NorthernBeat Daedalus [Freeware]

NorthernBeat Daedalus is a freeware VST that can be downloaded directly from the website. It is a polyphonic synthesizer that will work with pretty much any DAW or program that you want to use it with. It works just like your standard VST’s. The NorthernBeat Daedalus was designed for the performer, and has been tailor made for that purpose. You don’t have to use it for a live set though, it will work just like your normal VST will. I have been using Daedalus since 2007 and though its very good, it does still have some issues (which is common with a lot of freeware VST’s). I have experienced several crashes with it on my quad core PC running Windows Vista, and occasionally it will take a while for it to open up and sometimes act a bit strange. All of the main functions of it are easy to access and it is easy to use, I think it may just have a few bugs that haven’t been sorted out.


SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

The NorthernBeat Daedalus is stable one minute then un-stable the next, its very hard to tell what kind of performance I am going to get out of Daedalus when I open it. If it takes a few extra seconds to open then that’s when I know that it will glitch throughout the whole session, I would not be happy with this if I was using it for a live set but because I don’t do live sets with it it’s not a problem to me. Daedalus is very easy to set up and install, I am not sure if you can use it on Macs yet though.


OVERALL OPINION

The NorthenBeat Daedalus is free, and of course that is the best part of it, you really don’t have anything to lose in giving this VST a shot. It does have several bugs and I am not sure if they have updated it or came out with a new version to fix those bugs. The sound quality is pretty good though and you can not complain when you don’t have to pay for it. Give it a go!

NorthernBeat's Deadalus is a polyphonic VA(virtual analog) synthesizer. The synth features two oscillators, two filters that you can route to essentially whatever you want. There's also ring modulation, oscillator sync, chorus, delay, and an arpeggiator, which all work very well. Put together, these parts create a very solid and reliable, and easy to use synthesizer. It may not be the must have synth of the year, but it will prove a worthy addition to any collection. While it doesn't necessarily bring anything new to the table, it is a very solid synth with plenty of features in a simple and accessible interface. The sound can get very thick if you like that, especially with the onboard chorus.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

The synthesizer comes as a standard VSTi plugin for windows, and installation is as simple as directing the .dll file to your plugin directory and opening your DAW. The plugin runs impeccably on my older windows XP install, with only 1 gig of RAM in Ableton Live. There are no performance issues or crashes. The interface is very nice and attractive, very professional looking. This isn't a top of the line synth by any means, or a very powerful one either, but it's still pretty cool and fun to have around. It's not particularly "powerful" but it sure does a lot with what it has, and does it well.

OVERALL OPINION

My favorite thing about this synth has got to be the fact that it only takes a minimal amount of tweaking to get what you want, be it filter sweeping pads, or crazy Dutch House leads. The ring modulator and chorus are both easily manipulated to add variety to the sounds. I'm not too impressed with the built in delay, which does not sync to tempo, but I have others so there isn't much need for it anyways. Overall, it's free so download it and try and put it too good use.