Log InCreate An Account
  1. Plugins
  2. »
  3. User Reviews

Product Reviews by KVR Members

All reviews by mindbeet

Review Something or Find Reviews

Novachord + Solovox Synthesizers

Reviewed By mindbeet [all]
January 20th, 2024
Version reviewed: 1.0.2 on Windows

Sounds beautiful. But here is a new level of wasted space with angles as well, more wood than synth.

Promising but could have been expanded on a lot more. WYSIWYG, no hidden tweaks.

Only 32 voices unlike the originals 72 (like the keyboard, another reason to hide it)
No detailed control of the 6 channel vibrato, per voice filters or the voice springs.
Could have been so much fun to look under the hood of this classic.

Why stop at only 2 added reverbs, stick to the original or add everything like distortion, chorus, phasers etc.

And why two VSTi? Could have been a lot more uasble with a keyboard split or different MIDI channels.

Read Review
Octave Cat Synthesizer

Reviewed By mindbeet [all]
January 20th, 2024
Version reviewed: 1.0.2 on Mac

The sound is distinctive and unique like the rest of the Cherry Audio Synths, fantastic but...

Why the big keyboard when there is also a Ctr+k QWERTY keyboard?
They have made big keybeds and wasted space before but at least the controls were on one page.
An option to hide empty panels, wood and keyboards would be very welcome on all synths.

Read Review
Borsta - Brushed Percussion

Reviewed By mindbeet [all]
July 1st, 2023
Version reviewed: 1.0.1 on Windows

Absolutely brilliant control. The precision that I can design percussion tracks with this instrument is definitely unmatched. It's fast and sounds great. Highly recommended.

Read Review
OSC MIDI Server Pro

Reviewed By mindbeet [all]
October 11th, 2019
Version reviewed: 1.0 on Windows

This is not OSCulator for PC. It does what it says on the tin, converts OSC to midi. It does so in the most rigid manner. You have to enter the very full OSC message. There are no variables except for the last value. OSC can be a very dynamic protocol depending on selected, last touched, focused etc. Not here. If you want to convert an OSC value to MIDI CC, it does so but that's it.

Read Review
Go2

Reviewed By mindbeet [all]
June 29th, 2018
Version reviewed: 1.01a on Mac

This is really what the name suggests a goto synth. When I have an idea of a sound I can create it in no time after loading go2 and it just sounds great. It can as far as I have experienced do almost everything.

The presets are fantastic and really shows off it's capabilities but I hardly ever use them as the design invites tweaking your own sounds, it's dead easy and fast from scratch. Since I bought it it's almost the only instrument I use.

I read some reviews that just compelled me to try out the demo and I was just sold, this is very close to my own idea of the perfect software synth. The price is fantastic, depending on where you are in the world you could even beat the MSRP. My best buy so far this year, I just love it! Go try it for yourself I don't think you'll regret it.

Of course Rob Papen realised it was too much of a bargain, added an X to the name, a few minor changes and charges you again.

Read Review
PatchWork

Reviewed By mindbeet [all]
November 9th, 2017
Version reviewed: 2.1 on Mac

I've had this baby for a long time. I've used it as a wrapper in Protools, Logic and Bitwig and lately as a Standalone VST host on my second PC and in live situations. It's the kind of tool that you at first wish you didn't need, that works in the background and that you just set and forget. All these different plugin standards are really annoying and even if this is a solution It's hard to get very excited about it, until now.

The latest version 2.1 is fantastic. Built in effects, metering, undo/redo, M/S, PatchWork within PatchWork!!, scaleable GUI to 200%, lockable GUI and settings between presets. Add to that full MIDI control and that everything, even window states and positions are saved within presets and you've got a winner. The new preset handling especially is what makes this update so exciting.

This has grown into a full fledged creative tool and the core of my setup. Working with several DAWs I can now set it up as a channel strip and move freely between DAWs like never before. It loads every plugin format on Mac and PC, can be loaded as every format and works as Standalone.

