KVR Audio

sabiwa · Post by **sabiwa** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 7:56 am

I'm tempted to buy DCAM as it seems to be on market place quite frequently. I'm a bit surprise of this considering the rave it caused few years ago. I'm demoing it at the moment and while digging in few questions arised already...

- where does this synth stand at the moment quality wise? ( vs. Diva if you like )

- key commands won't work at least in demo - so how much there are left to be done (bug fixes, general improv.)

- What's the fxpansion support for this. Any updates coming up?

And lastly, any ideas why is it on the market place so often

Thanks

GeorgeZ · Post by **GeorgeZ** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 8:02 am

I can't answer any of them except for the last Q. It was on sale in Dec for $99, so heaps of people bought it, and end up not using it for what ever reason.

filtide · Post by **filtide** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 8:09 am

Synth Squad worths every penny, very versatile and still one of the best sounding softsynth. As for comparison with DIVA, SS is more versatile. As for support, 1.1 is coming soon with x64 support and bugfixes.
FXpansion is a great company.

ford442 · Post by **ford442** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 8:20 am

i own Diva and DCAM - they have a similar sonic quality level, but Diva is more versatile than Strobe by quite a bit.. i enjoy using Diva much more and it costs less...

Umudo · Post by **Umudo** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 8:26 am

I have DCAM, bought it when it was on sale. The demo is not the latest version. Check out the forums you'll see the latest version's changelog etc.

I don't have Diva but i believe SS is more versatile since it's 4 plug-ins.

Restless · Post by **Restless** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 1:33 pm

I bought it as well during the sale, but I almost don't use it, as I can't really handle the GUI. Things improved now that it's resizable but I still find it very hard to use.

I also have DIVA and to me DIVA sounds better and is much easier to use.

I actually have also thought about selling DCAM since.

DocAtlas · Post by **DocAtlas** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 2:02 pm

Comparing SS to Diva is like comparing two cars; they'll both get you where you're going, but some features are going to differ between them. I've got both, and I wouldn't give either of them up.

A lot depends on whether or not you intend to do a lot of patch creation, or just stick to presets. Diva may be more versatile than SS's Strobe, but Cypher can do some modulation tricks that Diva can't. And Fusor is great for doing more than simply layering the different synths in SS.

If you have the money, get both. If not, well, Synth Squad is more expensive than Diva; that may be an issue.

zvenx · Post by **zvenx** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 2:39 pm

Whereas for me SS is one of my disappointing buys......there are still outstanding bugs that eat a lot of cpu (cypher bug in arp for instance)....by nature it is very aggresive sounding, which may or may not be your thing (turning down filter drive tempers that a bit).....amber by design uses lots of cpu before a note is even played which may or may not be a problem for you...in general many patches in cypher or fusor still utlitise cpu a minute or so after the last note has been released and sound has faded. Diva on the other hand uses cpu but only uses the cpu whilst the note is actually played and quickly returns that cpu usage to you after the last note is played. Personally Diva is way more the sound quality that I personally like, but taste is a personal thing....You couldn't get me to sell Diva, I have reached the point where I am almost ready to sell SS.....

For me SS was a lot of hype but I am/was very disappointed.

There is an update that has been in beta, which includes 64bit versions among other things.... not sure when it will be released officially..

rsp

osiris · Post by **osiris** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 3:11 pm

Same here. Love the sound but can't actually use it in a mix because it eats so much CPU. And Fusor is lovely, but the CPU hit on it is

Aiynzahev · Post by **Aiynzahev** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 3:50 pm

Synth Squad is extremely complex and can be really finely tweaked. Its not really a good comparison. If you want SS for more standard analog style sounds I would suggest DIVA. If you don't really want to spend a lot of time programming I would say get Diva. I also think DIVA sounds better but I've not spent as much time with Synth Squad. In no way does Synth squad sound bad though.

This is probably why people sell theirs. DIVA has only been out for a little while and no one can sell their licence for 9 months. Already one guy put his up for sale though. It really comes down to the individual. Why did he buy it and why does he no longer want it.

When I am presented with a choice of synths I will usually go for features above sound quality unless these is a massive difference. I have found for myself that lacking features is much more of a problem than good but not amazing sound. You simply cannot get certain sounds when a synth does not have the right features.

You should have a good look at what synth squad offers if you are into sound design, and also be aware that presets and audio demos may or may not be programmed to your tastes. For the money you get three synths plus Fusor which is a hugely complex machine. Its an incredible program.

osiris · Post by **osiris** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 3:57 pm

I would also suggest that Strobe and Cypher have no onboard fx, so the CPU hit plus added fx become huge. I just think it has something to do with the waveshape display.
But even turning it off has no effect on CPU (Dual core Athlon for me.)

sabiwa · Post by **sabiwa** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 4:33 pm

CPU usage in demo is a way too high when oversampling is used (2009 macbook). As I'm not advanced patch programmer I doubt my capabilities to pull something miraculous out of this. Messy GUI doesn't help either. Still can't make decision whether on not...

Another thing, now that Geist and Tremor are released has there been any rumours to get SS fixed and updated?

Fred_Abstract · Post by **Fred_Abstract** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 10:08 pm

sound ok as a va but not analog sound and they can take months or years to fix bugs if they get fixed..request features i never seen one added . futur will probably be a dcam synth squad 2 with what it should have been in first

musikmachine · Post by **musikmachine** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 10:37 pm

sabiwa wrote:CPU usage in demo is a way too high when oversampling is used (2009 macbook). As I'm not advanced patch programmer I doubt my capabilities to pull something miraculous out of this. Messy GUI doesn't help either. Still can't make decision whether on not...

Another thing, now that Geist and Tremor are released has there been any rumours to get SS fixed and updated?

It's in beta now. What issues are you having? CPU performance is supposed to be inproved but i haven't noticed how much.

I agree with a lot of what's been posted. I wish it were possible to have the settings for oversampling recalled each time i load an instance. Having to set it for each instance i open is a pita. yeah the update process does seem very slow. Case in point the demo is from 2009!

@Fred, what do you mean SS2 will be what SS should have been?

Love the sound though but they are difficult to program. Not very many tutorials out there on the transmod system or anything in depth on Fusor that i know of. Fx are working on a new set of videos though so looking forward to those.

codec_spurt · Post by **codec_spurt** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 11:09 pm

The CPU hit is big.
The sound benefits are large.

If you can isolate it to one or two or even three instances, you will be good.

It is great for the money. A real bargain. Be prepared to learn.

The sound is amazing. It is worth the hassle of extra CPU hit.

If you want to be efficient then get synth1/sq8l in your line up.
If you want a bit of 'Ooh La La' then bite the bullet. Buy a bargain that
will only go up in price (not down) as fashions change. Top notch technical support. Fifth generation software.

Comes at a price I'm afraid. On your hardware mostly.

Up to you.

Future of Synth Squad - props and cons