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All Reviews by AzureCrystal


By AzureCrystal
On 31st August 2009
Version: Proteus

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E-MU Proteus VX

As a long term lover of Emu Proteus sound I remember how sad I was to lose those sounds when I sold my Proteus 2500, for years I missed that machine and it is no longer available !! When I found out there was a VST with THE SAME presets as my P2500, I was very happy, and when I found out it was FREE, I had to kick myself !!! The VST version actually adds some editing capabilities not available on the hardware unit and the voice stealing is much more efficient than on the hardware box, where I experienced a lot of clipping for multi-voice sequences....

The interface has a very nice librarian and allows sounds to be categorized and previewed, and the 16 midi channel multitimbral editor is perfect, with so many sounds and multitimbral options, you could use just this synth for full productions, which I have in the past for many of my songs using only the Proteus 2500... Looking forward to rendering my old P2500 midi sequences now that I have a sound module that contains the original patches I had thought I lost forever !! Using only the P2500, I wrote the soundtracks to 2 commercial video games, one notably "Maniacal Max: The Maniac With a Cause" - by SD Entertainment. The tracks were all done using only the Proteus 2500 with the stock "composer" banks, which are included in this VST in it's entirety !!

A lot of care and love went into the programming of the original Proteus "Composer" banks and in my ears most of the sounds still sound as fresh and exciting as when I first got them. You simply can't lose with this one, get it then buy all the soundsets with the money you saved !!!
 
Last edited : 31st August 2009     
By AzureCrystal
On 25th January 2009
Version: v 2.55

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As a professional user of sequencers since the DOS days of Voyetra, I have tried most of the shareware and commercial audio sequencers out there (I also own Cubase SE, Sonar, Samplitude 9 SE, nTrack) and lately I keep coming back to Reaper for it's excellent audio quality, nice interface and low CPU usage.

I am really digging it's latest interface with all the cool context sensitive mouse functions, for instance, depending on where you hover, the mouse scroll button will do a number of things, resize tracks, control pan or volume, or simply scroll the mixer and track panes. Where Reaper is still behind is in Midi Editing, but the developers have been actively releasing new versions that have taken care of most of my original midi gripes and are getting really close to making this the best Audio product in this price range !! Support is top notch and I get frequent updates with significant feature enhancements and fixes, that in itself is an unexpected treat, as right when I think of a little midi wish list, the next release has addressed them.

I also love the very simple yet clever way of setting up Sends, Inserts, and Virtual Instruments. So far I have figured out most of the features without resorting the the extensive 500+ page PDF manual(which I also purchased a printed copy at Lulu.com to support the developer), that says a lot as I spent weeks reading through Samplitude's manual and just gave up trying to do even easy tasks, so Reaper it is for me !! I do also like Pro Tools, but it would not be a fair comparison considering that to get the same audio quality on that system I would have to spend $1,000 or more. All things considered, Reaper has become my main audio tool in my studio and based on the great support it has enjoyed so far, I know it will continue to evolve into a main contender, surpassing some of the more expensive products out there. I recommend Reaper enthusiastically !
 
Last edited : 25th January 2009     

By AzureCrystal
On 10th January 2007
Version: 1.5

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Syntheway Virtual Musical Instruments Magnus Choir

I Purchased the Magnus Choir a few days ago looking for a temporary bridge between the usual GM midi soundset type choir sound VSTs, and the very expensive($300+) commercial VSTs and I am happy to say Magnus has worked well in all my composition needs. It can be used for anything from straight classical film score to pop choirs and spacey interludes, the quality is much better than expected and the presets cover all bases for my work.

I thought I would have to hold off to purchase the more expensive VSTs, but Magnus has really given me the quality I needed at a killer price, just some adjusting of the envelops(very easy to do), and I got exactly what I needed. The only wish I have is to be able to select/change the vocal sample on a preset, but for about 39USD, I am definitely asking too much !!

Very simple, uncluttered interface, well thought out midi CC controller assignment, well documented and the preset names include the dynamic setting so I know what patch to use for a stacatto piece or when I need a legato choir !!

I recommend Magnus Choir to anyone doing indie film work who wants a great choir sound for a great value !!!
 
Last edited : 10th January 2007     
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