Virtual Synths

- config : 15" i7 // osx 10.10 // studio one 2.6 - easy and perfect installation - the ilok software protection is not too much of a burden (what are other iLok-ed developers waiting for before adopting it too?) - my personal opinion: After using it for 2 weeks, I can already have fun recreating the sounds of a lot of my synths, which is quite impressive. The interface requires a certain time to get used to it (unless you’re already used to Machfive 3 I guess since both seem to have a lot in common), but once you got the basics it turns out to be very well conceived. After tweaking here and there, I now have the feeling that half my other synths are actually 1:20 scale Falcons. Soundwise: it really sounds good and allows to get into a very large number of styles, no reproach to be made here. Its wide array of effects, modulations and MIDI FX even add to its versatility… I’m even leaving other plugins aside and start to consider uninstalling some of them. Pros : - the concept (simply great, kudos !) - very high quality sound and effects (even if some of them seem to resemble each other too much and would deserve to be turned into a single effect with different selectable modes) - the possibilities opened by the modular conception - excellent sampling, both for its quality and integration - endlessly expandable with the additional soundbanks (some already released, others to come) - well-conceived interface and workflow (yet I can’t see the point of parts containing 1 program, why not 1 program/part which would include all layers?) - the GUI: very clean and eye-pleasing – which deserves being mentioned - great fun to use (an important point indeed…) - documents and video tutorials are well done (let’s just hope the series will develop so as to really cover all functions in the end) - stability (perhaps a little early to draw conclusions, but I encountered no problem so far except for the audio engine that stops after OSX activated the standby mode (version 1.0.0 in standalone). Cons: - the drum oscillator is less convincing to my taste - some effects alter the volume way too much - the price may be a bit high for some (BUT it’s to be relativized considering its capacities and the $100 voucher it comes with, it really is worth its price) - no demo version (even if it’s possible to have a detailed look at it through the docs and videos, it may not be enough for some) What I’d love in the future: - similar effects being grouped with a “mode” menu, so as to switch between variations. This would make the workflow cleaner and Falcon even more coherent (of course it’s always good to be able to boast having tons of thousands effects, and such a move would reduce that number) - an FM oscillator as complete as the FM8’s - resizable faders in “Mixer” mode - ...it being featured in a special editorial review on Audiofanzine? *Please note that my config includes a rather quick SSD, so I can’t judge the starting or loading times on an HDD, I’d be curious to know how it works on other configs. Overall, I’m a very satisfied user and I’m glad I have this virtual instrument. I hope I’ve been neutral and clear enough in this review – my first on Audiofanzine.

Tyrell N6 is a substractive synthesis virtual instrument which is very complete for a freeware. It features 2 oscillators (sine/tri/saw/square for the first one, saw/square for the second) plus a sub (square), plus a noise generator (white or pink). To modulate the oscillators, there are a vibrato, a “pulse width” (which only affects the squares), a soft sync (which only works if the oscillators are detuned), a ring modulator with feedback. Oscillator 2 can be detuned. There’s a portamento, and that of oscillator 2 can be set offbeat for strange results. There’s a ringing filter that can be BP or LP/HP (you can get gradually from LP to HP using a MixSpread pot, providing unusual effect sounds in the in-between positions). Slope can be set to 12, 24 or 36 dB-per-octave. Great possibilities of filter modulation. Then there are 2 LFOs which parameters themselves can be modulated, 2 ADSR envelopes (which can also be modulated) and a matrix. The latter allows to apply a frequency modulation from oscillator 1 to either oscillator 2 or the filter, and to route two controllers to a same parameter (with one modulating the other). Finally, there is a single effect – a chorus, which is well enough. To finish with this overview, let’s mention that Tyrell can work in mono, legato, duo, poly and unison 2-to-8 (detonable) voices modes. As far as I know, there’s no manual for Tyrell N6. I regret it as I would have appreciated some precisions regarding some, say, “original” functionalities such as the Drift (an analog model emulation perhaps?) and Fallrise (on envelopes, that has the sound back up after decay). This freeware is very stable and never caused any problem on my old Mac Pro with Digital Performer. All in all, we get a synth that’s quite powerful for a freeware. The ring modulator, feedback and FM on the second oscillator allow to get rather original sounds. But what makes this Tyrell interesting also are its modulation and control allocation capacities (by the way, all parameters can be MIDI-controlled using the MIDI learn feature). Hence, you can get beyond the “factory” 500 presets. Tyrell N6 is one of the most complete freeware synths you can get on a Mac (but of course it also works on PC). Of course, if you already own Absynth, Massive, Predator, Gladiator or others, Tyrell may not bring you much. Still, even in such a case, there’s always use for a small, quick-to-program synth such as this of Elek7ro. Anyway, a penniless homestudist will always find such synths very useful as their quality makes them a really great deal. By the way, Tyrell’s maker U-HE also offers numerous great products such as the Zebra synth or the great Uhbik plug-in series. As for Tyrell, it’s available here: https://www.amazona.de/amazona-de-freeware-synthesizer-tyrell-n6-v3/

