UADx Opal Morphing Synthesizer

VST, AU, AAX, CLAP, etc. Plugin Virtual Instruments Discussion
Post Reply New Topic
RELATED
PRODUCTS

Post

Polymax was “meh” - good but nothing special to me. I’m loaded with software analogs and some analog hardware synths, too. Others I have are as good or better to me.

Opal is interesting. Comparing vs Twin3 and Hive2. Opal is pretty CPU hungry, though. The synth isn’t super-unique, but it’s a nice combo of form and function. Except for the asinine lack of double click to reset knobs. Seriously? Ugh.

Post

Agreed, I find PolyMAX to be completely forgettable. Super specific and limited functionality, yet not even as good sounding as more versatile synths like DIVA and Mercury-6.

Opal is much better and more interesting sounding to me. I've got some of it covered with Sines and Massive X but I'll get it when they offer another $50 coupon.

Post

imho if someone already owns some synths from uhe, gforce, ni and arturia , these uad goodies are not so appealing, even for a price ~50.

Post

I think Opal has something to offer in terms of its sound, even if you already have a decent synth collection. I've made some great patches that I've not have been able to recreate accurately with my other synths, which is why I bought it. It just sounds extremely good to me.

Post

I just found out you can just hold and drag the "insert FX" icon to cycle through the FXs.. This is a great way to quickly change the sound character, loved it! Really effective

Post

dune_rave wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 6:57 am imho if someone already owns some synths from uhe, gforce, ni and arturia , these uad goodies are not so appealing, even for a price ~50.
For the normal price (199$) I'd agree with you, but for 50$? That's a monumental steal, this is a top notch sound quality synth.
Hell, for 100$ (and despite some flaws) it's still a serious contender IMO.

Post

Sinisterbr wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 6:49 pm
dune_rave wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 6:57 am imho if someone already owns some synths from uhe, gforce, ni and arturia , these uad goodies are not so appealing, even for a price ~50.
For the normal price (199$) I'd agree with you, but for 50$? That's a monumental steal, this is a top notch sound quality synth.
Hell, for 100$ (and despite some flaws) it's still a serious contender IMO.
Regular price should be no more than $129 or so. $99 is a good price. $50 is a great price for Opal.

But, as was said, it's not super-unique. Just high quality, like several others. I spent time comparing Opal vs Hive2 and Twin3. It hangs in there on the same level of sound quality, but didn't quite sway me for $50. If people don't already have something similar of quality, they should jump right on the $50 deal for Opal.

Post

vitocorleone123 wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 6:57 pm
Sinisterbr wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 6:49 pm
dune_rave wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 6:57 am imho if someone already owns some synths from uhe, gforce, ni and arturia , these uad goodies are not so appealing, even for a price ~50.
For the normal price (199$) I'd agree with you, but for 50$? That's a monumental steal, this is a top notch sound quality synth.
Hell, for 100$ (and despite some flaws) it's still a serious contender IMO.
Regular price should be no more than $129 or so. $99 is a good price. $50 is a great price for Opal.

But, as was said, it's not super-unique. Just high quality, like several others. I spent time comparing Opal vs Hive2 and Twin3. It hangs in there on the same level of sound quality, but didn't quite sway me for $50. If people don't already have something similar of quality, they should jump right on the $50 deal for Opal.
IMO it's better than both Hive and Twin 3 sound wise. But that's me.

Post

Sinisterbr wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 7:25 pm
vitocorleone123 wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 6:57 pm
Sinisterbr wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 6:49 pm
dune_rave wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 6:57 am imho if someone already owns some synths from uhe, gforce, ni and arturia , these uad goodies are not so appealing, even for a price ~50.
For the normal price (199$) I'd agree with you, but for 50$? That's a monumental steal, this is a top notch sound quality synth.
Hell, for 100$ (and despite some flaws) it's still a serious contender IMO.
Regular price should be no more than $129 or so. $99 is a good price. $50 is a great price for Opal.

But, as was said, it's not super-unique. Just high quality, like several others. I spent time comparing Opal vs Hive2 and Twin3. It hangs in there on the same level of sound quality, but didn't quite sway me for $50. If people don't already have something similar of quality, they should jump right on the $50 deal for Opal.
IMO it's better than both Hive and Twin 3 sound wise. But that's me.
"better than both Hive and Twin 3 sound wise"

That's a bold statement, I might have to check it out now.

Post

Discovered a weird bug. If you play notes while the preset browser is open it can cause skipped/delayed notes, but only when playing manually and not from DAW playback. Even weirder is that this also affects other synths in the project while Opal's preset browser is open. This is in FL Studio, not sure about other DAWs.

Post

I just tried the demo within Cakewalk and am not having that issue.

Post

Yeah I just tried it in Reaper and it's fine. Seems to be FL Studio specific.

Post

Uncle E wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 3:00 am Opal is much better and more interesting sounding to me. I've got some of it covered with Sines and Massive X but I'll get it when they offer another $50 coupon.
If they offer another, where can the coupon be found?

Post

Examigan wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 9:37 pm
Uncle E wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 3:00 am Opal is much better and more interesting sounding to me. I've got some of it covered with Sines and Massive X but I'll get it when they offer another $50 coupon.
If they offer another, where can the coupon be found?
They add the coupon to your UAD account, and you'll see it during checkout as well so you can add it. You'll get another "thank you" coupon for $25 for each purchase you make right now as well.
Bitwig Certified Trainer

Post

Sinisterbr wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 7:25 pm
vitocorleone123 wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 6:57 pm
Sinisterbr wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 6:49 pm
dune_rave wrote: Tue Mar 21, 2023 6:57 am imho if someone already owns some synths from uhe, gforce, ni and arturia , these uad goodies are not so appealing, even for a price ~50.
For the normal price (199$) I'd agree with you, but for 50$? That's a monumental steal, this is a top notch sound quality synth.
Hell, for 100$ (and despite some flaws) it's still a serious contender IMO.
Regular price should be no more than $129 or so. $99 is a good price. $50 is a great price for Opal.

But, as was said, it's not super-unique. Just high quality, like several others. I spent time comparing Opal vs Hive2 and Twin3. It hangs in there on the same level of sound quality, but didn't quite sway me for $50. If people don't already have something similar of quality, they should jump right on the $50 deal for Opal.
IMO it's better than both Hive and Twin 3 sound wise. But that's me.
Yep. It’s just as good. All are different. For a few minutes I thought it was better sounding. And then I dig back into the other synths along side it and… nope. It’s not better. Brighter and louder by default, though.

The other two are more flexible, but also more costly (not much more when on sale).

It didn’t add anything net new for me with what I have, and doesn’t sound better (just different), so I passed on the new shiny for now.

Hopefully they can optimize the cpu usage further in the mean time.

Post Reply

Return to “Instruments”