So Many Synths, So Little Time
Oct 1, 2002 12:00 PM, By Kent Carmical and Joe Silva
At this point, no one should be in the dark concerning the software-synth revolution that is sweeping the audio-production world. Every major player on the block and even a number of upstart developers are flooding the market with a dizzying array of host-based synths that retail for thousands less than their hardware counterparts. Remix contributors Kent Carmical and Joe Silva recently took on the task of exploring the ins and outs of a number of these offerings. This list is far from all-inclusive, but the items (some you will recognize, and some you won't) that are included cover a broad range of applications and platforms.
AUDIO SIMULATION DREAM STATION
Supported platforms: Windows 95/98/98SE/2000/ME/XP
Audio Simulation's Dream Station offers a highly respectable blend of quality sound generation and ease of use. Fashioned like an old-school tracker, the Dream Station is fairly straightforward. Once the product is onboard and launched, it presents users with an interface that offers three oscillators, three envelope generators sporting standard ADSR (attack, decay, sustain and release) parameters, vibrato and program modules, in addition to Dream Station's step sequencer and mixer.
After setting the bpm and pattern lengths, you can assign sounds to slots on the 16-track sequencer. You can create patterns as long as 128 steps and add up to 99 different sounds across the 8-channel mixer. The cut-and-paste aspect of the step sequencer can make for faster production time when piecing together repetitive parts, but that method has become an increasingly less tolerable way to compose.
Using the Automation Control Box feature, you can record tweaks made to any 10 control knobs on the interface. Although you can make use of the dual stereo-effects-processor set native to Dream Station, you cannot apply more than one combination of effects to the mixer.
None of the demos included with the package are terribly 21st-century, but the downloadable presets from the Audio Simulation Website and the Randomize feature planted under the Sounds menu offer better examples of the product's range. Dream Station offers warm analog flavor with a classic and economical design for a bargain-basement price.
CYCLING '74 ISYNTH
Supported platforms: Mac OS 8.0-9.x
From the land of infrequent bathing and mimes comes iSynth, a stand-alone virtual instrument made up of five fruity modules. Someone forgot to tell MES, creators of iSynth, that the whole "i" vibe is about as fresh as month-old Brie, but I guess news travels slowly to France.
The Blue Bass module is a monophonic analog-modeling synth featuring pulse and sawtooth waveforms, as well as an envelope generator for controlling the oscillator and filter. The lowpass filter helps users work up a reasonable bass line.
Pineapple Synth is also a monophonic analog-modeling synth but a bit more generous with the features. This fruit sports three oscillators — two with sawtooth and variable-width pulse waveforms, and a third oscillator with sine, square, sawtooth or noise waves. Two envelope generators, dual LFOs and a lowpass filter provide modulation and squelch. A cool modulation matrix lets you control pulse width, filter-cutoff frequency, oscillator frequency, portamento and volume of the noise oscillator for parameter automation.
The Tangerine Drums module has eight drum pads you can load with 16-bit AIFF or SDII samples. Tuning and level of each drum sample is individually adjustable, and a Hi-Hat mode allows the samples to cut each other off, just like with an old analog beatbox.
The Cherry Sampler is a simple three-voice polyphonic sampler that holds a single sample. You can loop the sample and assign a root key, but an envelope generator is the only other editing option. The Black Loops module lets you load a total of eight samples, control their tuning and level and trigger them from the iSynth's sequencer.
Each of the iSynth's virtual instruments has its own step sequencer. All five sequencers are grouped together, so you can keep an eye on your tracks. Editing is supereasy — note sliders for the synthesizers and click-and-drag buttons for the drums and samplers. A pattern manager is present, so you can string your sequences together for longer performances with the ability to mute and unmute tracks, as well as transpose them.
iSynth has two effects processors: a send/return processor with chorus and tempo-synched delay and a master effect processor shared by all the iSynth instruments, with chorus, phase, flange, overdrive, EQ, filter, gate and ring modulation.
This soft synth sounds okay, and it is quite easy to use. Everything is displayed in a straightforward manner, and you can quickly get results from your toil.
