Anyone using IKM Syntronik?

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

2 Likes

I bought Syntronik and it works well.
But it is a sample player with some editing capabilities. Arturia is a set of full synthesizer simulations.
With Syntronik when you open a Minimoog sound you can change some envelope and some filter settings.
With Arturia it is a full Minimoog simulation. So at the end I get more fun editing with Arturia.
I can also add that new synths (Synthmaster, MassiveX, Diva, Pigments) are much more flexible and powerful than a Minimoog.
Up to you, fun is anyway everywhere…
A sarcastic note: for me Rudess videos are totally useless. I cannot hear anything interesting. No music, no sound.
Only some very fast fingers.

The 2nd part has sound demos. I admire Jordan’s talent, but I am not a fan, since he sold out to his many sponsors. I don’t blame him in taking the money, but he seems to be much more arrogant now.
Here is part 2:

[quote=“Corky, post:7, topic:5057, full:true”] I admire Jordan’s talent, but I am not a fan,
[/quote]

TBH, and IMO, Rudess has awesome technique (way more than I will ever have), but I find him boring, boring, boring. I don’t care how many notes/scales a second he can shred (like Pettruci), Dream Theatre music has no soul. I’ve tried very hard to like them over the years, but always fail to do so (each to their own of course). There’s far better prog musicians out there, including those who hang out here.

1 Like

Agreed.

1 Like

That’s how I also feel about many speed guitarists. Most of them let speed kill any soul. As Dusty Hill (ZZ Top Bassist) said about Rev. Billy Gibbons, “I’ve seen more people rise out of their seats with one note from Billy, than all the speed players I’ve ever seen with a thousand notes” .

I totally agree with Derek and Corky.
Music is not playing fast.
Emotions are what really counts.
Technique is not a target, it is a medium.
I never survived to 5 seconds of a Dream Theater song.
I love listening for the 1000th time a Genesis or a King Crimson track. They are giving me thrill since 40 years.
Same for demoing a synth, if there is no feeling I can’t hear good waves.
I never found a second of Rudess demo intriguing

1 Like

AND…I hijacked another thread. Sorry Chris. :cold_sweat:

1 Like

Totally agree, Corky (and sorry for he thread hijack, Chris)

If I had to pick one guitar player, it is Steve Hacket (ex-Genesis). He can shred when he needs to (he was tapping long before Eddie Van Halen, who picked up the technique after watching a Hackett concert), but equally he can build a guitar solo out of a single note, sustain, tone and feel. Steve Rothery is also one of the most underrated guitar players out there; he has awesome tone and feel.

Just to put some relevance back to the topic, I’m afraid I’ve never even heard of Syntronik. What’s it good for?

1 Like

It is IK Multimedia’s stab at the Arturia and UVI market of classic synths. To me, it has the feel of Analog Lab with famous presets, and somewhat restricted parameter settings. A synth Rompler, lol. Expensive too. I’ve not spent enough time with it to state a fair opinion though.

1 Like

From the BB King school of guitar playing. :sunglasses:

1 Like

So far, I’ve stayed away from it - I don’t like the sampling-based concept. Plus, their effects are CPU-hogs (current Sampletank is pretty much unusable without deactivating all effects).

Demos sound pretty decent, though…

Cheers,

Torsten

2 Likes

You picked one of my all time favorites Derek I wore the grooves out of the second solo Album (link below to wik) that included some contributions by his brother John on flute. It influenced my style to this day. Thanks for the reminder. :grinning:

Please Don't Touch! - Wikipedia!

Dave

2 Likes

@dave_dore

I would make a comment, but you and Derek are hijacking quite well without my help. :joy::joy::joy:

4 Likes

I am now feeling guilty :hushed:, so started a new thread…

1 Like

I bought Syntronik when it came out for the intro price (impulse buy) though I didn’t use sampled instruments at this time if I could avoid it. After about 2h of playing I lost interest - sold it but it turned out that the potential buyer was not qualified regardings IKs rules for license transfer. I gave him the money back and now I have an unused license laying around. I deleted all files since it would only waste space on my computer.
Other IK effects/instruments are fine but this was a disappointment.

2 Likes

But why? Could you go more into detail? What do you use instead?

It’s a matter of personal experiences over >3 decades of using electronic instruments.
The hardware instruments of the 70s/80s had all their pros and cons but there always was this “wow” factor if you play such an instrument. The parameters were limited but nearly every settings led to interesting sound variations.
With the advent of workstation (and sampled instruments) the “wow” factor has gone. The only thing you could do was to try your best to come near to result of the instruments that should be emulated.
My experiences come from praticing with these sampled instruments. If you play it for a short time and try out some presets or change paramters and listen to the results there are instruments that sound impressive at first. When you practice longer with one sound of the instrument the brain gets tired very fast.
I found myself practicing longer without being tired when I play Pianoteq instead of a sampled piano. With natural instruments the effect may be stronger as with synthesizers but even in the latter case not all of the slight imperfections of the instrument that make the sound come to life can be implemented.
In addition with modeled instruments (even if they are not a perfect model) I have more opportunities to change the sound to my likings and I don’t have to load GBs of samples.
This may all be very subjective and other may have different experiences but it is like it is and I’m too old to change my opinion with every new techniques that will come around.

I use modeled pianos, epianos, organs and for synths in most cases u-he.

1 Like

In live performance, it really is the best approach. I shy away from samples as much as I can. Makes for a leaner, faster setup.

I was really disappointed when Syntronik came out. I preordered it based on my experience with MODO Bass (which is excellent, modeled instead of samples) and thought Syntronik would be similar. It isn’t. Just a lot of samples and some filters. The UIs for each “synth” is just a different skin and layout to mimic the look of the classic but all the controls from one to the other are exactly the same. In short, I never use it. Arturia is worlds ahead, more flexible, better sounding.

1 Like