KVR Audio

Cinebient · Post by **Cinebient** » Sun Apr 08, 2018 9:57 am

sylvie wrote:Hi, i have bought the USQ-1 on Friday, 2 days ago. But since then i tried a lot of times to unpack the "rar" (downloaded from the uvi-webside). Its not possible and my nerves are flying away! I have tried all of uvi's "mirrors", but: NOTHING!!! I have got a MacPro with OS 10.12.6.
Anyone for help, please?! Thanks, Sylvie (germany)

For mac i use the free „unRAR“.

Ingonator · Post by **Ingonator** » Sun Apr 08, 2018 9:57 am

MartyK · Post by **MartyK** » Sun Apr 08, 2018 5:51 pm

Teksonik wrote: I have tried Rainer Buchty's SQ8L many times over the years and it came really close to nailing the ESQ-1 / SQ80 sound but sadly the last time I checked it's been abandoned and is 32 bit only. Not really too interested in digging it out of the grave.

From the website: "I'm not the author of this plugin, Siegfried Kullmann is. If you have questions about this plugin, please ask him, not me. You will find his contact data in the README linked below."

Siegfried Kullmann seems to be dead. More informations here (at the bottom): http://www.kvraudio.com/product/sq8l_sq ... nn/details

MartyK · Post by **MartyK** » Sun Apr 08, 2018 6:32 pm

Saukar30 wrote: UVI makes everything sound like "UVI" and not the original thing it sampled. Each synth has character and when the same preset designers make everything sound the same, I think it misses the mark of what could be done with those samples. Lose all that reverb, delay, etc, etc and let the samples speak for themselves.

I agree with that and I think that has something to do with the used effects.
I have an ancient Ensoniq EPS 16+ which sound I still find outstanding despite the technically rather inadequate properties for today's conditions. This is certainly due to the analog / digital converter, but also to the very good built-in effects. And it probably depends on this too in this case.
I recently read something interesting about Stock / Aitken / Waterman (http://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/production-line/2045):

"[Waterman:] 'We've gone gone backwards recently EQs and compressors We keep telex contact with second hand dealers in America so we know what's going on.

Stock: 'With the digital mastering and the SSL desks we were losing the warmth of analogue recordings, so we're building that in now with valve gear external to the desk. We have the clarity we want, but without the coldness of digital recording. '"

Norrin_Radd · Post by **Norrin_Radd** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 12:09 am

I did a pretty long preview\review of it recently. Lots of examples of the sounds. Take a look

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSqyJ0yEBV0

Ingonator · Post by **Ingonator** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 2:47 am

After having set up my ESQ-1 today i loaded the original factory presets there. While browsing through the 268 raw multisamples in USQ-1 (with using the "00-Init Mono" preset to get a "raw" sound) i found that the raw multisamples besides the 32 raw OSc waveforms also seem to contain most of the 40 original factory presets. I have not identified all of them yet also as the names are mostly a bit different. In the real ESQ-1 names are limited to just 6 characters.

In the samples the Amp envelope settings are set to be adjusted with the USQ-1 engine so those are not set as in the original presets but are mostly freely adjustable in USQ-1.

I have not doen detailed comparisons of all those original factory presets samples yet but those i compared mostly sound damn close to those in the real thing (also after adjusting the Amp envelope in USQ-1...). Certain factory presets do sound closer than others but overall they seem to be nailed quite nicely.

In the real ESQ-1 differnt keys/notes could produce a slightly different sound (with some also a bit more) and that was captured nicely by UVI by sampling all keys/notes and not just a few. Imperfections in the sound seemed to be captured too including the aliasing.

Ingonator · Post by **Ingonator** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 7:40 am

Due to an UVI newsletter i received today the intro offer for USQ-1 seems to end today. Then the price should change from 49 € to 79 €.

Ingonator · Post by **Ingonator** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 9:27 am

I just recorded a short improvistation using an Arpeggiator preset in UVI USQ-1 (preset "Tanguy Gerine") and a layer of two patches in my real ESQ-1 (multitrack recording) where one is a factory preset and the other one a slightly modified patch from the ROM cartridge that i got with the ESQ-1 when i bought it at EBay (the catrridge includes 8 banks with 320 patches):

USQ-1 + ESQ-1 Audio Demo 01

One of the ESQ-1 patches is a Bell/Choir pad and the other one the "SLOSTR" factory preset.
The ESQ-1 preset is a layer of two different Arps and both use a simple Sawtooth Osc waveform sample.

External effects used were Waves OneKnob Phatter (at 50% amount) for the USQ-1 Arp patch and Lexicon MPX Native Reverb for the two ESQ-1 patches. No furter editing/mastering was done.

