KVR Audio

bullshark · Post by **bullshark** » Sat Nov 11, 2006 6:36 pm

Loooong time without update; anybody here in the know? Or at least an eduquated guess? I love what sound can be made with this, but I think an interface revisit (how about enabling sound out from the builder?), not to mention the few long standing bugs (especially the flute generator), are past their update time. What's up with AAS?

dougsyo · Post by **dougsyo** » Sun Nov 12, 2006 12:01 am

AAS has put most of their effort lately into the express series. I realize they're a small company, but still...

Some months ago on AAS' forum, they said it was coming. I got tired of waiting and I wasn't using it anyway, so I sold T4. We'll wait and see what I think once T5 comes out, but it may be "too little too late" for me to bother with, unless I pick it up used.

Doug

Meloday · Post by **Meloday** » Sun Nov 12, 2006 12:11 am

hopefully something will be happening soon. i love this synth but, as everyone knows, some changes in the interface is much needed.

come on AAS!

bullshark · Post by **bullshark** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 3:44 pm

Tassman 4 was released in April of...2004. That's 2 1/2 years ago and still no words about any upgrade, isn't that a lifetime in the VSTI world? Apart from the features request thread on their forum, there isn't even a word that they're working on it in any way.

I just hope it doesn't get killed; it is a very complex synth and at the price-point it is, I'm wondering if they sold enough units to justify the labor involved.

liars&ashes · Post by **liars&ashes** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 7:41 am

----Yeah, the word(s) would be = don't hold your breathe for Tassman 5. However, I certainly wouldn't bet against us seeing it by this time next year.

Jeff

Edit : Meanwhile, look into Modelonia & Marimka, both great pm synths, and reasonably priced. They are not modular, but Modelonia has quite a range really.

ake · Post by **ake** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 10:09 pm

In sweden at least you could buy Tassman 4 for roughly half the price for some time so maybe they are killing it off. Great program though.

Åke

bullshark · Post by **bullshark** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 2:07 am

AAS kind of broke the unspoken agreement between end users and developers on this one. Tassman does have issues that needs looked into, and they haven't done it. Too bad. I'm almost ready to splurge for their whole modeling collection, love the creamy and powerfull sound of UA, I discovered that the sound of loungelizard fits in a mix like a dream and string studio is very playable.

The only thing stopping me is the Tassman situation, if AAS kill it I'll be very pissed and I'd regret investing in the others.

fanfarecircuit · Post by **fanfarecircuit** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 2:32 am

i called aas and asked them about this... they said spring 07, with perhaps an update to 4 sooner. this was about 3 months ago when i set up a paypal payment for the modelling collection upgrade i bought from t4. regardless, it's the cpu's that have to catch up with the physical modelling power...not vice-versa. that's starting to happen now with the multi-core chips. i think aas users have an extremely bright future.

bullshark · Post by **bullshark** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 2:43 am

Cool, thanks for that. Funny how I never even thought about simply picking the phone up and calling them; heck, I could just take a walk right to their office...Maybe I'll do just that and get the thing in person.

G&L_player · Post by **G&L_player** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 2:46 am

dougsyo wrote:AAS has put most of their effort lately into the express series. I realize they're a small company, but still...

Some months ago on AAS' forum, they said it was coming. I got tired of waiting and I wasn't using it anyway, so I sold T4.

I bought Tassman 2 and returned it. It had problems under Windoze at the time, but they were working on other things. I waited a few months; no reply...few more months; the same. Now, Tassman is the only one (AAS product) I don't have.

IMHO, they are not the same company today. They are much better! They have stabilised much of their product base (e.g. Lounge Lizzard; Ultra Analog, String Studio), so they can go off into their think tanks, with a happy customer base on the side.

FYI: a lot of Tassman users were (sorta) pissed when Ultra Analog came out, as it contains most of what was considered "the best Tassman features" and is packed into a preset-driven powerhouse. This mutha rocks! Ultra Analog has what most new Tassman users are looking for. This is why I'm intersted to see what AAS does with Tassman, for its next release. Surely, they will entice the Ultra Analog user to take a gander?!

String Studio is as much of a learning experience (for string enthusiats) as it is a reward for learning. The sounds are, perhaps, the best synth-driven string tones I have ever come accross...almost like fantastic samples, but you can mod everything. If it's got a string on it; SS is on it. Compare the clav on this sucker to any/every sample-base clav on the market. You can adjust every nuance and dial the sucker right in. It is what it says it is- a String Studio.

pdxindy · Post by **pdxindy** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 4:45 am

I would not expect a Tassman 5 until middle next year earliest. I do not have any 'inside' info. That is a guess. But an AAS rep said that it turned out to be a huge work to make UB's so it is likely that has slowed them down.

Just yesterday AAS said they would ship a Tassman 4.1 update in 2007 which I guess will be UB and have some bug fixes and maybe a couple minor feature improvements.

I was not happy when they shipped Ultra Analog and then String Studio and left Tassman at v4 for a long time. But then I tried String Studio and it is an extraordinary synth. So expressive, and a blast to play, easy to edit, modulate and a singular design and sound. If it were hardware it would be one of the classics sought after years later.

AAS had to go the direction they did because Tassman is too complex, uses too much CPU and requires more learning time to make good use of. I doubt the company could live on a single complex modular synth. Ultra Analog and String Studio along with Lounge Lizard are/were essential for survival, and they are also essential for letting more people make use of their excellent technology. Their physical modeled synths are all outstanding in their sound quality.

All that said, Tassman 4 is a unique synth. It is not for everybody. But just as people go buy old gear and put up with its limitations, and idiosyncrasies because is has something special one likes, so too Tassman is worth the trouble. I think it has the best percussive sounds I have heard in a synth. At once exotic yet sounding organic, as if made by a physical instrument.

whyterabbyt · Post by **whyterabbyt** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 9:37 am

pdxindy wrote: AAS had to go the direction they did because Tassman is too complex, uses too much CPU and requires more learning time to make good use of. I doubt the company could live on a single complex modular synth.

Unfortunately, given that there were minimal changes to their PM technology between T2, T3 and T4, I'd suggest that the real reason they had to go in the direction they did (spin off subsets of Tassman into fixed-architecture synths) is because they'd reached the limits of their ability to extend Tassman in any meaningful way.

cptgone · Post by **cptgone** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 9:42 am

whyterabbyt wrote:I'd suggest that the real reason they had to go in the direction they did (spin off subsets of Tassman into fixed-architecture synths) is because they'd reached the limits of their ability to extend Tassman in any meaningful way.

they could have added VST export though.

or more physical models!!!

whyterabbyt · Post by **whyterabbyt** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 9:57 am

cptgone wrote: they could have added VST export though.

That'd undermine their own market, surely?

or more physical models!!!

I'm leaning to the conclusion that maybe they're not able to. Its possible their PM algorithms don't 'do' other forms of modelling (I mean, how long have people being asking for conical bore models?)

cptgone · Post by **cptgone** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 12:05 pm

whyterabbyt wrote:
cptgone wrote: they could have added VST export though.
That'd undermine their own market, surely?

it might entice Reaktorheads to get Tassman instead/too.

Tassman 5, any words?