User Reviews by KVR Members for Surge
User Interface
this is the part i like best about surge. the user interface is the best i've come across! its so fast to work with, yet i like its vibe.
Sound
The sound is high quality, thought i find it to tend to be a bit "hard" or "harsh" sounding. its very clean and precise, wich is good and bad. good if you like controll, bad if you like good sounding accidents.
Features
I find the future set quite complete. it has multiple synthesizing methods, wavetable, VA and FM, internal fx and flexible routing and modualation abilitys.
Documentation
never needed it as far as i remember. the userinterface's workflow worked quick with me. i'm very quick, when it comes to grasp ui concepts in general thought.
Presets
i did not like the presets at all to be honest. so i never use them. i find the style of them kind of sterile and computer game alike. there are 3rd party ones thought, plus you can get additional wavetables.
i may release some of my presets too!
Customer Support
mhh..i guess the company is not dead, but not that active either.
the last update was some time ago as far is i remember.
Value For Money
a solid product for a fair price.
Stability
i havily use this plugin almost dayly, so it should speak for itself that i can barely remember any issues i had with it. there where some thought. but non casual ones (aka. no crash, just little quirks). but i don't even remember what it was!
thats it for now!
if you want a nice, all over solid quality synth with a killer workflow, get surge!
this is the part i like best about surge. the user interface is the best i've come across! its so fast to work with, yet i like its vibe.
Sound
The sound is high quality, thought i find it to tend to be a bit "hard" or "harsh" sounding. its very clean and precise, wich is good and bad. good if you like controll, bad if you like good sounding accidents.
Features
I find the future set quite complete. it has multiple synthesizing methods, wavetable, VA and FM, internal fx and flexible routing and modualation abilitys.
Documentation
never needed it as far as i remember. the userinterface's workflow worked quick with me. i'm very quick, when it comes to grasp ui concepts in general thought.
Presets
i did not like the presets at all to be honest. so i never use them. i find the style of them kind of sterile and computer game alike. there are 3rd party ones thought, plus you can get additional wavetables.
i may release some of my presets too!
Customer Support
mhh..i guess the company is not dead, but not that active either.
the last update was some time ago as far is i remember.
Value For Money
a solid product for a fair price.
Stability
i havily use this plugin almost dayly, so it should speak for itself that i can barely remember any issues i had with it. there where some thought. but non casual ones (aka. no crash, just little quirks). but i don't even remember what it was!
thats it for now!
if you want a nice, all over solid quality synth with a killer workflow, get surge!
I wanted to review this synth because it is not like any other
The last review is old, so i wanted to say : it still alive ;)
I will not enter the technical domain, all is already written
This synth can do anything : bass, lead, arp, pad, FX ... and more :D
The versatility is very huge (i totaly dislike bass only synths or pads only)
It is sounding very huge and fat (that's the first thing you will feel)
But the modulations, arp, effects...can make it strange, mysterious, twisted...too
It is not the usual virtual analog with 70's feel, nor the cold digital modern sound, but all of them at the same time ;)
It is full of stock presets (1010 patches for now), so you will find anything from bread and butter sounds to experimental digital FX
Another important thing is inspiration : i found a lot of inspiring presets to start a song
Conclusion : this is a very good sounding synth, with a lot of routing and modulation possibilities, can do any kind of style or sounds...and the price is very nice too !!!
you don't need to trust me, you can download the demo and listen to demo samples ;)
The last review is old, so i wanted to say : it still alive ;)
I will not enter the technical domain, all is already written
This synth can do anything : bass, lead, arp, pad, FX ... and more :D
The versatility is very huge (i totaly dislike bass only synths or pads only)
It is sounding very huge and fat (that's the first thing you will feel)
But the modulations, arp, effects...can make it strange, mysterious, twisted...too
It is not the usual virtual analog with 70's feel, nor the cold digital modern sound, but all of them at the same time ;)
It is full of stock presets (1010 patches for now), so you will find anything from bread and butter sounds to experimental digital FX
Another important thing is inspiration : i found a lot of inspiring presets to start a song
Conclusion : this is a very good sounding synth, with a lot of routing and modulation possibilities, can do any kind of style or sounds...and the price is very nice too !!!
you don't need to trust me, you can download the demo and listen to demo samples ;)
Reviewed By kuniklo on 28th January 2006
OS: Version: 1.02. Last edited by kuniklo on 28th January 2006.
