Is the range of sounds still a factor when working ITB? I mean, if you can have 100+ synths, why does any individual instrument need to be good at more than just one thing? e.g. I use ANA 2 in almost every 80s cover I've made, as in probably 60 out of 70, and I always use the same patch, based on the default preset, A Beautiful Dread Lead. If I never use ANA 2 for anything else, it will still have been a bargain buy in my book. AX-73 is another. I use it quite a lot but it is always, everywhere I use it, doing strings. I found one thing it does well and that's enough to justify having it.There are two factors with any synth, the quality and range of sounds they can make and the quality and range of sounds the competition can make.
Even synths that I really love, I love for one or two things they do really well. There are only two patches I ever reach for with bx_oberhausen, for example - a bass patch I made for a Killing Joke cover and another I made, based on the Huge Swells preset. Those two sounds are so good that I love that synth and I don't need it to do anything else for me.
That speeds up the whole process for me. I don't waste time trying to get blood from a stone, I know very accurately which synth to use for each part. Of course, it doesn't always work out and sometimes I have to spend an hour or two finding or making the right timbre for a part, but mostly it works a treat. You might think that would make our music sound samey over time but it doesn't because a) Having a distinctive sound of your own is not a bad things and b) there are always new things being added to the mix, and old things being put out to pasture, to keep things fresh and evolving. e.g. Aparillo is all over our 2020 album but it doesn't feature at all on last year's offering. The album we're working on at the moment feature Heavyocity's Oblivion and/or NI's SCHEMA:Dark on every song, instruments we didn't have for the last album and will likely tire of before the next one.
That might be true if OnePingOnly was $50 but I don't think it's a problem with Spire. It may be lacking something for you but to me it is an incredibly feature-rich instrument that is hugely capable. If it doesn't work for you, I'd suggest that is more about your needs versus those of its target audience.If someone considers the feature set when deciding to reach for their credit card when purchasing a synth then obviously that could affect sales.
Why? Every instrument has sweet spots, I think it makes at least as much sense to double-down on those, rather than try and extend into territory where it may or may not shine. And nobody who goes through Spire's patch library is going to suggest it is not capable of a very broad range of timbres.If you love the core sound a synth has it seems logical (to me) that you'd want to expand the range of sounds that synth can make.
Maybe you just need to learn how to use Spire better? I use it for all sorts of things, from lush analogue sounding pads, through all kinds of strings, great bass patches and those amazing glitchy sequenced patches it does so well. Honestly, it covers the whole gamut of my needs, easily and with minimal effort. I mean, this thread has 50 more pages than the DUNE 3 thread for a reason (and it's not because everyone hates it). OK, sure, the thread is 6 years older but my point is that if a lot of other people didn't find it as useful to them as DUNE is to you, it wouldn't have 270 pages.So again while I do love the core sound of Spire I tend to use other synths in my collection due to the wider range of sounds they can make and because they are at least equal in quality of sound.
Statistics: Posted by BONES — Sun Jan 12, 2025 11:28 pm