By MotorMind
On 28th September 2008
Version: 1.5
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HERCs Music Systems Abakos PRO
I bought a license to this synth as soon as I heard the demo in my host (Cubase 4). It just sounds great: very warm pads, lovely FM like bells without becoming harsh, swirling arpeggios that give that instant old-school vibe I look for. I think the interface is quite hideous, but since I loved the sound I went for it.
Then, the problems started. The thing is buggy. VERY buggy. When I save my project, all the parameters switch back to the settings of the presets, so changing anything won't do you any good. Saving a preset and trying to load it back also doesn't work. At times it simply refuses to switch presets as well, so you also can't change sounds in that fashion.
It is also not exactly a new problem, but it hasn't been fixed yet, despite complaints from other users. Contacting the developer is useless, since they just don't respond. A shame, really, since this synth would have found a place in about any of my project without its silly problems.
So in short: try this synth, but wait for a bug fix before deciding to buy it. |
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Last edited : 28th September 2008
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By MotorMind
On 6th November 2005
Version: 4.5
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Cycling '74 Max/MSP
First, the good stuff. This is a great way to make very creative setups for manipulating and generating MIDI-data. You can go from simply filtering notes to fully automated generative compositional tools, complete with highly interactive user-interfaces. I didn't delve too much into the MSP part for building your own synths, but I do load VSTs in it frequently which goes quite nicely. This thing can do basically all and everything and then some. Especially powerful is the addition of Java and JavaScript capabilites, which is a great help when trying to control your patches.
Now the bad stuff. This thing is buggy, buggy, BUGGY! It crashes a lot, especially with certain VSTs. Save often is the motto here! The user-interface is also quite arcane and the elements offered for building your own interfaces are .. well.. plain ugly.
Patches tend to become an unwieldy mess very fast, especially when using a lot of programming logic like loops, tables and conversions. This is relieved to a degree by the Java and JavaScript capabilities of the engine, but beware: also these elements tend to be rather buggy.
All in all it can be a fun and inspiring product, but I wouldn't trust it for any real-time work. It's also a bit on the expensive side for such a buggy product. |
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Last edited : 6th November 2005
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By MotorMind
On 27th July 2005
Version: 1.2
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Rayzoon Technologies Jamstix
Jamstix is the only program that I tried that actually sounds like a real drummer, complete with fills and random hits. The built-in sounds are okay, but you get the best result with a proper drumkit in a seperate sampler (like Battery or Kontakt).
I haven't used its real-time capabalities much, since I am not such a great keyboard player. I use it in Cubase SX and found that the program really shines when automating its parameters, most notably the probabilities of snare variations and crashes.
What I would like to see in this program is a better way to program new rhythms. The interface right now is a bit confusing and doesn't offer features to drill down to the low level bits. I'd love to simply have a pattern-editor in which I could assign the probabilities of each hit. This would be especially handy for programming fills, which are now derived from mostly unreadable text files. For now I usually just render the results to MIDI and then tweak them in my sequencer's drum-editor
Saving your own rhythms is a bit weird, since they use a keyword-based system that I find rather clumsy.
In conclusion, this program is a great way to quickly make drum patterns with a live feel to them. It could even replace a drummer for demo-purposes, as long as you're prepared to do some manual programming as well. |
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Last edited : 27th July 2005
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By MotorMind
On 24th July 2005
Version: 1.3
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XT Software energyXT
I use this VST primarily as a way of chaining other VST-plugins in a non-restrictive way. Especially in hosts that provide very limited chaining capabalities - like Cubase SX - this is a welcome addition. The built-in sequencer is cute, but not quite up to par with other, more mature products like named Cubase. The fact that there is no plugin delay compensation (PDC) in whatever form doesn't help that fact either.
The user-interface is functional but - let's face it - not the prettiest around. Even the fact that you can apply several skins doesn't help that you often have a hard time discerning what the heck it is you're looking at. This is especially true for anything requiring manipulating scores or audio files.
The standalone-version of this plug-in is pretty buggy and will crash and the craziest of times (like, moving a note in the piano-roll). The plug-in is stable when used as a VST, although it is rather cumbersome that the standard-size is rather small and you can't resize it. I complained about this and simply got told that this is the "host's problem". Ah well...
What's even crazier is that it doesn't support multiple VST-outputs from the get go. You have to make copies of the dll and fiddle around with entries in some obscure configuration-file to make that happen. It works, but there sure have to be better and more user-friendly ways to achieve such an important feature.
Support is abysmal and strictly limited to the Kvraudio-forum, where you will often get wildly different (non-working) suggestions to the same problem. The response to several of my feature requests was even downright hostile, leading to a long slew of complaints from the developer. So I guess PDC is out of the question for the time being.
Since I don't expect too much for something costing only $40 I won't be too harsh on the developer, who is likely bogged down by the attention. It is a useful addition as a plugin-chainer and I will keep using it as exactly that. |
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Last edited : 24th July 2005
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By MotorMind
On 31st January 2005
Version: 4.0.2
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Cakewalk SONAR
In this review I will cut straight to the cheese: Sonar's audio engine has some serious issues. Every time you edit something - anything it all - the audio output starts gapping, crackling and distorting. This could happen while adding/removing plug-ins, manipulating faders or - worse still - editing MIDI. Yes, that's right: every time you edit a MIDI note the audio stops for a while, which can wreak havoc on any kind of real-time workflow. This already happens at very low CPU consumption and gets exponentially worse when the load gets higher. Forget about using ReWire; the audio gaps will go up to over a second, not to mention the stress on the monitors every time you dare to move a note in the piano roll.
I am by far not the only one with this complaint. The Cakewalk Sonar user-forums are filled with posts about this issue.
I wish I could be more constructive, but this is just how it is. Sonar 4 is an application that is great in its conception, but flawed in its execution. Now this gapping issue might not affect everyone, since some people hardly do any MIDI editing at all and simply go for the looping/recording features of Sonar. Those people will be just fine.
For the rest of us it might be wise to wait until the next major release of this package, when Cakewalk has solved the audio-gap issue. At least that is what they promised to do. |
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Last edited : 31st January 2005
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