EDIROL HYPERCANVAS, ORCHESTRAL, SUPERQUARTET
Supported platforms: Mac OS 8.6.1-9.x; Windows 98/2000/ME/XP
Although Roland's Edirol division may be better known for its line of top-notch audio and MIDI-interface products, this particularly opulent-sounding trio of virtual instruments is as versatile as it is well engineered.
HQ-QT SuperQuartet is designed to provide musicians with a virtual backline of accompaniment based on the traditional guitar, bass, piano and drums setup. Do you have a tune that you'd like to try with a jazz-combo arrangement? SuperQuartet affords you the possibility with up to 24-bit, 96kHz resolution and 128-note polyphony. You can't quite get that flamenco sound for that deep-house track you've been working on? Don't miss the authentic guitar flavor that SuperQuartet offers.
HQ-OR Orchestral has twice the sample memory of SuperQuartet and compatibility for multiple audio outputs for users running more than one physical interface. Orchestral is the definition of lush, focusing on faithful articulations of string and brass instruments. The Flute Vibrato and Euphonium presets run through the native chorus and reverb effects are particularly tasty.
But if the dance crowd could only have one member of the HQ line at hand, settling on HQ-GM2 HyperCanvas might make for the best fit. Sporting an uncomplicated interface, HyperCanvas is General MIDI 2-compatible, providing 500 sound possibilities. The stellar bass sounds are easy to highlight here, but don't overlook the splendid standard piano samples also built into the package. Even through a midrange set of headphones, they are highly distinctive.
Don't be misled, however, by the simple elegance of the HQ plug-ins' design. Edirol has incorporated much under the hood, and you will need sufficient processing power for them to operate smoothly.
EMAGIC ES-2
Supported platforms: Mac OS 9.1-9.x (Logic or MicroLogic AV 5 or higher required)
If you use Logic 5, Emagic's ES-2 synth is the way to go. Because it is designed from the ground up to integrate with Logic and Logic only, it makes for a strong package. With the ability to run a maximum of 32 separate instances of ES-2 with 32 voices each (CPU power permitting, of course), you can dial up enough massive synthesis power to tackle the densest of tracks.
ES-2's synthesis engine is capable of modeling just about every type of synthesis you might need, from subtractive analog to wavetable and FM digital. Each of the ES-2's 32 voices has three oscillators with 100 waveforms in addition to the standard triangle, square and sawtooth, and you can layer them all for mondo-sounding mono patches. I could not hear any audible steps when sweeping through the waveforms in Wavetable mode, and they certainly make for a wonderfully diverse-sounding synth.
My favorite feature is the Vector envelope, a takeoff on the rare Prophet VS synthesizer from Sequential Circuits. It can store as many as 15 oscillator mixes that you can crossfade between for extremely wicked, evolving sounds. Try to imagine a string patch transforming into noise and ending up as an FM Rhodes sound.
The Filter section is equally cool. The ES-2 has two resonant filters: a multimode and a lowpass that can be configured in series and in parallel. The multimode filter can be used as a peak; band-reject; low-, band- or highpass filter and offers an adjustable distortion circuit. The separate lowpass filter offers three slopes, and a fatness circuit really pumps the thump.
For modulation, there are two LFOs, one of which can be synched to tempo. Three envelope generators can also be put into service as modulation sources, and in all, there are 30 modulation destinations giving you the power to control just about every parameter to a pretty freaky degree. As for traditional effects, ES-2 has distortion, chorus, flanger and phaser. They get the job done and free up insertion effects for other uses.
An OS X version should be ready by the time you read this. The only problem with ES-2 is setting it up for use within Logic, which is somewhat complicated. Follow the manual closely. Once ES-2 is set up, it works brilliantly.
NATIVE INSTRUMENTS ABSYNTH, FM7
Supported platforms: Mac OS 8.6-9.x; Windows 98/2000/ME (FM7 only)/XP
Dabbling in software synthesis and not giving the Native Instruments line a hard look hovers somewhere near the criminally negligent. During Paul Hartnoll's recent U.S. visit to promote the Orbital singles collection, Work 1989-2002 (FFRR, 2002), he offered his impromptu endorsement on NI's achievements: "Their approach is fantastic — very simple, very intuitive and not too nerdy."