Mastering a plugin requires time, and the time we can dedicate to music is rare enough (and the plug-ins that come with our DAWs numerous enough) to make the purchase of a plug-in a much thought out act – at least, that’s my approach of things, and perhaps it’s yours too. In the end, I purchase very little of them and download even less freeware. So, Repro is one in not so many, and there are good reason for that! First, it doesn’t include one but two synths : a mono synth taken from the mythical Pro One, and a polyphonic synth derived from the legendary Prophet 5. Promising, ain’t it? Then, using the Repro(s) doesn’t require spending long hours reading the user manual! The designs are indeed very close to those of the original models, and even for those who do not own a Pro One or Prophet 5 getting interesting patches will be done in no time provided you now at least the basics in subtractive synthesis. And if you don’t, well, the presets are already so inspiring that any of them can do… The preset bank is really well stocked and quality is there too, plus the preset manager is well done. The happy owners of one or the other hardware models will be able to fill their lack by buying the bundle for the (relatively) low price of 149€ (it was available for 99€when first launched). As for those (yes, some people do!) who own both original models and are not too much into a synth fetish, they can sell them to get other hardware legends (a nice Moog, a tiny Oberheim or Synthi), without losing the Sequential Circuits grain and while staying away from any possible breakdown from one of these aging synths, now in their forties-to-fifties. As for those with a synth fetish (I know, I’m one!), they’ll either cry for not being able to part with their wonders, or will rejoice for not owning one of them (the good news is, I fall into this category!) while being able to access this sound nirvana thanks to Uhe’s beautiful emulations. A third point: Repro comes with an arpeggiator/sequencer (for Repro 1 alone), and high-quality dedicated effects for the Repro 1 and Repro 5. These are from being mere gadgets and really take you far, far away from the synths’ original sounds. These effects sound beautiful and are well designes (especially the polyphonic distortion available on each of the channels with the Repro 5!). Number four: the sound! You’d think you’re there! Rather than empty speeches, you can get your own idea on the question watching the following videos which compare both virtual synths with their original, hardware counterparts. Repro 5 vs Prophet 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFA_B6pP9AA Repro 1 vs Pro-one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0m4_5P4xFM As for technical specs, please look on Uhe’s website, you’ll find two very well done manuals! As an additional info, my computer (which is not a real beast though quite acceptable: a 2012 iMac with 3.4 GHz Intel Core i7 & 8GB of DDR3 ), I manage to run loops with 5 Repro 5 and 5 Repro 1 instances for a CPU consumption of 30 to 40%... Enjoy, as they say! PS : AudioFanzine features two different entries for a same product, as the Repro 1 ans Repro 5 are now available in a same bundle. Both synths have the same overall features and ergonomics (which to me is faultless in that it directly derives from the original models). Both synths could be enough on its own, but it’s a good thing that we get the both of them. So, this review would apply yo the Repro 1 as well! ;-)

I bought it because a client had demos which required Omnisphere. I found the interface ugly and poor and first thought that anyway, once that project was over, I'd get back to Alchemy and Camel Audio which also provide nice music for image sounds. Again regarding the interface, I considered Alchemy to provide a more flexibility and settings. That's true, but the more I work with Omnisphere and the more I realise how powerful and efficient it can be. One can quickly and easily find quality sounds and edit or automate them quickly. Alchemy for instance is of course very complete, but also sometimes unnecessary complex. Sometimes it takes you in so many directions that you end up forgetting why you chose that sound for in the first place. Omnisphere offers a large, rich and complete variety of sounds! In the end it helps a lot for my productions using pads, underscores, fx and so on. Version 2 has a serach mode that is unique on the market, as it analyses a preset and compares it to other to suggest you those which are xlose to it! A real miracle. Or, you can look for a preset from only some parameters from another. It's a way yo enhance one's workflow et find THE working sound you need faster. Can't do without it, and yet I have ALL there is in this style. The main turndown is the waiting time when launching the plugin: 30 seconds... Let's hope they have an update to correct this. Then some presets can take 5 seconds to load... Like with Kontakt, there are more or less samples involved depending on the bank you choose. Yet I'm very surprised by some comments around the net by some experienced users calling it a CPU hog, unless their computer too is very experienced? The other is that the licence doesn't allow it to be used for sound design, and I know some people who only do sound design and told me they appreciate this software but won't buy it because of this.

