In this article, we’re going over some of the Top Syntronik Synths offered in Syntronik 2. So, if you’re looking for some new sounds (vintage synths), IK Multimedia has you covered with this awesome synth bundle.
What’s Syntronik 2 & What’s Included?
Syntronik 2 is a collection of 22 iconic synthesizers packed with over 5,500 presets that cover a wide range of sounds.
- Strings
- Brass
- Pads
- Leads
- Basses
- Keys
and on top of that, an infinite amount of layering and sound design capabilities.
That’s more than enough sonic bliss to keep you making music for years…AND YEARS!
Note: The legacy presets from Syntronik, and Syntronik Deluxe are all present in Syntronik 2 and sound exactly the same. So there should be no issues recalling older projects.
You can grab all 22 of these Syntronik Synths right now for less than $40.00.
Walkthrough Of Top Syntronik Synths from IK Multimedia
Here, Brian is giving a walkthrough of Syntronik 2, how to install it, and demonstrating some of the cool sounds within.
Let’s dive into some of my favorite synths units from Syntronik 2.
The M-12: Matrix 12 Emulation
The Matrix 12 was one of the most sought-after synthesizers out of the Oberheim line. It was widely recognized as the best synth during the middle of the 1980s. It was quick, rich sounding, and had extremely great resonant filters in addition to nice thick sounding characteristics.
The M-12 emulates the famous Oberheim Matrix 12, capturing its many filter modes, look, mod matrix, and, most importantly, its iconic sound.
Sound Content: 115 Instrument presets/20,000+ Samples
Cato: Moog Knock Off Synth?
Cato is IK’s take on the Octave Cat, a two oscillator mono/dualphonic synthesizer. This was the go-to alternative synth for those who wanted but couldn’t afford the Mini Moog and the ARP Odyssey.
Cato was a mix of both. It was compact and rich sounding but still edgy. The Cato also contained two sub-oscillators, which contributed to the unit’s big bottom low end.
Sound Content: 122 instruments presets/7,000 samples
KW-8000: Korg Would Be Proud
K’s KW-8000 is an emulation of the DW-8000 by Korg. The synth had a unique knobless design and was said to be the answer to the DX7, Yamaha’s FM synth.
The DX7 has a glassy tone to it, which you’ve certainly heard a lot in 80s movies like Beverly Hills Cops. Despite sharing this glassy sound character, the DW-8000 was the most analog-sounding synth in its class at the time due to its signature-sounding low pass filter.
Sound Content: 200 instrument presets/15,000+ Samples
Bully: 3 Moog Emulations
The Syntronik Bully was one of the first synthesizers I tried out of the bundle. The emulation is based on the Moog Targus series (I, II, and III), an organ pedal-styled synth whose first iteration became popular in the 70s.
The Targus was known for its great sounding low end, distinct sounding Sawtooth Wave, and sweeping low pass filter. I find myself using it a lot paired with the White 2A compressor to really color and bring out the bass in a current fashion.
Sound Content: 100 Instruments/Over 1,000 samples
DCO-X: A Yummy Roland Mash-up
As a huge Roland fan, listening to Syntronik’s DCO-X brought a tear to my eye. It’s a combination of some of my favorite Roland JX models/features blended into one synth. There are two oscillators per voice to help achieve the classic analog sound, the famous chorus from the Juno 60, as well as that signature warmth Roland is known for.
Roland’s JX series also had a great sounding mid range quality, making them good for programming brass instruments, deep dark pads, and FM textures.
Sound Content: 79 Instruments/10,000+ Sounds
J-60: This Is a Nice Juno Synth Emulation
The J-60 synth mimics the classic Roland Juno-60. Its affordability made it a great alternative to the Roland Jupiter-8.
You can read about the IK J-60 here. It’s easily one of my favorite Syntronik Synths.
Sound Content: 2,000+ samples/78 instrument presets
OXa: Van Halen’s ‘Jump’ Sound
The OXa is based on the Oberheim OB-X and OB-Xa (1979 – 1981). Both polysynths were loved for their rich, fat analog sounds, especially brasses and fat leads. You could hear both Oberheims all over Prince and Madonna’s songs.
I love the bass sounds, especially with a passed through reverb, just a touch, and the Opto Compressor.
Sound Content: The OXa synth contains 6500 samples/126 instruments.
V-80: The Blader Runner Synth!
IK Multimedia’s V-80 is modeled after the Yamaha CS-80, an 8 voice polyphonic synth, widely regarded as Japan’s most successful synthesizer. It changed the way musicians approach the use of a synthesizer.
What made the CS-80 unique was its quality oscillators; square, sawtooth, and white noise. The oscillators, along with voice layering capabilities and natural detuning, contributed to the synth’s overall full and rich sound.
It was amazing for creating; pads, strings, drones, and brass sounds. The CS-80 played a crucial role in creating the futuristic ambiance of the iconic movie ‘Blade Runner‘ and added powerful chord stabs to Michael Jackson’s hit song ‘Billie Jean.’
The actual CS-80 synth, while amazing sounding, looked quite intimidating, with all of its knobs and buttons weighing 200 lbs.
IK has taken care of that by simplifying the interface, thus making it even easier to get around and use.
Sound Content: 1.5+ GB, 2,000+ samples and 102 presets
SH-V: Two Mono Synths In One
IK’s SH-V is an absolute beast of a synth combining the best of Roland’s SH-2 and SH-5 synths. Known for being able to achieve huge bass sounds, these monophonic synths were favored in dance, electro, G-Funk, and other genres where the bass needed to be prominent.
