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I'm a gear whore, I admit it. I'd got to the stage where I couldn't see the point of getting any other kind of synth, let alone yet another subtractive synth. Then I read a review of Sylenth and decided to try the demo. I bought it pretty soon after that.
Sylenth has the best analogue sound I've ever heard from a vst; it's as simple as that. I know that's always going to be a subjective and contentious issue but I say it after comparing it with the cream of the crop of today's analogue based vsts. It doesn't have a huge amount of basic waveforms, and it doesn't have a huge amount of filters, envelopes or LFOs. It doesn't have a huge amount of modulation destinations. But - it has a huge, huge, huge amount of what you really want which is sound quality.
The filters (one of the main make or break feautures of any synth) are just gorgeous, overdriving beautifully, and now that I've programmed over 256 presets for it I've never found myself coming up against any frustrating limitations; indeed if anything it's the opposite case. So many powerhouse vsts can become an involved and obscure chore to program. Sylenth, with it's simple and well laid out interface just invites you in to make fast and intuitive changes. It's moreish - over 256 presets moreish in my case.
I dropped a mark off the interface because I'd like it to look a little more polished but not at the expense of the clarity of the thing; I'd heartily recommend this synth for a first time programmer of any subtractive synth. The small diagrams of each waveform and LFO make it so much clearer to see what's going on.
I dropped two marks off the features because there are other monster synths which can do more. But if you are programming patches for songs then 95% of the time you don't need the extra 5% that they offer, and did I mention that the cpu usage is stupidly low given that this synth can have up to 32 voices coming simultaneously off just one note? I'm also leaving off two marks since this synth has the potential to expand in a number of different ways - I'll expand on this in the customer support section.
Documentation - Two marks off because there's not a huge amount of tutorial material but the manual does explain with colour diagrams about the synth and its sections. This is a straightforward and intuitive synth that doesn't need a huge manual.
Presets - I'd have liked them organised by type but the factory presets are all prefaced by BS for bass, PAD, LD for lead sounds and so on which helps greatly. There's plenty to browse through.
Customer support - I sent some presets off to Lennard with suggestions for the synth. He got back to me pronto and was friendly, enthusiastic and seemed to actually take my amateur suggestions seriously. This is a young synth made by a keen and active developer. I'm dying to see what new developments he'll come up with. He has a forum here at KVR and is prompt and helpful in his responses.
Value for Money - That's a no brainer. The best analogue sounding vst I've heard for such a reasonable price? This is my desert island analogue emulation.
Stability - I've spent quite a bit of time with it and it's never crashed once, so full marks here.
Since I bough this synth I've only kept my other subtractive synths which have specialised purposes. For general analogue sounds I go to Sylenth every time. I'm not connected with Lennar Digital and being by nature rather cynical I'm almost embarrased to write such an effusive review but I've done my best to be impartial and honest given that this is my first review here at KVR. No other vst has made me feel compelled to do so. Try the demo. You may well be surprised.Read Review
Sylenth has the best analogue sound I've ever heard from a vst; it's as simple as that. I know that's always going to be a subjective and contentious issue but I say it after comparing it with the cream of the crop of today's analogue based vsts. It doesn't have a huge amount of basic waveforms, and it doesn't have a huge amount of filters, envelopes or LFOs. It doesn't have a huge amount of modulation destinations. But - it has a huge, huge, huge amount of what you really want which is sound quality.
The filters (one of the main make or break feautures of any synth) are just gorgeous, overdriving beautifully, and now that I've programmed over 256 presets for it I've never found myself coming up against any frustrating limitations; indeed if anything it's the opposite case. So many powerhouse vsts can become an involved and obscure chore to program. Sylenth, with it's simple and well laid out interface just invites you in to make fast and intuitive changes. It's moreish - over 256 presets moreish in my case.
I dropped a mark off the interface because I'd like it to look a little more polished but not at the expense of the clarity of the thing; I'd heartily recommend this synth for a first time programmer of any subtractive synth. The small diagrams of each waveform and LFO make it so much clearer to see what's going on.
I dropped two marks off the features because there are other monster synths which can do more. But if you are programming patches for songs then 95% of the time you don't need the extra 5% that they offer, and did I mention that the cpu usage is stupidly low given that this synth can have up to 32 voices coming simultaneously off just one note? I'm also leaving off two marks since this synth has the potential to expand in a number of different ways - I'll expand on this in the customer support section.
Documentation - Two marks off because there's not a huge amount of tutorial material but the manual does explain with colour diagrams about the synth and its sections. This is a straightforward and intuitive synth that doesn't need a huge manual.
Presets - I'd have liked them organised by type but the factory presets are all prefaced by BS for bass, PAD, LD for lead sounds and so on which helps greatly. There's plenty to browse through.
Customer support - I sent some presets off to Lennard with suggestions for the synth. He got back to me pronto and was friendly, enthusiastic and seemed to actually take my amateur suggestions seriously. This is a young synth made by a keen and active developer. I'm dying to see what new developments he'll come up with. He has a forum here at KVR and is prompt and helpful in his responses.
Value for Money - That's a no brainer. The best analogue sounding vst I've heard for such a reasonable price? This is my desert island analogue emulation.
Stability - I've spent quite a bit of time with it and it's never crashed once, so full marks here.
Since I bough this synth I've only kept my other subtractive synths which have specialised purposes. For general analogue sounds I go to Sylenth every time. I'm not connected with Lennar Digital and being by nature rather cynical I'm almost embarrased to write such an effusive review but I've done my best to be impartial and honest given that this is my first review here at KVR. No other vst has made me feel compelled to do so. Try the demo. You may well be surprised.Read Review
