Oh boy, another VA synth. This time from Waves!

[jalcide]

i can't wait to make music with this thing.

Neither can we..........get crackin'!!!!!!!! (crowd chants we want examples......we want examples! )

Yes, I want to hear some audio that sounds better than all the top softsynths today... and you should immediately send your sounds to Waves cause the examples they have on their site are rather bland...

I just checked the KVR charts for number one softsynths over different time periods - 1 day, 1 week, per month, per year

Synth 1 baby!!!

If it sounds better than that, he made his point.

Actually, no he didn't. He said Element sounds better than Synth Squad, XILS3, Diva, POlyKB, and LUSH... which is absurd of course... he is either trolling, or paid by Waves... hehehe

not trolling. not paid by waves (i wish!).

though my opinion on this may indeed be absurd. but this is what my ears are telling me right now. first impression of it. only spent about 30 mintues with it. i've spent entire weekends with the other synths.

also, to clarify, it's really an oscillator-to-oscillator battle, from my perspective. surely, an 8 layer preset could be made in one lush-101 that would sound "better" than one Element instance. that's like, 16 oscillators from which to sound design. but i think i could make a better sound with 8 stacks of Element (8x2).

[hibidy]

Why did the troll card have to be played?

Now that's where I get pissed, just uncalled for.

[jalcide]

Why did the troll card have to be played?

Now that's where I get pissed, just uncalled for.

thanks, hibidy.

that said, i am gushing a bit about this synth. it's not totally unexpected.

also, the things i'm gushing about are very subtle -- not night and day. i still love all those synths i mentioned (obviously, i bought them all). instead of saying "better" let's just say that what i'm hearing in Element is "different". something different that i like.

[billcarroll]

Why did the troll card have to be played?

Now that's where I get pissed, just uncalled for.

thanks, hibidy.

that said, i am gushing a bit about this synth. it's not totally unexpected.

also, the things i'm gushing about are very subtle -- not night and day. i still love all those synths i mentioned (obviously, i bought them all). instead of saying "better" let's just say that what i'm hearing in Element is "different". something different that i like.

I agree with you. There is something about this synth's sound I really like. There is a bite and tone I really like.

As for Sylenth and other great synths like DIVA, I'm always surprised to see how may great patches end up using no more than 2 oscillators.

[pdxindy]

Why did the troll card have to be played?

Now that's where I get pissed, just uncalled for.

thanks, hibidy.

that said, i am gushing a bit about this synth. it's not totally unexpected.

also, the things i'm gushing about are very subtle -- not night and day. i still love all those synths i mentioned (obviously, i bought them all). instead of saying "better" let's just say that what i'm hearing in Element is "different". something different that i like.

you called it mindblowing...

[jalcide]

Why did the troll card have to be played?

Now that's where I get pissed, just uncalled for.

thanks, hibidy.

that said, i am gushing a bit about this synth. it's not totally unexpected.

also, the things i'm gushing about are very subtle -- not night and day. i still love all those synths i mentioned (obviously, i bought them all). instead of saying "better" let's just say that what i'm hearing in Element is "different". something different that i like.

you called it mindblowing...

yup. subtle stuff is mind-blowing to me.

you know, stuff like single malt scotch, sandalwood incense and the nuances of circuit modeled synthesizers.

i'm old. i used to own three racks of physical hardware. and seeing the progression, incremental as it may be, of what these companies are able to do now, blows my mind.

it's all about the details.

[Bronto Scorpio]

I just installed the demo to check this out. It really first seems like a simple synth (and well, it is) but what makes this quite nice is how well it is designed imo (I'm not talking about the interface here).

What I like:

• ALL parameters are targets in the mod matrix, even the Arp/Seq rate!
• The mod matrix is very well laid out. No cryptic names and endless lists of parameters. This is clearly an advantage of the limited structure of the synth.
• The distortion and the bit crusher are polyphonic (very cool!).
• There is a "Full Reset" button (Every synth should have something like this, I've said it often enough).
• Very low CPU usage! I haven't checked numbers or anything but this is the first synth in a long time I can play polyphonically without any problems on my ancient PC (Even in HD mode).
• Small details like the filter FM, the variable shape of the envelopes, the "Punch" option and stuff like that. This stuff makes some more "advanced" sounds possible.
• 4 LFOs are quite a lot for such a small synth.

What I don't like:

• The knob behaviour is strange. They have this stupid acceleration thingy going on. This stuff always sounds nice in theory but just doesn't work in reality (At least for me).
• Parameter stepping! Sadly that's still a very common thing in 2013!
• Limted unison features. I get the point, this is laid out as a classic analog unison effect, but a few more options would be nice nontheless.
• AOS (Anachronistic Oscillator Syndrome (TM)). Why, ohh why always sine, saw, square, blah waveforms? Why limit a synth is such an artificial way? Just because it was like that in the old days? The oscillators are flexible enough to get beyond classic waves but this is still such an absolutely artificial limitation.
• The reverb. This is of course completely subjective and it certainly can sound good in the right context. But let's be honest, everyone will replace it with an external one anyway, so why waste CPU cycles on some über-awesome reverb?
• The effects are very limted, even just rate and size knobs would be enough. I guess it's still enough for a quick "how would this sound with a chorus/reverb" fix. But then again, most users will probably replace them anyway.
• 3D knobs on a flat GUI, 'nuff said. Seriously, this trend has to stop (This is again very subjective).

Is this the greatest synth ever (if there is such a thing)? Definitely not. But for 99$ it's quite a nice synth to be honest! It covers a lot of basics, is easy to understand and very well laid out!
It may also be a nice synth for beginners to learn how to use synths. In general I think this is a great synth if you don't have 300 other ones already.

For 99$ it's definitely worth it I guess. 200$ is too much imo.