Granted, the SH series was not as round as a MOOG, but they came close.
What set them apart were their versatile oscillators, sample hold, and multi-VCF. You could go from creating squealing sounds to deep bass and cutting leads quickly, and they were flexible. IK’s emulation merges the strengths of both.
Sound Content: 4GBs, 5000+ Samples, and 100 presets.
Pro V Synth: Wanna Know What George Duke, Pink Floyd, & Phil Collins Have In Common?
The Prophet series played a significant role in their hit songs. The Pro-V emulates the iconic Prophet 5, one of the earliest polyphonic synthesizers with memory storage. This allowed users to save and recall patches, which was groundbreaking in the 70s and 80s.
Musicians and hobbyists loved the Prophet’s sound quality and versatility. It offered powerful sound-shaping capabilities with 2 oscillators per voice, a white noise generator, a resonant low-pass filter, and ADSR envelope generators.
Notably, the Prophet became a go-to choice for POP and West Coast Hip Hop as well as Film and TV productions.
Sound Content: 7GBs, 20,000+ Samples/195 Presets
Syntronik 2: More Audio Demos
Syntronik vs Syntronik 2: Mixing/Processing FX
There are more FX (nearly twice as much) in Syntronik 2 than in prior versions sharing the same look and feel as their new MixBox, their most recent mixing suite, that sports an awesome 500 series look to it.
Although the synthesizers have their own parameters that you can tweak and utilize for sound design, I still like strapping on a few effects to modify the synths and create my own sonic palette.
The processing units I like to start with are the White 2A, Saturator X, and the EQ-PG. This helped me introduce analog-styled sonics as well as a near-mix sound before I even started mixing.
Notable Syntronik 2 Features
- Syntronik Synths: 22 analog synthesizer emulations
- 5,500+ Presets: All sorts of yummy sound textures to play with and combine
- Layering System: Play any 4 synths at the same time with keyboard splits of your choosing
- 2 sub oscillators: They are tied to oscillators 1 and 2 to help with generating amazing low-end sounds (basses and such)
- Drift technology: Imitates how real analog oscillators move to make the synth function realistically
- 71 FX: Inspired by MixBox and T-RackS for Processing
- Sequencer with Note/Chord Arpeggiator: Store presets and patterns, great tools for melodic creation
- Resizable GUI: Scale the plugin to fit your screen and session needs
For a full list of features, head over to our Syntronik 2 page
How To Save CPU Resources While Using Syntronik Synths
Ask any music producer or composer, and they’ll tell you music production can be very CPU intensive. If you haven’t hit the limitations of your computer yet, just know it will happen at some point, especially as you start working with higher quality plugins and working on bigger production projects.
How To Fix CPU Taxing Issues?
The easiest way to reduce CPU resources would be to render your MIDI information to Raw WAV Files and deactivate your plugin. This process is also known as ‘bouncing’. Bouncing MIDI to WAV Files This will free up resources efficiently but at the cost of using hard drive space.
Slick Industry Production Tip That Can Also Help Free Up CPU Sources
A lot of Music Industry producers purchase vintage synthesizers like the ones emulated in this bundle and sample them. They sample a one-shot, load it into their sampler, and basically use the 16-level method that was popular on the Akai MPC.
This is essentially taking the one-shot sample, be it a bleep or bloop, and spreading the sound across the range of the MIDI controller (pads or keyboard), allowing the user to play the sample melodically.
You could use that exact same tip utilizing the virtual instruments and save a lot of resources, both CPU and hard drive space.
Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Syntronik 2
In this section, we’ll answer some of the most asked questions to help you get up and running.
1. What’s The Difference Between Syntronik and Syntronik 2?
Synttronik 2 is the current version of Syntronik. It offers more synths and presets as well as a better engine for handling more complex sound design.
2. How Big Is Syntronik 2?
These Syntronik Synths take up a lot of space, given they’re sample based. The Max version of Syntronik 2 needs 200 GBs, give or take. This takes into account the need for the download and installation of each synth.
3. Can You Install Syntronik 2 On an External Harddrive?
External drives are great options, as the Syntroink Synth Bundle is well over 100 GBs. Noone needs large of a footprint on their main drive.
4. Do I have To Install All Of The Synths?
No, you can install the synths one at a time which is ideal if you’re only interested in using a handful of the synths or don’t have the space to hold them all.
5. Which External Harddrives Are Best For Music Production and Hosting Libraries
SSDs have faster read/write speeds than standard spinner drives. Having fast read/write speeds is important when accessing sound libraries. Make sure you’re connecting your external SSD to your computer with USB 3, USB C, or Thunderbolt cable for the best transfer speeds.
Oscillators, Filters, Samples, ADSR…Oh My
Overall, Syntronik 2 is a wonderful improvement to the original Syntronik that I remember, with added synthesizers, sounds, and capabilities. Make sure you have enough hard drive space to store this library, as it is quite large.
IK sampled round robins of the actual synths when creating their emulations. That being said, there are a lot of wavetables to account for, but it’s well worth it!
Your Syntronik Synths will work in both the Syntronik Player as well as SampleTank!
There are so many great synths in this bundle, and these were just a small handful I find myself using on a regular basis.
One Response
I have a question guys. If I buy Syntronik 2 do I have to reactive my license to it? Does it really expires eventough i paid for it???