What VST would achieve these sounds?

Production
1

Hi, I currently use Logic with no external plug ins and I am starting to feel limited by the ES2. I’m looking to get a synth vst and I’m wondering which one will allow me to make sounds like these:

Thanks!

2

The first wah sound you might be able to get with FM synthesis and a filter, like in FM8.

Not sure sure what sound you’re after from the second one, but I hear a trumpet sample and saw waves.

3

thanks! I’m after all the sounds in the second one really. I can only afford one vst right now so is there a single synth that would allow me to make these sounds or similar sounds?

4

I’d probably go with FM8. That’s what I’ve been using. It’s easy to get interesting sounds.

5

thanks i’ll look into FM8.

6

You really need to be clearer about what sounds you’re trying to achieve. These tracks don’t even sound alike lol

That being said, if it’s the flutey thing you’re after in Lola, what you’re probably looking for is a playable one shot sample, or something like Edirol Hypercanvas (It’s just a bunch of ‘classical’ instruments you can flick between). There’re some more ambient sounds that are like attackless sines, or other shapes with LP envelopes.

With many of the tracks on James’ EPs, what you want for the chords are saw/triangle/sine combinations with vibrato and LP filter envelopes, Squares can work too if you use them right. The way he gets the intensity of the chords to build is by automating the cutoff knob. I believe he uses Massive for stuff like that. In this track, the type of sound that’s most prominent on are the panning stabby sounds and the ‘bottom’ chords that build up right before the drop.
The basslines are distorted saws of various formations. Some are based of reese sounds (two detuned oscillators).
There’s a sine melody too which you can hear before and after 2:36.

Some parts sound like distorted/compressed noise oscillators that’ve been run through a filter and something like a chorus effect.
The melodies towards the end are more sawteeth with LP envelopes.
Massive can be used for all of these, but if you don’t have it, don’t want to pay for it, don’t want to go through the tedious process of cracking it, then you can readily make most of the sounds in other synths, depending on your familiarity with the techniques at play here.

7

You don’t need FM8 or any other third party plugin. You could make both of those sounds just by using Sculpture, the stock modeling synth in Logic. It may look just a bit overwhelming at the first (since there’s like million knobs and buttons), but it’s really good for making real instruments like strings/guitars/mallets/flutes etc. I’m scrolling through presets under “blown instruments” right now and some of these are already pretty close to that flutey sound in Lola.

1 BigUp
8

Thank you for the amazing reply!

9

I haven’t used Sculpture as I’ve overlooked it. I’ll check it out!

10

i would go with fm8 but believe it or not you can even do it in massive if you are skilled enough