By glokraw
On 27th April 2008
Version: 4.6
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A short review of Wusikstation...
A great strength in music creation is having both bread and butter sounds, and then a vast array of unique sounds to customize them with. Using the General Midi collection for Wusikstation, I can start with a nice 'normal' instrument, embellish as desired with synth controls and the FX section, then use the 3 extra sound slots to import other waveforms, so the imagination, and familiarity with the thousands of sounds included with Wusik, are the only limiting factors. Using Minihost, I can qickly audition the array of soundsets with just the down arrow key, and pressing the letter s, even with the eyes closed during a headache :wink: and then write down the favorite sounds, or copy them with a filemanager for a 'greatest hits' folder later. While time consuming, the end result can be a composing environment conducive to unique and high quality productions, with a very small learning curve, in one central, well organized interface.
There are some utube videos available that explain arpeggios, wavesequencing, and other features, but for composing ballads, and the basic commercial genres, it is easy to create new sounds to liven up the most common styles of music.
When It comes to support, The author, his customers, and many sound designers are quick to offer good advice, and quite often, bugs are squashed within a day of being reported. New features have been known to appear based on an aside in a forum post, and there is nearly always a special offer to $entice$ upgraders, or new users.
New 3rd party synths and sound collections using the Wusik engine and sound format are also of the highest quality, and more are always in the works. For the professional musician looking for a stable, low cpu vsti for live performance, for a studio songwriter looking for that special edge, for a production jingle author needing fast efficiency, and for the hobbyist who loves the creative craft of making great tunes in the style of choice, Wusikstation is a great tool, that just keeps on getting better month after month, year after year!
I would say dollar for dollar, this is the best of the many fine $options$ available. I look forward to the new version 5 evolving, and to using more of the great 3rd party sounds, and my own new creations that they inspire.
I score it all 8, for personal taste categories, 10 for support and value for money, as they are among the best available... |
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By loggan2
On 18th March 2008
Version: 4.2.4
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recently got Wusikstation and I'm already impressed with everything,
specially support. At the company forum here, I asked for some info
about multi-layer crossfading using an external controller. To my
surprise, it was possible only to modulate two layers, not three or
more. But even more surprised I was when the author released a beta
version with the option to crossfade any number of layers. I never saw
this before, but again, I don't own many other VSTs.
Still, using Wusikstation is very easy, I get everything I need right in
front of me. Each layer's parameters are there to be used, there's a
Master area, FX areas and file-browser to handle all files.
It works like those old-school workstations, not like SF2 files I'm used
to. But this is not a bad thing to be honest. You get, for example, to
keep your sound file in one folder, and have multiple programs using
that same sound file for several programs. Yes, you can do the same with
a SF2 file, BUT, if you want to add more programs to it, you need to
edit the original SF2 file. Not to mention that with SF2 files you don't
get to make a program where you use sounds from different SF2 files.
With Wusikstation you can. Since Programs are one file-type, and sounds
another.
Its handy that is reads WAV files directly. But still, the Sample-Editor
that came with it is simple to use. Many users won't even bother about
that, but since I do a lot of sound-editing of my own, I had to use it.
Again, the author was nice to reply to some of my questions via the
support thingy.
I couldn't make it crash yet, so stability has been 100% for me.
Documentation was OK, not great, but OK. It had everything you would
need to start. The youtube video-tutorials are GREAT, those helps a lot.
Specially when getting started. They even got an intro video at their
site, under the product's page. That's one reason I got it, since I
could test it out and also see it in action even before downloading a
demo version.
The demo version was nice, as I could test it, but loading new sounds
was a bit strange at first, until I knew what I was doing exactly. You
have a folder where you keep your sounds and another for your presets,
as I said above. It wasn't too clear at first, but I noticed some info
at the bottom of the sounds-page, and after reading a bit the manual, I
was able to figure things out. But this shouldn't scare new users at
all. The worse case scenario, you would contact the author and he would
guide you, as he did with me on other areas.
Sound wise its very good. It will sound as good as the things you input
it with, since its basically a sample-playback engine. It also works as
a normal additive synthesizer, and has the ability to sequence waveforms
in real-time. (aka wavesequencing, the old Korg Wavestation was famous
for that)
But you really start to go nuts once you get to know the
modulation-matrix and the different filter-types. They sound very
analogish in my humble opinion. There's a SMOOTH knob that will take the
zipper effect out of transitions when using an external controller. It
doesn't work very well when using with modulations, but still, its a
very nice touch.
I had some sound problems with the original version, but after I updated
everything was normal again. (I forgot to install the latest update
after I installed the main SETUP, doh!)
I got 4 DAW computers in the same room, so I asked the author if I would
need 4 licenses. He said that if all computers are operated by me, it
wouldn't be a problem, one license is enough. Try asking this to other
companies...
One of my computers has only 512 of memory, which wasn't a problem as
this vst features direct-from-disk-streaming. (or whatever you want to
call this) Yes, CPU usage did increase by 20% when I activated it on the
other computers, but its still nice, since I could load more instances
at the same time. Specially pianos and strings on a project I was
working on.
It came with mostly synth sounds, but the pianos really stroke me, they
are very good and not too big. Compared to other libraries. I like
mostly sampled pianos, as they tend to sound more alive to me.
This is not the best synth out there, but its sure amongst the top ones
I use on a daily basis. Be prepared to expend a lot of money on extra
sets by other companies, you will be addicted in no time! (but that's
another good thing about it)
Not sure what else to say, if I remember something else, I will edit
this on another time. Hope this is not too long, I'm used to writing for
the local newspaper, so I tend to write too much at times...
lg |
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By hermit01
On 27th December 2007
Version: 4
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The Wusikstation version 4 series is a surprisingly versatile synth. Its interface is very typical of traditional synthesizer interfaces and quite easy to use. It is 4 voice multi-timbral and the 4 voices are each presented on separate pages which eliminates any confusion that could be caused by such a complex system. It's modulation matrix makes for easy hook up of LFO's, envelopes, and on-board effects. It could list them but it's better that you try them and hear for yourself.
