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 RAVE-n's VST Guide - part 2 |
Written on 21 September 2004 by RAVE-n |
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ANALOG/SUBTRACTIVE
ALPHA
Developer: Linplug
A VERY stripped down version of Albino. Nothing more to say, a standard, warm sounding VA build with Albino engine for evaluation purposes. Still, it sounds way better that SE stuff, and eats very little CPU.
CLAW
Developer: reFX
A simple bass VST from reFX. Does nothing but produce 303 type sound and bass, plus some
wierd monophonic synths. You might want to try it out.
JXSynth
Developer: JXPlugins
A nice freeware subtractive synth. Can be comparable with Synth 1 functionality wise, but it doesn't have as many functions. I still think it is very usable, especialy for trance, since it got a nice unision
feture which works similar as all the bigger synths. The only strange thing is a filter envelope, which I think needs a bit of getting used to, but i think can be usable ( value of envelope affection from -100% to 100% ). EDIT: Clumysined of vaule editing arent really a bugs. You click on a button, then drag mouse to the edge of the screen, there, you can edit values VERY precise.
NINJA
Developer: !j Developement
Someone might find this and other two, less powerfull but simillar, synths usefull.
It looks great, but there is too much eye candy for my taste and the sound is kind of toyish.
You might give it a try and come up with something usefull. Might aswell be good in someones eyes, since Prosounds made a free preset bank for it.
SUPERWAVE P8
Developer: Chris Gill
Most people know this one. Its a JP8000 wannabe synthedit synth. Sounds quite nice and
can made a wide array of sounds for a free synth (heard some demos that blew me away).
However, it has all the shortcommings of the all Synthedit synths, that is a strange flanger like sound when the first note in song is hit, strange LFOs and a bit thin and grainy sound(which go away with FX threatment mostly). The bad thing is also that the filters and envelopes are separate for both oscs, and they cannot be linked. While the synth is fairly tweakable with lots of knobs, LFO destinations and waveforms, the interface feels a bit crowded. Considerable + it has some most trance usefull presets around, so musicians can have their share too.
SYNTH 1
Developer: Ichiro Toda
Wonderfull thing, absolutely wonderfull. A Nordlead clone, identical in many functions and even in
sound to some degree. Customizable interface ( colors, size! ), ease of program and great layout
makes this one a winner for some of more alternative, unique sounds. Though, it can produce ordinary leads and basses, I use if for things that require wild LFO modulation of PWM and FM (famous Thrillseekers Sublime pad etc...). Bottom line is, that this is one of most usefull synths out there which can stand its ground against some similar commercial (particulary DSP Discovery, which is actualy identical) with its warm sound.
Highly recommended to musicians too, since this must be the synth with
most user made presets out there. Go get it now!
POLYIBLIT
Developer: Andreas Ersson
Another standard VA synth. However, its great sounding, light in CPU and overall usefull for some
phat analog noises you might want to produce. The the interface is a bit daunting, since it is too small
and some routing possibilities aren't really friendly layed out. It can still be tweaked and used for every task imaginable.
TAU
Developer: Muon Software
A little 303 emulator that comes with CM magazine. Not really true to 303 emulation,
but it can be pretty kickin' if you do it right. Certainly usefull if you intend to do acid
or just some phat 303 riffs here and there. And it can do Benny Bennasi bassline 
TRIANGLE II
Developer: RGC Audio
One of better known free VSTs. Original GUI is completely useless, so I advise you to
get a N-Beat skined one of Patcharena or search the net for it. Different interface,
sliders instead of knobs on some places do wonders in usability.
FM/WAVETABLE/MISC
AGUR
Developer: Antti
One of more entertaining synths to use, with wild possibilities. Its quite unique if i might add,
though the vector panel has been seen before. Drawing XY grid is really fun to do, especialy with loop points and different speeds of passing between points, each with its own waveform(selectable from many, 127 if exact). Absolutely painless to program and really really fun. Some georgous evolving
athmospheres and pads can be done with this. Go try it.
CRYSTAL
Developer: Green Oak
A VERY strange synth. Something like additive/granular, comparable with reasons maelstrom.
But ofcourse really wicked. It can do sounds in the same category as Absynth can. That means
weird, evolving and moving atmospheric pads and ambiences.
GALACTIX
Developer: Smart Electronix
This synth works pretty much same like Vanguard, with absend LFO modulation and ear candy
like gate and FXs. Doesn't sound that bad at all, but it has a strange envelopes that make it somehow limited, especialy filter envelope doesn't work well at all. Anyway, it still is capable of producing very nice sounds, and can load custom wavefroms, so you can sample a Virus saw wave and pretend that you have one 
OXE FM SYNTH
Developer: Oxe
The presets sound tasty, but i can't really say anthing more since I don't really know any FM synthesis. A FM synthy with all options on same page(  ). Sounds pretty convincing and can be used as a great alternative for more heavier commercial FMs.
SAMPLERS/SFS/TOOLS
4FRONT VSTS
Developer: EVM Synths
A collection of sampled instruments with single presets. Nothing exceptional, but still not that bad at all. Contains BASS, EPIANO, PIANO and RHODE module.
GRAND PIANO
Developer: EVM Synths
A sampled piano, so its a little more than a glorified sampleplayer with an inbuilt soundfont.
Use if you don't want to search for soundfonts. Still sounds fairly nice.
MDA PIANO
Developer: mda
Another little piano VST. Got few parameters to tweak the sound, but otherwise it sounds
fairly bad compared to big stuff. Usefull for sketching tracks and low CPU demos.
I'd go for soundfonts instead.
SFZ
Developer: RGC Audio
Free soundfont player from rgcaudio. A must have, if you ever ever intend to use soundfonts for free.
TROLLO
Developer: Axxeom
A VERY essential tool. If you don't have a MIDI keyboard and you are a former tracker
whos used to play melodies with your computer keyboard. Since modern sequencing software doesn't permit you to do that, you can use trollo to emulate midi keys with yours. Works fantastic and comes with standard modplug key scheme that can be customizable to form standard IT.
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