An uneducated question on Antidote

[machinestatic]

Hey everyone. So, after almost buying Synapse's Antidote synth many many times, I keep stopping myself and trying to convince myself "Meh, you just want to buy this because you're too lazy to learn how to truly master Thor."

Would anyone care to push me over the edge and make me buy it? I love how many simultaneous voices it can produce, but is it truly better than just loading up multiple Thors in a combinator? Any awesome (not ambient) tracks hiding somewhere on YouTube or Soundcloud that incorporate a ton of Antidote?

Thanks, appreciated!

[pjeudy]

EASY !!!!
1.It's not about mastering THOR first
2.Thor is not ANTODOTE ..ANTIDOTE isn't THOR... they are different synth....and they are both good.
3.you buy ANTIDOTE for it's strength:
Analog sounding,fullness,fatness,OSC,Detune,Stereo spread one of the best Filters,Killer...killer ..killer effects sections ,that you can use standalone.
4. One of...if not the best sounding synth in REASON!
5. If someone insist on comparing REs to VSTs ..then ANTIDOTE is up in the stratosphere with Sylent1,HIVE,DIVA,ANA etc...

If you have the money and want the best sounding synth IMO in Reason to day 2015 ?!? Antidote is the synth to get...There is no rule that says master THOR first, it's what you want for you music that matters.

[machinestatic]

EASY !!!!
1.It's not about mastering THOR first
2.Thor is not ANTODOTE ..ANTIDOTE isn't THOR... they are different synth....and they are both good.
3.you buy ANTIDOTE for it's strength:
Analog sounding,fullness,fatness,OSC,Detune,Stereo spread one of the best Filters,Keller...killer ..killer effects sections ,that you can use standalone.
4. One of...if not the best sounding synth in REASON!
5. If someone insist on comparing REs to VSTs ..then ANTIDOTE is up in the stratosphere with Sylent1,HIVE,DIVA

Woo, pjeudy! I didn't expect a reply so quickly, thanks. I have your Thor patches on my computer.

I trust your vote and I'm definitely leaning towards buying Antidote (...again). Maybe I'll just close my eyes and click the "Buy" button tonight. Ha

[pjeudy]

how much is it going for today ? Aah I see it $139 ....I haven't read anyone ever saying they regret buying ANTIDOTE. what type of music are you into?

[machinestatic]

how much is it going for today ?

$139 fine green American dollars. Or bones, as the kids say.

(There was a 25% off sale a Christmas or 2 ago that I, of course, did not take advantage of. hehe)

EDIT: D'oh, you answered your question while I was typing my reply. What type of music? Eh, I can never decide... sometimes hard trancey stuff, sometimes Deadmau5 rip-off style, sometimes Nine Inch Nails rip-off style, Noisia, sometimes some weird The Crystal Method/Amon Tobin/Tron Legacy combination. I'm too critical of my own work to actually pick a style, complete tracks, and post them online. Antidote looks great though, I should get it.

[Sinistereo]

You can probably make Thor sound like Antidote (and I believe Benedict has) by putting many Thors in a combinator and adding extra effects. Rebuild and retweak all 12 or more devices every time you make a new patch. How much is your time worth?

I agree with pjeudy. Antidote is a beast with an incredible sound that is SO EASY to program and tweak. Gorgeous UI, beautiful sound.

It goes on sale every now and then, but is the only synth that I'd buy again at full price.

Some examples of Antidoteness:

[pjeudy]

sometimes hard trancey stuff, sometimes Deadmau5 rip-off style, sometimes Nine Inch Nails rip-off style, Noisia, sometimes some weird The Crystal Method/Amon Tobin/Tron Legacy combination.

Those are right up ANTIDOTES alley...so OK let us know what you think about it in the next hour after you hit that buy button
Seriously ANTIDOTE is just Fat and heavy in a good way !

[joeyluck]

If you can hold off until Black Friday time, you can likely grab it for $99—as it has been on sale for that price many times. Maybe it will be less considering the recent price drop?

[Kenni]

I love Antidote, no doubt. But depending on genre, you're able to get something similar from Thor.

Trance warning


I did this to test a combinator patch holding 4 Thors for a supersaw.

[eXode]

I could make a long post on Antidote. Instead I'll give you an audio demo.

Except for the mastering, most of the sounds (including FX) are from Antidote.
I've used a percussion loop from the FSB in the third section, but that's it.

[K1TTENM1TTEN]

Simply put, Antidote is just simple to use. There is nothing complicated about it at all. You don't have to read for an hour and a half to understand it's internal routing. Both sides of Antidote's oscillators have the same options and allow you to make some really amazing sounds within about 10 seconds of messing with knobs. I love the "MODIFIER" knob, you can really get some great and diverse sounds very very easily.

