I've moved over to software recently, and it's been a fun time to transition. UVI released Drone, which is one of the coolest approaches to soundscapes I've seen. They sampled a lot of different textures for this---synths, bowed pianos, woodwinds, sound FX, et cetera. You can combine two layers + onboard effects for a fairly solid starting point. If you're interested in sound design/cinematic textures/evolving drones, it's a lot of fun. I got in on the introductory offer and I'm quite pleased.
Bear in mind that the UVI download process is kind of annoying. Because they use samples, their files are quite large. It will take about an hour or so to download their synths (Drone is 16 gigs). Then you have to authorize your license via iLok and UVI's Portal. You also have to import the soundbanks to the host device. It's a tedious undertaking, and even though I've been through it multiple times before, I always have to refamiliarize myself with the whole process.
I've barely scratched the surface, but feel like I'll use this on nearly every project I work on. For day one, I'm going Drone > Eventide's Crystals > Valhalla Supermassive (free) > Crystals
pros:
the presets are solid, so you can start experimenting immediately. nearly everything blends well with external FX.
you can do 5.1 mixes in Falcon (the UVI host program). the other UVI host option is Workstation, which allows for standard stereo mixes.
it's fairly intuitive and covers ground that other devices lack.
Workstation has the best arpeggiator I've ever seen (random, chord, bassline, spiral, and many more options beyond U/D). The velocity/swing options make it much more lively than other arps. I use it with their Korg 3200 emulator all the time and it's great for automating sounds, while I adjust the synth settings.
cons:
you can't import user samples (I don't miss them, because the editing is so deep on its own).
the download process is tedious.
UVI's preset system is a little annoying, but you get used to it.
it's fairly heavy on CPU, because of the stacked voices. you would need something with a fairly powerful processor to run 2 copies of Drone at once.
https://www.uvi.net/drone
[youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1I7U0xJYEk[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1I7U0xJYEk
I would either want controller things in the rack or to be more complex, (i.e. more steps, screens and digital etc.)