The sound generation of WS is created from manipulation of samples (called WusikSounds) and/or standard .wav files, user's choice. The 16-bit 44KHz processing is immaculate and provides an amazing depth of resonance and pitch. As a result of this attractiveness, there are over 3500 presets already directly available for it Wusik.com. The range of sounds, the types, is so wide it clearly demonstrates the versatility mentioned. While, due to the brilliant preset design of sound packages by Vera Kinter (Art Vera) and like programmers, it has gotten quite a reputation as an "atmospheric pad synth," this is a very misleading commendation of a synth that will, in fact, produce virtually any type of sound desired from analogue emulation to razor-edge digital sounds. It can even be used as simply a 4-voice .wav file or sample player, if desired.
My experience has been, in over a year of dealing with William K and Wusik.com, support for the product is superb. It is in constant development, as well has sporting excellent peripheral devices provided by Wusik.com (many skins, file handling software, a steady flow of new presets, a product specific magazine with added features, etc.), but the stability does not seem effected. Beta products don't seem to mean the same thing to Wusik.com as I am accustomed to. They rarely crash or even malfunction and seem to be just a precautionary step rather than a true bug elimination process. In so many words, this is a very stable piece of software and seems to remain so through version after version.
Wusikstation is my first experience with serious shareware softsynths. I've tried a few trial versions over the years but never found one by which I was so impressed as to spend the sort of money involved in their purchase. Wusikstation broke the mold for me. It is priced competitively low for the marketplace but comes "out of the box" with over 3500 presets, built-in effects of the same quality as its sound generation, and excellent support. It was a bargain I couldn't resist and have never regretted. I highly recommend it to beginners and accomplished users alike. And subscribe to the magazine, too. It's filled with articles on use of Wusikstation as well as general music and composition discussions. |
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By stratcat33511
On 25th May 2007
Version: 3.1.8
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5 of 8 people found
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3.1.8 is by far the best value for the money.
Every sound you need is there to do Pop Rock and Dance.
There are synths and real instruments in here.
There are so many great sounds in this instrument.
The sounds of the presets are nothing short of incredible!
And when you get around to tweaking the sounds, the interface is easy to use ( even for me ) and you can build some fantastic sounds with this instrument. The synths; arps, moogs, Rolands, Prophets, Casios, the HQ pianos, the HQ drums, many monster basses, and the effects are all I need from a synth. There are way too many useable sounds, functions and features to list here.
I use this in my default template setup, because it has a great sound for every thing I use it for. And I'm now using it in everything I do! I'm just a guitar player looking for an all inclusive - use it for everything synth, and I am never short of finding the right sound with this.
Take my advice and get this awesome instrument.
It never disappoints me and Support for me has been
stellar. |
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By JKolper
On 6th May 2007
Version: 3.1.5
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Wusikstation is really impressing, can't believe how I lived my life bfore it!
Graphics: the UI is very easy to understand, I read the whole manual, but only after playing with it a bit. You don't really need to, as the UI is really easy to use. It has tips all over the place, if you hld the mouse over a parameter.
Documentation: the manual has it all, could find all the stuff I needed there alone.
Sounds: it has every kind of sound I could imagine. Since I use a lot of acoustic stuff, it had tons of stuff to use: pianos, strings, guitars, choirs, drums, basses, ... it also does a great job with sequenced pads and evolving atmosphers. It has a few simple sounds, but those can also be useful at times. thanks to something called "categorized" presets, its very easy to find a piano sound, for instance. that was very important, as I see that the instrument itself got added with new snds offten, making the number of sounds very large. so you will get a few strange or even bad stuff around, but its not a problem for me, specially considerng the large amount of stuff.
Stability: so far its been rock-solid on my machine, no crashes or any problems.
Support: I had a few problms downloading it, but Mr.William was very fast and resolved it in minutes, not hours and not days. Its a large download, over two giga, so I can't complan about.
You can't go wrong with this synth, and if you purchase it, do subscribe to the Wusik magazine, its totally worth it. |
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By HiEnergy
On 12th April 2007
Version: 3.1.5
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Wusikstation is a sample-based synthesizer with four oscillators and two sequenceable wavesequence oscillators per patch.
There are exhaustive modulation possibilities, eight LFOs, eight envelopes and a very complete modulation matrix with lots of different modulation sources and destinations.
Wusikstation's filters (one for every oscillator/wavesequence oscillator) and the modular effects (two effects per patch with flexible mixer routing) sound very rich and well-balanced.
Wusikstation comes with lots of convincing samples, wavetables and presets that give astonishing results even without programming own sounds.
What kind of sounds are delivered depends on frequent special offers for Wusikstation. I got mine with a huge collection of high-quality acoustic piano and guitar sounds, assorted electronic wavetables and six issues of a magazine dedicated to Wusikstation.
All this at an unbelievable EUR 36,-.
I use Wusikstation in almost any of my latest production and think it's worth every cent I paid for it.
Wusikstation is very well suited for pads, drones and other huge and complex sounds with lots of movement.
Wusikstation is very light on cpu and offers even the most complex and mobile sounds demanding almost no load from the host.
I fully recommend Wusikstation and did not yet regret buying it. |
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Last edited : 12th April 2007
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By Reverend Rhythm
On 27th January 2007
Version: 3
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Software synths should have their own sound. They should also give you a reason to use them, which means that sound has to work with your music. Another great feature is when that soft synth works with a variety of musical styles. Well, wusikstation works for me a in all the above mentioned areas.
