E-MU

Proteus VX is a amazing freeware.

It's a rompler, so you have tons of sounds in it, but you can't import your own samples.
The presets in this VX version are numerous (1024) but you have not access to the synth engine. You can alter the sounds with the 16 midi CC controls.
So you have a simple and easy to use sound module.
If you read KVR forums, you can see that most of the people make their opinion on a synth by listening to the presets. Sometime you wonder why there are so many parameters avalaible on the synths because most of the people don't take time to built their own sounds.

Here you have a huge choice of presets, some are very nice, and usefull, so you will certainly find one that suit your needs, and if you want to make some alteration to the sound, you can do it by using the midi CC controls.

The interface is nice, what I really love is that the 16 midi CC controls are always displayed, so you know what they do at a glance, and then you are encouraged to use the controlers of your midi keyboards.
And you realize that it's a simple and fun way to find new sounds.

I personnally think that the sounds sound great, and it's almost a surprise because it's the old sounds from the hardware proteus modules, I must admit that E-mu has a great savoir-faire in samples based synthesis.

The manuel is really great, it's complete and clear. E-mu guys seem happy to discuss their product and their technology.

Considering that it's free, it's a bargain.

Now, if you read on the E-mu site, you see that this Proteux VX version will not be supported on future operating systems.
Many report crashes on Vista or XP Pro.
So, if you have to change your computer, you will not be able to use this little gem anymore.

So it's my conclusion : use it now, and THANK YOU VERY MUCH E-MU, even if we know that such a product is given for free to bring potential new customers to the compagny in the future.Read Review

As a long term lover of Emu Proteus sound I remember how sad I was to lose those sounds when I sold my Proteus 2500, for years I missed that machine and it is no longer available !! When I found out there was a VST with THE SAME presets as my P2500, I was very happy, and when I found out it was FREE, I had to kick myself !!! The VST version actually adds some editing capabilities not available on the hardware unit and the voice stealing is much more efficient than on the hardware box, where I experienced a lot of clipping for multi-voice sequences....

The interface has a very nice librarian and allows sounds to be categorized and previewed, and the 16 midi channel multitimbral editor is perfect, with so many sounds and multitimbral options, you could use just this synth for full productions, which I have in the past for many of my songs using only the Proteus 2500... Looking forward to rendering my old P2500 midi sequences now that I have a sound module that contains the original patches I had thought I lost forever !! Using only the P2500, I wrote the soundtracks to 2 commercial video games, one notably "Maniacal Max: The Maniac With a Cause" - by SD Entertainment. The tracks were all done using only the Proteus 2500 with the stock "composer" banks, which are included in this VST in it's entirety !!

A lot of care and love went into the programming of the original Proteus "Composer" banks and in my ears most of the sounds still sound as fresh and exciting as when I first got them. You simply can't lose with this one, get it then buy all the soundsets with the money you saved !!!Read Review

It´s almost shocking that first review on this wonderfull instruments is only few days old.

Proteus stands out in my freeware collection / to be true - not only freeware collection /, it´s sound is something different compared to piles of synthedit/synthmaker creations - lots of great drumkits, guitars, basses, retro-synth sounds - an the collections is really, really big. There are even some great addons on digital sound factory site - like the Filters and Functions pack.

The filters of this Instruments standout too, I´m really sorry, that I can´t load my own samples in it in the free version as that would be something!

I just can´t say a bad word about this synth, and if it has some little quirks, I don´t care for them as the positives overweigh them.

So, grab it, if you´re in need of sounds from the Proteus modules, if you´re into hip-hop, big beat, if you´re searching for some great hits, stabs, basses, or drumkits. You get hundreds of presets, the drumkits are really big - not like the usual 8-16 sounds. You´ll even find yourself recognizing some of the sounds from some great tracks of the past eras.

There are not many freebies as this one - Core Player, Kotakt Player, Independence Free...and Proteus.

I had to give it full marks, as I Love the sound, interface, the presets, I never had any problems with it, the value for money is unbeatable, full documentation is included too, and well, I won´t spoil the full marks giving it 0 for customer support as it´s freebie, so what could I want - and I never needed it.Read Review

I grew up with Proteus 1 (which was a big step up for me from the Roland MT-32 I previously owned). The patches of Proteus VX sound familiar to me, as they build upon the Proteus 2000 sounds as well as the whole E-MU banks.

Let me say this at once - I can't believe this beatuy is freeware! I have tried so many VST synths here at KVR and have had a hard time finding a free or inexpensive good sounding bread'n'butter synth/rompler. Now I've found it!

Besides from sounding terrific, there are other nice things here. The UI is excellent, after reading through most of the manual I knew the synth inside out (PM me if you run into trouble!). The routing is very flexible and the fx sounds great. What's more, it is surprisingly light on my poor CPU. I used the SuperWave P8 in conjunction with the VX and thought that the eight or so sounds of the VX was slowing down my system, but it turned out to be the ONE sound from the P8! (This is not to say that the P8 is a CPU killer, just that my system is weak and that the VX is great on resources.)

I'm not sure on stability. It never crashed once on me, but I have had some dropouts, even when there were just a few notes playing. I can't tell though if it's due to the VX or to my DAW (Energy XT). Also, I have no idea on customer support, but you probably won't need it anyway.

Try it out! If you're mostly into sound design you might not be so excited but if you like the good ol' Proteuses, you'll be in heaven!Read Review

wow,
there sure is a lot very stern, serious rules when you want to add a review.
is this a german site? lol.
anyhoo.
i've had this vst synth for half a year now. for starters : mine was included with 0404 emu soundcard. the package cost $99. i don't quite understand how they can sell here the synth only ,for more than the synth and a soundcard!
proteus x has a lot of sounds. you get 3 CDs. 1 with garden variety + GM, 1 with drum loops, 1 grand pianos.
most of these sounds are rehashed old proteus module sounds(sounding a little brighter than originals though). acoustic pianos are pretty good, pretty, very good. drum loops sound kind of all samish. seems like they are all variations on 5 or 7 loops.
the good thing is you can load any selection of presets, mix them from diffrent banks or sort them by type(e.g. strings only). then you can use them in single or multi mode. multi have 16 channels. then you have the usual filter, asdr etc plus 2 FX processors.
on my 2.4 celeron within sonar when i tried to play more then 15 notes at a time cpu was jumping to almost half.which is higher than from any other of my VSTis.
and latency was set to around 5o ms. this thing is not the most cpu efficient instrument. you have an option to play samples with a pre roll from your hard disk but that wasn't helping much in my case.
i know, i know- celerons are only good for typing.
however, i get way more"cpu for the buck" with other synths.
bottom line ; if you need a soundcard, very clean and quiet soundard, go buy one of the EMU line. you'll get a synth (more expensive versions come with soft emulator which will also sample for you) thrown in for free.
pianos and strings are very good, you get lots of bases and so on( i didn't like the pads though).
i'm sure you will fid many sounds useful. 100 bucks!
would i buy one separately for $150 ?
probably not.
unless you really miss those old proteus sounds.Read Review