Dawesome Kontrast. Wavetable synth. Coming Autumn 2025.

[zerocrossing]

OK, I've confirmed my suspicions. The standard oscillator is fine, but the wavetable oscillator is basically horrible as soon as you modulate X or Size. I mean, like ridiculously bad. Is no one else hearing it? Just init a preset, fix the stupid EG settings, set the balance to Oscillator 1 and then start messing with X and size and play some higher notes. I start hearing it at C4. Could this be a bug? It's very prominent.

[foosnark]

OK, I've confirmed my suspicions. The standard oscillator is fine, but the wavetable oscillator is basically horrible as soon as you modulate X or Size. I mean, like ridiculously bad. Is no one else hearing it? Just init a preset, fix the stupid EG settings, set the balance to Oscillator 1 and then start messing with X and size and play some higher notes. I start hearing it at C4. Could this be a bug? It's very prominent.

I'm really not hearing anything bad here. In fact it seems like a recipe for some useful basic plucky sounds. Nothing super exciting, but sequencer food anyway.

.... playing a bit more, I think I'm hearing what you're talking about. Sometimes there's a kind of rattling rough texture in the sound, which seems to be pitch dependent, mostly only noticeable in higher registers.

I don't know what that is, but I will chalk it up to this not having the same sort of anti-aliasing that wavetable synths tend to. Sometimes blurring the image smooths it out, sometimes not. I don't find it particularly unpleasant myself except in certain contexts and in fact, I prefer that kind of character over absolute smoothness.

[Download SOphist]

I am a huge fan of Dawesome plugins, but I'm still on the fence with Kontrast. I think the problem I have is the same one I had with Myth V1. I was expecting 90% of the magic to happen on the center stage (the Irises) but it's most effective when more of the toolkit is used.

I love making crazy scan patterns and watching them while playing, but I don't love the sound of them a lot of the time, which creates some internal conflict for me.

you have just resumed my feelings quite exactly... it´s very interesting, but not moving (to me).
might grow on me, though.

[zerocrossing]

OK, I've confirmed my suspicions. The standard oscillator is fine, but the wavetable oscillator is basically horrible as soon as you modulate X or Size. I mean, like ridiculously bad. Is no one else hearing it? Just init a preset, fix the stupid EG settings, set the balance to Oscillator 1 and then start messing with X and size and play some higher notes. I start hearing it at C4. Could this be a bug? It's very prominent.

I'm really not hearing anything bad here. In fact it seems like a recipe for some useful basic plucky sounds. Nothing super exciting, but sequencer food anyway.

This is a simple sawtooth via wavetable. C4, pitch bent up an octave.

KontrastAliasing.wav

[foosnark]

This is a simple sawtooth via wavetable. C4, pitch bent up an octave.
KontrastAliasing.wav

I updated my post above (it just took a few minutes). It's pretty easy to find some aliasing if you start looking for it.

But if I were looking for a clean simple sawtooth, this isn't the technology I would be using in the first place. I'll take interesting and varied over clean most of the time though.

[pekbro]

I’m on the fence as well, but I’ll prob still grab it, just because. Likely due to missing out on a couple intro deals and such for the first few Dawesome releases, which I still haven’t bought.

[zerocrossing]

This is a simple sawtooth via wavetable. C4, pitch bent up an octave.
KontrastAliasing.wav

I updated my post above (it just took a few minutes). It's pretty easy to find some aliasing if you start looking for it.

But if I were looking for a clean simple sawtooth, this isn't the technology I would be using in the first place. I'll take interesting and varied over clean most of the time though.

I’m not always looking for a pristine output from an admittedly digital style of synthesizer, and I have plenty of plugins like Microwave 1, and hardware like the Ambika, that lean into their artifacts, but I feel like this one goes way past my threshold of what I’m looking for in that kind of plugin. Cute idea, but without a higher quality rendering, it’s not for me.

[kraster]

OK, I've confirmed my suspicions. The standard oscillator is fine, but the wavetable oscillator is basically horrible as soon as you modulate X or Size. I mean, like ridiculously bad. Is no one else hearing it? Just init a preset, fix the stupid EG settings, set the balance to Oscillator 1 and then start messing with X and size and play some higher notes. I start hearing it at C4. Could this be a bug? It's very prominent.