Aloysius · Post by **Aloysius** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 9:41 am

Norrin_Radd wrote:I did a pretty long preview\review of it recently. Lots of examples of the sounds. Take a look

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSqyJ0yEBV0

Cool. Downloaded to watch later.

MrDuke · Post by **MrDuke** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 10:27 am

Saukar30 wrote: Like most ppl here have said, I just don't dig their presets. UVI makes everything sound like "UVI" and not the original thing it sampled. Each synth has character and when the same preset designers make everything sound the same, I think it misses the mark of what could be done with those samples.

+1 Exactly!

And another problem is that not only is there overlap (always the similar arps, bell sounds etc.), but also a ton of those completely unusable patches like those aggressive BRRRRRRRRAAAAH EDM-type sounds (?) that they always seem to put in there.

I think that a lot of the similarities with these products also come from using the same effects.

I've been GASsing for the hardware version, and was planning on buying this today, but after watching Norrin_Radd's video above, I don't think I will...

Ingonator · Post by **Ingonator** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 11:38 am

MrDuke wrote:
Saukar30 wrote: Like most ppl here have said, I just don't dig their presets. UVI makes everything sound like "UVI" and not the original thing it sampled. Each synth has character and when the same preset designers make everything sound the same, I think it misses the mark of what could be done with those samples.
+1 Exactly!

And another problem is that not only is there overlap (always the similar arps, bell sounds etc.), but also a ton of those completely unusable patches like those aggressive BRRRRRRRRAAAAH EDM-type sounds (?) that they always seem to put in there.

I think that a lot of the similarities with these products also come from using the same effects.

I've been GASsing for the hardware version, and was planning on buying this today, but after watching Norrin_Radd's video above, I don't think I will...

USQ-1 includes 268 raw multisamples including the 40 raw Osc waveforms and many of the original factory presets so you got lots of different sounds there to start from scratch with help of the synth engine in USQ-1 (while the engine is not simiular to the real ESQ-1...). With the "00-Init Mono" preset you could browse through the raw sounds without effects and aditional modulations.

If you do not like the included effcts you could just switch them off and/or replace with external ones.

With some bass boosting effect like e.g. Waves OneKnob Phater that i mentioned earlier here this sounds really graet for me.

You could also check the demo i just posted where i used both USQ-1 and a real ESQ-1.

Norrin_Radd · Post by **Norrin_Radd** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 2:58 pm

MrDuke wrote:
Saukar30 wrote: Like most ppl here have said, I just don't dig their presets. UVI makes everything sound like "UVI" and not the original thing it sampled. Each synth has character and when the same preset designers make everything sound the same, I think it misses the mark of what could be done with those samples.
+1 Exactly!

And another problem is that not only is there overlap (always the similar arps, bell sounds etc.), but also a ton of those completely unusable patches like those aggressive BRRRRRRRRAAAAH EDM-type sounds (?) that they always seem to put in there.

I think that a lot of the similarities with these products also come from using the same effects.

I've been GASsing for the hardware version, and was planning on buying this today, but after watching Norrin_Radd's video above, I don't think I will...

Is there something specific you wanted out of this library? As in, what were you hoping to use it for, and for what kind of music?

I am no expert at all, and my video series is usually meant for similar people (non-experts technically, but fans of the sounds and nostalgia in general), but I can't quite see a better or more accessible version of this particular synth around right now. You can mess with the SQ8L VST, but it is still 32bit and a monumental pain to edit.

The fundamental sounds that I would come to the ESQ-1 for all appear to be here for on this library. If I wanted to recreate something John Carpenter had made, I would definitely load this up over the SQ8L, for example.

So I guess it all depends what you are wanting out of the synth in general. Is it something you don't see this library being able to do that the SQ8L could, or even the real synth?

Caine123 · Post by **Caine123** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 7:13 pm

so as far as i understand this is a nearly great emulation of the ESQ1?
if so what maybe is better than the SQBL1 cannot do? i dont wanna spend 50 bucks for nothing

.

starflakeprj · Post by **starflakeprj** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 7:42 pm

Caine123 wrote:so as far as i understand this is a nearly great emulation of the ESQ1?
if so what maybe is better than the SQBL1 cannot do? i dont wanna spend 50 bucks for nothing .

Well, since it's a sampled instrument, you can't hardly call it emulation?

Caine123 · Post by **Caine123** » Mon Apr 09, 2018 7:43 pm

starflakeprj wrote:
Caine123 wrote:so as far as i understand this is a nearly great emulation of the ESQ1?
if so what maybe is better than the SQBL1 cannot do? i dont wanna spend 50 bucks for nothing .
Well, since it's a sampled instrument, you can't hardly call it emulation?

my bad, but the ESQ1 was also only sample based?

but i think you could import samples? if so in USQ1 not?