Although it's still relatively in its infancy, Absynth has been an attention-grabbing application since its debut as a Mac-only application two or so years ago. The sleek interface lives up to the product's ultracool name, and if you aren't instantly sidetracked by the dazzling array of mind-altering presets built into the package, you have a tremendous realm of sounds to create and explore.
Absynth's semimodular design can run in either stand-alone or VST mode (where you can use up to eight instances). The option of drawing your waveform to create distinct sounds is also built into the software. Although not unique to Absynth, the combination of this feature alongside the software's other strengths merely adds to its appeal. Specialized tools for drawing and molding your sounds provide a wealth of possibilities.
A vertical Navigation Bar along the main window is the access point to most of the synth's functionality. When activated, individual patch windows can use a max of three oscillators, four filters and three modulators, as well as one wave shape and one effect apiece. Controllers in the form of sliders are also built directly into the interface, above the keyboard (which can be hidden or shown, depending on preference), and can reflect MIDI Continuous Controller data between Absynth and an external controller or the host sequencer.
The intricacies of Absynth's operation are a bit too involved to detail here, but suffice it to say, this synth is geared to users whose needs for experimentation are rarely satisfied. In terms of staggeringly impressive textures, Absynth certainly stands as a competition-beater.
Absynth's newer sibling is the Vintage Line FM7, which spiritually harkens back to the big-hair days of 1980s frequency-modulation synthesis. Simply put, FM synthesis consists of one signal modulating the frequency of another.
Resembling more traditional synth units than Absynth does, the FM7's heart is somewhat easier to reach. From the Pitch page of the principal Editing window, you can access an operator matrix in which operator presets can be altered or entirely new algorithms (combinations of FM operators) can be programmed. Thirty-one additional waveforms accompany the generic FM waveform (sine), and the FM7 offers a seemingly ridiculous polyphony count of 99.
Because the FM7 takes its historical cue from the once ubiquitous Yamaha DX7, it can actually import original patches from that classic keyboard family for its own use. Take some time to delve into the formidable design of the FM7, and your own material is almost certainly to benefit. People relishing the tech-pop resurgence of bands like Fischerspooner and some of the sounds used recently by Felix da Housecat will want this software ASAP.
One slightly maddening aspect of both machines is that the paper documentation delivered in the box is fairly granular in detailing functionality but rather light on how-to's (particularly the Absynth manual). Some tutorials are available at the Native Instruments Website to ease in novice users, but experimentation and tip-swapping with fellow users may be key to a more accelerated satisfaction.
The muscularity of these synths also means that they require as much processing power as you can possibly give them. When operating at this level, it's best to heed the recommendations that everybody tends to ignore prior to and during installation. For instance, Native Instruments explicitly recommends that you avoid the use of the Cyrix 6×86 or AMD K6 chips when using the FM7 or Absynth. There's no point in firing up multiple instances of either in your favorite sequencer and have them choke midway through your session. Thankfully, the manual includes specific setup instructions for most popular packages out there.
SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY VAZ 2010
Supported platforms: Windows 95/98/2000/ME/NT/XP
Taking its name from the Jeff Noon novel Vurt, VAZ 2010 is part of that series of modular soft-synth products that has drawn raves on either side of the Atlantic for its striking range of sonic capabilities.
The 16 onboard synths use Software Technology's Intelligent Processing System (designed to lighten the CPU load of the product) and can be driven as MIDI-controlled stand-alone applications or as VST or DirectX plug-ins. You can even audition sounds from your PC keyboard if need be. I happily ran VAZ as a VST channel from within Image Line's Fruity Loops with several other programs running and was still able to create full-blown sequences without any processor stutter or system glitches. More notable, you can actually run external signals through the VAZ 2010 and turn it into a slick audio processor.
The VAZ 2010 interface consists of a Main Window that contains separate windows for Synths, Effects, Sequencers (inspired by the infamous Roland TB-303) and the Mixer. A separate status bar contains a Transport for your Stop, Play and Sync buttons while also allowing you to select between individual windows and keep an eye on things such as CPU load. The VAZ 2010 may not look particularly advanced, but it is deceiving.
