By Hewitt Huntwork
On 7th September 2006
Version: 1.0
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Tone2 FireBird
I have great news for you if you missed out on the Firebird group buy here at KVR. Firebird is easily worth the full asking price ($69 at the time of this review).
I casually monitor group buys here at KVR and had decided against getting Firebird based on 1) the fact that I own a couple of other synths that I thought filled a similar space in my toolbox, and 2) comments from users (and a review in CM) that say it is ideally suited for trance, a genre that is far afield from my own purposes.
I can't remember what prompted me to try the demo, but that was what changed my mind, and fast!
The first thing I noticed was the sound. Since sound is subjective, I will just say that I liked it right away. When I listen to a synth I always try to envision whether I can use it in my own music, and with Firebird I was able to hear it almost instantly. I am not a trance expert, so for all I know it *may* be ideally suited for trance, but I was able to imagine it playing a role in my pop/rock/acoustic/ambient recordings.
The other things that really made a difference for me were the arpeggiator (which has a built-in gate) and the drop-down programming menus. The same way that some people prefer to use a roland-stlye "XOX" pattern sequencer, I wish ALL my synths had drop down programming menus. I'm a preset tweaker by nature, but Firebird makes me want to program my own sounds (and I have been doing just that). The "Random" button will give you a whole new leaping off point, including which waveforms are used in the patch. A couple of my "Random" patches were so good I just saved them the way they were without any tweaking at all.
User Interface: the interface is uncluttered, and designed to keep things simple. It does this well. A few users on the forum (myself included) have commented on the appearance of the gui (chiefly the knobs) and Markus has responded with openness and interest. If you break down the gui into its functionality and its appearance, I would give it perfect marks for functionality and say that I wouldn't mind if it got a little bit of a facelift.
Sound: I like it. Try the demo.
Features: If other devs are smart, they will adopt Markus' best features on their own synths. Menus, arpeggiator, random button. In addition, I like that rather than having fully-programmable FX, he has multiple types of the same effect and you can tweak 2 parameters of each. Not revolutionary, I know, but this idea is in keeping with the user-friendly concept of Firebird.
Documentation: Haven't needed it much, but I did glance over it to find out what the "Pop" button does.
Presets: It comes with 300, and they do a good job of showing what Firebird can do. Since it is so easy to program, I would love to see Markus host a preset exchange.
Customer Support: While I haven't had any issues that needed resolving, I gave a ten here because of three things: First, Markus' presence here at KVR. Second, he once sent me an email just to check if his messages to me were arriving marked as SPAM. Talk about attention to detail! Third, like I said, I haven't had any issues that needed resolving, and that is a good thing! I emailed Markus with a couple of feature requests, and he responded very quickly.
Value For Money: It's great. Sign me up for any expansions!
Stability: No problemns there.
I told Markus I would like to see a mute button for each of the oscillators. I would also like to see some more pattern options for the arpeggiator/gate. I would also like to have lots more sounds (which I understand is in the works). I would like to have several skin options. These things are minor and Markus has said that the version 1.1 update will be out soon. |
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By Hewitt Huntwork
On 21st August 2005
Version: 1.3
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Rayzoon Technologies Jamstix
Jamstix, how do I love thee? Let me count off the ways! Drummer joke!
I use Rayzoon Technologies'Jamstix for about 1/3 of its intended purposes, and consider it invaluable. For those who don't know, Jamstix will allow you to create a drum arrangement (either from pre-existing patterns or those you program yourself). After you create your arrangement, you can have it follow along with your own playing (audio or midi) or export the midi data of the arrangement to your sequencer. It will provide you with drum sounds or host another VST drum module.
I am a singer/songwriter, so I'm not going to use the (admittedly awesome) play-along-with-Dave-Weckl type features. Instead, I program all my own beats and create arrangements which I import into SONAR. I then split each note to its own track and assign sounds from multiple VSTis to the various drums. How cool is that?
In case you're wondering why someone would use Jamstix when they program their own beats, I'll explain. Jamstix will add snare, tom, and crash accents for you, will vary the velocities of your snare and hats, and allow you to add fills (more elaborate than mere accents) to any measure. Intros and endings are also provided. All of this amounts to incredible realism. Jamstix allows you to control how much variation you get, and if you feel a fill or accent is needed in a measure but aren't happy with what you got, a couple of quick clicks will provide a new fill or accent. Sharp.
So for me, Jamstix is like having a drummer who will play what you want without having to discuss every little detail to death. The learning curve is moderate (harder than easy, easirer than hard). It has a few minor quirks, but don't let that stop you from getting it.
UI - I would give the layout of the UI a 10, and the color scheme... less. ;)
Sound - I love the included sounds. I might be more inclined to use them if there were an export to .wav feature (there has been some discussion of this on the Jamstix forum).
Features - Oh, my. Where to begin? To me, Jamstix is like two products in one. As I stated above, the way I use it is as a drummer who does exactly as he's told. It can also do the opposite, and surprise you as much as you'd like! It can assist you in sequencing or take over completely, your choice.
Documentation - Really pretty good.
Presets - Lots of patterns, fills, intros and endings. You can save your own patterns as well. I would like it if a few simpler patterns and fills were included. More of everything would be most welcome! Also, a way to easily create fills, intros, and endings would be nice (I say "easily" because it currently is possible if you want to learn the Dev's method and create them in code).
Customer Support - The best there is. I don't say that lightly. Both support requests and feature requests are handled with care and speed. I've seen feature requests implemented in as little as a few days. Feature Requests!!! If you are a software Dev, the model of Rayzoon's Ralph should be what you aspire to.
Value For Money - I pre-ordered at $89 (the regular price is $99). A pittance.
Stability - Never had a problem.
If you make music and your music has drums and you don't use a live drummer, get Jamstix. If you make a style of music that emulates a drummer, it's a no brainer. If you make electronic music, you should see what jamstix can do for you. Create drum parts and use the resulting midi data to fuel your experiments. Use your imagination.
I don't expect to see a better VSTi for quite some time. |
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By Hewitt Huntwork
On 1st August 2004
Version: 1.1
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AudioNerdz Delay Lama
Delay Lama is a clever little plug-in. Its elegant simplicity is a joy to experience!
The use of just a few changeable parameters and one built-in effect give this synth its unique quality. Having more than one way to control the parameters is cool, too. You can adjust the knobs or just drag on the X-Y type field.
I consider it to have the best user interface of any VSTi I've ever used. That little monk never fails to make me smile. :)
I'm surprised that AudioNerdz hasn't tried to use this same simple concept with a few different sounding synths. I think that would be very interesting.
Lastly, it may just be me, but I HAVE used this plug in one of my tunes! DL now for a good time!
Features, Presets, and Support are not really big issues. I didn't care about/need them and neither will you. |
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