Just my very first impressions! I'm sure I missed some features etc.
I won't buy this one, but I already have Zebra, Diva, Diversion.......but someone who doesn't have the basics covered yet should definitely check this out as long as the intro offer lasts.

Regarding the unique sound some are talking of. That's mainly caused by the effects. The chorus has a very high rate and sounds more like an ensembe. It also has a quite high base delay, which makes it sound very "roomy". That's what makes it sound quite unique imo (That's actually a very smart decision from Waves).

Cheers
Dennis

[deastman]

Oh and with regards to the Rudess mocking, I see the photoshopping more of a "teasing" and friendly mockery, in contrast to outright calling him something nasty or whatever. All I really know about him is he's a passionate and accomplished keyboard player and he endorses lots of products

+1

Since I brought up the Photoshopping, let me just reiterate what Sendy wrote. I only suggested it because of all the Photoshopping which went on back in the days when Jordan's photo was an almost permanent fixture on the right column ads here at KVR. His original photos are certainly dramatic, and, I would like to think, slightly irreverent. I certainly mean no ill will towards the man. I've heard him interviewed on Sonic Talk, and he seems like a friendly, intelligent, down-to-earth sort of guy. Dream Theater isn't in keeping with my own musical tastes, but you have to admire his musical talent, not to mention his successful iOS business.

[pdxindy]

Why did the troll card have to be played?

Now that's where I get pissed, just uncalled for.

thanks, hibidy.

that said, i am gushing a bit about this synth. it's not totally unexpected.

also, the things i'm gushing about are very subtle -- not night and day. i still love all those synths i mentioned (obviously, i bought them all). instead of saying "better" let's just say that what i'm hearing in Element is "different". something different that i like.

you called it mindblowing...

yup. subtle stuff is mind-blowing to me.

you know, stuff like single malt scotch, sandalwood incense and the nuances of circuit modeled synthesizers.

i'm old. i used to own three racks of physical hardware. and seeing the progression, incremental as it may be, of what these companies are able to do now, blows my mind.

it's all about the details.

So post some simple clips... If it sounds really good ala recent analog emulations I will say so... I have no vested interest in a particular opinion. Just the Waves sound demos did not sound particularly good. Not bad either, but just kind of a capable standard digital softsynth sound. Certainly nothing in those demos with the character of recent circuit modeled stuff.

[bailees7irish]

[Ingonator]

The EQ on this thing sounds really good. I wish I could use it as an insert effect.

It really does. I was surprised. Also, mids/highs are like the filter section, part II. It can almost sound like the RES knob. Very analog EQ. I'm pretty sure it's circuit modeled. Has almost an API sound to it.

Exactly what i found too. If you tweak the EQ in e.g. some of the presets you could get a huge low end.
Really like the synth and maybe i'll purchase at JRRshop before the demo times out.

There are also some interesting details like e.g. the DCO/VCO switch, the punch button for the Amp envelope and the Shape knob for adjusting the envelope slopes.
There seem to be two ways FM, the SineMod in OSC1 and the FM knob in OSC2.

I got the demo license on a normal USB stick and it works on both my desktop PC and notebook without problems.
Also transfer of your own presets is no problem if you save and reload from a XPS file. You could either save your presets at the location where the factory presets are or save them in a XPS file.


My current go to VA synths are Saurus, Oxium and U-NO-LX but i would not mind using Element too as it seems to sound different and got an awesome GUI (simplicity is close to that in Saurus and U-NO-LX).


Ingo

[jalcide]

So post some simple clips... If it sounds really good ala recent analog emulations I will say so... I have no vested interest in a particular opinion. Just the Waves sound demos did not sound particularly good. Not bad either, but just kind of a capable standard digital softsynth sound. Certainly nothing in those demos with the character of recent circuit modeled stuff.

Yup, I will.

I actually think the Waves demos, while not Beatport hits (nor meant to be), do reveal some things to our discerning ears and are pretty well-executed for their intended purpose: to showcase individual presets within a minimally processed, relatively sparse, "song like" production. There is clearly very little "stacking" going on. Each instrument is a single preset and with only two oscillators to lean against. When you consider that, it's more impressive.

Those are pretty phat sounds for not being layered. A real production would have a ton of layering on each sound, itself. So, one can extrapolate what might be possible for an actual, commercial production. This synth is, after all, aimed at producers who would have cried foul if the demos were clearly overly layered, uber-lush productions.

I think you can also hear some pretty nice details in some of the instruments where the notched filter sounding stuff kicks in. It's got, as someone else said well, a nice "bite" to it. For me, it's all about what happens in the attack ("bite") portion of the envelope. This is something that, to this day, Sylenth1 still excels at. Those sharp, clear, squelchy, resonate (often vowel-sounding), but pleasing, almost "plastic-y" (in a good way) sounds you can get out of Sylenth. To my ear, Element has all the detailed articulation of that kind of a Sylenth attack, but with all this wonderful, meaty, fuzzy analog sounding stuff wrapped around it, like DIVA. It's kinda like a Sylenth/DIVA hybrid, sonic-wise, to me. I heard that from the demo songs, and confirmed it by playing around with the demo. That's what I'm hearing, anyway. But that's a very subjective thing.

[Nielzie]

It does remind me of Sylenth.. Who coded this thing? It wasn't secretely Lennard was it?

[rasmusklump]

I like this synth very much and just bought it for $69 at Plugindiscounts.

[jalcide]

It does remind me of Sylenth.. Who coded this thing? It wasn't secretely Lennard was it?

ha! yeah, he's either sipping fruity drinks on a beach somewhere, or standing in a soup line wearing donated clothes -- depending on how many of the millions of copies of his product were actually paid for, or not. i wouldn't be surprised, either way.

while we're talking about him, where's our sylenth2, dammit!