Did you read the manual?

Did you read the part about aliasing?

Both the digital vibe setting and the 8 bit setting are there to deliberately create aliasing. Use the blur control if you want to reduce aliasing.

Here's the relevant part:

"Aliasing is one of those things that only happen in the digital world. In analog synths you don’t get it – oscillators and filters just behave continuously.
But in digital synthesis, sharp edges or very high harmonics can “fold back” into the audible range, creating extra tones that weren’t in the original.
Some people hate it. Some people celebrate it.
In fact, in genres like early jungle, chip music, Glitch, Cyberpunk, or lo-fi the aliasing isn’t a bug – it’s the vibe!
KONTRAST gives you both worlds: the engine uses several tricks under the hood to keep aliasing at bay, but it never assumes what you want. You decide whether to keep things clean, or to embrace the digital grit.

Pick a wavetable with super-sharp, jagged edges – it already looks “digital.” Surprise: it will also sound digital, because aliasing kicks in.

• Don’t want that? Turn up the BLUR knob to smooth it out.

• Want it smoother in the higher octaves only? Use

Keytrack as a modulation source for BLUR – lower notes stay edgy, high notes get cleaned.

• Want more of that digital bite? Crank the CONTRAST knob and the aliasing will get even stronger. Then choose DIGITAL as VIBE mode and activate 8BIT.

Some wavetables already contain noise. That noise will alias
too, which can be messy. But:
• Dial in BLUR to wash it away – suddenly you’ve sculpted a cleaner oscillator.
• Or keep the noise and treat it like an extra noise source.That’s basically a hidden noise oscillator, ready for sound design tricks.

Aliasing also creates noise-like components. That’s gold if you use it to excite KONTRAST’s MODAL from the filter section.
• Because aliasing mirrors frequencies, it produces inharmonic content – perfect for feeding into modal resonances.
• Combine with the INHARM control in the filter section, and you’ve got a playground of strange, metallic, or acoustic-ish textures"

As I said above, one of Kontrast's best quality's is that it can produce a massive range of sounds including aliasing if you want that. But if you don't want aliasing you don't have to have it.

[kraster]

This is a simple sawtooth via wavetable. C4, pitch bent up an octave.
KontrastAliasing.wav

I updated my post above (it just took a few minutes). It's pretty easy to find some aliasing if you start looking for it.

But if I were looking for a clean simple sawtooth, this isn't the technology I would be using in the first place. I'll take interesting and varied over clean most of the time though.

I’m not always looking for a pristine output from an admittedly digital style of synthesizer, and I have plenty of plugins like Microwave 1, and hardware like the Ambika, that lean into their artifacts, but I feel like this one goes way past my threshold of what I’m looking for in that kind of plugin. Cute idea, but without a higher quality rendering, it’s not for me.

If it's not for you that's fine, but stop trying to posit that the fundamental design of the synth is flawed because you just don't happen to like it.

[zerocrossing]

OK, I've confirmed my suspicions. The standard oscillator is fine, but the wavetable oscillator is basically horrible as soon as you modulate X or Size. I mean, like ridiculously bad. Is no one else hearing it? Just init a preset, fix the stupid EG settings, set the balance to Oscillator 1 and then start messing with X and size and play some higher notes. I start hearing it at C4. Could this be a bug? It's very prominent.

Did you read the manual?

Did you read the part about aliasing?

Manuals are for nerds.

Both the digital vibe setting and the 8 bit setting are there to deliberately create aliasing. Use the blur control if you want to reduce aliasing.

None of those "vibe" controls, or the blur, reduce the aliasing to a significant degree.

Here's the relevant part:

[TED Talk about aliasing]

My point is that as soon as you begin to modulate the X and Size, the aliasing is always very noticable. It's not anything that can be dialed out, unless you don't touch the X and Size controls... which seems like the point of the synth.

As I said above, one of Kontrast's best quality's is that it can produce a massive range of sounds including aliasing if you want that. But if you don't want aliasing you don't have to have it.

