If you have been reading my reviews you would notice that all of the scores I have been giving out are rather high. There is a good reason for this! I really don’t have time to sit here and write reviews for software or hardware that I don’t think it, so everything that I review is software that I love and use everyday. Sylenth 1 no different! It is a VST still in it’s infancy, but trust me, this is one synth that you really want to get on the bandwagon for and stop wasting your time! Read on to find out why…

Destroy.Your.Virus.

Sylenth.Will.Only.

Impress.You.

What is Sylenth 1?

Here's what LennarDigital have to tell us

Sylenth1 is a polyphonic virtual analog synthesizer.

It has four unison oscillators which use an "innovate" synthesis technique that allows the generation of many simultaneous high-quality waveforms in real-time, using only minimal amounts of CPU resources. It also features two "analog sounding" filter sections, which can be taken way past the point of self-oscillation. These filters incorporate several non-linear saturation stages to produce harmonically rich sounds. Sylenth1's extensive modulation options offer possibilities to sculpture the sound, and it has a set of six built-in mastering sound-effects.

Find out more

lennardigital

So what do I think it is?

I own a lot of synths, and I have tried nearly all of them at one stage or another. The synths I keep coming back to are Z3ta+, Vanguard, Massive, Pro 53 and Albino. While I do love all these synths as if they were real keyboards sitting in my studio, I realise that I love them all and not just one because they each have their own flaws.

Z3ta+ has great oscillators, but I find the filters annoying. Vanguard has a great soft electronic sound, but its low end just gets messy. Massive has some great features but has a constant digital sound.

Sylenth 1 is still in it's infancy and still have a lot of development happening so it lacks some of the nice to have features of the other big synths I have mentioned. However, even though it is still so young I have never heard the type of sound quality that Sylenth delivers in any other VST. Ever.

Sylenth rivals it's hardware brothers like the Virus or even the new Moogs. It sounds warm and analogue just as they promise and it is a synth not to be missed!

The Interface

Some may love it, but no one will hate it. I think it is quite nice, and it adds to the character of the Synth. When I was playing this instrument through my MIDI controller I felt like I was actually playing a real synth, which tells me that the interface is successful.

I think your going to see the interface improved quite a bit. It is quite big and I think they could hide a few areas with expandable buttons like on the Moog emulating VST.

Sound Quality

Sylenth is simply best analogue sound I've ever heard from a VST. I realise how a VST sounds is always going to be a subjective and contentious issue but I say this after comparing it with the best of today's analogue based VST's.

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.

Take a look at some of the most successful hardware synths and you will see that it is not the complexity that make them great, it is their sound and how you can manipulate and sculpt that sound.

Filters are one of the main make or break features of any synth, and Sylenth's filters are just gorgeous sounding and overdriving beautifully. I've never found myself coming up against any frustrating limitations I have felt with other VST's. Sylenth, with it's simple and well laid out interface just invites you in to make fast and intuitive changes.

Overall 

A newcomer to the market, and already is a top contender. If you buy one synth this year, make it Sylenth. If you only have one synth, make it Sylenth. If you can't afford a virus, buy Sylenth. You will not be disappointed at my new favourite synth.

Score

8.5/10

I am positive that after a few more releases with a couple of extra features and interface design this score will be pushed up to 10/10.