It has great leads, pads, ambiences, wavesequences, and rhythmic sounds. It now even has an arppegiator! And it has a lot of presets! If those presets are not enough, you can buy more or roll your own.
But, at least for me, the best thing about this synth is that the demo works without a lot of restrictions. The presets are limited, and you can't save your own presets. And the instrument times out after a while. All this seems more than fair to me. You still have a lot of presets and the instrument is functional.
Now the reason I bring that up is because you have to like the sound of a synth. So I'd recomend that you download the demo and try it out. It's easy for me to recomend a synth, but only you can know if it will work for you. |
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By Menthorian
On 21st November 2006
Version: 3.1.0
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7 of 9 people found
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I first got Wusikstation with the CM UK Cover DVD. It was the first version, but totally usable. After some time I saw that Wusik was running a special promo and couldn't resist, purchased the latest version three. It came with a Wusik magazine issue plus over 5 Gig of sounds. (compressed into a 2 gig download)
At first the synth already blew me away. The GUI is so easy to understand, and looks great. And if you don't like the looks of it, just chose a new skin, and there are tons to chose from. (I stuck with the default one, as it makes more sense to me)
CPU usage is indeed very low, as most people seem to rave about. And audio quality is top-notch to my ears.
There are sounds for everyone, from some quality pianos to analog sounds. I do mostly electronica songs, so the included elektrowusik set was perfect for me. It even came with some very good drum-loops.
I'm still reading the manual, as its very long and has detailed information. Its also very well written. It came in a PDF format, that can be printed or read on the screen.
As for support, William, the CEO of Wusik, is just a super-guy. I had some download problems that he resolved in minutes.
Stability? Its been rock-solid with Orion Platinum. I don't have other hosts, so I can't say for those. But I haven't had a single issue yet. (I did test with Fruit-Loops Demo version without problems too, but that was with the first version) Still, by reading the company forum I see that all problems gets a good attention of support. Can't see any threads about something that was not resolved.
Talking a bit more about the sounds, the product is very dynamic. This is the first commercial VSTi I use, as so far I was using mostly the stuff that came with Orion. But I find myself using more and more the Wusikstation VSTi on my songs. Even for Basses and Drums. The way it handles presets makes very easy to find stuff. I read on the manual about the search algo, and it helped me a lot. Now I can search for the word "bass" and find what I need in a heart-beat. The filters are very good, you can make heavy or smooth resonant sounds, by using the filter limiter option.
Took me a while to understand what the sequenced section was all about. After taking a hint from the manual (yeah, you have to read the manual sometimes) I understand it better. I was even able to create my own arp sounds with it. Very handy and fun to use.
The Wusik community seem very nice to me. They are very present on the forum.
I also got several issues of the so called Wusik magazine. Its a very nice addition to the product sounds, and the texts are also great and useful. I strongly recommend users to check out this. I wrote a very detailed review of it at the Wusik forum.
I tested both old and new demo versions, to help me decide about purchasing it. And the new V3 demo version really struck me, as it had much more sounds and really showed the synth's potential. That was it, just had to buy it.
Overall, this is THE best VSTi in my humble opinion. Now I hope that Wusik creates a drum-machine in the future. (how about that, huh?)
Edit: The new V3.1.0 update is just KILLER!!! The new reverber rocks and the arpeggiator is indeed very usable and advanced compared to regular ones. Its fixed to the wavesequence layers, but still very usable. |
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Last edited : 12th January 2007
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By sloworm
On 2nd November 2006
Version: 3.0.8
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5 of 8 people found
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I was skeptical at first about this synth. I am also stocked up on synths so I had no real need for another one. But, I saw a person on the KVR marketplace selling theirs. So it perked my interest, and I listened to some demos, and it struck me as a really nice ambient synth. Which, I thought, why not, I will take the plunge at the price it was being sold. Holy crap, was I in for a world unknown to me, a world of beauty and flexibility. I am in love with this synth from first play. When I first got Wusik, it took me a while to install, as it comes with SSoooooo many sounds, and not just some quality sounds and some crap sounds like most preset libraries, but all very usable beautiful/ugly sounds. A wide range of possibilities is possible with this synth. Not to mention the 3rd party support for preset libraries, which there is a lot of. Also, if you subscribe to the Wusik online publication, you get free soundsets with that as well. That is awesome as well, so much knowledge in those publications.
Anyway, to make a long story short, I love this synth because of its vast range of sounds, rock solid non crashing abilities and amazing community and support. To compare this synth to another ambient type synth, like Atmosphere by spectrasonics, I would say it definatly is a better synth than atmosphere. It has more flexibility, doesn't take as much cpu juice, and is way cheaper, and damnit, it sounds better. Don't get me wrong, this Wusik synth can do basses, lead, fx(amazingly) and others. Not too mention you can take a patch and really warp it well. I could go on for days....just try the demo, buy it, buy the publication, in that order.
Bye |
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By Oliver.Lucas
On 9th August 2006
Version: 3.04
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GUI:
+ skinnable
+ sexy looking skins
+ tool tips !
- too small on high resolutions
- can be confusing across layers
- no "all layers view"
Sound:
There are a lot of inexpensive libraries for this VST and many of them are extremely good. Especially if you are looking for good pad sounds, you will find a lot of gems....
The strength does not lie with the realistic sample sets. I know William is working on improvement here, but generally speaking this is a synth sound tool for me. Filters can be very extreme (cool!)
Features:
V3 has brought a lot the users wanted, from a sound designers point of view there's pretty much everything you need. I think the GUI neeeds a rework for V4...
Documentation:
This has improved a lot recently, but I was able to get my head round most of the features without the docs. The tool tips are really cool.
Presets:
WOW - what more can I say?
Get a couple of extra banks from Manytone and Jeremy Janzen and you will be sorted.
