jimmarchi1's Reviews

unique effect

this verb is emant to simulate the sympathetic resonances from the unplayed strings on a piano when you're playing, something sampled piano is not great at.... it can liven up any sampled piano when sued judiciously but it also ahs a combfiltery quality and can be cool used on other sources in more extreme ways as an overt effect. There's an updated version out there but is till have the old one that I got during a limited time free trial a decade ago. Great stuff. Turned me onto PSP who are an underrated plugin company in my eyes.

sounds great

this compressor sounds great on an insert or on a bus... reminds me a little of the soft tube drawmer without the enhancement and with more control... I use her all the time on anything and everything. She's grabby in all the right ways for so many sources. Its mostly SSL DNA though. I really like this guy even though I have a pile of pay buss compressors.

very good free version of great compressor

this guy sounds every bit as good as mjuc, its just not as fully featured. It only has 3 time constant presets etc. However it is somewhat lower CPU hit so I keep it around for situations where I would use its big brother subtley and not worry so much about the attack and release. Its a really good group compressor and is particularly good for pads and strings, choirs and mellotron flutes. It can also do drums pretty well if you just tickled the threshold... pretty good after an RMS compressor that's working really hard. Anyway, tis a free download and you should get this even if you plan on springing for the pay version.

so fun

I am over the moon for this plugin. Its a great way of creating extreme distortion/filter/FM effects that you couldn't pull off with even a he rack of high end hardware. Even used subtley this effect has a really unique character and the blend control is really useful in that capacity. One of the coolest insert effects going for making DI synths jump out, especially analog lead sounds and digital poly keys. It can take an intersting DX7 recording and take it to another level pushing your song in a new direction. Great blended in on DI guitar and bass too. When something needs to sound nasty but not in a stereotypical rock way. And its free.

if you need to add an extra trim and pan pot to a channel

this adds an extra trim and pan pot to a channel, 5 stars for functioning adequately in a basic role... most useful for slapping after a mono effect like a guitar amp plugin into a stereo delay with saturation where panning and trim might be something you want to be able to automate between the mono source and stereo insert delay instead of creating another send bus or something for the delay

very well done

This thing sounds damned close to my MKS50 (alpha juno in a rack). The filter isn't quite as tasty, but its a pretty analog sounding filter emulation. Everything else is really close. All in all this guy is a worthwhile free download. One of the best vintage hardware emulations going at any price... right in there with TAL's U-no and U-He's Re-Pro.

actually...

I love this reverb, the random function is a trip and it always comes up with an interesting room model.... you just might need to hit the random button a few times and tweak the decay before you get soemting right for your song LOL, but its a fun reverb with a natural sound to my ear.

yes

arguably the best sounding simulation of a vintage synth I have ever heard, the tweakability under the hood is great for dialing in the pro1 sounds you love from Yazoo and Cybotron and shit on a psychotically detailed level. The sequencer is cute and the additional effects actually sound pretty decent and can be useful in some situations. I think what makes this guy so accurate though isn't just the filter models its the snappy envelopes that capture the whole aggressive sequential circuits vibe. I use this all the time over hardware analog synths. I like it that much. So different from a Moog or Arp.

Worth the download.

It doesn't do much but what it does do sounds really good. A very believable analog modeler with a voice that's still uniquely its own. And its free.... I went through a period where I was fucking with this a lot while I was arranging songs. Its a low CPU hit so I would have a million instances of this or synth1 as place holders while I was drafting sequences to assign to other instruments later. I haven't been using this one so much lately, dunno why.

why did they discontinue these?

