I'm experimenting with some song ideas. I don't currently have a keyboard or synth, and need some more guitar gear before i can go out and buy one to actually use for the project.

I'm looking for some ideas on what a good software would be used to simulate the same thing. I'm guessing an audio effects editing program like Fruity Loops or Cubase, but anything better will do (as i'm not sure how useful these might be for reproducing synths specifically, or the best way to utilize them that way). If these are pretty much the standard, does anybody know if there's any decent VST plugins that would be able to replicate an 80's or early 90's synth sounds, or if there's specific model plugins or patches that replicate them? I'd be very interested in finding ones that would be similar, or can replicate synth stuff from bands like Joy Division, The Cure, or early/mid 80's new wave type bands.

Its mainly for songwriting purposes, but if one can pretty much pull off what i need it to do i might use it for bedroom recordings in general until i can afford an actual synthesizer.

Not sure if this seems confusing, but maybe some help in this area.

You definitely need a DAW of some sort to get started. Cubase, FLStudio, Reaper, there are a lot of choices. For what you want to do there are some that may be better than others, mainly because while something like ProTools or Reaper don't come with VST synths, FLStudio or Reason do- they both come with an array of samples, instruments and patches of varying quality. There are however many free VSTs available, so working on a budget you could use Reaper and download a whole bunch of free VST synths to get yourself started. I found a few decent ones a while back, I'll see if I can't dig those up again and shoot you some links.

As a side note, the 80s would have been an amazing time to be a synthesizer player. Analog technology was at it's peak in terms of what manufactures were putting into their products and digital synths were in an experimental infancy which produced some really neat and weird stuff. You'll definitely be able to find some VSTs to get at the general idea of new wave, but it can be hard to really capture the sound of that era.

I've really enjoyed Cubase Essential [5, but the current version is 6 and the Studio and Artist versions are at 7] so far; really solid midi editing, room for 16 VST tracks and a few decent included plugins - The HalionOne sampler is great for laying down basic drum tracks. I'm getting more interested in dance/electronica so I'm probably going to start using Ableton when I can afford Live; the Intro version is $79 right now but only gives you 4 VST tracks.

CorpseFister, thanks. I have a copy of FL Studio i've toyed with before, but i'm not sure how i would go about finding the proper VSTs for it though, and the current versions are pretty overwhelming in possibilities, so i'll have to do some work with it. Reason i've heard a lot about but never really tried out. I'd be interested in those Reaper VSTs if you find them.

I may look into getting a synth eventually when i find the right one. I just have little experience using them to know what to look for in the one i'd want to get, im better saving money now and learning about them then going to buy the first one that draws my attention, if i progress further in this i'll probably look for a setup that works for what i want to do, especially as a prefer working with an analog set up than trying to sequence a synth on a DAW anyway.

i think you misunderstood some things.

Reaper is a DAW : Digital Audio Workstation. It provides an environment to make music including hosting VST plugins. It does come with a humber of good audio and MIDI processing plugins but has almost negligible instruments bundled.
It is free for trial, and has very cool discounted licesne for $ 60 .

But you can google something like "Top ten freeware vsti synths" and find a bunch of stuff. Then you can gogole something like "introductuion to synthesizer programming" or audio synthesis tutorial and you will be well on your way.

Many 80' sounds are actually quite easy to emulate in software despite the purist naysayers.

For starters, try the following free synths :
charlatan
synth1
tyrell


the trick is play around with each setting one by one to see how it effects the sound.

Try googling UFO2, GTG Strings and P8, I found them on some websites that just stockpile VSTis. If you're using FL Studio, Supersaw in the Sytrus engine can sound pretty good if you run it through a stereo expander and an analogue saturation VST (google Variety of Sound, a wee bit of saturation can make these kinds of instruments sound awesome).