The nice thing about Antidote is that it is more than an instrument. It is a killer effects engine as well that is easy to plug into. In fact, many of Synapse's effects REs are included within Antidote (such as their Deep Reverb DR-1).

Honestly, it is one of the few purchases I simply have never regretted buying. It is just so... solid. It was the first synth RE that I have played on that felt like it didn't have that "Reason" sound to it (outdated and thin). It's instantly thick, instantly full, and instantly grabs your attention. Not that Thor sounds bad, but compare it to modern VSTs out there it just always felt a bit thin. Don't get me wrong, I still use the crap out of Thor, especially for ambient pads, but Antidote is truly an amazing synth.

Being a musician on a budget, I'd suggest waiting for a sale and buy it then. But even at its current price it adds SOOO much to Reason that it actually kind of gives you a really solid reason to keep using Reason. I felt a bit like Xzibit there.

[raymondh]

I suspect you wouldn't regret buying Antidote, even at full price.

As sinistereo says, while you can spend the time creating a big sound with Thors, how would you rather be spending the time.
Also, Thor's filters will never ever sound the same as Antidote's. And we don't all have Benedict's amazing synth programming skills to get close!

Antidote is a synth that has instant appeal. The presets do have a bit too much FX processing generally, but you can tap these back and the sound is still amazing. And the presets are very inspiring, so as you explore through them, chances are high you'll be inspired with an idea in a way you won't be if you have to think of what you are trying to achieve and start wiring Thor's together.
(The same is true with Thor, and other great Reason synths too, esp. the Rob Papen synths).

The only thing I would say against Antidote, is that I think it will chew up more CPU resource than Thor. There's a lot of variability here between patches depending on how many oscillators you use, FX, envelope tail, etc, but Thor seems incredibly lightweight for it's abilities. Theo probably has more facts on the reality here. So if your PC is low spec, then that's a consideration.

Probably best thing to do is to trial Antidote...

Good luck with your decision!

[MirEko]

Antidote is amazing, I chose antidote over predator (could only afford one or the other) and have never regretted that decision.

It's a pleasure to program, and I've made some really smooth and big sounds with it.

[machinestatic]

Hey people! I just wanted to pop in with an update. I can't believe how many people replied to this, thanks.

I DID buy Antidote, but I'm not in love with it yet, so I didn't plan to return to the thread yet. I just don't want to unintentionally say anything bad about it, because I know the reason I don't like it is simply that I don't fully understand the ins and outs of using it yet.

So far, everything I try to make with it just sounds like a big stack of saws, slightly detuned, with nice stereo width, and a single voice playing an octave lower. Don't get me wrong, it sounds amazing, I just haven't mastered how to pull different sounds out of it yet. When I listen to refill demos, or even the developer's patches, I'm just like "What sorcery was used to create these?!"

But I understand I can't compare it to Thor, because I've had a few years to learn how to mess around with that; with Thor I can think "I want to make a big saw lead" or "I want to make a staccato square bass" and boom. So basically, I've still got my Antidote training wheels on. Ha

[raymondh]

First thing to do is to "reset" to a default patch with one oscillator and then try out some different waveforms. That's the best way to get a feel for the sonic diversity of Antidote.

have fun!

[Faastwalker]

I love Antidote. Every time a new synth comes along in Reason, that I end up buying, Antidote gets shoved (somewhat disrespectfully) on the back burner. But it always comes out again. A great addition to Reason's all singing & dancing RE synths. Up there with the best of them for sure. Some great sounds.

[Nirude]

Ay yo Machinestatic.
My advice would be:
If you feel "meh," then buy it in the next sales. Black Friday or some another.

Quite frankly, Antidote is the sh!t.

[Rook]

I just wanted to add: when I'm working in Reason, Antidote has definitely become my go-to synth for my main, up front musical parts...ie bass, poly, arps, leads. I'm sure that a more skilled synth programmer could get very similar sounds using Thor (multiple instances, most likely), but Antidote just sounds so good and it's so easy to get great inspiring sounds. It is one of the most present, "forward" sounding soft-synths that I've ever used. It has this particular sound quality that is very alive and almost in your face, if that makes sense. Very much like playing a hardware synth, imo. Also, the interface is awesome and doesn't get in the way of my creative flow.

Thor/Maelstrom/Subtractor are great, and there's no doubt that incredible music can and has been made with them. I still use them a lot. You really don't "need" anything more when it comes to synth sounds. But, for me, having inspiring tools, like Antidote, is a big deal and really helps the creative process.

So, ultimately, you should ask yourself, does Antidote inspire you? If so, then it is definitely worth it.