Quote:
Originally Posted by soundpalace
lol, yeah they do 
Though I must admit that Zebra2, with it's Eleven mode can do a decent job too. |
Not to mention you can have 4 of those if you want 44 saws!, running through all kinds of modulations and envelopes. It's the only plug-in I have that gives the flexibilty of modular synthesis, yet saving you from the drudgery of dealing with cable ins and outs.
Zebra takes a little longer to learn than the average synth, but the reward is worth it. Sylenth's beauty lies in its simplicity, and its ability to just sound beautifully analog, while Zebra can sound like analog or anything else you want it to (including synthetically emulating acousting instruments in a way sometimes indistinguishable from samples, although that takes more effort to get there.) The user defined filters and MSEG envelopes of Zebra give crazy possibilities.
Aside from those two staples, I've recently discovered Oresus, an amazing product, especially considering its only $45 US! The versatility is not in Zebra's league, but to my ears sound-wise it can compete with Sylenth, the Virus etc. and it's easy to program. It has an interesting UI that controls exponential / logorithmic filter variations that make it quick to make sounds that are harder to achieve on other synths.
Omnisphere is another one I really like. It's not cheap though, and one instance of the plugin feels kind of bulky, both in usability and CPU consumption. I should reach for it more often but for whatever reason I don't. It has such a massive and great library of waveforms to start with, but then I always end up stripping them out because I want the organic nature of a synth instead of a rompler (even though there is a lot you can do with them).
As far as VST versus hardware... I almost wonder if the next stage of advancements in CPU (or also possibly increased general use of GPUs for musical instruments and effects) will almost put the nail in the coffin of hardware synths. Personally I hope not. I cut my musical teeth on hardware, and there is a very special place in my heart for these instruments. They have a character and mystique that software will never have. But as CPUs and GPUs get faster and programmers get more clever, unless the integration of hardware synths can learn to not get in the way of workflow (latency, cables, synching everything up, etc) then I have to remain firm that I think software is the future.