Simply put, Surge currently occupies the sweet spot between features, ease of use and programmability in the vst world. It presents extremely flexible oscillators and a variety of very good filters in the most intuitive and efficient UI of any softsynth on the market. It's not a character synth like impOSCar and falls clearly on the VA side of the timbral spectrum but it's capable of a huge range of sounds in that flavor and is a sound designer and tweaker's dream.
Surge owes most of that flexibility to its oscillators. Unlike most synths that require you to coordinate two or more oscillators and a handful of modulation routings to move beyond a vanilla saw or pulse waveform, each of Surge's oscillators can do as much as most synths' entire oscillator bank. Each osc can run in a standard VA-style mode or in wavetable mode. In VA mode each oscillator provides modulatable shape, width, sub-oscillator level and width, self sync and detunable unison. In wavetable mode each osc provides modulatable shape, skew, saturation and format controls. This flexibility makes it a snap to create new timbres with a minimum of work. Surge also provides inter-oscillator ring modulation and limited FM routing to allow an even wider range of sounds.
Surge provides two multimode filters with arbitrary oscillator routing, several feedback loop modes and a complete array of filter types, from basic lp/bp/hp filters to comb filters and an unusual sample and hold filter for glitchy digital sounds. Sonically the filters aren't quite in the class of the very best vsts like impOSCar or Minimonsta but they still sound great. A bank of different wave shapers provides many options for dirtying up the sound.
In addition, Surge comes with one of the most comprehensive arrays of effects available on any synth, including not only the usual delay/chorus/reverb but also very useful pitch shifter and distortion effects. These can be used as inserts or routable sends and sound very good for onboard effects. Surge provides a simple preset system for effects which makes it quick to get back a favorite setting. Unlike most onboard effects, most effect parameters are modulation targets themselves.
Instead of hardwired lfos and envelopes, each modulation source can operate as an lfo or an envelope or as a simple step sequencer. The standard lfo waveforms can be further shaped by per-lfo deformation and envelope controls, making it possible to create the kind of complex modulation shapes that require multiple mod matrix entries in more conventional designs.
The thing that really sets Surge apart from other synths in this class with similar feature lists is it's phenominal UI. All the available modulation sources are laid out as small buttons at the bottom of the interface. Setting up a modulation routing is as simple as clicking on one of these sources and then clicking and dragging on the target control to set the degree of modulation. Suble highlights on the controls and mod sources give a quick overview of existing modulation routings. It's hard to appreciate how much faster and easier than a typical mod matrix approach is until you've spent some time working with it. It makes the whole process so effortless that you're much more likely to experiment with different routings and to come up with new sounds. In combination with the extremely flexible and modulatable oscillators there simply is no better synth for quick, on-the-fly sound design and tweaking. If you like to build sounds from scratch in the middle of a tracking session or you tend to extensively tweak sounds as you work them into a track you'll find Surge to be your new secret weapon.
CPU usage is quite moderate. The included documentation is somewhat minimal but covers all the features well enough and is more detailed and polished than that of most small-developers. In many hours of use I've yet to encounter a single bug or crash using Surge, in any combination of features. Surge isn't tied down by any annoying and counter-productive copy protection.
I can really only make one complaint about Surge, and it's that the bundled preset library, while good, doesn't really show Surge at its absolute best. There's plenty of good bread & butter sounds and a nice assortment of more exotic patches too but compared to synths like Blue or z3ta, the lack of top-notch professional sound designers shows. Hopefully Claes will be able to commision some sound design from someone like BigTone in a subsequent version. If you prefer synths with a big library of ready-to-use professional sounds then Surge might not be for you but otherwise Surge is simply a big step ahead of all the competition. It's not inexpensive but compared to everything else in its price bracket Surge is worth every penny. More than anything else released in 2005 it shows that the real innovators in the vst world are still the small independent developers.