The purchase is done online on the KV331 web site. Installation was easy enough, especially if it's just for Live as all you have to do is copy the VST in the Live directory. I installed it on an i7-3770 3.4 GHz with 16 GB of Ram and W8. I use the 64-bit version with Live 9. I did not need a manual or guide for installation. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE Synthmaster's level of quality is configured as "draft" by default. Under these default conditions, the performance is very good with my setup. I can easily run 10 instances of Synthmaster without reaching the limits of CPU. The sound is already correct and impressive. Surprising for a VST bought for € 70 with over 600 sounds. With the quality setting at its highest, most sounds can still be played through Live without any complications. Performance only starts to take a hit with certain big pad sounds, in which case lowering the quality setting will get the job done without losing quality in sound rendering. But in general, at the maximum quality setting, the sound rendering quality is excellent and the virtual filters react beautifully. It really feels like you have a hardware machine at your fingertips. OVERALL OPINION Like the Zebra2, Diva, Omnisphere, etc, the Synthmaster is a real synth that responds well in live applications to external stimuli. The level of sound quality delivered is impressive, especially given the price. Definitely worth the money! It's almost shocking that the Synthmaster is relatively unknown, given the price and the quality. I highly recommend.

Works Great. Easy to Use. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE Everything works fine. Wish the CPU load was less, however. OVERALL OPINION LuSH-101 is a thick, juicy, versatile synth that derives its lushness from multilayers and state of the art synthesis features (oscillators, filters, envelopes, etc.) and effects. D-16 Group has an uncanny knack for developing unique and inspiring audio plugins, and LuSH is no exception. It is a flexible and fantastic virtual audio instrument. I've always been a D-16 fan, enjoying their sound, features, and product names. When they first changed the name of this synth from Shioitor to LuSH I was worried that they were selling out . . . breaking away from their cutting edge, dare-to-be-different ways, but soon after launching this thing I smiled — LuSH is the perfect name for this VSTi. They also could have called it, abundant, delicious, dense, heavenly, lavish, or voluptuous. :-). It's certainly the opposite of bare or sparse. LuSH not only sounds good, but it looks good. I'm a visual guy, and the interface means a lot to me. This GUI is easy on the eyes and a pleasure to work within. Everything is in the right place and is the right size for inspirational tweaking. If you don't have time to create something from scratch, there are more than a thousand well thought out and designed presets in the factory library that you can adjust to taste. The preset browser is intuitive and user-friendly. Like all D-16 Group plugins, LuSH has it's own personality. It's diverse and capable of doing tracks for any kind of electronic music, whether it be alternative, ambient, dubstep, drum and bass, house, industrial, new wave, retro, second wave, soundtrack, or techno. There aren't that many synths that can produce both warm analog sounds and a crisp clear digital sounds. LuSH can! Is this the only synth you will need? It could be, but of course if you are like me you will want more! I wouldn’t let go of my other favorites. If I could change one thing about it — I would make CPU demand more efficient. It's too heavy a load for one synth, but then again . . . it's 8 synths in 1, so it's not bad at all, is it? The price is good. The customer support is great. The sound is wonderful. I give LuSH five stars. Thank you D-16 for creating another masterpiece!

