Softube Model 80 / u-he Repro-5 Comparison
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- Опубліковано 14 чер 2024
- Reviewing major differences between Softube Model 80 and u-he Repro-5. I mainly spotted on feature-wise factors that can be objectively verifiable.
You can download these comparison presets to check sounds by yourself: plugmon.jp/model23/
Notes:
-The question "which is closer to a hardware?" is not on the table here.
-Sound quality is more or less transformed throughout recording, exporting and uploading.
-I'm a heavy user of Softube Model 72, American Class A, Tape, Dirty Tape and u-he Hive and Diva. Though I tried to be mindful of keeping it as fair as possible, I still might have played favorite with u-he because I have worked with the guys a couple of times before. I highly recommend that you check the points shown in the video by yourself and see how it feels like.
-After posting this, my friend taught me that you can actually kill the click noise in Repro-5 using modulation. See the video below for details:
• De-clicking Repro-5 wi...
Product URL:
・Softube Model 80
www.softube.com/model-80-five...
・u-he Repro-5
u-he.com/products/repro/
Index:
00:00 Intro
00:17 CPU Usage
01:43 Featrues
02:29 -"Vel to Filter" Behavior
04:03 Effects
05:11 Env/Voicemode
06:21 OSC
07:13 -Which Sounds Fatter?
08:07 Product Philosophy
08:32 Play Side by Side
09:04 Patch1 : Init
09:17 Patch2 : Downward Sweep
09:36 Patch3 :Brassy Ladder Pad
09:46 Patch4 : Space Pluck
09:55 Patch5: Radiokid Pad
10:27 Patch6: Phase Strings
10:54 Patch7: Transistor Organ
11:08 Patch8: Moodful Sweep
11:37 My Verdict
12:47 Ending
Test Environment:
Machine: MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)
OS: macOS Monterey 12.6.4
CPU: 2.6 GHz 6cores Intel Core i7
Memory: 32 GB 2667 MHz DDR4
DAW: Bitwig Studio 4.4.10 / Studio One 6.1.1
Plugin: Model 80 v2.5.61 / Repro-5 rev.12092 (CPU test conducted in VST2 format)
Your demonstrations are amazing and so thorough. This is my new favourite channel.
Thank you Plugmon! I love this video. When I initially bought Repro5, I struggled to make it sound good. This was inspirational to try again!
Yeah me too. It was hard to make good ones out of Repro.
Here's some recipes I found during the experiment:
-Choosing saturation type first and adjusting brightness by "Tone" knob in distortion the next is an efficient workflow. In most cases the tone knob stays between 40-60.
-Saturation type "Smoothy" or "Default" is the optimal choice in many cases, for they can add really subtle color without altering the sound too much. But they could be too clean so adding distortion like 4-8dB and turn tone knob left will give it an aged, dusky feel.
-"Tube Breaker" and "Dark" are also great for bringing muffled taste, especially on closed-filter sounds. But as they tend to sound too dark, compensating brightness by turning up the Tone knob will do great.
Anyway trying many combinations of saturation/distortion will be the key to find the best outcome. It really seems to be endless pursuit...😂
Fantastic overview - love the impartiality and the fact you allowed both VSTs to show their strengths. I have Model 80, and like it, but I'm sure I could get just as good of results with Repro-5.
The best comparison so far
Great analysis. I really like Softube’s emulations, but limiting Model 80 to five voices (with no option to increase it even in the side panel) is a deal breaker for me. There’s no reason to cap it like that. Even Sequential also made a Prophet-10 because some people want more than five voices. Since I already have Repro, this will be the first Softube synth emulation I’m not gonna buy.
Yeah, they could have added a Prophet-10 button. The Model 80 is really musical and fun to use though. I have both as well.
I actually like the slightly sharper sound of Repro TBH.
At last! A proper comparison.
The best comparison i wish u do more comparison like this
Below is a brief comparison between these two synths, which I made trying to figure out whether I need Model 80, when I already have Repro. I took one nice Repro patch and re-created it as close as possible on Model 80. The interesting thing here is they sound quite close only when I turn off the second oscillator on Model 80. If I set the second oscillator on Model 80 to a sawtooth wave though, just as it is on Repro, which is shown on the video from 0:35, that lead starts sounding more detuned and not so sharp and focused as on Repro. On the other hand with the second oscillator turned off on Model 80, as shown starting from 0:18, the sound is just a tad not so rich as on Repro. Seems like the detuning between the two oscillators on Model 80 is far bigger, where on Repro it is more subtle and that happens with Detune turned off completely on Model 80, while on Repro it is set at 25% and still it is far more obvious on Model 80. Maybe I am missing something here, so would be glad to hear more opinions.
ua-cam.com/video/219h6E7RAuA/v-deo.html
Nice comparison!
Excellent comparison. For me, Softube are closer to imperfections and warm from analog gear and has more enfasis in fundamentals freqs, like real hardware, while U-he sounds good but digital... Thank you!
I'd like to share these Repro presets replicating Model 80's if it is morally (or at least legally) non-problematic.What do you think?
Please do share them :)
Thank you for the very detailed comparison!
Thanks for all the details and work! That would be perfect. I have the same idea but too little time.
I don't think it's a problem, at least for me! 😁
It probably can be a legal problem. But I think that you can share at least the Model 80 init patch for Repro!
@@waltercruz2044wait, why ?? It’s just paramaters AND he programmed it by himself, it’s not a stolen library. Take a preset from any commercial library, change the name for politeness, it’s yours.