Surge owes most of that flexibility to its oscillators. Unlike most synths that require you to coordinate two or more oscillators and a handful of modulation routings to move beyond a vanilla saw or pulse waveform, each of Surge's oscillators can do as much as most synths' entire oscillator bank. Each osc can run in a standard VA-style mode or in wavetable mode. In VA mode each oscillator provides modulatable shape, width, sub-oscillator level and width, self sync and detunable unison. In wavetable mode each osc provides modulatable shape, skew, saturation and format controls. This flexibility makes it a snap to create new timbres with a minimum of work. Surge also provides inter-oscillator ring modulation and limited FM routing to allow an even wider range of sounds.
Surge provides two multimode filters with arbitrary oscillator routing, several feedback loop modes and a complete array of filter types, from basic lp/bp/hp filters to comb filters and an unusual sample and hold filter for glitchy digital sounds. Sonically the filters aren't quite in the class of the very best vsts like impOSCar or Minimonsta but they still sound great. A bank of different wave shapers provides many options for dirtying up the sound.
In addition, Surge comes with one of the most comprehensive arrays of effects available on any synth, including not only the usual delay/chorus/reverb but also very useful pitch shifter and distortion effects. These can be used as inserts or routable sends and sound very good for onboard effects. Surge provides a simple preset system for effects which makes it quick to get back a favorite setting. Unlike most onboard effects, most effect parameters are modulation targets themselves.
Instead of hardwired lfos and envelopes, each modulation source can operate as an lfo or an envelope or as a simple step sequencer. The standard lfo waveforms can be further shaped by per-lfo deformation and envelope controls, making it possible to create the kind of complex modulation shapes that require multiple mod matrix entries in more conventional designs.
The thing that really sets Surge apart from other synths in this class with similar feature lists is it's phenominal UI. All the available modulation sources are laid out as small buttons at the bottom of the interface. Setting up a modulation routing is as simple as clicking on one of these sources and then clicking and dragging on the target control to set the degree of modulation. Suble highlights on the controls and mod sources give a quick overview of existing modulation routings. It's hard to appreciate how much faster and easier than a typical mod matrix approach is until you've spent some time working with it. It makes the whole process so effortless that you're much more likely to experiment with different routings and to come up with new sounds. In combination with the extremely flexible and modulatable oscillators there simply is no better synth for quick, on-the-fly sound design and tweaking. If you like to build sounds from scratch in the middle of a tracking session or you tend to extensively tweak sounds as you work them into a track you'll find Surge to be your new secret weapon.
CPU usage is quite moderate. The included documentation is somewhat minimal but covers all the features well enough and is more detailed and polished than that of most small-developers. In many hours of use I've yet to encounter a single bug or crash using Surge, in any combination of features. Surge isn't tied down by any annoying and counter-productive copy protection.
I can really only make one complaint about Surge, and it's that the bundled preset library, while good, doesn't really show Surge at its absolute best. There's plenty of good bread & butter sounds and a nice assortment of more exotic patches too but compared to synths like Blue or z3ta, the lack of top-notch professional sound designers shows. Hopefully Claes will be able to commision some sound design from someone like BigTone in a subsequent version. If you prefer synths with a big library of ready-to-use professional sounds then Surge might not be for you but otherwise Surge is simply a big step ahead of all the competition. It's not inexpensive but compared to everything else in its price bracket Surge is worth every penny. More than anything else released in 2005 it shows that the real innovators in the vst world are still the small independent developers.
Reviewed By Motion on 15th November 2005
OS: Version: 1.01. Last edited by Motion on 15th November 2005.
Whilst SURGE is clearly a complex synthesiser,using it is almost contrary to that sophistication,this is no easy feat and a lot of careful thought has gone into the GUI,it's implementation,presentation and navigation.SURGE is effectively 2 scenes,A and B which you work between if you wish to have splits and layers.