The installation and, especially, the updates, are a bit complicated, starting with the fact that Spectrasonics offers different updates for the software itself, the presets and for the sound libraries. But everything works fine once we've gotten pass that. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE I use it on a Dual Core with 6 GB RAM and have never had an issue under Windows 7 64-bit / Cubase 6. That said, I generally use one or two patches per song at most, so it's not very indicative. OVERALL OPINION I've used it for two years now and I must confess that I'm really fascinated by the software, even if it only use it rarely. Why? Because it sounds huge and its sounds are sometimes so complex that they are more than enough by themselves. It is often hard to try to incorporate them in a song. During mixdown, you will have to cut a lot with the EQ (especially in the low end). And, to compose, it seems that the best you can do with Omnisphere is start from scratch with one of the presets and see where it takes you... But we must also admit that an Omnisphere layer and a Stylus groove are enough to make a song, which can be exciting and frustrating at the same time... Loaded with processing and modulation possibilities, the software is nevertheless not the most user-friendly, in my opinion. Its interface with multiple panels make it unnecessarily complicated and might end up discouraging beginners or will make them stick to presets, which, then again, are admirable. This is without a doubt an inspiring instrument whose sounds have a lot of personality. But that's not always what you are looking for...

These days in the Prophet 5 emulator market, you basically have the U-he Repro 1/5 and the Arturia Prophet V. The Arturia can emulate both the Prophet 5 and the Vector and even combine them as a hybrid, but the overall sound is not as detailed and fat as the Repro. Most go with the Repro as the standard for Prophet emulation, but the plug-in is way more computer resource-intensive. ...but wait, there is one more contender..... Enter "Messiah" by Memorymoon, which was actually the first and original Prophet 5 emulator from 2008. However, version 2.0 arrived late-in-the-game in the fall of 2018, and not a whole lot of fanfare (marketing). However, Messiah is very different these days in that it has a whole new engine and lots of added features and sound banks (presets). Because of this, it rivals the sonic capability (sound) of Repro 1/5, but uses a lot less resources (this is important to me). Plus it has several features not found on the on Repro or Arturia (additional oscillator options and filter mods) and comes with close to 900 good useful presets. Also, update version 2.1 is set to come out before the end of year 2019 and will introduce even more features, tweaks, and a slew of internal "choosable" MIDI map templates for various "external MIDI controller" boxes and synth keyboards (there is a template in there for the new SoundForce SFC-5 "Prophet 5 style" MIDI controller box). I was actually in the market and was planning on purchasing Repro, but after demo'ing Messiah, I changed my mind and purchased it instead.

No issues. Easy to install. Easy to use. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE Runs smoothly. Good CPU performance. OVERALL OPINION Predator by Rob Papen is an amazingly simple, yet powerfully deep synth. The interface is well organized; knobs and controls are accessible and easy to use. Creating sounds from scratch is fun and rewarding, and for those who are less adventurous, the synth comes with a vast array of presets from the master himself, Rob Papen. One of the most enjoyable features are the randomize buttons, which allow the user to generate new sounds without much effort. This vicious beast has 128 waveforms, not just saw, square, sine, and triangle. There are also many ways to modulate and tons of high quality effects Predator suits any kind of electronic music, and can produce many kinds of sounds — cutting leads, meaty basses, soothing pads, atmospherics, rhythmic soundscapes, etc., but where it really shines is with leads and arpeggios. For this reason, Predator is an electronic dance music producer's dream synth. Tracks created with this synth usually sit well in the mix, standing out just enough, but not getting lost and buried. Grrrrr, a gentle roar. The only area whereby I would suggest improvement is the patch browser it could be more intuitive. Otherwise, it's all there and is an extremely stable plugin. It has never crashed on me, launching smoothly and performing well in Logic, Studio One, and Numerology. Considering the depth of the sound, CPU demand is not bad, and the sound quality of the most recent version is fantastic, without any noticeable aliasing. Customer/User support is excellent. Rob and Jon are active on the threads and respond to emails within a day or two. They are great people creating great plugins — a pleasure to deal with! I highly recommend Predator to any electronic musician or producer looking to add a powerful, killer VSTi to their plugin collection. This synth cannot do it all, but what it can do — it does REALLY well. It's a wonderful soft synth that successfully combines the sonic nuances of analog and digital to deliver a punchy modern sound that you may quickly become addicted and never be able to live without. That's what happened to me! I've been going to counseling and a recovery program for nearly a year, and it hasn't helped. I keep launching every chance I get! Thank you, RPCX, for creating such a ferociously addictive synth. Tommy Zai gives Predator three thumbs up. Love it! BTW, if you search online you will find many threads on electronic music forums comparing synths, i.e. this synth versus that synth. Don't be surprised if Predator is mentioned a lot!