The much-loved filter algorithms live up to the extensive hype you will find among the user groups. Moving live audio through the VAZ engine is as simple as choosing the Oscillator 1 Ext waveform button option on oscillator 1 or as setting external input as the option on the synth's third Mixer input. The Ext waveform is also the control that allows you to add loops or one-shot WAV files to the sample map.
For less than $200, the VAZ 2010 Music Studio is hardly anything to sniff at. The sounds are as rich as those from products that retail at far higher prices.
UI SOFTWARE METASYNTH
Supported platforms: Mac OS 8.0-9.x
If you ever get tired of the traditional synth interface, UI Software's MetaSynth might just be what you need. Instead of virtual knobs and sliders, MetaSynth employs a graphic image-based editing system that lets you “paint” your synthesis moves: vertical position controls pitch, horizontal represents time duration, color represents stereo position (red equals left, yellow equals center, green equals right), and brightness represents volume. Your source's sound can be samples, internally generated wavetables and virtual synthesizer modules.
Sounds are loaded and exported in Sound Designer II or AIFF formats and can be cut, looped, crossfaded and mutated within MetaSynth; you can import any Mac PICT format graphics and convert them into sound. If you've ever wondered what a picture of your significant other sounds like, you can find out with MetaSynth.
Sound can be totally mangled once it has been graphically rendered in MetaSynth. Graphical filters will change volume and panning based on the color they use. An Effects Pallet with settings for Echo, Reverb, Granular Synthesis, Harmonization and tons of other effects is included. Paint over the target, and you'll get results nobody could imagine.
The Wave Shaping tool gives manual control of a waveform to revise its harmonic content, and the Spectrum Synthesis tool analyzes a sound and allows its characteristics to be imposed on another sound. I used that to great effect by laying a voice onto a bass sound — very odd.
MetaSynth was quite stable on my 500Mhz G4, not once freezing or crashing, and my G3 iBook had no problems, so processor power wasn't an issue. However, some of the procedures took some time to render. Although getting sound out of MetaSynth by accident is easy, achieving a preconceived notion can be rather difficult. Thankfully, UI Software includes a bunch of samples and instruments on the CD-ROM to get you started, and they are a good source of understanding as to the workings of the program.
VIRSYN TERA
Supported platforms: Mac OS (coming soon); Windows 95/98/2000/ME/XP
Freshly unveiled at this year's MusikMesse in Frankfurt, Germany, the VirSyn Tera boasts 16 modular synths with as many as 64 voices, an inventive interface and a robust song editor that can cope with a total of 256 sequences.
Initially, Tera drops the user into its eight-dimensional sound space, which is represented by four margarine-yellow diamonds, each containing a small blue spot. Each diamond represents an x and y dimension that can be manipulated by altering the position of the spot with the mouse. Holding down the Ctrl key during this action causes all four spots to slide around their areas in unison. The real fun begins when you program the individual x and y factors from the Synthese page, which is what VirSyn calls its knobs-and-sliders interface. Once there, you can quickly assign different sound parameters to any one of the eight dimensions and then return to the 8-D sound space to tweak as you like. Right-clicking on a particular diamond will set the MIDI Learn feature in motion so that you can opt for navigating the interface via an external controller.
Apart from trying to build innovative elements into Tera's overall design, perhaps the most welcome aspect of the synth is the sequencer side of the interface, which is split across two sections. You can drag and drop patterns from a pattern pool (that can hold a maximum of 512 patterns split among four banks) into the 16-track song sequencer above and then edit those individual patterns on the fly in the step sequencer below. The ease with which the sequencer allows you to create complete pieces of music is one of Tera's most attractive characteristics.
The finished output of a Tera project can be dumped into a 16-bit, 44.1kHz WAV file. Considering the serious attempts at design innovation and the deep collection of superior sounds that come straight out of the box (800 in all), VirSyn's Tera is a worthy alternative to better known products with steeper learning curves.