Customer Support:
Could not be better. William is very active in the KVR forums. Bugfixes are fast and work well. Also orders are processed within seconds....No room for improvement here!
Value for money:
Now this is a tricky one: WS is really cheap, but on the other hand William is also a marketing freak. Make sure you calculate the costs for a couple of preset banks and extra sounds. Still WS has an amazing value from my point of view.
Stability:
Very good. I had a couple of problems in Nuendo first, but William solved these quickly. Since then it's been very stable.
Overall I can say that the WS was an uncertain buy. I wasn't too sure if it could live up to my expectations. When I saw the hype this has created on KVR I was a bit sceptical but it really is a very usable and good sounding synth with a huge library available. It's fun to use and I have used it in every song since I have bought it. Go and grab it, it's well worth the money if you get some of the extra sounds. |
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By sdv
On 16th January 2006
Version: 3.x
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5 of 9 people found
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Wusik is a fine sound-designers app for "phrases" if you can get your head around wavesequencing. Why? While Wusik has sample playback and pseudo vector morphing the wavesequencing is it's unique power. Any sampler allows you to trigger a sample and allows you to hit said sample with some mods (LFO's, etc) but the addition of wavesequencing allows you to morph between samples creating deep pads and funky rhythms. This, coupled with the sample playback, allows you to make some pretty complex patches (say you start out with a gong sample morphing into a rhythmic drum sequence with a backing pads swirling and sparkling away with subtle nuance) if you have samples and set your ADSR properly (would be more fun if there was a morphing timeline).
So how do the specs look....
DOCS: Fairly good. A large 45+ page .pdf file explans all the ins and outs of this monster. The Vector option isn't well explained and some things such as preset saving ("do this in your host") and what some of the mod matrix features mean (W1+W2 = ??) are lacking.
PESETS: The "Big" package comes with 2400+ samples (although 1540 of those are just drums) and 1650+ presets (of which only 51 are drums kits). The majority of presets are pretty lame, a good protion of them are just the basic soundset loaded into an oscillator. So what you get is about 900 soundsets of various synths and instruments for making your own sounds (you might need to get some external sample sets to really make your Wusik shine). Most of the BnB sounds are fair but to be honest if you want an FM Drum hit you'r alot better off using an FM synth (i.e. use a true synth, not sample based one, if you can get your sound from it). A better timestetching/pitchshifting algorithm would be nice as you can tell a number of the included sounds are just single .wavs, not multisamples (hell, even a crappy granulator would be a help).
GUI: I give a fair score here. Everything is laidout strightforward. There is some clicking thru to different tweaking windows but the overall view stays the same. What I would like to see is tabs on the side, as well as the top, allowing for quick jumps to edit screens, as it stands now there is a bit of back-n-forth which gets confusing and slows creativity.
STABILITY: The latest version seems to fix earlier problems I had with crash crashes (usually when tweaking the FX or changing a sound in an oscillator).
SOUND: I originally thought of it as more of a 'backing' synth (as I find the sound can be a bit thin and digital for my main synth.) than lead, but really it can be either. Because of that it's able to sit back in a mix very easily while other synths can sit up front for melodies and leads. However, WS always seems to need some compression,EQ or Unison to boost it's overall volume.
CUSTOMERS SUPPORT: William K is always on the forum and responds to bugs ASAP but often overcommits by saying he will add a feature(s) and then doesn't.
USABILTIY:I enjoy the ability to switch between samples in oscillators although the file browser makes it a bit tedious. This is my preferred method of "programming" sounds and much easier than tweaking a straight synth.
VFM:
V2 brought a bit to the table in ways of having some extended options when it comes to file/patch management and other admin type fetures. The big score for sound design is the "Microtuning" capability which can send your patches into the unknown. Also there are some good bug fixes.
V3 brings a few more things such as more FX and Disk Streaming of samples.
Also included are the large sample collection mentioned above. For a $50 GB this is quite a deal.
OVERALL:
A few things I'd like to see are saveable mod matrix presets. THis should have been a V1 feature as most of the power of Wusik comes from setting up the Matrix.
Also the addition of graphical timeline & random auto-morphing for the vector (4 OSC's) in a way similar to Cam5K/Cube2. The Vector option is very cool but not usable for creating patches as there is no way to set the Mod Matrix Destination to the X-Y parameters yet (although this is the feature William is planning on adding for me/us). So, you are left with having to set X-Y parameters in your host via automation or use by MIDI learn. That makes the vector option more of a 'power user' feature for someone wanting to play live or serious studio tweaking. Also, it claims to be multi-timbral but that's just on a oscillator level (so whoop-di-do)
So overall I give Wusik props for being a great pad and mad rhythm (especially when using drum-kits) rompler as long as you have alot of samples. With that said I do not place it amongst the "big boys" texture synths such as Absynth, Cam5K or Kubik just yet. It has a bit to go before it reaches that level (think a Vector morph envelope timeline, granular oscillators, a built-in slicer which would cut loops then allow you to sequence through the slices as if they were seperate wave files). |
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Last edited : 9th January 2007
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By autodafe
On 11th January 2006
Version: 2.2
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4 of 9 people found
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GUI: A nice and clean user interface, can be skinned...if you don't like the default skin just download oneof the other wondeful ones
SOUND: quality is very good. Of course being a "sampled" synht quality will depend on the imported samples, but it has nice filters and ENV routing possibilities
FEATURES: the problem is that you can think WusikStation has TOO MANY FEATURES ;-). 6 OSC (2 wavesequanced), WaveSequencer, 4 Filters, 8 LFOS, 8 ENVs... The MOD Matrix lets you do almost everything possible and imaginable to the soundsets. Maybe just missing some more FXs
DOCUMENTATION: there's a nice on-line help and documemntation system, I think a printable a PDF would be nice. (I created one using the online material)
PRESETS: depending on the "package" you purchase, you can have different presets. The Big Package has more than 1800 presets, many othre can be downloaded for free or for a very reasonable price from various sound developers (myself included ;-) )
CUSTOMERS SUPPORT: WilliamK simply has the BEST customers support. Period.
