Quote Originally Posted by herman
Not sure i agree about the novation and trance, i only make techno using it and must have used it on more than 100 tracks or so in the last couple of years maybe some people are just lazy with the editing or something
Fair enough! I only had a limited time with it... All the sounds I found in that time were quite trancey and pretty tame - but I'm more than willing to accept that as a shorcoming in myself rather than the synth!

(I did also get feedback from a longtime Novation owner that he had trouble making it scream... And from a pro who had one of almost every make of synth you could think of - apart from Novation, as he didn't rate them much. It's taste though. Always taste! ;) )

Most synths can be coaxed into producing sounds that fit your own ideals... And nothing beats being fully conversent with your favourite instrument!

:)

Maybe what you need to do is play with some (far cheaper) software synths first, learn about the ins and outs of synthesis (or just get used to it in its different forms), and then get a hardware synth that fits your requirements based on your experience and sound... You'll be able to try out several different units in a shop, knowing exactly what you're looking for and how to get it. That knowledge is something no amount of these replies will be able to give you!

Don't go by the preset patches - this thread has shown up one reason why that's bad.

Another is more subtle. The presets are made to sound good in a shop! They are usually of little use in a track, as they have far too wide a frequency footprint and far too many stong harmonics. (Basically they're trying to do the job of a whole track to make you feel excited enough to hand over the dosh). This will give you an unrealistic view of the potential of the synth in situ...

Trust me, even though it's not as immediatelty gratifying, you'll be better off waiting for a while than forking out over a grand for something you might regret later! Unless you are experienced and just looking for opinions... Or have a lot of money to throw around...

In the meantime, have a look at Z3ta+ as a s/w synth... The waveshaping looks like a powerful tool...

Tequila