Product Reviews by KVR Members

EDIT: Izotope has changed their copy protection policy. As such, I am updating this review to match the current state of things.

I have been an Ozone customer since version 2. The product itself is very good. My current version is 3.0.1.

There is a new development with version 3.0.2 of Ozone that did not exist in version 3.0.1 or earlier versions. Izotope has switched to using PACE challenge/response copy protection.

UPDATE: Starting with version 3.0.4 (3.0.3 for DX-only customers) Izotope only uses PACE on the Pro-Tools version of Ozone, not the DX/VST version. Therefore, the issues I describe with PACE only may apply to Pro-Tools users.

What does "using PACE" mean?

PACE is a 3rd party company not related to Izotope that creates some of the strongest and most restrictive copy protection ever conceived.

PACE installs a driver onto the user's system to assist with its process of copy protection. Traditionally, users only need drivers for videocards and soundcards. Drivers are the riskiest component of a computer as they have the ability to do anything they want and also are able to crash a computer easily if the driver is improperly written.

Older versions of PACE have caused incompatibility problems with many users, which in turn caused PC instability and prevented users from using the products they have paid for.

It should be noted that in no way is PACE a technical requirement in order for a product such as Ozone to function properly.

EDIT: I have learned from Izotope that the PACE copy protection is only included with their Pro-Tools version of Ozone, but not with the DX or VST version of Ozone. Therefore, if you are using the DX or VST version of Ozone, you will not run into any of the PACE issues I have described above. I am raising the review scores to match this change.Read Review

When I first saw a photo of the OSCar many years ago, I thought it was one of the ugliest yet most unique looking synths at the time. I never had a chance to listen to one, though.

So, when the ImpOSCar VSTi demo came out, I thought I'd take a listen just for curiosity's sake. Then, I pressed the first MIDI note for the first patch, and that's when I realized...

...this is the warmest sounding soft synth I've ever heard! I didn't care that this was an emulation, nor that it was supposed to be an OSCar. I imagined how this patch would sound in my songs, and quickly realized it was a pretty good fit.

I demoed more patches, and came away impressed that it wasn't just about warm sound, but also had nice animated tones, growly sounds that would cut through a mix, and signature sounds that could carry a song. I then placed an order for it.

At this point, my Waldorf Q rack started to sweat. I'm not saying an OSCar is similar to a Q (it isn't), but I frequently looked to my Q for signature ballsy sounds with a lot of animation, and the ImpOSCar provides that. So, my Q will be getting less use as a result.


Other things about ImpOSCar:

* It works fine in Sonar 3 using the VST to DX wrapper.

* MIDI CC Automation works pretty well. I noticed a slight delay between using a MIDI CC to control filter cutoff (I'd guess 1/6 second), but the sound was very smooth. This delay didn't seem to impact my musical use.

* It comes with a nice manual which explains the history of the OSCar, as well as covers all the functions of the ImpOSCar. ImpOSCar comes in a nice box and a CD-R for installation.

* Copy protection is non-intrusive - serial number only.

* The CD ships with a great 20 minute video manual which covers operations well (with audio examples). This, combined with the user manual, gets you up to speed on the capabilities of this synth very quickly.


Bad point:

* The install program requires the serial number. Unfortunately, there is some confusion about how to enter it, and if you do it wrong, the ImpOSCar won't work. Fortunately, this is addressed on the GMedia website as well as a polite apology for their error.


Demo limitation:

* The demo periodically drops out the audio. Otherwise, it is very functional and allows you to get a feel for the ImpOSCar.


Conclusion: I'm really enjoying this soft synth. It raises the bar for sound quality. If I had to, I'd buy this soft synth again.Read Review

Summary: It's astounding to me that Cakewalk hasn't created an audio metronome for Sonar 3, or even allow the existing metronome to be routed through a DXi/VSTi. I'd bet this is on their list for the next version, but until then, Ping DXi should do the trick. But there are some issues.

Please note, I am harsh towards plugins in my reviews, even when they are low-cost or free. I do this to hopefully to allow people to know what they are getting, and what they aren't. On to the review...

I just bought the new version 3.00 which has a much better looking UI than the one in the KVR photo (go to the author's website to see it).

The UI is pretty clean and self-explanatory, but unfortunately, there are some bugs which make it slightly confusing. These bugs don't interfere with the key operation of the plugin.

The sound is fine for a metronome. Plus, the user can replace the samples with their own.

It's a one-trick pony, but it's better to use this pony than use any of the other work-arounds I've heard for an audio metronome.

The documentation is good but not perfect. There is one glaring omission regarding the count in - you must set Sonar 3's Metronome Count-In to 0 in order to use Ping's count-in feature. If you don't, you will be confused by what actually occurs.

There are no presets. Fortunately, there is a config file which can configure the default behavior of the plugin. Nice.

Unfortunately, customer support was non-existent. I emailed 3 times before purchase to ask some customer-service related questions, and I never received a reply. Despite that, I bought the thing on blind faith. Payment and web-based plugin delivery was flawless. I received the install instructions within 24 hours of purchase.

Stability: No problems, but note the documentation issue listed above, and the UI inconsistencies.

Value for money: It is a very good value for the money at $10. If it cost $30 or higher, I would be hesitant since I predict Sonar will include this functionality in the future.

Bottom line: If you need an audio metronome, buy this. I would buy it again if I had to, and I intend to put it in my default Sonar template which loads with every song. I recommend it despite all issues I listed above.Read Review

Note: As a reviewer, I try to be very hard on softsynths, free or otherwise. As a result, my rating scores might be lower than other equivalent reviews.

This is a neat little free softsynth. It works fine in Cubase SX and also Sonar via the VST to DX adaptor. There were no install hassles (simply copy the files to the VSTPlugins directory), and no crashes or other side effects of having this plugin installed.

The sound seems like it would be authentic, but I don't have a true, uh, "02-SM" to compare it to. Most of the included presets are pitch shifted +3 semitones, but that's because the MG EG1 is set to 5, and not 0. At 0, the pitch is correct. Controlling the knobs via mouse seems to be a hybrid linear/circular operation that works correct 75% of the time, but 25% of the time, the control works opposite of your mouse movement. The UI looks good and clean. There is no documentation.

Automation doesn't seem to be well implemented. I was unable to automate controls via VST automation in Cubase, and it didn't seem to respond to MIDI automation. I was able to automate certain parameters in Project 5, which will automate non-automatable softsynths, but unfortunately the internal naming structure of the softsynth is poor, so you need to hunt around for what you want. For example, to automate filter cutoff, you need to choose one of 4 identically named "Pitch" parameters.

I realize I'm being hard on a free softsynth, but I feel this will be useful to someone who wants to compare "02-SM" emulators in the future. This review might save them some time.Read Review