The BEST? Careful what you ask for.

Software:

http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i-NAT-22833?src=Y0802G00SRCHCAPN&gclid=CjwKEAiAluG1BRDrvsqCtYWk81gSJACZ2BCerSvrM9RaR2XUKapD3FVdkIOR0rtLbZqdLxdEybUO1RoCwDHw_wcB

Hardware:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/I...DV-wRoCvLzw_wcB

And forget simple plug and play GM stuff, no setup required and all that. No, you get to learn how this stuff works if you want the BEST sounds.

Now if you lower your sights a bit and want "good enough" sounds with GM capability then yes, the hardware Ketron SD2 for about $500 is right there or Sampletank 3 with some expansion soundsets. Oh, forgot no GM with Sampletank either except for the old Omnisynth that's not bad. There's even a good post about using it in the Tips & Tricks forum because it's still not easy plug and play but it can be made to work fairly close to that with a few hacks.

And..

Quote:
Have our best sound engineers on this forum select between 3 to 5 songs per genre, and record playback from each of the Synths listed above. Create a soundclips page so we could all listen for ourselves - and THEN continue this discussion.


Already done, been there for years:

http://www.pgmusic.com/dare-to-compare.htm

Bob

Biab/RB latest build, Win 11 Pro, Ryzen 5 5600 G, 512 Gig SSD, 16 Gigs Ram, Steinberg UR22 MkII, Roland Sonic Cell, Kurzweil PC3, Hammond SK1, Korg PA3XPro, Garritan JABB, Hypercanvas, Sampletank 3, more.