Synapse Audio Dune 3

This is absolutely the best sounding vst synth I've ever owned.

I own Komplete 12 (Reaktor, Massive and X, Absynth 5, Form, etc...), Synthmaster 2.9 and One, Vital, Thorn, Diva, and less popular synth vstis.

I reach for Dune 3 first because to my ear, the results are just incredibly inspiring. Watch a few youtube videos by Kevin Schroeder to get an idea of this beast.

Read the manual and check out Venus Theory's Dune 3 videos and you'll be designing gorgeous pads and leads in no time.

The onboard FX are premium, better than many specialized vst FX plugins. There are 1000 presets and they're fantastic.

The filters are widely regarded as the best available and sound amazing to me.

The only drawbacks are:
1. The preset browsing is outdated. I just save a copy of my favorites presets in my own folder.
2. Can be heavy on CPU with extremely complex patches. Worth it!

If I could only own one synth it would be Dune 3 because it sounds beautiful with very little effort, and can be made to sound otherworldly once you start to understand how to design sounds with it.

The sound quality of this synth brutal, many times compared to hardware. I agree with those who do. It is definitely a workhorse.

The FX section is very good to. I'd wish it had a FX version, as all FX are automatable and can be modulated from the matrix.

The only "if" is that it has too much happening on the LCD section, but it's nothing that makes the synth cumbersome to program, as you can use the right mouse button menu to add modulation sources, it saves some clicking, as it adds both modulation sides and opens the modulation matrix in one go.

Dune 3 is a really fantastic virtual synth. The variety of sounds that can be programmed is pretty much unlimited, due to the wide selection of oscillator and filter types, combined with the ability to created multiple layers per patch.

The quality of the sound is superb. Comparing the sound of this synth to some free offerings as well as stock DAW instruments is night and day, really high quality.

Don't be fooled or put off by the basic looking user interface - there is not much in the way of flashy animations or other gimmicks, but the UI is functional and allows you to program and modify sounds easily and intuitively.

Oh, and all of the above is achieved with exceptionally low CPU utilisation even on complex patches using multiple layers.

Demo it, then buy it (or just buy it!). You won't regret it! :)