KVR Audio

IIRs · Post by **IIRs** » Sat Jun 21, 2014 9:18 pm

You can get some monster kicks out of it if you know what you're doing!

However, it's one of those plugs with a feature set that is just right: everything you need for most situations, with nothing to get in the way. I can program a groove into the step sequencer and set up suitable sounds in seconds: every voice has the same architecture, so it's easy to learn and you always know what knob to tweak to get the desired result. You can use the midi outs if you later want to trigger samples or other synths, or drag the midi onto a track for editing etc.

Tp3 · Post by **Tp3** » Sat Jun 21, 2014 9:30 pm

xoxos wrote:i'm sorry.. i'm really not posting this as a competitor.

They (the drum machines from Xoxos and Sonic Charge) are different beasts, different tastes.

xoxos wrote:people have been posting about utonic as the godsend of percussion synthesis since it was released (11 years ago..)

And not without a reason. sound-wise it has progressed by leaps and bounds (AFAICR)

xoxos wrote:i shouldn't post when i'm not understanding other people, they are less silly.

I once heard a wise (but a little violent) man say :

"When you gotta shoot.... shoot, don't talk"

So, without further "I do !" (

)... I will shoot :

https://www.dropbox.com/s/b2c71xgmci6cfxw/BongTonic.wav

uToniq is the driver here, midi wise, Bong is the audio engine. uTonic also supplies backing "vocals", or, rather, "deep thumps".
most of Bong's patches were generated by me (as my request for random generator was not replied. so I have found one).

That is one of uTonic biggest properties : its ability to "drive" almost every drum machine conceivable. and not only that, you can simply drag and drop its midi onto the sequencer's arrange for further editing.
Plus, the freely downloadable scripts out there extend its abilities to no end.

The list of its highlights is endless, really... it is a VINTAGE. plain and simple.

xoxos · Post by **xoxos** » Sat Jun 21, 2014 9:37 pm

aah.. that's the patch select, and the osc is sine/tri/saw..

f**k this is traumatic.

have a nice day folks

xoxos · Post by **xoxos** » Sat Jun 21, 2014 9:49 pm

IIRs wrote:it's one of those plugs with a feature set that is just right:

i do get this, ty for explicity. i didn't want to revive the same fruitless, subjective discussions in every perc synth thread, or advocating other developers, or really even a comparison of features (at least beyond the perception of paucity). it's more about my reaction to the product a long time ago and seeing nothing new.

zendorf · Post by **zendorf** » Sat Jun 21, 2014 11:14 pm

It is a nice drum synth , but these days for me Drumatic 4 leaves it for dead, unless you really need basic step sequencing built in. As always...your mileage may vary

RunBeerRun · Post by **RunBeerRun** » Sun Jun 22, 2014 1:03 am

It is VERY nice it bought me flowers

Mister Natural · Post by **Mister Natural** » Sun Jun 22, 2014 2:01 am

respect

for me: quick & simple to arrive at a FUN starter beat. It's dead easy to develop as one layer of percussion from that point

codec_spurt · Post by **codec_spurt** » Sun Jun 22, 2014 4:16 am

Microtonic is almost too powerful soundwise. It kind of takes over a mix. It sounds great by itself and you can meld a track around that, but I could never get it to really sit in a mix without severe tweaking, which kind of killed the point of what it was all about.

But I'm sure if you bought it and got used to it these problems would go away. It's just a perception.

What I'm finding to be a killer combination drum synth wise is Drumatic 4 and Drumaxx. The fit really well together. Everybody talks about the kicks with Drumatic but I find the hats are just pure Gold and so tweakable. Also the hats in Drumaxx are very special for sitting in a mix. If I ever think 'this needs a hi-hat' it is rare that one or the other doesn't fit the bill.

Yes the kicks are great in Drumatic, but it's surprising how beefy and cutting the kicks from Drumaxx can be as well. Just put a little Satson on there. I only have the CM version but it is incredibly good. It just goes straight to the core of the sound and gives it weight, but not in a distorted or obvious way.

If I used Microtonic I think I would be constantly EQing the thing.

I think you could probably buy Drumaxx and Drumatic for around the same price as well. Not sure.

This is all Drumaxx, but the higher pitched hat is Drumatic:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/860 ... ion-01.wav

It's hard to load these two Drum Synths into a DAW and not come up with something complimentary.

deastman · Post by **deastman** » Sun Jun 22, 2014 5:47 am

I'm with xoxos. I've been saying the same thing for years. UTonic is the best drum synth if all you want is a basic modulated waveform, a noise generator, a filter, and an x0x step sequencer. Its the best drum synth for people who can't be bothered to learn to use anything more sophisticated or think too hard about what it actually does compared to the competition.

I'm being too harsh. I did eventually buy a copy myself. Because sometimes you just want something quick and simple. All those sine wave drums sound great when fed through distortion, waveshapers, and bitcrushers.

But seriously, check out Sonic Sidekick's Extreme Drumsynth. Only about a billion times more powerful by any measure.

218 · Post by **218** » Sun Jun 22, 2014 7:39 am

Imo Extreme drumsynth sounds like utter crap! Microtonic might not have a lot of fancy features, nor should it. The reason its still King is because of its simplicity and spectacular sound. A quick stroll through the Pattenarium is a good reminder just how versatile these simple modulated waveforms are:D

deastman · Post by **deastman** » Sun Jun 22, 2014 9:03 am

218 wrote:Imo Extreme drumsynth sounds like utter crap! Microtonic might not have a lot of fancy features, nor should it. The reason its still King is because of its simplicity and spectacular sound. A quick stroll through the Pattenarium is a good reminder just how versatile these simple modulated waveforms are:D

Care to support that statement with any specifics? Extreme Drumsynth is capable of making synthesized sounds which sound like real drums! And if all you want is a sine wave with a modulation envelope, or some filtered noise, I fail to see how Extreme Drumsynth could possibly sound any worse than Microtonic. I mean, its pretty difficult to screw up a sine wave sweep if you know the most rudimentary concepts of audio dsp. Are you sure it isn't just the GUI which sounds worse?

218 · Post by **218** » Sun Jun 22, 2014 9:33 am

Well its a matter of personal taste I guess. I personally dont have any need for a drum synth that can synthesize "real" drums, I'd rather use samples for that. Plugs and the way they are coded sounds different from eachother, sine sweep or whatever. Theres alot of cool drum synths around, but imo Microtonic is just one of those plugs where everything is done right.

do_androids_dream · Post by **do_androids_dream** » Sun Jun 22, 2014 10:04 am

codec_spurt wrote:...I could never get it to really sit in a mix without severe tweaking...

Exactly my experience. I know I'm gonna get murdered for this but it sounds profoundly 'software' to me - the experience of trying to get it to sit in a mix was exactly like trying to get an average softsynth to sound like a punchy analog synth. You tweak and tweak... it lacks bass so you start boosting the low end and now it just lacks definition so you address that and then a new problem manifests etc. etc. tweak, tweak, tweak.

HunterKiller · Post by **HunterKiller** » Sun Jun 22, 2014 10:07 am

deastman wrote:But seriously, check out Sonic Sidekick's Extreme Drumsynth. Only about a billion times more powerful by any measure.

+ 1

Andywanders · Post by **Andywanders** » Sun Jun 22, 2014 11:48 am

For EDM it's great. But not being an EDM artist, I prefer Drumaxx when I want a drum machine. It's way more versatile than Microtonic in the sound department.

microtonic = best percussion synth