The 3 excellent sounding band limited oscillators each have 5 algorithms to choose from which are classic (pulse,saw/dual saw oscillators which are morphable with a sub oscillator and self sync),sinus,wavetable(about 150 included),SH noise or external audio input,you can also set them up to do FM and 3 carrier modulator configs are available,ring mod is also featured,depending what you select appropriate and extensive oscillator controls appear for the respective choice,I won't go into all the details but having the all important sub oscillator at 1 octave down is present for extra fat with syncable pulse width along with keytrigger/retrigger,the other 3 you see in the oscillator section are fixed x2 for ring mod and a seperate noise oscillator all with independant level control and a master gain stage on the output,there are also controls for oscillator drift to induce imperfections along with noise colour and a seperate high pass filter,you can route the oscillators individually to either or both filters,the wave shaper has 5 options and unlike many these sound very good indeed.
There are 10 filter types including a 1-4 pole selectable 24LP ladder that can go into self oscillation,these impressive sounding filters have 7 different configurations of various series and parallel routings including the waveshapers placement in the filter signal path with user controllable feedback.The 4 stage FEG and AEG are tempo syncable for the ADR portions.And while I'm on the subject of tempo sync portamento!is included.
The Lfos which are tempo syncable are extremely comprehensive with various modes such as freerun,retrigger,random and unipolar with 8 preset waveforms along with a drawable 16 step sequencer with a modifiable loop point and all
with,rate,phase/shuffle,magnitude and deform and finally 6 stage EGs with tempo syncable DAHDR portions.Be advised in advance regards self induced changes to your spatial awareness.You have been warned.
The FX are very flexible with 9 choices these cover various tempo syncable delays,phasers,frequency shifters but with vemberaudios quality algorithms and smoothness,you can bypass sends,scene fx or everything,the setups can also be globally saved with the patch.
The GUI of SURGE is beautifully designed and logically laid out that you always feel in control,this is a synth that works with you and for you,you never feel lost and everything feels so well tuned and honed that when you apply or change functions they precisely tally with your thinking and the sound goes exactly where you expect it to go,this is particularly noticeable when modifying the lfos because you can jointly see and hear what is happening as the graphic waveform changes providing accurate visual and auditory feedback that is very tight timing wise and in sync with the targeted parameters,there appears to be no perceptible lag or latency with whatever you are manipulating or ajusting,this I'm sure contributes substantially toward the instant feedback and responsive sonics that come about whilst working with SURGE and makes it such a joy to use.The precision of it all is fabulous.
A great strength is the rather unique mods,by pressing the middle mouse button after highlighting the respective mod source all the available destination controls become highlighted in blue which is just about everything for the hardwired ones and the 7cc's including fx controls,the 1st 6 "voice" lfos can't mod the fx but the 6 scene lfos can!!With a few flicks of the wrist just move whatever and the respective range is set,unclick job done.
Soundwise this is where SURGE really excels.Subjectively think ARP Odyssey,Oberheim Matrix Series,Oscar,PPG,Prophet VS,DX7,Alesis Ion and Clavia Nords come to mind.Yet despite this description SURGE still manages to sound it's own man,somehow tiptoeing in between the cracks and beyond.SURGE remains smooth and clean but not clinical due to the removal of interpolation artifacts and other aliasing nasties.
SURGE is an extremely versatile,creative and superb sounding synthesiser which is up there with the best.All this achieveable in a graceful and easy manner given the intuitiveness afforded by the great all round design.
If you don't think you need another synth then SURGE may just change your mind,if you don't own one and need one then SURGE deserves to be considered near the top of that short list.
Both stability and developer support are excellent and a good manual is available along with numerous presets.SURGE costs 180 Euros/Dollars and is excellent value given its comprehensiveness.A Mac port is also coming.
The above review is an edit.Please PM me for a copy of the original.