I have had no compatibility issues so far on a Macbook. The manual is clear enough and is a good reference to help get comfortable with the complexity of this synth. General Configuration/Setup simple? yes and no. Its pretty easy to get great sounds out of this thing by starting with the presets and tweaking here and there. But, to really get to know this synth, its not going to be super easy, not too hard, but not too easy either. I would say the sequencer is the most difficult to get used to. All functions are located on the face either showing or under buttons (sub menus). SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE This synth works (and sounds) great in Ableton 8 and Logic 9. So far I have had no crashes and have always be able to retrieve presets I made. It responds perfectly with all of my midi gear and runs smoothly in my host software so I give it a 10 out of 10 for performance. I have been using this synth for about a month now. OVERALL OPINION This thing is a beast. You could feasibly write a whole track or even a whole ablum with this plugin and not feel shorted on sounds and quality. The sequencer is a little tricky to get used to but when comfortable, you can create some excellent sounding movement,arps, and textures. Not much I don't like about this plugin. It was a little intimidating at first but stick with it and it will be a good friend. I paid $99 for this synth and it is well worth the money. It has been a source of inspiration for me in writing some new electronica. The precision and quality of the sound is awesome. I give it a 10 out of 10. I have used many synths with and without sequencers. Before I got this one, I found my self using Albino (Rob Papen) the most, but now I bounce between the two often. Yes, I definitely would buy this again and recommend it to others.

Some sounds are very good: pianos, organs, strings, wind instruments, synth, basses Others aren't very good: guitars. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE I don't understand lucienz' review, the Dimension Pro can manage up to 4 elements per patch (E1 to E4). that is up to 4 "layers" per sound, each with filters, effects... it's excellent. But it may be that we aren't talking about the same thing. When it comes to sounds, I'd say they start to be outdated, even though they are very usable, including the pianos. It's not as good as a dedicated software, but it's nevertheless pretty decent. The control matrix is very powerful. An update of the software, a version 2 with a better library, would be nice. But to say that it's not usable it a bit far-fetched. OVERALL OPINION It's a bit outdated, a version 2 would be nice. I regret that it isn't 16-part multitimbral. But then again, to use it as an instrument, 4-part multitimbral is OK.

Gladiator has the perfect opening preset. It's that sound test at movies, the slowly rising sound that ends on a perfect, harmonized pitch. You see it at the start of the previews in movie theaters. (Now it's more like at the start of the COMMERCIALS, am I right?) In any case, this is a truly killer sounding synth. It's got a very signature sound, very airy, as if recorded in a giant hall. The installation was simple and fast, and getting started writing songs was even faster. I also use Nexus 2, as I stated in an earlier review. This is a comparable synth, as far as strengths go. Arps and gates are the name of the game. In fact, the arps along can spark creativity and inspire you to write a song in no time at all. When I first started using Gladiator 2 the presets alone had me coming up with ideas I never would have without using the synth. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE This software works great with my DAW. Pretty much, keeping my laptop clean of any dust and OS optimized for peak performance capabilities has ALL of my software running smoothly. But Gladiator 2 never seemed to be too resource heavy. Nexus and East West Orchestra software BOTH seem far more straining on the speed. Gladiator seems comparatively light-weight - you can have multiple instances of this running, like 10 different arps and gates all playing together, and it doesn't seem to have a difference on speed at all. My only big gripe with the software is a lack of editing capability, similar to Nexus. Perhaps I should research both VSTs more thoroughly, but it just seems to lack the diversity some synths (even freeware VST Synth1) have more of. Gladiator is GREAT....for very specific genres. A talented musician can use this software for any genre they choose, but most people are going to e buying it for trance, house, and other popular EDM-centric electronic music. Incidentally, Gladiator 2 and Nexus 2 are by far the two best for capturing this sound, so it's a mixed bag really. OVERALL OPINION The thing I like most is the way all the arps meld together and interact. But having said that, the interface is rather clunky and difficult to traverse. There's a LOT of options when you open the synth up, but with barely legible text you'd wish they chose a better way to offer all these features. The interface is beautifully designed from an aesthetic standpoint, but the functionality could be increased exponentially with more intuitive arranging. The precision of the sound is very high quality - crispy and professional, this synth sounds truly unique. Similar in a fashion to Nexus 2 in it's strengths, I've noticed the two compliment each other rather splendidly, having such different sounds but the same strengths.