Just use his forum here on KVR, expect an answer in a few minutes and also a new fix in about one hour or two ;-)
VFM. Excellent. What more...well, it could be free ;-)
STABILITY: almost never ever gave problems, except for some of the "intermediary" new sub-releases that will periodically releases (like 2.1.1.1.1...;-) |
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Last edited : 11th January 2006
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By Goseba
On 29th November 2005
Version: 2
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I first discovered Wusikstation in Sept’04 and ended up buying it the day after reading about it in CM magazine. I did have a hardware Wavestation and although this is not a copy, it seemed to fulfil what I was looking for in a VST (Korg Legacy too expensive for me). I have not looked back since, upgrading to V2 when it was announced, and now looking forward to V3.
GUI: I find it a very easy to navigate synth, far easier than others I own. It has been well thought out. There are also numerous skins available too so you can change the look to one that suits.
SOUND: I find the sound quality to be very good. You can get an excellent sound from just one oscillator, but it has four and also two wavesequencer oscillators. There are many well spec’d ways of sculpting the sound: Filters, env’s, LFO’s and a great Mod matrix to name a few.
FEATURES: An enormous amount of included samples have always come with Wusikstation but with the Big Package there are over 2390 included. The LFO’s and Wavesequencers are both synced to host tempo. It can run as a multitimbral VST.
The wavesequencers are excellent. They can vary in length, each step can have its own sound, pitch, pan etc., the sounds can go straight from one to the next abruptly or morph between them as required. They can even be used for creating basic drum patterns. It can also be used as a modulation source in the Mod Matrix.
The Mod matrix is very flexible: 8 x LFO’s, 8 x ADSR env’s, many other send sources and a large range (still increasing) of send destinations.
There are also basic effects such as chorus, reverb, delay and distortion.
DOC’S: I have only had to refer to the manual a few times because I Wusikstation so intuitive to use, but it has answered my questions. I have just had a quick look at the latest manual and it looks very comprehensive.
PRESETS: Very good quality, quite diverse and over 1650 if you get the Big package. There are also many excellent free and commercial banks now available.
SUPPORT: Second to none in my book. Williams’s support has been exceptional. Just look at the forum. He really caught my attention when I posted a suggestion on the forum and within 15 – 20 minutes I was testing a beta with it implemented.
When beta testing William goes out of his way to make sure stability is there. I have followed numerous threads where William has helped individual users iron out there problems even though the problem was unique to them.
VFM: It is excellent value. More often than not, there are special offers running to make it even more VFM.
STABILITY: I don’t remember a final release version crashing yet on me.
Overall a great synth of outstanding quality and depth.
Congratulations William K. |
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By Dorian Gray
On 1st October 2005
Version: 2
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5 of 12 people found
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I really like the old skool sound, its no danceomatic ! It evokes times of 70s prog, Jarre and Ambient electronics.
I recently purchased the Big Package with 1650 presets and 2000+ samples, and whilst this may seem a lot, quite a few presets are similar (though not all) simply because they are made by multiple preset developers without any editing towards their collective content. Probably Wusikstation could be narrowed down to 1100 presets, though this is still a huge amount for such value for money.
Nice wavetable support, though the presets i've heard do not make full use of all the features of WS2.
Sound content mainly consists of analogue or digital synth nostalgia. You will not find many other types of samples here, though this does not restrict the synth in any way.
Never crashed ! Light CPU load for its power.
I don't really care for the GUI skin, thats why it is nice that I can load others by a 3rd party. GUI is quick and uncluttered. Kind of a cross between Z3ta and Xphraze.
Adequate effects, which are not hard wired into the synth but are a modular extra, thus some more in the future without changing the synth and GUI. This approach makes it easy for 3rd party FX to be added, and I read that an SDK is available.
I recently tried a rather large rompler, and to my ear's it was dull and unresponsive, and the synth presets were boring and thin. However Wusikstation has none of these characteristics, and now I can truly appreciate it more.
Most sounds are alive and dynamic. I'm sure with the HQ presets to be included in V3 any ommisions in the library will be met to make this a fully fledged workstation alternative. Compare the price Of $399 of the huge boring rompler and Wusikstation Big Package and you appreciate what a bargain it really is. |
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Last edited : 29th November 2005
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By strav100
On 1st October 2005
Version: 2.14
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6 of 12 people found
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GUI: Attractive GUI, very clear with nice graphics. The wavesequencer editor is now easier to edit since v1. Everything has been designed here for a purpose - no wasted space.
Sound: Very high quality sound, good responsive filters and far-reaching modulations plus the massive amount of waveforms show this is capable of anything from normal VA stuff to Wavestation type sounds to Absynth textures using the wavesequencing 'lanes' as envelope modulators.
I think the quality of the sounds is down to the sound designers themselves - this synth holds no barrier.
Features: Vast range of samples for use as sound sources, again huge modulation options (including using the waveseqencer ) and multi-timbral capability. You could be programming this thing for ever!
Docs: Online docs and v1 pdf manual. Well explained - no waffle. 'Easy-peasy' to learn - only needs a day.
Presets: This excels at complex, mutating, metamorphisizing sounds. Easy to do good presets as the synth is straight forward to program - goes into Absynth, Cameleon and Wavestation territory without too much difficulty. Large number of presets - although I feel a lot more can be got out of this thing.
Support: Nice guy, quick response when I have e-mailed him. Always on the forums.
VFM: Dirt cheap for what it does. This synth is right up there with the big boys for shareware money.