I will NEVER stop using Pro53. Does it sound like a vintage Prophet? Not really. Kinda sorta enough for certain signature prophet sounds like the cutting saw leads... I really like this plugin for itself though. Its not generic in sound at all when compared to most other virtual analog poly synths. It has a sound and I like that sound and use it a lot. By today's standards its a pretty low CPU hit too.

yup, its a good speaker

easily my favorite affordable, current production ceramic 12" -- I think it sounds better than any of the reissued H30s, even the heritage one.... I like the 55hz model, it handles the low strings well and is less pokey than a 75hz, but the lead cone also sounds good if you want something a little more cutting... I pair mine with celestion alnicos, so its best with the deep response and mellow top.

yes NI, yes

the deeper I dig in, the more I enjoy the endless possibilities.... I've taken to running the standalone version on a separate laptop so I can play it with a controller recording the reults as an overdub onto my main machine, often through a miced guitar amp or tube PA.... its most fun whacking keys down and letting all the modules turn your performance into whack.... fun to drive it with a modern analog sequencer via USB into my 'Reaktor' laptop too

I didn't reallyg et into this software until recently... I think I got turned off by the early versins, but after getting the player to try Prism I decided to go ahead and buy version 6 and I am so happy with the purchase

in a word...

FUN! A great little analog sequencer for your CV/Gate analog gear that syncs perfectly to MIDI clock via USB port and provides MIDI out to sync my non-CV/Gate hardware so I can double parts coming off the hardware sequencer. Originally created to go with the DIY MS20 desktop module that flopped, Korg musta made a lot of these because they are basically giving them away now. When I returned my keyboard ARP Odyssey RI to get the module when I heard it was coming out (see my other 2 Odyssey RI reviews) I caught a deal where a few retailers were virtually giving them away as a package with your Odyssey desktop (not a DIY like the MS20 desktop, Korg built it for you) so I went for it. At first I basically ignored this little guy. I tend to PLAY the Odyssey.... but this thing works as a sequencer for any CV synths, so eventually I slapped it into a Moog. I think I've used it with alla my synths now to create some whacked out patterns, sending control voltage to any sections of a synth that have jacks! I really enjoy this little thing. Great for anything from R2D2 noises all the way to vince clark and alan wilder type 'beyond arpegiator' type sequences. Now that I've really gotten going with it I've been enjoying flipping from the forwards-forwards mode over to the far elft up-down, zig-zag mode to fuck with my sequences while wanking filter cutoff or envelope mod around LOL. I started out using this very musically and traditionally but I've rapidly embraced it as a tool for creating burbling, disintegrating mayhem without any additional effects....

You can pretty much guess how this cool little guy is programmed just by looking at the pictures, right? So I will say no more. Very fun, especially if you just set up a pattern randomly and THEN plug it into CV jack on a synth and see what kidna noises it makes.

Are there cooler analog sequencers? You bet, but this does most of what they do and it was free. Its also very easy to program, not unlike an old ARP sequencer with the sliders.... prior to this if I wanted sloppy analog sequencing I had to settle for using my Bassbot to control another synth and the bassbot is a bear to program intelligently just like a real 303. Its also pretty limited compared to this Korg, very linear whereas the Korg will take your music and turn it into something completely new and unexpected if you let it.

worth it for the Wavestation

The Poly6, Monopoly and MS20 are above average virtual analog synths with the features of the hardware they emulate and a taste of the old Korg filters (the MP and P6 are closer than the MS20), but this pack is worth it to get the 2 Korg digital classics which really bring the post-DX7 goodness. The wavestation is whatsup being one of the few vector synthesizers in the VST format that sounds really musical (and really easy to program compared with a hardware wavestation thanks to the multi-screen GUI).

very unique

I first learned about this in a Juan Atkins interview. I had seen the name but didn't know how it differed from the other Emu 1RU ROMpler type guys like Planet Phat. Thanks to Juan I bought one to see what the Z-Plane filter was about. I am still not 100% sure what the story is with it exactly, but its way more interesting than other morphing, state variable filters. This thing is capable of some amazing evolving pads that nothing else can do. I dock it one point for the horrible interface.

