What do we think of Loomer Aspect?
- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 5223 posts since 20 Jul, 2010
I've been demoing Aspect and I've found it's sound to be very impressive, especially considering it has quite a low profile around here. The filters are very fluid, the oscillators are good and the GUI is nigh perfect.
In my mind the sound is similar to the new Element synth, only Aspect wins out by having a very nice filter and better GUI handling. It's also more experimental, letting you do audio-rate modulations and other semi-modular stuff.
In my mind the sound is similar to the new Element synth, only Aspect wins out by having a very nice filter and better GUI handling. It's also more experimental, letting you do audio-rate modulations and other semi-modular stuff.
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- KVRAF
- 2115 posts since 22 Jan, 2005 from flint, michigan
One of the few I use on a consistent basis. I keep meaning to do a bank for it, but just don't have the time right now.
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AstralExistence AstralExistence https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=265049
- KVRAF
- 2273 posts since 19 Sep, 2011
i owned but sold it. i only sold it though because it was too deep for me. in the time i had it, and when i took the time to program it, it was awesome. the presets aren't that good. but if your a sound designer, aspect is both a great very low cpu powerhouse and an incredible drum synth too. would definitely recommend it. but only if you love sound design.
- KVRAF
- 1692 posts since 11 Nov, 2004 from Kansas City, MO
I demo-ed it too, and it sounds great. I like the combo of analog and additive.
"The Law speaks too softly to be heard amid the din of arms." -- Gaius Marius {Roman consul,soldier}
- KVRAF
- 25852 posts since 20 Jan, 2008 from a star near where you are
Interface looks cheap. For a £65 plug I would expect a bit more attention to GUI design. Not that it's a major put off, but the headlines of each section seems like they are copied from a word processor, and printing is so small that it is difficult to read
And it is knobs for everything, not that I don't like knobs, but do one need a knob to select waveform? Seems the designer only had one "controller interface" to use when putting this together.
And it is knobs for everything, not that I don't like knobs, but do one need a knob to select waveform? Seems the designer only had one "controller interface" to use when putting this together.
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Bronto Scorpio Bronto Scorpio https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=98170
- KVRAF
- 5546 posts since 13 Feb, 2006 from Wiesmoor, Germany
I like the interface, I like the sound and I like the concept. It's on my "one day I have to get this" list since a long time.
The developer seems to be very active too!
Cheers
Dennis
The developer seems to be very active too!
Cheers
Dennis
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- KVRAF
- 5716 posts since 8 Jun, 2009
What, apart from all the drop-downs used for modulation? And the buttons. Yup, it's all knobs.Numanoid wrote:And it is knobs for everything, not that I don't like knobs, but do one need a knob to select waveform? Seems the designer only had one "controller interface" to use when putting this together.
In real-world use, Aspect has a really clear, "one look tells you a lot about the patch" design ethic, especially when it comes to modulation.
What is it with all the "I expect more GUI for my buck" on this forum? For £65, I expect a sound-generating plug-in to make sounds. Or £50 or £500. If it looks purty, that's a bonus.
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- KVRAF
- 1800 posts since 10 Feb, 2007
I have Aspect and I love it, I like to use it for ambient music.
- KVRAF
- 25852 posts since 20 Jan, 2008 from a star near where you are
Graphical view of the waveform, and shaping of it would be important. Cakewalk manage to do it with z3TA+ 2 for instance, at $99 it's about the same priceGamma-UT wrote:What is it with all the "I expect more GUI for my buck" on this forum? For £65, I expect a sound-generating plug-in to make sounds. Or £50 or £500. If it looks purty, that's a bonus.
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- KVRAF
- 5716 posts since 8 Jun, 2009
So your complaint isn't actually about the GUI at all, it's the feature set.Numanoid wrote:Graphical view of the waveform, and shaping of it would be important. Cakewalk manage to do it with z3TA+ 2 for instance, at $99 it's about the same priceGamma-UT wrote:What is it with all the "I expect more GUI for my buck" on this forum? For £65, I expect a sound-generating plug-in to make sounds. Or £50 or £500. If it looks purty, that's a bonus.
If you want a wavetable/waveshaping synth, then a VA probably isn't going to be what you want. But even on those, graphical waveforms aren't all that useful. The Waldorf Microwave was pretty much all knobs and a titchy vacuum-fluorescent text display; with Zebra, there isn't a lot of visual feedback on the oscillator waveforms once you engage the wave transforms. And for analoguey things like PWM, do people really need to see that, or just hear the pulse thinning out?
- KVRAF
- 3879 posts since 28 Jun, 2009 from Wherever I lay my hat
I demoed it twice, and liked it a lot, but also found that it didn't give me anything new with the armada of synths I already have. It's one synth I'd recommend to someone who's starting out.
- KVRAF
- 25852 posts since 20 Jan, 2008 from a star near where you are
As I understant the knob to the left in the OSC section is a waveform shaper, thus to be able to view the waveform as it is shaped when the knob is tweaked, would be important IMO.Gamma-UT wrote:So your complaint isn't actually about the GUI at all, it's the feature set.
I don't think this is asking for an extra feature.
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- KVRAF
- 5716 posts since 8 Jun, 2009
How much time did you spend actually demoing it? Just curious, because if there are intermediate settings between saw, pulse, triangle and sine I haven't found them yet. And if it were the case, I suspect it would be better to swap the pulse and saw positions.Numanoid wrote:As I understant the knob to the left in the OSC section is a waveform shaper, thus to be able to view the waveform as it is shaped when the knob is tweaked, would be important IMO.Gamma-UT wrote:So your complaint isn't actually about the GUI at all, it's the feature set.
I don't think this is asking for an extra feature.
- KVRAF
- 25852 posts since 20 Jan, 2008 from a star near where you are
But why have a knob for waveform then if only four can be selected, would be better then to have a "check box" where one could select which waveform to use.Gamma-UT wrote:How much time did you spend actually demoing it? Just curious, because if there are intermediate settings between saw, pulse, triangle and sine I haven't found them yet. And if it were the case, I suspect it would be better to swap the pulse and saw positions.
This goes back to my original critisim that the programmer only seemed to have one graphical modifier to put in: the knob.
Nothing wrong with a simple interface, that little work has gone into, but then that must be reflected in the price of the product IMO
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- KVRAF
- 5716 posts since 8 Jun, 2009
As I've already pointed out, the interface uses other elements. I assume Colin made an aesthetic choice that a) resembles quite a lot of analogue synths b) preserves the structure of the oscillator sections. In terms of workflow, I prefer the knob to a drop down in this context because it involves fewer clicks. Having a checkbox would not be any faster as a selection mechanism, might mess up mapping from an external controller and would probably demand more screen real estate.Numanoid wrote:But why have a knob for waveform then if only four can be selected, would be better then to have a "check box" where one could select which waveform to use.Gamma-UT wrote:How much time did you spend actually demoing it? Just curious, because if there are intermediate settings between saw, pulse, triangle and sine I haven't found them yet. And if it were the case, I suspect it would be better to swap the pulse and saw positions.
This goes back to my original critisim that the programmer only seemed to have one graphical modifier to put in: the knob.
Nothing wrong with a simple interface, that little work has gone into, but then that must be reflected in the price of the product IMO
How do you know how much work has gone into a product that you've spent practically no time assessing?