By jmeier
On 14th January 2006
Version: 3
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I think that Absynth was the first soft synth I ever really understood, so I admit that I'm rather biased towards it. However, I do think that Absynth has some enormous advantages for those who want to develop their synthesizer skills. First and foremost, the graphical envelope displays take a lot of the mystery out of programming parameters. Second, because pretty much any part of any patch can be modified by the graphical envelopes, which makes Absynth extremely programmable.
It is often said that Absynth is not appropriate for bread and butter synth sounds, and I would tend to agree, but I think those who complain about this are missing the point. The reason one would want to use a synthesizer that can create complex envelopes and has a "draw your own waveform" capability is to get outside the typical synthesizer concept. Most synthesizers do tend towards generating very similar output when you push their parameters to the max, but that there are dozens of complex sounds that can be created very quickly in Absynth. It's not perfect to be sure, but for big, spacious moving pads and soundscapes, Absynth is very powerful, easy to use, and flexible. |
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By dreammaka
On 16th January 2005
Version: 3
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3 of 4 people found
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I had absynth since version2, but I haven't used it much.
after I upgraded to absynth3 for free through komplete2 upgrade,
I'm using it everyday. becuase of new GUI.
version3's GUI makes programming much faster and easier.
and looks a lot cleaner.
some people hate this GUI and I was one of them but after
installing the new version and having to use it for a while
I can say I was wrong. new GUI is much better than previous one.
but the most important thing is the sound and it's really amazing.
with new unison feature it can make quite good analog synth sound,too.
but I think the strength of Absynth3 is the granular/sampling feature.
you can take any sample and make really complex evolving sounds.
and often I sample other synth and use that sound as a osc.
that gives you more complex sound too. imagine sampling
reaktor's complex pad sound and use it with absynth's
graunlar function.
I was hoping more new features in version3 upgrade but
still in my opinion it could be the best synth ever released.
(maybe with zebra and exphraze too) |
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By mdg
On 19th October 2004
Version: latest
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mdg
6 of 6 people found
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With many synthesisers you will find that there are a few things that make you glad you chose them over another version or model/manufacturer. There may be some good patches you find attractive and worth using as a starting point for your personal sound mix.
Inside the cool green graphic is a program called Absynth 2:
Almost all synths have sounds outside of what you might prefer. Absynth 2 has some sounds that right away called to me and many others that absolutely revolted me! Grunge! Noise! But..... this says an awful lot about the program where side by side exsists not only those harsh sound elements but also beautiful drones, evolving pads and so forth that can be massively tweaked. I downloaded a demo of Absynth and chose a patch and then called my close friend to hear "my new synth" sound. They did not realise a VSTi was playing, they looked at my Waldorf q, at the Fizmo, my Roland and at the rack of synths. Which one??? They were amazed that the VSTi could make such deep sounds! So was I... my love of sound is very deep and has held me since the 1980s when i bought my first Analog, a Korg PS3100.
Let me tell you, a synthesiser worth anything can make horrible sounds, teeth grinding and joltings, things that make your fillings loose. It can also be stroked into producing fantastic harmony. The Absynth 2 has many tools for making sounds, for forging them into coherent (or incomprehensible) sounds.
I can play a stack of actual hardware instruments and find a patch or make one that fits right in. The effects are rather stark in the Absynth 2 but the delay is pretty smooth. The envelope functions are awesome and you can make a library of envelop settings you like and want to move to a new sample or waveform. The modulations are like Analog setups in a way. A sound can evolve so much it almost puts a real burden on you to make other sounds fit in with the Absynth. But it can give you ideas...
I like to use the small stereo recorder it has inside to make files I can import into Acid or Ableton live. It will over dub and has a function to change volumes. This is a great idea I hope you see the value of this. The instrument fits into Cubase like a dream and uses very little CPU.
It is stable. There are dozens of patches availible, many using the noise and grundge I mentioned. I have seldom heard a VSTi that will do hard core noise music and 'hearts of Space' sounds right out of the box but this is one that will.
Drums? Hmm, not really.Kinda.
Flutes? Sure, space flutes played in a alien movie.
Band instruments? No way!
Pads? Textures? Absolutely and much more. Leads are very good but this VSTi leans towards the special niche usually reserved for the hardware patched like a madmad that you forget after you change things a couple of times.
Drawing the modulations are easy and having the ability to sync - these made owning the Absynth 2 a reality for me. I got a student discount of 149.00$ u.s. so it was affordable. The registration process was kind of complex and moving it from computer top computer looks like a hassle but at least there is no dongle/hardware key to deal with. Forget a back up disc it will TRASH your computer drive, it has a hole in the CD!!! Dude just hire Vinnie to bust my leg if I cheat but give me a back up disk.....heh.
With so many decent companies and products folding without warning *ahem*Waldorf-Logic for PC*coff* I wish I had a backup or 3. |
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Last edited by mdg on 19th October 2004
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By ew
On 21st December 2003
Version: 2.04
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ew
4 of 4 people found
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Absynth 2 is a vast leap forward from the original.
With such features as using your own samples(in either granular or "normal" fashion),controller driven envelopes,panning for each channel(finally!)and the ability to save oscillators,filters,effects or whole channels as presets to use in other patches makes the possibilities mindblowing.Oh,and did I mention that the "analog" waveforms(sine,square,etc.)can be antialiasing if you so desire?Nice,nice,nice!
A lot of people are bewildered about controlling Absynth parameters through MIDI.Absynth doesn't use MIDI learn-instead,you draw an envelope for the parameter you want to control and assign a controller to it.A very flexible arrangement once you get used to it.
Another great thing about the envelopes-any(or every,if you wish)can have an virtual LFO assigned to it.What this does is superimposes the "LFO"'s waveshape onto the envelope.You can adjust speed,depth and slope of the "LFO" for every breakpoint in that envelope.Wonderful stuff!
The 2.04 update fixed a mess of bugs,and it's relatively stable on my system.
As was said earlier,it's not as hard to program as it looks.As was also stated,it isn't for everyone.However,if you want sounds that you've only heard in your dreams(or nightmares,for that matter),Absynth's a great place to find them! |
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By MarkM
On 12th November 2003
Version: 2.01
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3 of 4 people found
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I have recently upgraded to Absynth 2. This is one of my favorite softsynths. The sounds are unusual and organic. I find it very versatile. It can be an incredible ambient synth or useful in dance. The new version allows you to import samples. You can implement granular sampling and mix it with other samples or the oscillators. However, I find I crash frequently when importing my own samples. But when programming my own patches with the three oscillators I rarely, if ever crash. The power of Absynth lies in the incredible flexible envelopes. The new version has even more to work with. Most parameters have their own envelope. It has a very unusual interface, but it is logical and easy to work with. This would be a great first synth for anybody learning subtractive synth. In standalone it has its own recorder with SOS. I use it flawlessly with Chainer. Sometimes with multiple instances in Sonar 2.2XL I will crash but not too frequently. |
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Last edited by MarkM on 13th November 2003
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