Its just so un-usable and unfriendly that it was collecting dust and the value kept going up so I sold it.

hahahaha

I bought this for peanuts when no one wanted them because they're not really programmable and really just used it for home practice. It actually sounds kinda cool like a Roland CR and I find myself sampling loops from her quite a bit to be the backbone of dance tracks. There's a fuzzy warmth to the kick that I really kinda love. I don't think these are terribly affordable these days, but they should be. Boss made enough of them!

cool early digital synth

this is a really cool entry level phase-distortion synth, the CZ series was Casio's answer to FM digital synths that took over the world in the mid 80s....... like a nastier dx7 that's easier to program.... for some reason I never use it though. For performance the keyboard just doesn't stack up to the DX line, even a chintzy 4 operator DX100 has a better keyboard in my opinion.... and the DX7mk2 just schools it. I don't know if the higher end of the CZ range is any better, but with all tis capable of I wish it were more fun to perform on or that it was just a desktop module.... the size and unplayability relegate it to very casual use these days like my ESQ1 which is equally unique sounding but chintzy.

hours of fun you can take anywhere

a battery powered little analog synth? for what I paid used this is a no brainer. Its nonstop enjoyment. Dual oscillators make this the most interesting little noisemaker of the monotron family. Sounds a lot like my volca bass without the envelope generator. So simple even my toddler enjoys it. Its been a great way to introduce him to synthesizers. My one caveat is the ribbon controller which is tought to play even for a guy with thin fingers like me, but its more of a noisemachine than a tuned instrument, so whatever. So much fun.

So far I have only used the MS20 filter to process external audio in my recordings, but in that roll it excels and offers a different flavor than my 2 Moog filters with the ability to process a guitar, bass or whatever... the battery power makes it a great guitar effect. You can just set it anywhere. Setting up the Moogs as effects units is a chore.

the original Obi

I recently picked this 70s Oberheim SEM up on flea bay for cheap because it had dodgy pots and switches, but after receiving it, disassembling it and thoroughly cleaning some grime from the board with alcohol and then cleaning the pots and switches with proper cleaner and then giving them 100 turns and flips each she works like new. This module was Oberheim's 1st synth and it was meant to expand existing performance synths with an extra syncable, independently programmable voice via CV/gate. Mine is the common 2nd version, the 1180 model. The 1180 is the basis of the 2 voice, 4 voice and 8 voice performance synths. The thing has the great Obi filters that are less steep than a Moog or Arp. I have used this a little bit slaved to my Studio Electronics MIDI Moog to create Some Oberheim 2 voice diatonic patches with the SE1's fitler set to Oberheim mode and it sounds great. However, the SEM is a 70s synth and the VCOs suffer from considerable drift so it can sometimes be dodgy when recording long passages depending on the weather. Its lack of stability can thicken parts in unexpected ways, but some days the drift becomes unmusical. My original SEM is also noisey and I find myself running it SEM tracks thru denoising software to remove a lot of the unwanted hiss and the slight hum. It probably neds more extensive servicing.

Its a cool piece to have, but with Dave Smith and Tom Oberheim reissuing Obis now with modern, stable Oscillators this piece is only for afficianados. I would recommend new guys in search of the early Obi sound get a reissue keyboard model, a studio electronics boomstar or one of SE's other Obi flavored options. I am considering servicing and reselling it to buy a reissue or boomstar with money left over. However, it has its vintage charm so we'll see. Its the only synth from this seminal era of synth design I own so I may put up with its flaws just to have some legit vintage quirkiness in the arsenal.

low CPU hit, very versatile

what can I say? I dodged synth1 for years but finallyinstalled it because I needed some versatile VST power with a low CPU hit for dozens of instances doing draft seuqences for songs that are getting really dense arrangements.... between this and sforzando for Emu soundfonts I can build up a really good, really dense arrangement with a close approximation of what all the sounds will be apart from bass.... from there the good plugins and hardware synths can come out and I can really sculpt sounds and mix.... but Synth1 has been staying in place for some sounds that belong more 'in the background' -- Synth1 sounds very 'flat' and as a result fulfills this role well and is also great for densely layered, unison or harmonized parts against real analog synths like a moog....

anyway, this is just a no-brainer for me and I'm sorry I ignored it for so long