Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
  • Guitars
  • Amps
  • Pedals
  • Drums
  • Synths
  • Software
  • Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Recording
  • Buyer’s guides
  • Live
  • DJ
  • Advice
  • Acoustic
  • Bass
  • About us
  • More
    • Reviews
Magazines
  • Computer Music
  • Electronic Musician
  • Future Music
  • Keyboard Magazine
  • Guitarist
  • Guitar Techniques
  • Total Guitar
  • Bass Player
More
  • How to make an AI cover song
  • 84000+ free music samples
  • Foo Fighters' new drummer
  • Ken Scott on recording The Beatles
  • First EVH Jump synth recording

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  1. Home
  2. News

My favourite synths: Darren Price

By Computer Music Specials
published 24 September 2012

The Underworld man reveals his favourite sound-making software

GForce impOSCar2

GForce impOSCar2

With praise still ringing in their ears for their soundtracking of the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony, it’s been a big year for Underworld. Here, the band’s DJ and engineer Darren Price tells us which soft synths he likes to keep close at hand.

For a rundown of the synths you need to own in 2012, plus a heap of invaluable tutorials, check out Computer Music Specials (issue 55) - Top 10 Synths - which is on sale now.

Darren Price: “This is the one I use most in the studio. It’s an inspiration to use, and it makes it easy to create new, fresh and fat sounds that really cut through. It also has a fantastic arpeggiator and chord memory. I liked impOSCar2 so much I hassled the makers for one of the rare hardware controllers!”

Read GForce impOSCar 2 review

Page 1 of 6
Page 1 of 6
iZotope Iris

iZotope Iris

“The ultimate sound design tool, Iris lets you make first-class ambient soundscapes from any sample. It’s really fun to use - you just draw your waveforms like you’re in art class at school.”

Read iZotope Iris review

Page 2 of 6
Page 2 of 6
Native Instruments Komplete

Native Instruments Komplete

“I was going to say Reaktor, but Komplete includes my other favourites like Massive, Absynth, FM8 and Razor. Check out Tim Exile’s Reaktor plug-in, The Mouth - an outstanding vocoder synth.”

Read Native Instruments Komplete 8 Ultimate review

Page 3 of 6
Page 3 of 6
Spectrasonics Omnisphere

Spectrasonics Omnisphere

“Designed by Eric Persing, one of the masters of the game, Omnisphere is a super-powered synth with very high-quality samples - these guys know how to sample! Load a choir preset, play a few notes on your keyboard, close your eyes and it’s like the choir is right there in the studio. A very impressive achievement.”

Read Spectrasonics Omnisphere v1.5 review

Page 4 of 6
Page 4 of 6
Rob Papen SubBoomBass

Rob Papen SubBoomBass

“This one goes lower than low. There are presets that make my cup move across the table if I turn it up loud enough! It’s not just for bass, though - there’s a vast array of other stuff like deep tribal toms and percussion as well as leads and pads.”

Read Rob Papen SubBoomBass review

Page 5 of 6
Page 5 of 6
GForce Virtual String Machine

GForce Virtual String Machine

“Loaded up with emulations of Oberheim, Moog, RP and all the other synths that are virtually impossible to find nowadays, Virtual String Machine is like taking a virtual trip back in time. As someone who’s lucky enough to own most of the real synths, I’ve done some A-B comparisons, and the results have been surprisingly good.”

Read GForce Virtual String Machine review

Darren Price will be touring with Underworld later this year as well as releasing his own material and touring as a DJ.

Page 6 of 6
Page 6 of 6
Computer Music Specials
Social Links Navigation
More about tech
jon hopkins

Jon Hopkins spent 4 months perfecting the synth riff for Open Eye Signal on a 1979 Korg MS-20: “So much effort into trying to make something sound effortless”

Orange Box: The iconic British amp brand enters the Bluetooth speaker market

Orange Amps enters the Bluetooth speaker market with the Orange Box

Latest
British Pedal Company King Of Fuzz Tone Bender MKII

The British Pedal Company launches limited edition King Of Fuzz Tone Bender to commemorate coronation of King Charles III with gnarly MKII fuzz

See more latest ►
Most Popular
Issue 397 of Future Music is out now

By Future Music1 June 2023

Karma Police: the story behind the Radiohead classic that started life as a tour bus catchphrase

By Michael Leonard31 May 2023

SSL’s UF1 promises to “set a new standard for single fader DAW controllers”

By Ben Rogerson31 May 2023

Pedalboard tour: how Petter Carlsen from the Norwegian duo Pil & Bue gets his juggernaut guitar tones

By Rob Laing31 May 2023

Akai issues a red alert as it launches the MPC One+, but it might not have all the upgrades you were hoping for

By Ben Rogerson31 May 2023

Is this really the most overused music production technique of 2023?

By Matt Mullen31 May 2023

What makes overdrive, distortion and fuzz pedals different?

By Rob Laing31 May 2023

Joe Bonamassa tries Peter Green's Gretsch White Falcon: "You can play blues on anything"

By Rob Laing31 May 2023

This guitarist spent £100K on gear to learn valuable lessons so you don't have to

By Rob Laing31 May 2023

Behringer launches the Moog-esque Edge and Spice synths and hits back at “all the critics who claim that we’re driven by profit”

By Ben Rogerson31 May 2023

On our radar: Joe Kelly & The Royal Pharmacy – "Hearing Nebraska by Springsteen was a game changer for an indie kid growing up on a council estate"

By Rob Laing31 May 2023

  1. Nirvana In Utero cover
    1
    Steve Albini recalls the secrecy around the Nirvana In Utero sessions: "I had to do everything I could to keep it under wraps to make sure that we didn’t get overrun by fans and the added nonsense"
  2. 2
    Joe Bonamassa tries Peter Green's Gretsch White Falcon: "You can play blues on anything"
  3. 3
    The unlikely story of Aphex Twin's weirdest gig, when he DJ'd with sandpaper and stuck a microphone in a blender
  4. 4
    Gryffin: "After I discovered deadmau5, Skrillex and Avicii, I immediately downloaded Ableton Live"
  5. 5
    Mick Hucknall on the 10 songs that changed his life: “The Beatles changed the way music sounded, but the Stones were the world’s greatest rock band”
  1. Joe Bonamassa
    1
    Joe Bonamassa tries Peter Green's Gretsch White Falcon: "You can play blues on anything"
  2. 2
    The unlikely story of Aphex Twin's weirdest gig, when he DJ'd with sandpaper and stuck a microphone in a blender
  3. 3
    Pedalboard tour: how Petter Carlsen from the Norwegian duo Pil & Bue gets his juggernaut guitar tones
  4. 4
    Spectrasonics Twisted Trees Sonic Extension review
  5. 5
    New Van Halen documentary takes us back to the early ‘80s to tell the story of how Eddie built 5150 Studios as the band were coming apart

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.