reFX Vanguard

Did you have any problems during the installation? No, it's a plug-in so it only takes 30 seconds.

Did you have any problems during the installation? It's a virtual instrument with presets and editing possibilities.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

What's your computer setup? Imac Core Duo / 4gb ram / Pro tools

Does the software work correctly with your setup? Perfectly.

How is the performance? Good, it doesn't consume too many resources.

OVERALL OPINION

How long have you been using it? 3 months

To get to the point, this synth is really good and it sounds fine.
The presets are plentiful (with additional patches) and the variation possibilities are very comprehensive. They will allow you to easily find "the sound" that you want. Unlike other reviewers, I don't think this synth was conceived for trance music, even if it's obvious that it's one of its main uses. I think it's pretty good for electronic sounds in general (basses, leads, pad, etc.)
I don't recommend you to use the effects, which are rather mediocre (Reverb & delay) and have a tendency to "spoil" the sound. I use them to get a "glimpse" of the final result, but then I use good plug-ins that do their job much better; and to be honest, doing it this way it sounds really good!
To sum it up, as far as I'm concerned, you can do whole productions with this synth, except for drums (as long as you don't use the effects cited above).
For less than $100, it's a really good deal!

To me every VST is pretty simple excluding a few. This is no different. Every feature is easily accesible. Most softsynths are this way but this one is even easier than ones such as Sylenth1. Only one screan with all the features in different boxes. Everything including the Gate, Reverb, Delay, and Arpegiator are easy to operate. Installing the plugin is a breeze and the manual helps out a lot. Installing this synth is very qucik synth the CD doesn't actually have any sample material. The GUI is very clear once started as well.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

All softsynths that are basic such as this one are not very CPU intensive and this is no different. I only have a Gateway 2.0GHz dual core 2GB RAM computer not even made for music and Vanguard is not a strain at all. Not integration problems with my midi controllers in FL Studio. Vanguard never really crashes either. It's definatly a stable plugin. I've been using this plugin for over a year. Always got good perfomance out of this Vst.

OVERALL OPINION

Now to the sounds, to be honest the presets are not very good. I do enjoy the gates and some arpegiators, but the leads are pretty generic. This doesn't mean the plugin isn't good. You can, of course, create your own sounds very easily.

Creating sounds in Vanguard is actually a very easy experience. Since all the filters, oscilator controls, gates, arpegiators, etc are already there right on the main interface. There is even a "Fatness" control. Usually it detunes the sound too much if it's used to drastically but if it's et right it can really help out the sound. I personally love Vanguard for the gates. It's so easy to program them. The LFO, Reverb, Delay, envelopes, and all the types of filters are easy to mess with.

One thing I like about Vanguard is the fact that there are so many wave shapes. Some that I don't have in more expensive plugins. One to check out is called "Digital".

Overall this plugin comes in handy if you are into creating your own sounds. If your a preset guy I don't think you will last very long with this just because the quality and quantity aren't really there. Not a bad product. Easy to create and tweak sounds. Surprisingly simple to use, yet powerful. I'd recommend this if your into creating sounds. If your not, don't buy it.

Vanguard installed on my computer with no problems at all, as with all the other reFX VST's that I have used. This VST has worked fine in every DAW I have ever used, including FL Studio, Ableton Live and Cubase 5. The GUI of the effect is very simple too as the presets come in categories that are tagged in front of the actual name of the preset sound. This VST is similar to PoiZone in a way that the GUI is pretty confusing with all the knobs and dials and can be pretty intimidating for the new user.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

This VST works flawlessly on both of my systems. It is very stable and hasn't ever crashed my system, or programs. The load time of the presets is speedy and near instant. I don't really like the menu to pick the presets as it often overflows the entire screen, making it a nightmare to find the actual sound you want. There are arrow buttons to flick through but selective picking of sounds is hard and complicated to do on this VST. I prefer the traditional browser selection method in VST's such as Sampletank. I have used this VST for quite a while now and it's been a part of quite a few of my tracks.

OVERALL OPINION

This VST is brilliant for dance and club synths, and is jam packed with nice leads and thick pads. Lots of the synths do however sound nearly the same. They sound brilliant in any RNB or Hip Hop song. The VST also has a nice range of pads and atmosphere sounds for the backdrop. There is quite a few filler sounds in this VST that are just there for the sake of it and do not really contribute to the Vanguard experience. I do not like the way presets are selected though and the actual GUI. That is the only problem I actually have with Vanguard. Knowing what I know now, I would still get this VST if it didn't come with FL. This VST is an essential for anybody making club or dance music.