Vital VS Serum - Is Serum still worth it in 2023?

[@ZDanielPhoenix]

For anyone viewing this two years later. Serum is still good for two things: Presets & Support. There's more patches, presets, and incidental user support for Serum, that just isn't part of the package with Vital. Both are good. Use both.

[@MIDNIGHTCVLT]

Serum 2.0 is coming and will be free for everyone who bought it. Vital has spectral warp modes and other features. Both are great and compliment well each other

[@MattFlanc]

Totally agree! Do you have a link to where I can find more about serum 2.0

[@MIDNIGHTCVLT]

@@MattFlanc There's a MrBill's podcast with Steve Duda and he talks about it there. I think it's from 2020 so it might be closer than ever :)

[@MattFlanc]

@@MIDNIGHTCVLT Oh I listened to that podcast last year but can't remember that! Thanks for sharing

[@PhysicsViolator]

Well yeah but the insane price tag for serum immediately drops peoples interest of getting into it.. vital pretty much destroyed its market 😆

[@MattFlanc]

@@PhysicsViolator Yeah that's right. Although Serum still has a pretty big fanbase

[@isellcrack3537]

Vital also had an update recently that ups the ante even more IMO and tilts the scales even more in it`s favor. In fact I think I`d probably go with Vital even if it was a paid plugin and the prices were similar. Someone in the comments said that Serum 2 is coming out soon so I`m quite interested how it will perform and what new features it will have. I think that this is a direct outcome from one of the benefits of synths like Vital - since it`s so powerful but yet free (or just cheap in other cases) this drives the market in a direction where products have more features for a lower price sooo yeah I really feel like the future for this industry is very bright.

[@MattFlanc]

I agree with you, it’s exciting to see what the future may bring! Whats the new update you’re talking about?

[@highestpeeqs9532]

Jesus loves yall, died for us, and rose again! Jesus calls for all of us to repent! He's coming back

[@toddfrombethesda6963]

I’m here at the end of 2024, serum is my main go to synth and I have used it for years and years and don’t play on switching soon, but I would never recommend buying it anymore cause vital is just better now, the intial hiccups are gone and the random LFO feature alone is enough to sell me on it considering I sometimes like to make generative music.

[@huguesandrepierrard4254]

thanks a lot for this brilliant demonstration !

[@highestpeeqs9532]

Jesus loves yall, died for us, and rose again! Jesus calls for all of us to repent! He's coming back

[@danatello8489]

Much appreciated on this on video. I've had Vital since before you made this, and since there are so many youtube videos talking about Serum and websites selling presets for it, I was wondering if I was missing out. It really doesn't sound like it. I'd been doing the subscription for Vital, to give Matt some thanks and income, and stopped it when I had enough for the Pro version ($80). Well worth it for the presets and the text to wavetable (which you didn't cover). That's another $100 (rarely on sale) to $200 I'll feel comfortable not spending.

[@prajwal_bagewadi]

the patch u made was awsm 😍😍❤and ur comparison is awsm

[@MattFlanc]

Thank you so much, friend! Really glad that you enjoyed it😊

[@highestpeeqs9532]

Jesus loves yall, died for us, and rose again! Jesus calls for all of us to repent! He's coming back

[@sicfxmusic]

@@highestpeeqs9532 I wonder if Jesus will vote for Trump or Biden?

[@HighlandStudio91]

I was already sold on Vital before I saw your video comparison(but I do appreciate you outlining the contrasts between the two.) I was considering buying BLEASS's Megalit synth for $99.....but Vital's Pro upgrade is only $80, so it only made sense to go with Vital. As for Serum, not only do I think that Vital destroys Serum(in terms of the price/feature ratio)...Vital is just my favorite VST synth of all time. It's just absolutely insane what Vital Audio offers for so little money.

[@MattFlanc]

I haven’t heard of the BLEASS synth, but I think you went the right way for sure! Vital is absolutely killing it

[@HighlandStudio91]

@@MattFlanc BLEASS is a company that began making synths for iOS systems. Megalit is a wavetable synth with FM as well. It's design & layout is geared toward tweakers that have limited knowledge of sound design, but want a hands-on GUI that is simple to work with. You can make fairly complex presets easily & quickly & it sounds fantastic. I still want to add Megalit to my collection, but Vital takes priority over it.

[@MattFlanc]

Interesting, I’ll check it out for sure! Thanks for the suggestion. It’s always nice to have options

[@JayVucci]

Bleass is dog shit @@MattFlanc

[@dj_multiple_one]

thanks man! I searched which one I want to start with! I will try Vital!

[@MattFlanc]

That’s awesome! Have fun making music

[@highestpeeqs9532]

Jesus loves yall, died for us, and rose again! Jesus calls for all of us to repent! He's coming back

[@eli-shulga]

Thank you! Exactly what I needed. Probably will get Serum later down the path, but only at the point my skill level will be high enough to get the squeeze from the very subtle differences better sounds with Serum. For the near future, sticking with Vital Thanks again, super clear and to the point!