The 3 excellent sounding band limited oscillators each have 5 algorithms to choose from which are classic (pulse,saw/dual saw oscillators which are morphable with a sub oscillator and self sync),sinus,wavetable(about 150 included),SH noise or external audio input,you can also set them up to do FM and 3 carrier modulator configs are available,ring mod is also featured,depending what you select appropriate and extensive oscillator controls appear for the respective choice,I won't go into all the details but having the all important sub oscillator at 1 octave down is present for extra fat with syncable pulse width along with keytrigger/retrigger,the other 3 you see in the oscillator section are fixed x2 for ring mod and a seperate noise oscillator all with independant level control and a master gain stage on the output,there are also controls for oscillator drift to induce imperfections along with noise colour and a seperate high pass filter,you can route the oscillators individually to either or both filters,the wave shaper has 5 options and unlike many these sound very good indeed.
There are 10 filter types including a 1-4 pole selectable 24LP ladder that can go into self oscillation,these impressive sounding filters have 7 different configurations of various series and parallel routings including the waveshapers placement in the filter signal path with user controllable feedback.The 4 stage FEG and AEG are tempo syncable for the ADR portions.And while I'm on the subject of tempo sync portamento!is included.
The Lfos which are tempo syncable are extremely comprehensive with various modes such as freerun,retrigger,random and unipolar with 8 preset waveforms along with a drawable 16 step sequencer with a modifiable loop point and all
with,rate,phase/shuffle,magnitude and deform and finally 6 stage EGs with tempo syncable DAHDR portions.Be advised in advance regards self induced changes to your spatial awareness.You have been warned.
The FX are very flexible with 9 choices these cover various tempo syncable delays,phasers,frequency shifters but with vemberaudios quality algorithms and smoothness,you can bypass sends,scene fx or everything,the setups can also be globally saved with the patch.
The GUI of SURGE is beautifully designed and logically laid out that you always feel in control,this is a synth that works with you and for you,you never feel lost and everything feels so well tuned and honed that when you apply or change functions they precisely tally with your thinking and the sound goes exactly where you expect it to go,this is particularly noticeable when modifying the lfos because you can jointly see and hear what is happening as the graphic waveform changes providing accurate visual and auditory feedback that is very tight timing wise and in sync with the targeted parameters,there appears to be no perceptible lag or latency with whatever you are manipulating or ajusting,this I'm sure contributes substantially toward the instant feedback and responsive sonics that come about whilst working with SURGE and makes it such a joy to use.The precision of it all is fabulous.
A great strength is the rather unique mods,by pressing the middle mouse button after highlighting the respective mod source all the available destination controls become highlighted in blue which is just about everything for the hardwired ones and the 7cc's including fx controls,the 1st 6 "voice" lfos can't mod the fx but the 6 scene lfos can!!With a few flicks of the wrist just move whatever and the respective range is set,unclick job done.
Soundwise this is where SURGE really excels.Subjectively think ARP Odyssey,Oberheim Matrix Series,Oscar,PPG,Prophet VS,DX7,Alesis Ion and Clavia Nords come to mind.Yet despite this description SURGE still manages to sound it's own man,somehow tiptoeing in between the cracks and beyond.SURGE remains smooth and clean but not clinical due to the removal of interpolation artifacts and other aliasing nasties.
SURGE is an extremely versatile,creative and superb sounding synthesiser which is up there with the best.All this achieveable in a graceful and easy manner given the intuitiveness afforded by the great all round design.
If you don't think you need another synth then SURGE may just change your mind,if you don't own one and need one then SURGE deserves to be considered near the top of that short list.
Both stability and developer support are excellent and a good manual is available along with numerous presets.SURGE costs 180 Euros/Dollars and is excellent value given its comprehensiveness.A Mac port is also coming.
The above review is an edit.Please PM me for a copy of the original.
Latest 4 reviews from a total of 4
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Discussion
7 April 2012 at 7:56pm
liquidsound
liquidsound It just seat in every mix. It's truly a powerhouse and a learning tool for modulation and the effects routing is genius.
27 January 2012 at 9:23ambiomekk
biomekk Had this one for a while now and it definitely fills the part of being the "odd VST amongst your normal ones".
What I like about it the most is the attack and the digital kind of grittiness.
And as said before the GUi is actually very user friendly. For example, the way you drag and drop assign things in the modulation matrix by "drag and drop" is something I really miss on more expensive plugins. Vember has really ignored fancy looks (yeah it's ugly ) and instead focused on making a practical tool.
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