Stability: Never crashed on me once. |
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Last edited : 1st October 2005
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By bduffy
On 30th September 2005
Version: 2.14
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As a busy composer and sound designer, I'm always on the lookout for powerful synthesizers that are capable of a wide range of sounds, and I definitely found that in Wusikstation. It's like buying a full-fledged keyboard workstation that can be used for basic to radical sounds with easy browsing and loading.
Wusikstation features a powerful wave sequencing engine, which means that wave files are loaded in and can be radically mixed and manipulated to create unusual (and usual) sounds. Pads swirl and sweep with unexpected depth and complexity, and the possibilities seem endless.
I was instantly impressed with just the selection of pads. Further prodding through the presets revealed large, meaty basses, nifty sound fx and a huge selection of vintage/standard instruments - like Rhodes pianos and 303 synths - often with a Wusik edge to them, making them more original.
And that's where Wusikstation exceeds: in creating original sounds. I've never heard anything quite like Wuskistation, and that impressed me and drove me to buy it immediately. When I'm stuck or bored, I can load up Wusikstation and just start cruising through presets, and within no time, I'm writing something. It's my go-to instrument for pads and basses now, especially after purchasing Manytone's incredible Ultimate Bass Kit - one of the several (and growing number of) libraries available for Wusik. I should, then, mention that Wusikstation is also a full-fledged sampler with 1st and 3rd party libraries available.
The only complaint I would have is that the updates can be a little awkward to install to a non-power user, occasionally having to manually move and update items; but the updates have been very straightforward since v2.x. And the developer is VERY prompt in responding to calls for help, so I've never had a problem that lasted longer then a few minutes! So all is forgiven.
And all of this at a truly reasonable price. Wusikstation is cheap and comes with a large selection of presets, and all the libraries are very affordable. I think the coming years will see Wusikstation become one of the more popular synths, a la Reaktor. I certainly hope so. |
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By funkychickendance
On 29th September 2005
Version: 2.1.4
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6 of 9 people found
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I'm pretty new to the VST world, with a trio of NI Express keyboards as my only prior purchase, and a massive ever-changing folder of freebies from this fabulous forum. I have to say, though, that Wusikstation is worth every cent (or pfennig).
I've started to experiment with the synth's capabilities for tweaking sounds, which seem limitless to me. It comes
with an excellent package of samples, and the presets are well-chosen and thoughtfully done, too. What is intended to sound authentic sounds, well, authentic.
But it's the overall sound that makes this a great synth. To me, William has hit a home run here. I recall Wavestation moderately well, and the 'Wu' -- as I have started calling it -- can do pretty much anything that its inspiration could do, and then some.
It's remarkably stable, and doesn't hog CPU: though I guard against that issue in general by having 1GB of RAM, and expect to move up to 2GB soon.
The 'Wu' is creeping into more and more of my projects since I picked it up a week or so back, and I see
it displacing a whole lot of other VSTs as I get better at working on my own presets.
I'm coming back to synths after a long puritanical exile in the realm of grinding electric guitars and the 'authenticity' of acoustics. They're both perfectly fine, but something like Wusikstation really shows you what can be done with a little imagination. |
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By bamim2
On 25th September 2005
Version: 2.14
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4 of 7 people found
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I've own version 1 of Wusikstation and I upgraded to version 2 right away. I like version 1 and used it before version 2 came out. Version 2, with the Big Package is quite nice and a great price (hey, I'm a poet). There are plenty of presets that come with it, but it's very easy to either make your own or modify ones that are there to suit your own style.
I like to play synth bass with my left hand and something else with my right. Wusikstation lets me easily split the keyboard. It can split the keyboard into several regions if you like to do that sort of thing. It can assign waves and oscillators to any part of the keyboard and give you plenty of filter controls and even put them on any MIDI channel you want. They're all mixable through it's built in mixer. It can load wave files to use like an oscillator.
If I had to pick one thing about this VST that I like the most is it's sound quality and playability (I know that's 2 things, but they go together). It really has nice sound textures and timbre. It has several skins available, so you can modify its look to suit your mood. It does everything from simple to complex sounds, has great filters, nice EFX and a straight forward GUI.
I truly believe this VST is capable of making whatever kind of sounds you want to make with it. There are a great range of sounds that come with it, nicely laid out, and it's very easy on the CPU. I easily run 2 Wusikstations at a time and have plenty of CPU left over to actually do stuff in Sonar. |
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By Wine
On 3rd September 2005
Version: 3
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7 of 11 people found
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This is an exceptional synth.
Looking at the other reviews it is quite daunting to try and add anything else to their reviews but I will give it a go.
Firstly, the sound quality. What is most impressive about the sounds are that they are so varied, some of the pads are absolutely inspiring and as for the "real" instruments, particularly the piano's, while they are perhaps not the best available they are some of the easiest to fit in a mix.
Secondly, the upgrade to v2, particularly for the big pack users, is extraordinary value for money. A massive sound library, and the improvements on v1 make this an valuable upgrade. The preset navigation system in particular is worthy of compliment as it is one of the best around. My only real complaint is that it can be a little difficult to upgrade if you have some of the related products which need to be upgraded as well.
Finally, the best part of being a wusik user is the user group and the outstanding support provided by WilliamK. The developer never seems to leave KVR except to work on more upgrades.
Overall, I would suggest you get this synth even if you don't think you need it as it is the basis for almost any sounds you could want.
In the joy of upgrading to v3 I had problems with the download. Within 24 hours, over a weekend, William (the developer) had contacted me, sorted out the problem, and I was up and runing. The Service provided by Wusik is simply without par. By all means purchase this product in complete assurance that you will not suffer for lack of developer support. |
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Last edited : 30th September 2006
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By Radek
On 22nd May 2005
Version: 1.1.062
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4 of 7 people found
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I had been searching for workstation type instrument for so long. I don't have anymore as Wusikstation fits my needs. No, not ideally (what could?) but 90 percent for sure.