[@MattFlanc]

I think that's a very good way to approach it! Good luck with making more banger sounds!

[@eli-shulga]

@@MattFlanc thanks keep it up great stuff

[@MattFlanc]

Thanks for the support

[@highestpeeqs9532]

Jesus loves yall, died for us, and rose again! Jesus calls for all of us to repent! He's coming back

[@eli-shulga]

@@DylanE1 So year passed, I ended up getting Diva instead Serum. There are some weaknesses I found in Vital over this time but most have walk arounds. Ill just throw these here maybe someone will find it useful: 1. Serum comes it a solid variation of wave tablets. Which Vital does not stuff like emulating analog synth saw wave square and etc. Its important to get a more dynamic feel. You can find these online and get them for free into Vital as a walk around. 2. The FXs seems of higher quality in Serum this can make a lot of difference. Distortion, echo etc to over come this, I usually handle all FXs outside Vital down the chain. give much more control but makes things complicated I think in these sense Serum is just nicer to use and faster in some cases. This actually IMPO a big deal. Everything makes your life easier on the path finding a good sound can save or break your flow. All of these just my personal opinion and important to mention that I never used Serum myself but at this point saw so many people use it I feel I know this thing inside out :) Probably will end up getting it down the line, at this point there are more important things in the never ending shopping list 😅

[@cathywilson1273]

I've heard of Serum in a variety of plugin tutorials, but I didn't know what it really was until I took the time to stop and see what it was all about. Your video sure helped me see that it's a synth, but not the ones I'm used to seeing! (Cherry Audio Memorymode) as an example. It seems that Serum and Vital are more 'visual' than synths such as Memorymode, from what I gather. Thank you for sharing your time in the comparison. I'll be looking into Vital! :-)

[@MattFlanc]

Great to hear that I could show you something new!

[@cathywilson1273]

@@MattFlanc - Your time is greatly appreciated!!

[@highestpeeqs9532]

Jesus loves yall, died for us, and rose again! Jesus calls for all of us to repent! He's coming back

[@arcioko2142]

12:28 you can choose between either measuring filters on hz or notes in the advanced tab lol

[@MattFlanc]

Oh really? Seems like I gotta check that out then😅

[@ChrisWebflow]

@@MattFlanc came here to say this, you can switch between each of the measurement units, from Semitones to Hz - in the advanced tab. Semitones allows you to edit things relevant to the root note of your midi input, yet again something over Serum.

[@MattFlanc]

@@ChrisWebflow That's actually great, thanks for pointing this out! I'll keep things like this in mind if I ever do an updated video

[@highestpeeqs9532]

Jesus loves yall, died for us, and rose again! Jesus calls for all of us to repent! He's coming back

[@digitalbeat666]

Let´s see if they sound the same. I do not see any difference but interface

[@KordTaylor]

Thanks for the great video. 👏🏻

[@jadanoliver6237]

Three oscs, noise generator, flexible routing. Free!!!! And amazing sound quality. I like the vital patch better.

[@MattFlanc]

Totally!

[@Tuckerslam]

Hobo's choice, in other words.

[@E-beats13]

I was going to get serum because i heard it was more popular but since vital is cheaper and more efficient I will probably get vital

[@quantumpath108]

❤ Video excellent🎉🎉🎉 Thank you so much😂😂😂

[@notsure1135]

The oscillators in vital have filters within each oscillators. There’s a max of 6.

[@MattFlanc]

That’s crazy!

[@highestpeeqs9532]

Jesus loves yall, died for us, and rose again! Jesus calls for all of us to repent! He's coming back

[@DefNoAsh889]

@@highestpeeqs9532 shut up

[@IXThe9]

Tbh, even though vital is free, because of how cheap it is as well, you should buy it and pay back the dude who made it. It’s a great plugin and I love it

[@MattFlanc]

Totally agree!

[@buckycore]

I'm a Phaseplant guy my self, but dude! I've always know Vital kicks the ass of most commercial synths as far as sound and filtering and stuff. Way better than Serum

[@realtalk5347]

Great video bro

[@highestpeeqs9532]

Jesus loves yall, died for us, and rose again! Jesus calls for all of us to repent! He's coming back

[@bengsynthmusic]

Since Noise is just sampler, it's not really an oscillator. Vital takes up GPU though.

[@MattFlanc]

You’re right. And I didn’t know that. In that case I assume it’s very little since it’s simple 2D animations in the UI. So it shouldn’t have an issue to run, even in integrated graphics.

[@bengsynthmusic]

@@MattFlanc Yeah my GPU warms up and shows 25% use when I maximize Vital. With Serum, it's nothing.

[@MattFlanc]

@@bengsynthmusic That’s interesting

[@m-stat9]

get a better PC/Mac then, lol. Vital all the way!

[@johnnybigpotato2404]

Thanks bro!

[@highestpeeqs9532]

Jesus loves yall, died for us, and rose again! Jesus calls for all of us to repent! He's coming back

[@johnnybigpotato2404]

@@highestpeeqs9532 blow me

[@brokko_le3]

One thing that is often left out out of reviews is the CPU usage. Serum can be quite power hungry. How is vital in that matter? When layering multiple sounds and using many effect this can become important.

