External Soft Synths (massive etc...) vs Built in DAW Synths

[Ldizzy]

Dave one worked at moog audio for quite a while from what i can recall... could partly explain their lusty list of toys...

[Manic Harmonic]

i love my ni plugins man, but i use logic's synths all the time. mostly sculpure. that thing is rediculously awesome.

[komanderkin]

Dave one worked at moog audio for quite a while from what i can recall... could partly explain their lusty list of toys...

perhaps, although as far as i could understand p-thugg is actually the one collecting all those synths. anyway, the fm video where they started making a song from scratch made me wanna go all analog.

[cloak and dagger]

It's all about a synth you're comfortable with. I use Cubase mostly, and I know my way around the fundamentals of a subtractive synth, and the built-in synths in Cubase are a total pain to use. That being said, there's loads of good free synths out there, it's just about finding one that suits your workflow more than anything (Reason's Subtractor is a GREAT synth for this, as is Linplug Alpha 3 Free).

[komanderkin]

in case you're looking for free synths to try, i've published a best free virtual analog synth VSTs article yesterday.

[symmetricalsounds]

In specific, what do ppl have to say about Ableton's Operator? I've been messing with it some, but I would like to know what ppl think about it quality/versatility wise.

my goto synth, take the time and you can get deep. get out an instrument rack and start stacking up operators and you can get pretty much any sound you need.

you don't really need to be told other people's opinios on it's quality though, what do you hear when you use it? it's like using presets to judge a synth, yeah you get some idea of what it sounds like but it's still just what someone else has done with it. get to exploring and see what you come up with.

[Hexodus]

Cool, thanks. I guess that's what I assumed, but what I would like to know is- what makes one synth better than the other? Whether it be a free one, built-in, or high-end like Massive or something. Some ppl will say filters, I'm sure, so what makes one filter better than the next? :S

[symmetricalsounds]

it basically all comes down to taste, what do you think sounds best?

[amphibian]

In specific, what do ppl have to say about Ableton's Operator? I've been messing with it some, but I would like to know what ppl think about it quality/versatility wise.

Operator has been my go-to synth for about 4 tunes now. I'm only just moving away from it - not because it's shit, but because I bought Komplete and need to learn those ones