I thought that VST3 plug-ins or how it was described as pro over VST2 is that it doesn't waste CPU resources and only works when it detects the presence of an audio signal. It seems it depends on programmers.
Major pro for Repro is that U-he have great support, Urs Heckmann have attention to details, and there is no stupid iLok nuisance protection on their plug-ins, so you don't have another third party dependent product. By the way I own Softube plug-ins.
And more importantly, with Repro~5 you get Repro-1 ( Sequential Circuits Pro-One) for free.
My friend ! I like how you approached this comparison ! I was not expecting anything like that. Very interesting.
Your summary is very good - Repro is unseasoned by default but versatile. Model 80 does sound fat and more alive at times, but sometimes i preferred the Repro.
This is the reason i like the original hardware to be matched first, because they do a specific thing, a specific sound, and if you stray away from that - you lose that thing. It's a fine line. Model 80 could be in danger of going too far into that fat vintage sound.
But - i would like to hear a comparison again with the hardware. They are all close really.
You asked for a like and a sub, and for this great work that's exactly what you shall receive ! 😎 Thank you !
Thanks! yeah Model 80 can be exaggeratedly vintage, but I hear the voice from Softube, saying "What's the problem of getting fatter than the original? The fatter, the better.Right?" and most of the time it's true😂
That said, I still love the approach of Repro.
Plugmon - amazing work! I'm learning about these synths and because I'm a guitarist I think I gel quite nicely with the idea of simple synths that are one giant sweet spot. Tell me, do you have an opinion on whether this philosophy translates across instruments. Eg: Diva & Repro vs Model 80 & 84? Diva too seems to be set up to partially emulate something like a Juno, but it can cover all of that and more. As you say here, Repro is a Prophet but it can go further. So for the quick and easy sweet spot = Softube, and Uhe for a deeper experience? And would you recommend either of these companies to the non-sound designer?
uhmmmmm that's a really difficult question to answer.
Yes Diva is much more complex than Model 84. Diva is a module-based synth that can combine multiple models e.g. Juno OSC + MS20 HPF + Oberheim filter. You may get lost if you don't know much about the differences of these synths.
Softube produces one solid hardware so the possible range of sounds is limited but it's easier to understand its structure.
But you have to beware that what I mean by "spot on" is the spot of good RAW SYNTH sounds. Model XX series basically doesn't have effects. Say when you want a moody aerial pad, you have to set up delay/reverb/chorus effects etc on your own.
Also, I suspect that Model 84 doesn't have an arpeggiator. These lack of features may take you time to realize the sounds you want in some cases...It all depends on what kind of sounds you're gonna make.
So, after all, trying demos and using some presets in your actual project would be the best thing to do before you decide!😂
About CPU usage, I think that audio is internally processed on Repro always on 192Khz and downsampled when using other samplerates, this is why there's no more cpu usage on 192khz.
Ah that makes sense!
the repro-5 has been my go-to soft synth for the past year and ill never look back.. i sometimes neglect my prophet rev 2 for it 🤧
one thing abt the repro-5 i really enjoy is the community around it. the tutorials and dan worall videos + there are a TON of presets.
Thanks ! :)
The 80 sound always deeper on all the demos
Did the KY Radiokid Pad preset come included into Repro-5 ?
Yes, it's in the "Model 23" package.
I don't understand why Repro-5 doesn't have the Jaws Wavefolder that Repro-1 has. In the first version this effect is amazing!
Jaws works well on monophonic signals but quickly clutters everything into mud with polyphonic signals, so we exchanged it for a combo of per-voice distortion and a tape simulation.
The CPU monitor of most DAWs does not give a reliable view of CPU usage in my experience, but maybe it's enough for comparing two soft synths.
Both! :)
I love that you have Bitwig! What's your opinion on it?
I do love it, my main DAW now.
It's similar to Ableton but in some points I prefer Bitig e.g. Disable (not "bypass") a device to save CPU, easy management for multl-out routings, and DAW won't crash when a plugin crashes!
I also played around with both versions. Especially the original high and low String presets are very different. I much prefer the 80's versions. Did you come any close with some tweaks in your test?
Totally agree! In fact, it was 3-4 High Strings that led me to conduct the preset copying experiment, wondering why the two sound so differently. Eventually I was able to make very close sounding presets in Repro. I made a brief comparison video so watch this! 👇
ua-cam.com/video/SuLiKp8d6AM/v-deo.html
Repro up-samples internally. I think 4x or something like that. There is no need to run it at 192k. That's probably why you're seeing no measurable increase in CPU usage at 192k. Both of these sound pretty good though. Nice overview/comparison. We have the P10 rev4 hardware here and I tend to use it a fair bit. Maybe not as much as the Matriarch but I do techno, UK garage and stuff like that. You don't really need a poly synth for that.
Garage stabs needs much poly
@@VjRoboZ Yeah. I guess I meant you don't really need an expensive analogue poly for that. Better off spending money on a bass synth. But of course if you can afford it why not.
Repro for the win
Are these VST2 or VST3?
Good video but I d'ont like model 80 the sound is dull like the 84 a poor copy of Juno 106 where Roland is better. Arturia also has its copy of Phophet 5
Why compare 2 softsynths to each other when you don’t have the original hardware?
Why not?(っ ॑꒳ ॑c)
Repro-5 is just better. It just sounds more analogue
Model80 is crap, it's my least favorite Prophet-5 based plugin, the best ones are Arturia's and U-He's.