PS-1

I'm here today to testify regarding one of the great, unsung VSTi synths - the PS-1. Not scolding but I'm amazed, quite frankly that it's been left to me to sing the praises of this gem and I'm not worthy. I'm not a total synth head or sound-designer -just a humble musician- haven't gone deep under the hood with the PS-1 but in my excursions with this kit I'm REALLY impressed.

I'm sure there are people who have better ears, better synth knowledge or whatever but there is VERY little that this doesn't do - if anything. And does it incredibly well. My most major impression is that this is a synth that was designed by sound-designers and musicians and implemented/coded with love by DashSignature (one of my favs).

It's kinda like a Swiss-Army knife of synths. Great pads, effects, leads, basses...simple sounds, complex sound... you name it. It can be done and with wonderful quality. Look what it comes with...four oscillators (that can load one's own samples if ya wanna play that way), arpeggiator, trance gate, and mods that can just about modify everything. It also has great effects on board. (Ok...maybe it doesn't have 15 different filters to choose from but the filters that are there are "cherce" - as Spencer Tracy once described Katherine Hepburne).

This is where my lack of true synth knowledge comes in and why it's a shame that I'm doing the review - I can't precisely go into great depth regarding what it can't do because, simply, I haven't found what it can't do...maybe more intrepid/knowledgeable explorers can fill in the blanks. Likewise, I can't really talk about aliasing or filter-oscillator quality because I'm just a simple musician who loves playing in the sand-box of sound - and this gives me ample room to spend joyous hours there.

The PS-1 comes with, I think, approximately 1000 presets. Yes, it's true, there don't seem to be any independent banks but with 1000 presets and the synths inherent and intuitive tweakability, there's plenty to play with and it's clear that the designers -including Tim Conrady, Frank Neuman and Stewart Henderson- obviously created their banks with imagination, care and zeal.

GUI -for me- is simple and intuitive. Of course, I'm not a graphic designer but rather a function or form type of guy. Seems like most everything I want is accessible on the front panel. The only thing I haven't been able to find is the version number. Nor do I think it has a help page accessible from the panel - the only reason I mention it is I'm not sure what version I'm using. I don't even know if there are different version...therefore I put Version 1 in the "version" field.

Stability has been rock-solid. And the bang for the buck is a no-brainer. It's friggin' cheap compared to comparable stuff on the market. So...why is this first review being written so many months after its release? Why is there no 'buzz' about it? Beats me. Probably because the people behind it are too busy making sounds then spending top dollar doing glossy marketting.

If you are looking for a synth that will do much if not everything in the way of sound-design AND sound beautifully while doing it...do yourself a favor and scarf this one up. And enjoy. Bon appetit!

(And nope...I'm not employed nor on the take from Pro-Sounds, although I have found them delightful to deal with.)Read Review