[@MattFlanc]

That’s right! I used to struggle with that on my old PC, but now that’s not an issue anymore for me. I’ve not done enough testing to draw a conclusion, but as far as my experience goes with both synthesizers I haven’t noticed a difference

[@ryanstark2350]

I haven'r used Serum but Vital is very CPU heavy compared to many other other synths I have tried but obviously it depends on the presets and might not matter if you have a fast computer.

[@naughtyducky6325]

Serum does have random, it’s in the chaos section on the global tab. Serum is better IMO it sounds better quality, it would be nice if it had a 3rd oscillator tho. The ways vital tries to one up serum are mostly unnecessary, why would you need 6 designated envelopes for a patch? 😂 I do like it’s little text to speak thing tho

[@CosmicHarmony58]

I’m extremely new to all this stuff. I was always just a guitar player in a traditional non technical sense. Just a guitar and amp. So very recently I’ve been really getting into FL studio and synths…So I came to realize…All synths are practically the same, just layered out differently?

[@MattFlanc]

Well yes and no. It’s a bit like saying all cars are the same. Most synths have similar features since the technology is mostly the same. There’s the oscillators that generate the sound, and then various ways of changing this sound. Either by adding frequencies (additive synthesis) or removing frequencies (subtractive synthesis). So essentially all synthesizers do some form of “synthesis” but how they do it is where they differ. For example, serum and vital are both wavetable synthesizers, but they also have features like FM. I could talk for hours about this, but I just recommend you take a look online. I’m sure you can find a lot of information about differences between synthesizers

[@jeremybowden3134]

Vital is a beast

[@Italliving]

now a new kid on the block, Kilohearts Phase plant comparing ....

[@MattFlanc]

I’ve never tried Phaseplant but I definitely should

[@tomothy527]

Difference between Vital's random and Serum's chaos?

[@MattFlanc]

It's main function is essentially the same, meaning that they are both random LFOs. The difference is in the algorhythms. Serum and Vital both have Sample and Hold (S&H), but the other ones are different. Which you like most comes down to personal preference. Even though I like Serum more for my sound design, I still prefer the random section of Vital and the way it is implemented. Hope this answers your question!

[@RePeterPod]

People constanly over look phaseplant. It blows both of these and pigment out of the water

[@MattFlanc]

I’ve heard that a lot. I really should give it a try

[@Italliving]

@@MattFlanc you should especially with snapheat & Multipas and all remaps

[@Tuckerslam]

Phaseplant has shit quality. You want a good instrument, you simply buy Serum, period.

[@mkostya]

Vital gets 100% better score + it’s free. Any questions?

[@JayVucci]

Vital is fun but nothing has the harmonics of Serum.

[@minceorbeminced9885]

which is more cpu intensive?

[@MattFlanc]

I haven't done a direct comparison, but from using both a lot I haven't noticed a difference either

[@grainyday]

vital - big difference on my laptop . Serum takes 7% , Vital 20-24

[@Italliving]

that depends on your complex creation they both are very similar

[@germanher7528]

Avenger 2

[@JohnBergAndersen]

I find your review quite poor, as you are comparing and giving points based on the number of oscillators, and number of this and that, instead of comparing the quality of the sounds you can make.

[@MattFlanc]

Thanks for the feedback! I totally get your point of view. There is honestly not much to say about the quality of sounds you can make since they are basically the same synthesizer. If I were you I would simply choose vital right now. They are basically exactly the same, and it’s free. There’s rumors about Serum2 as well so you might wanna look out for that

[@JohnBergAndersen]

I did download both the Serum try and the Vital free. And I'm looking forward to play with both. I also think the Vital is good enough for me for now. And thanks for your review anyway. 🙂@@MattFlanc

[@MattFlanc]

@JohnBergAndersen i hope you’ll find some value out of it! Value is certainly a really powerful tool

[@adirsab]

serum sounds better

[@highestpeeqs9532]

Jesus loves yall, died for us, and rose again! Jesus calls for all of us to repent! He's coming back

[@wasabi333]

been there

[@patricknaughton9322]

What's his position on serum vs vital?..

[@TypeSerena]

does he think i should use serum or vital?

[@b00ts4ndc4ts]

As soon as you see him will t let him know that Joseph and Mary still owe the inn keeper for the night they spent in the barn?

[@HAHb-zc2dp]

Shut up pedophile

[@CasamTheAnimator]

Vital is the winner 🏆! Serum is the loser!

[@Italliving]

only because it is free and very functional

[@Tuckerslam]

Winner for hobos. People that respect themselves get Serum.

[@AriesT1]

Totally not me spending 180 bucks on Serum and finding this video one week later.

[@kcmill181]

yall really should stop supporting any company going to monthly only programs...its gonna kill us independent artists...

[@HAHb-zc2dp]

What? I downloaded serum for free i dont pay for digital 😂

[@prajwal_bagewadi]

vital 😍😍😍❤❤💽