Wusikstation conceptually is similar to hardware such Korg Triton, Motif or Roland but without many restrictions. There are four multisample based oscillators, two wave sequencer, four filters per osc (!!), eq per osc (!!!), eight (yes!) lfos and adsr envelopes. All of them can be routed via big (36 positions!) modmatrix to almost every parameter. Even better oscs own outs also can be used as modulation sources... This means Wusik is capable of FM synthesis as well (but FM7 doesn't had to worry - is rather nice addon that core feature). To spice up sounds there also double FX processor with distortion, chorus, delay and reverb. They are not the best sounding FXes yet sufficient.
How does Wusikstation sounds then?
Actually very good but it depends on used samples and presets. Certainly it can do smooth analog type leads, awesome evolving pads (thanks to wavsequencers) as well typical sampled piano. Wusikstation comes with 400MB of multisamples and hundreds of presets. Not all are excellent but this is normal for such big sound library. Certainly everyone will find something usefull.
Summing it all - I'm very satisfied with Wusikstation. It's very solid vsti, cpu usage is moderate (if not low), doesn't crashed yet and interface is well thought. |
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By djastroboy
On 15th April 2005
Version: 1.1.062
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5 of 7 people found
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I really like the Wusikstation.
To me, Wusikstation provides a very punchy and direct sound. Most VSTi's are like looking at a styrofoam ball painted yellow, while the Wusik, as it is affectionately known, is like looking directly into the sun. OK that's a little over the top, but Wusik is very, very nice.
Lots of layers of easy to grasp programmability. More LFO's and filters and effects and whatnot than you could ever need.
Support is fast and useful on the forum.
A big plus for me is the availability of lots of extra soundsets.
The presets are generally good, although they tend to lack any performance type routings in the mod matrix. I mean that if you want your mod wheel or keyboard aftertouch to do anything, you are on your own with the modulation matrix to get things going.
I can't really judge the quality of the samples since I haven't used any kind of sampler since I broke my Ensoniq Mirage in 1980-something, but everything seems good in loop point land.
Download the demo and check it out. |
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By pw
On 7th March 2005
Version: 1.1.02
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7 of 10 people found
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GUI
There are a lot of features in Wusikstation, and the GUI does a great job of clearly categorizing them in an intuitive way.
Basically each oscillator has its own page, as do the two wavesequencers. The mod matrix, assignable envelopes and assignable lfo’s always stays in view for quick and easy re-routing while editing individual oscillators and wavesequencers. There is also a mixer page for fine tuning, such as fx sends, pan and volume, and global filtering and eq. the XY pad also lives on the mixer page.
There are many EXCELLENT skins available for the Wusikstation, and freely downloadable from the wusik website. I generally use the ‘smudge’ skin and the ‘shifrin’ skin.
SOUND
Wuskistation has a high quality audio engine, and the filters sound great, so sound quality basically comes down to the samples you feed it. The VSTi ships with the ‘famous keys’ collection of samples, which weighs in at about 500megs covering various synthetic sounds from classic analogue to 80’s digital. Everyone interested in synthesis should find something that works for them here, from fat basses, to various string ensemble type pads, to more crystalline digital sounds. I particularly like the Arp samples and the whole of ‘famous keys 4’ which has some deliciously lofi tron samples, chunky moog source samples and some great synth pads.
There are many soundsets available to expand the sonic palette considerably, and there are several 3rd-party plugs to create your own soundsets from. I have the new Vox’d set of vocal samples, which is simply stunning, and the Prepared Rhodes from zvon, a unique beast and a must for those into experimentation. Many more sounds are in the works from various developers.
FEATURES
More mod destinations in the matrix than you can poke a stick at, with 36 slots in the matrix, 8 freely assignable envelopes and 8 freely assignable LFO’s. Filter’s everywhere, 2 effects sends assignable in the matrix and the wavesequencers, 6 sample slots available, XY pad…There isn’t much more you could want in a synth.
The wavesequencers are spectacular, and make for interesting morphing textures, or crazy, jolty rhythms. For those into ambient and richly textural music, this is the place to spend a lot of time- it takes work building up a wavesequence, but it pays off big time. The Wusik way here is intuitive for what is quite a complex process, and there is a useful inline help available in the wavesequencer menu if you feel intimidated.
FM and AM is possible from the matrix, and while Wusikstation is not an FM synth, you can use these features to add extra dimensions to subtractive analog-styled patches, wavesequences, and also to push your sounds into experimental atonal territory.
You get the standard effects, chorus, reverb, delay and distortion. The delay is particularly excellent, and the quad chorus accentuates big moving pads very nicely.
DOCS
The documentation is very comprehensive, and guides you though most of the features of Wusikstation in an engaging manner. I had a quick go through them when I got the synth, but really, for me the best way was to learn on the synth itself.
PRESETS
Heaps and Heaps of presets. Many of high quality, including some great ones by Tim Conrardy and JJ which show off the wavesequencing. There are also many free banks around to be downloaded.
SUPPORT
WilliamK is one of the absolute best in the business, and an all-round nice guy. Support via email or via the forum is quick and efficient. Pop down to the Wusik.com forum and you will see how on top of things he is there.
VFM
One of the best deals I have ever received on music software. $99 regular price is a bargain, but there have also been several group buys enabling many users to band together and get a cheaper price based on number of sales. Once again, check the forum to see what is happening at any given time.
Extra soundsets have so far been very reasonably priced.
STABILITY
Not once had a problem. |
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By x_bruce
On 6th December 2004
Version: 1.09
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11 of 13 people found
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As most people have covered the features and you can read about the specifications, I'm going to discuss general impressions, real world capabilities and a small rant.
