I really want to like Satyr, but unfortunately I can't. Of many of the Synthedit creations available, Satyr has perhaps the most warmth and a tendency towards analogue-ish style sound (I'm very wary of saying VSTi's sound like true analogues because to be honest there are only a very few so far that have convinced me - it certainly can be done, but it is claimed far too often, when if you have a stand full of analogues - you can obviously hear the difference with most VSTi's). S0.......Satyr seems to have a sweet point at the lower end of the keyboard - good for rounded basses and lower mids. Octaves 1+2 can sound very warm with Satyr. I'd almost compare it to the type of sound you can get with things like Junos - fat, warm, spongey basses - not spikey enough to do aggressive acid-ey sounds or hard-edged basses at all though. Very nice for bottom end pads too. I've never had much character out of it at the top end though - personal taste obviously, but it's far far from a workhorse synth.
Features - well, there are lots of them - lots of modulation options and a good set of envelopes etc, but some of the parameters just don't seem to make much of a change to the overall sound - it's a knob-festooned GUI, but really, half of the features could have been left off for all the use they are. It just seems overly fussy and complicated to me. And I like programming my own sounds - I don't use presets, so I know my way around synths - but somehow (and I'm not sure exactly why) Satyr just doesn't get me making decent sounds much. It's not inspirational, even though looking at it first glance, you'd think it was capable of all manner of weirdness - but it's a real fight to get unique sounds from it in reality.
GUI - initially you think "wow - lots of knobs, lots of features, therefore great to play with" but again I don't even like the GUI - it's too dark for one thing. You're endlessly peering at your screen close up to try and decipher what the legending says. And some of the parameters seem to be in the wrong place to make intuitive editing possible. It's not nasty - it just isn't user-friendly.
VFM - free, so you can't knock that part.
Stability - I've certainly seen better. High CPU hit and sometimes crashes for no apparent reason.
Sound - as mentioned before, it can have its uses. Bassy and roundedly warm. But not that flexible - I've never had a convincing mixable lead from it. Pads are good at the lower end but not the top.
As said - I want to like it. Obviously a lot of effort went into this synth. Perhaps it just needs a little modification regards CPU etc. Initially it looks like a beast but just doesn't deliver. I'd say go for it if you want mono lines - it doesn't crash for that, and there is quite a good range for those mono basslines or lower mid lines - sometimes it can almost be a bit squelchy, but then doesn't go far enough to present real character - that's probably what makes me not like it in the end, sorry.Read Review
