tons of user-presets out there to help you find something sounding suitable fast, which is good for songwriting.
As for ambient stuff - this guy: http://www.krakli.co.uk/cygnus.htm

 

[Kohugaly]

try DSK http://www.dskmusic.com/

 

[JonWormwood]

If you've got some cash, Komplete 9. Or get a discounted version of Komplete 8 (almost no difference synth wise) Should be able to get it for 300

 

[Toxic Grind Machine]

^ and non of them are free!

I dont even.. I said that twice in my reply lol.
Also, Fragle "prefers" them to be free.

 

[sjcortese]

+1 for Tyrell N6.. quite versitile. http://bedroomproducersblog.com/2012/03/20/tyrell-n6-v2-released/

Another free goodie: http://www.kvraudio.com/news/creatorum-genius-lab-releases-imago---free-vst-synth-for-windows-22387

Just a sugestion, but there's some ecxellent free versions of synths you can get if you buy an issue of Computer Music magazine online. One issue is less than 5 US dollars and then you have download access to a bunch of cool stuff. Dune & Zebra are really cool and worth it for sure.

Hope that helps as I'm not totaly fammiliar with the bands you mentioned.

~scott

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

I find some of the best "free" ones are the ones already in your DAW.

I've tried so many garbage free software synths that ended up in the trash.

 

[botus99]

I'm a big Moog fan, this is my favorite free one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT2oBDU0RoU

 

[Vicioushead]

I'd love to get a synth VST/AU that can emulate Derek Sherinian's tone. Such an awesome lead sound.

 

[JonWormwood]

I'd love to get a synth VST/AU that can emulate Derek Sherinian's tone. Such an awesome lead sound.

Might sound dumb but reason totally can. I agree, his tone is awesome.

 

[Jind]

My favorite synths are Camel Audio's Alchemy, Cakewalk's Rapture and Z3TA+ 2. Alchemy I bought in a group buy several years ago, Rapture I bought years ago as well, but it is now included in Sonar X2 Producer Edition, and I bought the upgrade to Z3TA+ to version 2 when Cakewalk offered a sale on it last year some time.

None of them are free, but for me they have been well worth the investment and as with most VST instruments it's always good to look for sale periods which occur with some regularity to get some good deals.

 

[Ericlingus]

nexus 2 is the best all around vst synth I've tried. It's not free though. What DAW are you using? Cubase 6.5 or 7 comes with some pretty good ones.

 

[Nuno Filipe]

^ +1 nexus. Awesome synth. What´s so great about nexus it´s that you can have a great sound, just out of the box, even if you need to tweak it, it´s super easy and intuitive.

 

[Ericlingus]

wish it wasn't so damn expensive. It sounds so good without any actual knowledge of synthesis. Just scroll through the presets and most of them are useable.

 

[Vicioushead]

Might sound dumb but reason totally can. I agree, his tone is awesome.

That's awesome. I wouldn't even know where to start trying to recreate it though. Hopeless with synths.