[LAU] ZynAddSubFX Usability Survey

[Ralf Mardorf]

On Sat, 30 Apr 2016 21:13:48 -0400, jonetsu at teksavvy.com wrote:
>deep sound algorithms

ZynAddSubFX and Yoshimi aren't emulations of analog synth. Even not all
very good, much wanted, real vintage analog synth produce deep warm
sounds, e.g. the Prophet 5 comes to mind, it doesn't provide Oberheim
warmth. It's wanted to have different sound colours.

For ZynAddSubFX and Yoshimi the analog section is ok the way it is. The
concept of ZynAddSubFX and Yoshimi is comparable to that of e.g. the
TG33. The TG33's digital section is cheap compared to a DX7, but since
it provides to mix sounds, as ZynAddSubFX and Yoshimi do too, it
doesn't matter.

What is missing for most, if not all virtual free as in beer synth are
sound sets that musicians really want. E.g. most of the free available
sound fonts reach just the level of the MT-32's default presets, IOW
lowest level, nearly unusable. However, it's possible to get good sound
fonts.

As soon as a virtual synth isn't for free as in beer, it must provide a
set of really usable sounds for all kinds of music. It's not a solution
to download a zillion Zyn sounds and to spend month with separating the
wheat from the chaff. Musicians want jazz kits, rock kits, dance kits
etc. and no GUI ever will make ZynAddSubFX and Yoshimi the first
choice of synths for sound designers. ZynAddSubFX and Yoshimi are
preset usage kind of synths, were a vector control and just a few
crucial settings are much wanted, such as attack time.

Zyn isn't missing a "deep sound algorithm", it's missing presets.
Presets are also useful as basis for sound designers and a must have
for musicians who just want to make music.

Regards,
Ralf