Big Tick Audio Software's Cheeze Machine is a free piece of software synthesizer that aims to emulate cheesy string sounds. I'm no longer running this software in my current set up, as my current system isn't compatible. It was, and most likely still is available as a VST plug-in for both Mac and PC systems. I don't remember too much about the installation process since it's been a while, but I would most likely remember if I had any problems. The interface of the soft synth is easy enough to follow, with sections for an oscillator, ensemble (which is basically chorus), a phaser, and some reverb. Each section has it's own parameters that I found for the most part to be pretty self explanatory. There are also preset sounds which make for great starting points if not adequate sounds on their own. A manual probably wasn't made for this.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

While I was running the Big Tick Audio Cheeze Machine plug-in, it was in Cubase SX and on a Hewlett Packard Pavilion dv8000 lap top. The computer consisted of a 3.0 Ghz processor and 2 GB of RAM. I don't ever remember having any problems running the software, as I would only have one of them open at a time anyway. It's definitely not going to take up very much processing power...

OVERALL OPINION

For a free soft synth, the Big Tick Audio Software Cheeze Machine is a nice little synth to have around. While it's got a very specific sound and isn't going to be suitable for use very often, the sounds that it does have are pretty cool for what they are. I'm a fan of more lo-fi sounds myself, so I definitely enjoyed having it when I did. If you've got a compatible system and are interested in soft synths at all (and free one at that!), do yourself a small favor and give the Cheeze Machine a try as it definitely won't disappoint when it comes to cheesiness!