By 11011011
On 31st October 2005
Version: 1.34
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11011011
3 of 3 people found
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It's the closest to the Wasp I've found since "going Mac", and I like it a lot. daHornet is free, so stop reading and just go play with it!
Still here? It's noisy, spunky, funky and dirty, just the way you like it. It can also do some refined sounds, but to pull that off you'll have to toss some effects in there. Don't bother!
Don't neglect the right-click menu! There are a LOT of features buried in there, including a patch randomizer which lets you pick type of patch (bass, lead, etc.)
Someone below said it best: it's a niche synth, but a very well executed one.
User Interface: Funky but easy to figure out.
Sound: Dirty, loud and unapologetic.
Features: It's a three-trick pony. Nice basslines, screaming leads, and ambient sounds (noise).
Documentation: Haven't looked at it, haven't needed to.
Presets: All good stuff. Very diverse, but you'll want to fiddle with a lot of them.
Customer Support: Haven't needed it yet.
Value for Money: It's free, duh.
Stability: Solid. |
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Last edited by 11011011 on 31st October 2005
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By Rabid
On 9th December 2003
Version: 1.3.4
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Rabid
3 of 4 people found
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I have mixed feelings about this synth. The concept is nice, the support is good, and the MIDI implementation is great. The only part really lacking is sound. I was hoping for the old Wasp analog sound. What I get seems to sound like a Wasp played over a transistor radio with a 2 inch speaker. There is no life to the sounds. It’s just there. This does not render the synth useless, but it does give it a narrow focus. If you want a song intro with that sounds like it came from a radio, this is the synth. If you want a synth that blends in with other products and gives viable sounds, Wasp is relegated to a few sound effects. |
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By pough
On 8th February 2003
Version: 1.0
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pough
2 of 2 people found
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Dash Synthesis seem to have found a winning formula - at least from my perspective. They follow one of the all-time great rules, which is "Keep it simple." They have small, but fun synths at very reasonable prices.
This synth, daHornet, is all kinds of funky. Loading it up and playing the first few notes, I suddenly found myself in the world of Logan's Run - and all the other sci-fi movies from that era. It's not restricted to that, though. A little playing around got me a respectable accordion sound. That may not sound like a good thing to some, but the point is that it's not as limited a synth as one might think.
Where this thing really shines, however, is the in the way-out wacky sounds. A lot of those are towards the end of the presets, but they're really not hard to dial up yourself. Check out "Man in a hive."
daHornet is laid out nicely, with a logical flow to the buttons. Right-clicking on the logo brings up a menu that has some options you might want to check out. I found that the volume level was a little too high for Cubase and a number of the presets were clipping. A quick trip to this menu and I set the volume to "soft" - perfect! There are also four different randoms, each of which can be assigned to the numbers 1-4 on your keyboard. A nice touch, indeed.
I have no complaints with daHornet. Sorry. It's a niche synth, but it's a very well-executed one. It's easy to download and check out. It's fun to play with. It's easy and cheap to buy. And the support from Dash Synthesis is second to none. |
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By willum
On 31st January 2003
Version: 1.0
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This is a pretty nice little synth. It's different, and it sounds great which is why I purchased a copy. It's easy to get really warm/dirty analog-style sounds. The random patch generator is really top-notch. You can choose from "pad", "lead", "bass", or "fx" style patches. I was able to get several useful new patches in a few minutes. MIDI Learn is available on all of the controls; this is a feature I think ALL software instruments should have.
But the part I like the most is that dirty, nasty sound. I love analog grit, and this little sucker puts out a fairly convincing range of those types of sounds. I've never used the original hardware version of this synth, so I can't say whether it's an authentic reproduction. I liked what I heard, though. The price is fantastic, I feel I got more than my money's worth with daHornet. Their online purchasing is quick, too. Within 5 minutes I had the full version up and running. |
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By Deuce
On 28th January 2003
Version: 1.0
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The synth is basically a faithful representataion of the synth it is emulating. The GUI is spot on. If you owned one of these you'll find your way around in no time coz it looks just like the original.
Now the sound and presets....I don't personnally dig the sounds/presets that daHornet is capable of and probably won't use it in any of my songs but not because its poor quality or anything, coz it not. Because the sound just isn't to my taste (I have the same views on Oddity!).
This is not a bad thing at all. Its a bit like saying that although a piano VSTi is excellent you don't like to use it in your songs because you prefer the organ.
My advice is to download the demo and give it a spin. If you had the original you will love this. If you fancy a grungy filthy lead line then you love it. It depends on your tastes really. If you want some industrial effect type sounds for something then it would probably be the synth you should turn to.
Features is rated high coz it has loads of them including midi learn which I particularly like in a synth.
Docs and customer support are very good. Infact, the developer hangs out at K-v-R so you always get a fast response to problems and queries - not that you will have any problems coz daHornet is rock solid on my system.
All in all this is a great synth and is great value for money. I do wonder why they only priced it at $30 coz most other companies charge over $100 for good analogue emulation VSTi's such as this. |
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Last edited by Alex on 28th January 2003
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