Vier

INTRO

Vier by Eisenberg is a fascinating virtual instrument! It is based on the Doepfer MS-404, a monophonic rack mount synth from the 90s that still has a strong industrial music cult following. I have owned countless synths since 1985, but never an MS-404. I'm not able to compare this soft offering to the hardware; however, I am certain of one thing — this synth is smaller than Doepfers and does not require a warm-up period for stabilization! Vier delivers an uncanny polyphonic combination of clean, yet analogue tones. And, it's not only polyphonic; it's polyphonic times four — hence the name "Vier." The saw-tooth wave is buzzy, bright, and thick. The pulse wave is wispy and hollow. The white noise generator is clean. It's a sweet synth with a fast envelope that is perfect for percussive sounds, especially arps and leads. It's no surprise that it has a nice peaky, resonant type bass for sequences. I discovered a nice musical quality in the mid frequencies, clarity in the upper regions, and a decent boom in the lows. The original MS-404 is known as an emulation of Roland's TB-303 Bassline Synth. It's hard to say whether or not Doepfer intentionally or accidentally decided on the name similarity with the 303. Vier utilizes a transistor ladder design like the Moog synths and Roland TB-303 uses a diode-ladder — this makes Vier/303 comparisons a bit dubious. In my opinion Vier is sonically more like Roland's SH101, but richer and more versatile. Regardless, Vier is authentically Vier.

FAVORITE FEATURES:

• Simple, pleasant interface.
• Smooth workflow.
• Fun to program.
• Intuitive preset management.
• Glide control.
• Drive knob.
• Anti-aliasing oscillators.
• VCO modulation.
• Wet, juicy filter.
• Excellent voice management.
• Innovative, responsive developer.
• Good price.

OTHER THOUGHTS:

• I'd like to see a good default patch and a more comprehensive library of presets to show off Vier's power.

SUMMARY

Vier is organic, inspiring, and like Eisenberg's Einklang — innovative and intelligent. This is an ultra-potent plugin with a genuine sound. I highly recommend Vier to any e-musician, producer, film and game scorer, sound designer, DJ, etc., who is looking to add something unusual, but addictively usable to their arsenal of virtual instruments. I grabbed it as soon as it was released, and I have no regrets! Tommy Zai gives Vier four big thumbs up. Thank you, Eisenberg, for developing another unique soft synth.

Note: I wanted to give Vier a 9.5 rating, but I had to choose 9 or 10, so I went with 10. I'm sure it will deserve a 10 after a few updates. ;-)