Maik Menz TranceDrive

Maik Menz's Trance Drive is a windows only VSTi plugin instrument. It is a subtractive synthesizer aimed at Trance and other electronic dance music. It features 3 main oscillators, each main oscillator supports 6 waveforms: sine, saw, triangle, pulse, saw7 and cry, and these can be chained (osc1 to osc2 and osc2 to osc3) using FM, PM and sync. It has 3 LFOs, each supports 5 waveforms: sine, saw, triangle, pulse, and sample and hold. There are 2 Envelope generators (Mod & Amp) with variable shapes, 3 types of filters lowpass, highpass and bandpass. Each filter type can be set to 6dB, 12dB, 18dB and 24dB steepness, and 9 effects, gater, chorus, phaser, flanger, distortion, delay, reverb, equalizer, stereo-effects. The synthesizer, while aimed at Trance and electronic dance music could easily work it's way in to any facet of electronic music, as it is capable of driving leads, ripping basses, sweeping pads and anything else you can dream up.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

The plugin (a windows only VSTi) is very simple to set up, all you have to do is put the .dll file in the directory where your DAW is setup to access external plugins, and fire up your DAW. There is no form of installation required. The vst runs like a dream, no issues with latency or crashing. The performance is top notch, and this thing pumps out synth sounds without a hitch. It's very easy to operate and well laid out. The onboard FX are of high quality, and work perfectly. The synth is a real steal at just 0.00$ USD. That's right, it's free. If you are looking for a synth to tweak with, download this.

OVERALL OPINION

My favorite thing about this synth would have to be the flexibility and options that it offers. It's easy to operate and has an attractive and functional interface, that allows you to turn different modules, such as oscillators, envelope genereators, filters etc. on and off. When a module is turned off you can tell, because it will be greyed out in the display. The onboard FX are a real treat, and make this synth very well rounded. I highly recommend this synth, especially to a beginner, as it has a very simple interface. And did I mention it's free?