By HiEnergy
On 27th October 2009
Version: XP/Vista
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H.G. Fortune Arracis Gold
Arracis Gold Pro is a four oscillator step sequencer synthesizer with a large number of built-in sample waveforms which can be switched and modulated in up to eight steps per loop (host synced, common note values, dotted, triplet). The stepper can advance regularly or in an irregular fashion (e.g. every 5th step). The sound is then shaped by a resonant LP-HP filter combination, a "spook" effect (kind of a phaser-flanger-delay), a bass enhancer and a synced stereo delay effect with pan modulation.
Most modulation targets allow selection between two synced LFOs, two unsynced special wave LFOs, two slow LFOs and an S/H modulator source.
The user interface is beatuiful. Except for some parameter assignments where I wondered which dial belongs to which parameter first, it nicely fits the instrument
Arracis Gold Pro is well suited for eerie sound scapes, beautiful undulating pads, melodic sequence and arpeggio lines and rhythmic textures.
The wealth of parameters with sensibly tuned value ranges and its vivid sound shaping possibilities make Arracis Gold a nice instrument for live performance. Just feed it a single note or a simple melody and tweak the parameters for minutes and hours.
Arracis Gold comes with a huge selection of beautiful and expressive factory patches and lots of very detailed and varied waves.
My ratings:
UI: 8/10 (a bit of confusion is possible, otherwise really nice and clear design)
Sound: 9/10 (lots of interesting and surprisingly complex sounds possible)
Features: 9/10 (good selection of features with a limited number of building blocks)
Documentation: 8/10 (comes with a PDF document which explains every control element and what it does.
Presets: 9/10 (lots of expressive sounds and a broad spectrum of integrated waves)
Support: 10/10 (the author of Arracis Gold is very responsive. I reported an issue, a day later it was fixed)
VfM: 10/10 (This plug-in is more than worth the asked price [free / EUR 25,-)
Stability: 9/10 (rarely slightly unexpected sound possible otherwise rock solid for me, does what it's supposed to)
I really like Arracis Gold. |
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By HiEnergy
On 2nd May 2008
Version: 1.0
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xoxos Hyperion
Hyperion by xoxos is a MIDI note generator that "invents" melodies and chord patterns.
I tested Hyperion and found it very useful for any kind of accompaniment, bass lines and almost endless melodic variations.
The advanced counters and lfos together with sophisticated cross modulation possibilities and semi-random steppings and measure subdivisions allow for any degree of tonal and rhythmic diversion from repetitive to chaotic.
The three step sequencers (sources for stepping are separately selectable from a rather long list) give a good amount of control over note and chord properties. The 3rd seq is capable of influencing other modulators.
The notes for the played tones and chords can be chosen from a long list of scales from four flavors of pentatonic over all of the modal scales and some rather exotic ones to pure chromatic.
A further modulating subdivision section offers possibilities for grace notes, mordents and trills. This makes for a very realistic playing attitude of natural instruments.
The option for feeding note and/or gate information via MIDI allows for slaving many instances of Hyperion to a common "master line" resulting in euphonic multi-voice arrangements with several harmonized parts.
Hyperion comes with a very good manual that is helpful for understanding this really complex piece of software to a point that allows faithful reconstruction of playing styles typical for a selected instrument and/or genre.
There was some minor issue with a rather big project involving five instances of Hyperion, a MIDI master track and some more oddities. When I reported the problem to xoxos, he was very helpful and his reply email came almost instantly.
Another issue regarding key transpositions on MIDI input was solved the same day I reported it.
Hyperion is a great plugin done by an ingenious developer. I guess I'll use it very often to overcome my "composer's block" and find nice-sounding sequences.
Why I gave it the points like I did:
- The user interface is a bit cryptic and uses selector knobs (scales) or draggable items (lfo waveform) where I'd like drop-downs better. I guess it's a screen space trade-off how it's been done. (9/10)
- When investing some time and effort, this program can "sound" ("invent" notes) almost any way you want it to. (9/10)
- The feature-richness and completeness of modulation target lists more than satisfied me. Great! (10/10)
- Hyperion is well documented. Some unanswered questions got solved by trial and error. (9/10)
- The presets show several of the more intricate features of this program. Apart from this I mostly start with a blank sheet as setting up Hyperion is the individual part in a project. (9/10)
- The customer support is as good as can be. No complaints at all. (10/10)
- VfM: OUTSTANDING! (10/10)
- Stability: There's some minor quirk with this version when running several instances of Hyperion in the same project but nothing that can't be worked around. Sounds are very predictable and can be reliably recalled when re-loading a project. Hyperion has a reset feature to set its seqs, lfos, dividers and counters to a well-defined state before starting a recording session. (9/10) |
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Last edited : 2nd May 2008
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By HiEnergy
On 12th April 2007
Version: 3.1.5
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Wusik Wusik Station
Wusikstation is a sample-based synthesizer with four oscillators and two sequenceable wavesequence oscillators per patch.
There are exhaustive modulation possibilities, eight LFOs, eight envelopes and a very complete modulation matrix with lots of different modulation sources and destinations.
Wusikstation's filters (one for every oscillator/wavesequence oscillator) and the modular effects (two effects per patch with flexible mixer routing) sound very rich and well-balanced.
Wusikstation comes with lots of convincing samples, wavetables and presets that give astonishing results even without programming own sounds.
What kind of sounds are delivered depends on frequent special offers for Wusikstation. I got mine with a huge collection of high-quality acoustic piano and guitar sounds, assorted electronic wavetables and six issues of a magazine dedicated to Wusikstation.
All this at an unbelievable EUR 36,-.
I use Wusikstation in almost any of my latest production and think it's worth every cent I paid for it.
Wusikstation is very well suited for pads, drones and other huge and complex sounds with lots of movement.
Wusikstation is very light on cpu and offers even the most complex and mobile sounds demanding almost no load from the host.
I fully recommend Wusikstation and did not yet regret buying it. |
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Last edited : 12th April 2007
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