Let's start with the Audio Term stuff. Here's the step by step instructions on how to convert a Serum wavetable to a Dune 2 wavetable.
Step 1 - Make sure the Serum wavetable you want to convert is in the Serum wavetable folder in your Audio Term folder. I have no idea how to change paths in this software so you'll need to move all files you want to convert to the default path which should be marked as Serum in your Windows explorer or whatever file system MAC uses.
Step 2 - Start up Audio Term.
Step 3 - Click on KTERM.
Step 4 - Click on DISK.
Step 5 - Click on F_TYPE
Step 6 - Click on ->10. That's the Serum file type. After you do that, you'll see all the Serum files come up. Yours should be among them.
Step 7 - Click on the file you want to load and then click LOAD. You'll see a graphical representation of the file.
Step 8 - Click on DISK.
Step 9 - Click on F_TYPE.
Step 10 - Click on ->9 which is the Dune 2 file type.
Step 11 - Click on SAVE.
Step 12 - Type in the name you want to save the file under.
Step 13 - Hit ENTER or click on RET.
Step 14 - Move the file from the Audio Term Dune 2 file directory to the wavetables folder in your Dune 2 path.
That's it. EZ-PZ.
Okay, item 2 up for bids. My "for what it's worth" review of Dune 2. This isn't going to be ridiculously in depth but it's going to cover what I feel are the main things. Please understand that this is just my opinion. Don't make any buying decisions off of what follows. Download the demo and decide for yourself based on your own experience.
Let's begin.
Interface
I love it. It's big enough so you can read everything crystal clear. They don't try to shove everything on one screen. There are multiple tabs. Lots of them. Some people don't like this system. I do. If you don't, you probably won't like this GUI. It's my personal favorite kind.
Oscillators
Initially, I was disappointed here. I felt they were trying to do too much and didn't do any one method (VA, WT, FM) really well. I still feel that, with the exception of WT, the other 2 could have been expanded on. But what I've discovered is that because of the overall architecture, this limitation is a minor point.
As to the sound of the oscillators, it's excellent. Very clean or gritty or whatever it is you're going for. And of course the detune and density make up for a lot of shortcomings. No complaints here.
Filters
This is where I am very picky and compare everything to the MS-20. The filters in Dune 2 are good. They're not great. No self oscillation and the range is slightly limited. There is not a lot of difference between the LP filter types. At least nothing that stands out. There is a decent selection but nothing earth shattering. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give the Dune 2 filters an 8.
FX
I always felt like FX were something a synth maker threw on as an afterthought. For the most part, built in synth FX are meh. Dune 2's are actually one of the better ones. Nice variety and nice clean sound. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that Dune 2's FX are some of the best I've heard. Of course this isn't saying much as synth FX in general just aren't that good. Still, I give these a solid 8. But use your own FX if you want really great FX. You won't get it from any synth.
Voice Architecture
This is the ball game. This is where this synth just blows away so many other synths. It wasn't until I dug into this section that I truly understood what this synth was capable of.
You have 8 voices. Each one can be programmed as if it were a different synth patch. That translates to either some ridiculously fat stacked sounds or some ridiculously complex sounds that you can't get from many other synths. Maybe Zebra 2 can do this sort of stuff but even it is limited to some extent. You'd really have to go modular to do the things that this synth can do.
The downside to this is that programming your "dream" patch can take a good hour, or more. You'll need to do a lot of soloing of voices during the programming stage in order to make sure each voice is just the way you want it.
See, each voice can have its own oscillators, filters and envelopes. Plus, each voice can be modulated individually via the mod matrix, which I will go over last. The only thing that's global (kind of a disappointment) is the FX. Would have been great to be able to program them per voice but I guess you can't have everything.
In short, this voice architecture is the core and the key to Dune's unique sound.
Modulation Matrix
You have 32 slots where you can designate Source (mod wheel, LFO, etc), Amt (+100 to -100), Destination (tons) and Voice (1-8 or all).
Going into the mod matrix in detail would take a book, so I won't. Suffice it to say, it's powerful as hell. There are a few parameters you can't modulate such as oscillator density. I think they really dropped the ball here. What a great way to evolve a thin sound to a great big fat one. But, oh well. Like I said, you can't have everything.
What you're able to do with the mod matrix is more than ample enough. I give it a solid 10.
ARP/MSEG
Between these two things, you can get some really funky rhythms out of this thing. They take a while to get used to (especially the MSEGs) if you've never used one before. Dune 2's ARP isn't the easiest to program. It is far from my favorite. But if you take the time to learn it, it can be quite versatile. To be fair, most ARPs are a programming nightmare. Either they're too complex (XILS 4) or they just don't do enough (take your pick of synths). Dune 2's kind of falls somewhere in the middle. But it's good enough to do what an ARP essentially is there to do.
This synth looks deceptively simple and weak. It is not. It's a beast when you dive into it. It is not easy to program. You really need to take your time with it. However, the presets it comes with are excellent. So if you're not into programming you'll at least have sounds to work with. It's not the most generous synth as far as patches go. I think there is only something like 400, which is very small by today's standards. I'm surprised to hear that there aren't many 3rd party banks out there, which kind of makes me wonder how popular this synth is.
Overall, on a scale of 1 to 10, I give this synth a solid 9. Considering I have only a handful of synths I'd give a 10 to, Zebra 2 being one of them, that's pretty darn good.
Anyway, I hope this review was somewhat helpful. If anybody has any specific questions on Dune 2, I'll be happy to answer them as honestly as I can.
Suffice it to say, I was initially very wrong about this synth.
It fooled me big time.
If you don't like the result you see/hear, press UNDO - it keeps track of the last 512 changes of the partial data.