If that were true, I'd take it all back and buy it. It is not true. Not really. If using one of the main features of a synthesizer produces that kind of prominent artifacting, that can't really be dialed out, I'm calling it badly implemented. I say this as a man who bought Mr. Alias Pro.

I didn't even go looking for this. I did what I always do when I download any new synthesizer. I listen to a variety of the factory presets to get an idea of what it can do, or at least what the developer thinks it should do, and a lot of it was sounding pretty bad to me. I only went to find the aliasing because of that. If you dig it, good for you, but it just sounds ugly to me. At least in the context of this instrument.

[zerocrossing]

This is a simple sawtooth via wavetable. C4, pitch bent up an octave.
KontrastAliasing.wav

I updated my post above (it just took a few minutes). It's pretty easy to find some aliasing if you start looking for it.

But if I were looking for a clean simple sawtooth, this isn't the technology I would be using in the first place. I'll take interesting and varied over clean most of the time though.

I’m not always looking for a pristine output from an admittedly digital style of synthesizer, and I have plenty of plugins like Microwave 1, and hardware like the Ambika, that lean into their artifacts, but I feel like this one goes way past my threshold of what I’m looking for in that kind of plugin. Cute idea, but without a higher quality rendering, it’s not for me.

If it's not for you that's fine, but stop trying to posit that the fundamental design of the synth is flawed because you just don't happen to like it.

I never said that. I just gave my opinion about the sound and said it wasn't for me.

[PetVor]

[p1afff]

I updated my post above (it just took a few minutes). It's pretty easy to find some aliasing if you start looking for it.

But if I were looking for a clean simple sawtooth, this isn't the technology I would be using in the first place. I'll take interesting and varied over clean most of the time though.

I’m not always looking for a pristine output from an admittedly digital style of synthesizer, and I have plenty of plugins like Microwave 1, and hardware like the Ambika, that lean into their artifacts, but I feel like this one goes way past my threshold of what I’m looking for in that kind of plugin. Cute idea, but without a higher quality rendering, it’s not for me.

Mmm, this kind of discussion and topic (purity of the signal) can be interesting and valid when emulating / building / using an analog synth, for example, but for a synth focusing on such a variety of sonic colors (no pun) it’s not really relevant to me.
In fact, I look for any contrast I can get and have fun with it.
If we want pure signals, let’s play with lab tone generators (kidding kidding, and it has already been done indeed)

[zerocrossing]

I updated my post above (it just took a few minutes). It's pretty easy to find some aliasing if you start looking for it.

But if I were looking for a clean simple sawtooth, this isn't the technology I would be using in the first place. I'll take interesting and varied over clean most of the time though.

I’m not always looking for a pristine output from an admittedly digital style of synthesizer, and I have plenty of plugins like Microwave 1, and hardware like the Ambika, that lean into their artifacts, but I feel like this one goes way past my threshold of what I’m looking for in that kind of plugin. Cute idea, but without a higher quality rendering, it’s not for me.

Mmm, this kind of discussion and topic (purity of the signal) can be interesting and valid when emulating / building / using an analog synth, for example, but for a synth focusing on such a variety of sonic colors (no pun) it’s not really relevant to me.
In fact, I look for any contrast I can get and have fun with it.
If we want pure signals, let’s play with lab tone generators (kidding kidding, and it has already been done indeed)

This is plain and simply the stupidest sentiment I’ve read on this forum for a long time.

No one is talking about “pure tones.” Other than a sine wave, there’s no such thing. What I’m talking about is harmonically unrelated overtones that are unpleasant. Many digital instruments have this to some extent, but Kontrast is a lot worse than anything I’ve ever experienced. If we were talking about aliasing levels similar to the Access Virus, we wouldn’t be. I wouldn’t have even brought it up.

Anyway, the quality of this plugin is too low for me, even for the kinds of lo-fi sounds I like. I like the idea, and I hope that they can remedy this, but if not, so be it.

[Uncle E]

This is plain and simply the stupidest sentiment I’ve read on this forum for a long time.

Who kidnapped zerocrossing and gave him bones’ personality?