First off; if you've wanted a Wavestation but never could afford one you're almost there with Wusikstation. I say almost because Korg owns the sound samples of the Wavestation. They make a almost literal clone of that wonderful old instrument leaving nothing changed other than a pretty user interface. And that's the first reason to start considering alternatives such as Wusikstation. It's a better synth than Korg's. If you think multiple filter algorithms and controllable resonance are even the tiniest bit important than Wusikstation is your choice. If you want a more diverse and vastly better sound quality sample set that you and 3rd party developers can add to, well you get the point, you want a Wusikstation.
But do you need one? Considering that you have hundreds upon hundreds of available multisamples, similar numbers of professional presets and Wusik's excellent customer service it seems silly to go elsewhere. And of course, there is the price. The Wusikstation has been in group purchases but goes regularly for $100 which is quite reasonable considering sample content and the wonderful library provided. If you own Nusofting/Dash's EVE you should be able to use these libraries as well. They were available as add on's only a year ago.
Hopefully you aren't buying Wusikstation to trigger samples as any synth can do this. No, we will figure you have some desire to program Wusikstation and as such will be delighted with the options available. Particularly nice is the wave sequencing section which allows TWO wave sequences. You can create simple rhythmic sections to full blown melodies and do so in a friendly near-analog style editor. Wave sequencing is taking a sample, triggering it's pitch and length. You can us multiple samples, polyphonic pitches and in general you can put it together in a friendly, intuitive way.
The sample synth engine is also intuitive while allowing for as much complexity as you wish to use. Do you need all the routings available? Probably not, but sound developers and producers will be thankful they are there.
Wusikstation is a cheery reinvention of a classic design that takes it to considerable lengths. The quality is wonderful and easy to adjust on the fly, a plus when mixing. It's layout is utilitarian but is skinnable and some of the skins are absolutely stunning in both form and function and because they look beautiful. Whether you think beauty matters is your own consideration. I care about the utility of skinning and further refining a well designed interface and it doesn't hurt that the synth is fun to look at.
One issue to seriously consider is "Is it exactly like a Wavestation". No; it's not and can't be. Korg owns the sample set and does not license it. You may be able to find copies of the sampleset but it is not legal to use unless you have the hardware and did the job. Consider that my "I said what had to be said" section. The Wusikstation is also not a Wavestation in terms of performance. Frankly, the old WS is weak in performance, programming and upgradability. If you want the themes behind the original, they're in Wusikstation and that should be the reason you'd want to shell over your hard earned money. But it's not a clone. It is vastly more synthesizer and but for a few overused sounds you can do almost everything the classic synth did and all the things you pleaded to see but were never paid mind to.
Rarely would I recommend a synth like this as a first synth but it is capable of doing traditional synthesis as well as exotic and neither are much more difficult from the other.
I can't see a person seriously consider the Korg product in comparison to Wusik's superior in all respects synth. WilliamK has been in the virtual synth world for nearly a decade and knows how to get things accomplished as shown on this, his exceptional debut. When somene wants to see something I expect; no, I demand to see the quality and you can do so with the lavish demo of Wusikstation.
For a first product of a new company there is a maturity that is impressive and pleasant. Wusikstation is a well designed, excellent sounding VSTi that will bring back fond memories of 1991 or so where it seemed sample playback synths were going to actually interesting.
It took soft synths to remind us of how fun sample based synths could be and Wusikstation is a reminder to those old and new on how a good design makes a good sound.
It is also a warning to hardware companies that hide behind mini-keyboards and clutter to keep nasty humans from ripping them off. You have a choice and it should annoy you as well. You pay for the synths you use, you shouldn't be forced to screw up your studio to make some company's paranoia slaked. If it isn't obvious by now, buy Wusikstation, save money, make music! |
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By ttoz
On 5th December 2004
Version: 1.09
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7 of 9 people found
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One of the best synths ever and in my all time top 10.
UI: The fact that this is fully skinnable and the abundance of already available skins means that there will be a style that is to everyone's taste. I am not going to lie, i haven't deeply explored the synths editability, because i am generally a tweker rather than a preset programmer, but for when I have needed to tweak a parameter it's all there logically laid out. Everything "makes sense". This is with the default black skin (which i love).
Sound: Very high quality, clean but not clinical. very warm, capable of both really analog and digital sounds at the same time.
Features: This is a huge beast to discover. the sound can extend almost far as full songs in a preset! Definitely NOT a one trick pony. the versatility of the available patches proves that.
Documentation: I have skimmed over the entire PDF manual and it is very thorough. it seems no details have been left out, every single button and fucntion is fully explained. When i have needed to refer to the manul, i type the search word for the query i have and have always found what i needed to know.
Presets: A delight. there are over 600 included, of fantastic quality, alot of moving pads and keys and atmospheres. beautiful. then there are the third party banks which have started to surface all over the place. TC's minimoog is a perfect example of the versatility of the synth. I actually think this is going to be one of the most supported plug in's presets wise, ever. There are already close to 1000 presets available, and HEAPS are on the way.
CustomerSupport: I shouldn't even have to say anything here. William is at the top of the game, in definitely the top ten of all time for b est support. super fast email responses, super fast forum reponses. any bug is quickly squashed. the guy is on the ball. top notch.
VFM: this is running under a constant group buy which every month allows the synth to sell for as little as $49.95..and it seems to always make that low price so it's very polular! this is what I paid for it, and it is possibly the best $50 ever spent on a synth. just think how some places just sell preset banks for other synths for more than that! This is actually something i woudl expect to sell closer to the $200 mark.
Stability: Right from the word go, I have not had ONE SINGLE CRASH with this plugin, EVER. which is more than I can say for alot of others! Even if there are minor bugs, William always squashes them quickly, and has a good beta test system going. superb. |
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By Caleb
On 5th December 2004
Version: 1.09
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