The real question being, once you have 600 bucks to spend, would you rather spend it on 2 software synths that sound nearly the same, or spending it on some hardware synth ?
I admit it, I think I dld’ed and tried 90% of the well known commercial VSTi available around. When I had money I spent it on hardware, decent monitors, soundcard and midi keyb.
But, of those bazillion products, I only used a few. Until I recently bought a real synth (for the price of 1,5 big commercial VST synth) and erased nearly all the virtual synth I had.
The often laughed at “A vst synth is a vst synth is a vst synth…” argument is quiet true.
Only a few VSTi product outside are really worth price, and most of them aren’t the most expensives ones. Most of the commercial VST synth out there, are the same, the same usual “analog emulation VST” for 300 bucks. I mean, what the f****, we’re on PC, some company are innovative or trying to be.
Seriously, we would have thought that having completely computer based synths would get rid of the usual limitations of physical synths, would give us plenty of free routing/modular synths, and what do we have mostly?
The same 2/3 osc vsts with the same options for nearly the price of a second handed real hardware, the kind of VST that you can find exactly the same in freeware, sometimes, with better options.
So don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying “warez everythig cuz its shit lulz”, what I say is that most of those products aren’t worth their prices, and a lot of freeware are doing exactly the same, sometimes better. So that when you have some money, be sure to have tried enough what you’re about to buy, because you may spend it on hardware for a better result.
Now since it’s not nice to point at people trying to do their job, I will give an example of a VSTi synth, really WORTH its price and not overpriced for what it offers : zebra 2.2. Reaktor also, even if more pricey, compared to what it offers, is really worth it.