From being a bridge between plugin formats Blue Cat has improved on this concept and taken it beyond what I thought it could be. It's stable, easy on the CPU, easy to use and even though it's not perfect I have to give it a 10 just to let you know how incredibly useful it is. There is nothing quite like it at the moment, highly recommended.

Read Review
Brainworx bx_stereomaker

Reviewed By mindbeet [all]
March 3rd, 2016
Version reviewed: 10.11.3 on Mac

This one is magic! I can't figure out how they've done it, it's impossible. I have tried a lot of stereo wideners before and the drawback has always been that the process would make the signal incompatible with mono. Not this one. Put it on a ping pong delay or anything panned really and experience how stereo should sound like. To get wide stereo, use mono signals panned hard or use the bx_stereomaker.

Read Review
REAPER

Reviewed By mindbeet [all]
January 11th, 2016
Version reviewed: 10.11.2 on Mac

This is it. What an amazing DAW! If You are willing to put in the time and effort to work thru the action list, this thing can do whatever You want, how You want it and in ways you haven't even thought of yet. The basic setup looks limiting at first if You are used to other DAWs like Live, Bitwig, Logic or ProTools, but once You get under the hood, it is fantastic. I bought this just a few months ago and I have just finished setting up my computer keyboard with easy to find shortcuts, every controller I have is mapped exactly like I want them, like they've never been mapped with any other software before. Even my Push have come to life with nativeKontrol PXT-General better than it works in both Live and Bitwig. It just works, is super stable, fast, low on CPU and the workflow is like nothing else. Sure there are some fancy things missing and it's not as pretty as other DAWs but hey I know that I am not looking back. I have found my DAW. The mapping and routing in both audio and MIDI is beyond anything I've tried before. And considering the price this just has to be an 11 out of 10.

Read Review
VirtualCZ

Reviewed By mindbeet [all]
December 16th, 2015
Version reviewed: 10.11.2 on Mac

I never owned a CZ but I remember using it in the studio back in the days and this totally captures the feel of it. But in contrast to the hardware this plug-in is dead easy to operate. This is one hell of a soundsource. I've been using it for about a year now and I keep coming back to it because it's so well laid out and so easy to get good, interesting results out of.

It has tons of character just like the original and also it will not make every sound You can think of. But what it does it does great. You might need some additional plug-ins to make it sit well in a mix, but so does almost every other synth out there. Apart from a great chorus, a unison and a vibrato there aren't any effects but this might even be a good thing. A lot of synths have effects that just aren't good enough especially reverbs that don't work with the rest of the sounds in a mix. So You just might as well add them Yourself to begin with. I guess most of us have some good dedicated effects anyway, and I rather pay a more reasonable price for a really good sound generator instead.

There is room for improvement though, the preset handling desperately needs some kind of sorting or tagging system. The master section could do with more gain control and some metering (like it's sibling Carbon Electra). The stand alone version (which I really appreciate) would be even more useful with note triggering from the computer keyboard. And scaling of the GUI is almost a must these days with 4K and Retina monitors.

Apart from this I am a fan and I would really recommend it.

Read Review
BreakTweaker

Reviewed By mindbeet [all]
December 9th, 2015
Version reviewed: 1 on Mac

This plug-in is by a stretch worth maybe a 4, so I'll give it a three just to even things out. A drummachine without a groove control??! Yes You read it right. No groove control. This means that You can not get anything remotely funky out of this one. You might as well put samples on a grid in Your DAW. I mean buying a drum machine at this price You are looking for some assistance to make Your drumtracks swing. Keep looking, this is not it. This is a disaster of a drummachine. Have a look at xfer Nerve, SonicCharge Microtonic or even AudioDamage Tattoo for something that at least adds something. This is just a basic sampletrigger. Alright, the samples are good but so is every samplepack out there.

Read Review