Best Physical Modelling Synths?

[Leekenn]

Hey all!

Just wanted to ask if people had any recommendations on good physical modelling synths? I've been a Logic user for three or four years now, and have lots of fun creating stuff in sculpture - In particular, I love how easy it is to use automation with its modulation controls to create really, really unique sounds in every instrument type. My lecturer had only good things to say about MaxMSP, so that's definitely on the list, but it would be nice to have some more options I could run ITB with logic.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

 

[fastlanephil]

I'm not much into this sort of thing except for maybe coming up with a nice pad for effect but I thought granular synthesis was new game in town such as Alchemy, Omnispere or Steinberg's Pad Shop Pro for those on a budget.

 

[MiesVanDerRobot]

You can definitely *do* physical modeling synthesis with Max (and if you do, make sure to get the Percolate externals!), but you have to bear in mind that Max is not plug-and-play. Max offers a lot of flexibility and power, but the trade-off is that to do anything at all you will have to invest extra time to build a patch.

If you want a more "physical modeling, let's go!" approach, Applied Acoustics has some stellar stuff. String Studio for string modeling, Chromaphone for percussion modeling, and Tassman for a modular synth that combines physical modeling and analog synthesis. They all sound great, and even with Tassman's modular approach you will get to work faster than with Max because it uses much higher-level building blocks. And if you act fast, they're all on sale for 50% off until tomorrow!

I'm not trying to scare you off Max, though. It is deep and powerful and opens up easy access to sounds you would only reach in other environments with extreme difficulty, if at all. But it *is* a black hole whose gravity is difficult to escape, into which the minutes and hours of your life are inexorably sucked.

Start with the Applied Acoustics stuff while it's on sale. That's my recommendation. Max will still be here when you get bored of it.