By Dogboy73
On 9th March 2004
Version: 1.1
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GForce impOSCar
USER INTERFACE : Laid out fairly logically, Decent sized controllers, option to show/hide keyboard, value of each parameter displayed in 'selected parameter' window, Looks authentic to original.
SOUND : Probably the best sounding software instrument I've ever heard. Certainly as far as software emulation's of analogue filters go ImpOSCar wins hands down amongst any competition that's around at present. With the extensive sounding sculpting options on offer the ImpOSCar is capable of producing a wide range of sounds and textures. I'm a huge fan of nice warm 80's sounding pads/strings and ImpOSCar dishes these out for breakfast! Want Vangelis style Blade Runner esque sounds? No problem - Check out the 'Blade Dreamer' patch from the preset library and you may think twice about purchasing Arturia's more expensive CS80 emulation. At the other end of the spectrum - Well, to quote Dave Spiers, "It screams like a ba***rd!" :) Best sales pitch I've ever heard and he's not joking either. ImpOSCar is capable of some amazing full on leads and basses that glow with analogue style warmth and character the like of which I have never heard before from a software instrument. Very impressive stuff.
FEATURES : Amazing filter section with wide variety of waveforms, Superb Arppegiator section with extensive control options, Additive user waveforms via wave matrix editor, Built in overdrive, built in chorus and delay FX, Wide range of LFO waveforms and control, Very comprehensive glide controls, Keyboard velocity control options etc...
DOCUMENTATION : Up to GMedia's usual standard - history of the OSCar, Detailed analysis of all controls all in a 'gumph' free 24 page manual. CD also contains 20 min video tutorial which is a great idea.
PRESETS : Plenty of them showing off the ImpOSCar's wide range of sound sculpting abilities. Not arranged in any logical kind of order which is a little disappointing but you could always compile your favourites into your own bank.
CUSTOMER SUPPORT : GMedia are renowned for their after sales support which I used for the M-Tron (Where it was excellent) but not so far with the ImpOSCar.
VALUE FOR MONEY : £100??? Best value commercial software instrument so far. GMedia have got their pricing spot-on and as such I didn't hesitate in rushing out and buying the ImpOSCar. Other software instrument companies should take note. Superb value.
STABILITY : No problems so far. |
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Last edited : 28th October 2004
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By Dogboy73
On 14th February 2004
Version: 1.1
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e-phonic Invader
I discovered Invader after somebody on the K-v-R forum who was looking for a VSTi for creating sound effects was directed to it. It's always good to find free VSTi's that are made to do something a bit different & that actually sound good. Invader is one such synth.
The parameters on the Invader are your standard subtractive synthesis fair - 2 Oscillators, Amp envelope, Filter, Filter envelope & 2 modulaters that can be synced to your sequencers BPM & routed to the oscillators &/or the filter. This is handy for adding rhythmic modulations to your sounds. There's also a delay section & the main area has a glide control for portmento effects, A noise generator & a Ring modulator.
Sound wise is where the Invader stands out from the usual VA/Subtractive soft synth. It's cleary been designed with more obscure, Esoteric sounds in mind. That's not to say it pumps out random, unusable nonsense - quite the opposite. It's sounds have a fair amount of character, Warmth & depth to be honest. It's certainly just as capable of creating nice fat, warm bass & leads tones it is at making more esoteric sound FX.
Sound quality wise the Invader scores quite highly to my ears. It often reminded me of the old C=64/SID type sounds only with much more analogue style fatness & character.
As a freebie that will give you something a bit different that also sounds fantastic Invader is absolutely essential. |
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Last edited : 14th February 2004
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By Dogboy73
On 6th February 2004
Version: 1.0
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Land of Cockaigne Oberon
This a top little free VSTi, One of the best I've found in terms of analogue emulation. The GUI looks a lot like a certain analogue hardware synth I've seen before. Maybe a Roland Jupiter 4? However the name would suggest the programmer had an old Oberheim synth in mind when he came up with the name.
What I love about this VSTi (apart from the fact it's free of course) is that it's very simple to use but very easy to get some really nice sounds & textures out of it. First off, De-tuning the oscillators can give you some very fat sounds. The filter section is nice as well. There are 2 envelopes for Modulation & Amplitude & these combined with the filter section can give some very nice sweeping string/pads that can sound very fat & convincing.
The programmer has written some brief but excellent notes that come in the form of a Read-me file. In this file you can find details of the parameters in the Oberon synth, Notes about the limitations imposed by Synth Edit, A MIDI CC chart etc..
Overall this is a fantastic little synth never mind that it's free (I'd be happy to shell out a few quid for this one to be honest) & more than worthy of download. The programmer has done an excellent job with the sound capabilities & quality + The GUI is excellent as well (Not so important but nice to have such a good looking front-end all the same). |
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Last edited : 6th February 2004
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By Dogboy73
On 6th February 2004
Version: 4.5
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GForce M-Tron
I bought the M-Tron when it first came out. I was impressed with the demo's I'd heard on the GMedia website & it came across as sounding genuinely unique. For the price I just had to have it.
Installation was well handled by a menu system that aloud you to choose which patches you wanted to install. A complete install was around 500MB but I decided it best to hear everything on offer. All the patches had a definite vintage quality about them & they were brimming over with warmth & character the likes of which I'd never heard from a soft synth previously. One of the first patches I tried was the flute sound that, on the original mellotron, provided the intro to the Beatles classic Strawberry fields. Sound wise it was spot on but I noticed a problem with my M-tron at this point which was that some of the notes appeared to be missing! I e-mailed the Gmedia tech support who very quickly replied & directed me to an update patch which solved the problem (So, Hats of to GMedia for customer support which was excellent).
The controls on the M-Tron are very simple but allow you enough control over the sound to make things interesting but without loosing the character of each sound. The M-Tron also adds Attack & Release time which apparently the original Mellotron never had. This allows you further control over the characteristics of each sound & is especially useful on the more string like patches in order to make them softer.
The documentation is simple but it gives you a brief history of the Mellotron & explains that it wasn't really a synth at all but in a way the worlds first sampler.
The M-Tron really is a classic Soft synth with a warm sound that's full of character & is unique amongst soft synths. The extra volumes of 'Tape banks' that have been released add even more wonderful sounds to an already excellent collection (Just make sure you have plenty of hard disk space!). Some might argue that the M-Tron is nothing more than a collection of samples from an old synth but what you actually have here are a collection unique (And very rare) sounds from an equally unique instrument. Of course, It's not going to be for everyone but one listen to the demo MP3's on the GMedia website will convince you of it's worth one way or the other. In my opinion for £45 you can't go far wrong. |
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Last edited : 26th April 2004
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