KVR Audio

David · Post by **David** » Sun Mar 01, 2020 12:52 am

Bought! Thought I wanted Lion, but comparing the two demos, NO contest.
I also checked out a bunch of PA's saturation devices, which were interesting, almost tempted by the bx-saturator, but compared to the Diezel Herbert, which does great cleans as well as the brutal metal stuff, as well as some nice crunches, tons of familiar controls, presets, and IRs, again no contest.

Thorn going into Herbert…?
Wow.
In fact…WOW!!

digitalboytn · Post by **digitalboytn** » Sun Mar 01, 2020 12:58 am

mxbf wrote: Sun Mar 01, 2020 12:38 am the workflow is also a big part of it for me. the fact that it sounds good AND has a fast and reliable workflow makes it a definite go to.

you just know that it's a reliable, trustworthy serious synthesizer. it's very well made.

I did a review of Thorn on here the other day and one of the things I mentioned was the workflow...

https://www.kvraudio.com/product/thorn- ... views/6200

"Everything about this synth is top shelf...

This is coded by a very smart cookie who knows a thing or two about DSP and the importance of having a clear and functional layout...

Because everything is basically on one page, the workflow of Thorn is fast and efficient..."

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Mon Mar 02, 2020 12:12 am

Yeah, it might seem stupid to say but the sound quality is almost a bonus.

v1o · Post by **v1o** » Mon Mar 02, 2020 2:55 am

Most of the sound quality comes from the effects section.

digitalboytn · Post by **digitalboytn** » Mon Mar 02, 2020 4:43 am

v1o wrote: Mon Mar 02, 2020 2:55 am Most of the sound quality comes from the effects section.

This is not true...

The effects section is great and it enhances things in a very positive way,but turn the effects off and listen...

The heart of Thorn - the oscillators and the filters - are superb,so they don't need any effects to sound good...

Some synths do rely on the built in effects to make them sound presentable,but not this one...

She's a pure bred classic

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Mon Mar 02, 2020 6:12 am

Did this thread get resurrected because Thorn is half-price at the moment? Because it is.

christian f. · Post by **christian f.** » Mon Mar 02, 2020 7:30 am

I'm actually surprised how good it is ! I tried it when it came out and wasn't impressed at all.
Tried it again today and liked it ... especially for $29.99 with the PA voucher

LoveEnigma18 · Post by **LoveEnigma18** » Mon Mar 02, 2020 7:31 am

BONES wrote: Mon Mar 02, 2020 6:12 am Did this thread get resurrected because Thorn is half-price at the moment? Because it is.

Because it can be had for just $30 with the PA leap year voucher.

zerocrossing · Post by **zerocrossing** » Tue Mar 03, 2020 5:55 am

I’m Torn on Thorn. Demos sound good but I’m having a hard time finding time to check it out. I’m slammed with work and my wife’s company is having a big event, so double parent duties. I tried it once before and thought it sounded OK, but nothing that unique. Can some one point me to demos of it doing very experimental type sounds?

m-ac · Post by **m-ac** » Tue Mar 03, 2020 10:57 am

I'm trying Thorn and although it sounds great, I'm getting really bad lag when moving the envelope sliders, for example. I watched a youtube video where the guy said adjusting the buffer value in your daw makes a difference, but it doesnt. Is this just a 'thing' with thorn? I can live with it, but it's pretty annoying.

Im using logic on a trash can mac pro.

m-ac · Post by **m-ac** » Tue Mar 03, 2020 11:01 am

Also, what's with the amount of click at the start of a note?! Even with declick enabled, something like 'BASS black sub' clicks like its life depends on it. Does this synth just have the worlds most aggressive envelopes?

SHall1000 · Post by **SHall1000** » Tue Mar 03, 2020 11:52 am

Before deciding to buy this I have been reviewing what I have. NI's Razor has a similar sound to my ears. Forgot I had it!

digitalboytn · Post by **digitalboytn** » Tue Mar 03, 2020 2:40 pm

SHall1000 wrote: Tue Mar 03, 2020 11:52 am Before deciding to buy this I have been reviewing what I have. NI's Razor has a similar sound to my ears. Forgot I had it!

They both have pretty sharp names,but that's where the similarity ends...

The're completely different synths....

But if you're satisfied with Razor,that's a good thing

cron · Post by **cron** » Tue Mar 03, 2020 2:59 pm

zerocrossing wrote: Tue Mar 03, 2020 5:55 am I’m Torn on Thorn. Demos sound good but I’m having a hard time finding time to check it out. I’m slammed with work and my wife’s company is having a big event, so double parent duties. I tried it once before and thought it sounded OK, but nothing that unique. Can some one point me to demos of it doing very experimental type sounds?

You really need to try it. Contrary to most in the thread, IMO Thorn is probably the roughest sounding synth in my arsenal - absolutely no high end yet it aliases hard enough to cause phase cancellation throughout the spectrum everywhere on the keyboard, not just on high notes. Lo-fi digital all the way. Set up the dirty filter with max resonance and sweep around the top end with the cut off. Play the init patch 'saw' wave anywhere on the keyboard and pitchbend it. If you can accept what you hear, you'll find yourself with a synth that excels at mid-frequency detailing and sounds great 'in-the-mix'. If you can't accept it and are willing to trade better sound quality for less granular editing features (albeit much more in the way of oscillator and spectral effects), check out Europa. TBH I find it really difficult to recommend Thorn in a world where Europa exists, even if Europa is missing a few 'obvious' features like control over LFO phase.

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Wed Mar 04, 2020 12:14 am

I can't say I've ever noticed and doing something just to make it sound bad seems like a really stupid idea. The thing with Thorn, though, is that it is far more than the sum of it's parts. I don't think any single aspect of it is outstanding, except maybe some of the effects, yet the results are consistently excellent. It almost defies belief that such a seemingly ordinary sounding filter, for example, can sound so damned good when you hear Thorn in a mix. It almost seems like magic at times and, honestly, I can't get enough of it.

OTOH, Europa looks really ugly and some of the stuff in the demo video seems totally wrong to me. e.g. When he adjusts the filter resonance, the graph changes the slope, not the resonant peak. What's going on with that?

Dmitry Sches' Thorn VI