WALDORF ATTACK
Supported platforms: Mac OS 8.0-9.x; Windows 98/2000/ME/XP
Designed primarily as a drum synthesizer, Attack's synth architecture is so well-thought-out and flexible that it can also be used as a polyphonic synth, making it a great multipurpose synth plug-in.
The Attack's synth architecture is simple but effective. There are two oscillators with nine waveforms: sine, triangle, sawtooth, square, sample-and-hold, noise, closed hi-hat, open hi-hat and crash cymbal. The cymbals are sampled waveforms, which isn't so bad if you've ever tried to synthesize cymbals from analog waveforms — you could easily devote your life's work to the process. Oddly enough, you can't import your own samples into Attack, which would be a nice feature. You can modulate each oscillator's pitch by velocity and two envelope generators, and oscillator 1 has an FM input from oscillator 2, so you can generate all sorts of metallic percussion madness. A unique feature called Crack Modulation specializes in creating handclaps of varying degrees of gnarl. A mixer section is included for adjusting the volume of each oscillator and applying envelope and velocity modulation to the amplitude of the second oscillator.
Waldorf has long been known for its filter algorithms, and it carries on the tradition with the Attack. You get Lowpass, Highpass, Bandpass and Band Reject modes, which all feature self-oscillating resonance — all with tempo-synched LFOs for synchronized filter sweeps. Attack's envelopes are geared toward percussion synthesis. The synth provides controls for attack, decay, curve and release, but when decay is set to maximum and release is set to anything other than 0, they become attack-sustain-release so that you can dial up lead, pad and bass sounds.
Soundwise, Attack really rips with all the old-school drum sounds imaginable — 808,909, Simmons drums, you name it. They can all be conjured and mutated into fresh and freaky beats in no time, thanks to a clear and easy-to-understand interface. Factory kits range from the sublime to the ridiculous. My favorite was the New Style kit, which has the beginnings of many a progressive track within its sounds. Also included are several synth-pad, lead and bass patches, which can be quickly modified to taste.
On the downside, setting up Attack for MIDI operation is enough to induce a psychotic episode. After my short time with Attack, I'm still a bit confused as to its workings. It appears that drum patches are dependent on what MIDI channel Attack is set up to receive on. I found myself constantly having to reset the receive channel depending on the patch I wanted to use, only to have the whole thing fall apart just when I believed I had it figured out. Everything else is designed brilliantly, so the MIDI setup must be some sort of German revenge for us winning the war.
| Company | Product | Price | Pros | Cons | Rating (1-5) |
Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audio Simulation | Dream Station | $49 | Relatively quick learning curve; low cost; straightfoward interface | Sounds only so impressive; may not function on newer operating systems | 3.5 | http://audio- simulation.de |
| Cycling '74 | iSynth | $79 | Inexpensive; sample players included | Processor intensive | 4.5 | www.cycling74.com |
| Edirol | HyperCanvas Orchestral SuperQuartet |
$199 $385 $249 |
Impressive sound sets; elegant design elements | Processor intensive | 4.5 | http://edirol.com |
| Emagic | ES-2 | $249 | Superpowerful synthesis capabilities; great sound | Works with Logic 5.x only | 5 | www.emagicusa .com |
| Native Instruments | Absynth FM7 |
$299 $299 |
Peerless design; superior sound | No OS X version; not multitimbral; documentation needs improvement | 4.5 | www .nativeinstruments.de |
| Software Technology | VAZ 2010 | $170 | Versatile; super collection of sounds and filters; affordable; VST-compatible | Somewhat dated interface | 4 | http://software- technology.com |
| UI Software | MetaSynth | $299 | Pleasantly weird; doesn't need a fast processor | Difficult to control from standard synthesis point of view | 4.5 | www.uisoftware.com |
| VirSyn | Tera | $279 | Innovative design; forward-thinking sound manipulation; outstanding built-in sequencer | Interface not always intuitive | 4 | http://virsyn.com |
| Waldorf (dist. by Steinberg) | Attack | $149 | Drum and multimbral synth in one app.; tempo-synched filter | Poor MIDI implementation | 4.5 | www.steinberg.net |
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