Vanguard2 by Refx out 25th of November!

[JamminFool]

happens in Waveform 12 and the latest Cakewalk also.

vanguard.png

[D-Fusion]

happens in Waveform 12 and the latest Cakewalk also.



vanguard.png

Do you have X-Ray enabled in Sonar?
If you do try to disable it and see if that will help.

[JamminFool]

happens in Waveform 12 and the latest Cakewalk also.



vanguard.png

Do you have X-Ray enabled in Sonar?
If you do try to disable it and see if that will help.

it happens in Waveform and Ableton, too.

[GMusic]

Anyone else dislike the reverb in Vanguard 2? I have to turn it off on each preset, it can sound too harsh to my ears. It just doesn't sit right. It doesn't help that so many of the presets are very 'hot' out of the box. I have to turn down the decibels by at least 4 to 6 to be workable.

Overall, looks great, navigates well, and was happy to fork over the cash for the effort and nostalgia...but many of the presets seem hastily delivered. This doesn't seem to be the same quality of quality control that is done on Nexus 4 or that of Manuel Schleis on his Avenger expansions.

[JamminFool]

so many of the presets are very 'hot' out of the box. I have to turn down the decibels by at least 4 to 6 to be workable.

i noticed this also.

[Boy Wonder]

Oy! Vanguard2 has Serum-itis, too? I get NERVOUS auditioning patches in Serum because I know my ears will start bleeding. I HOPE Serum 2 ships with a built-in limiter. <<fingers crossed>>

[gryzor]

sure ! serum is LOUD !! it s pain to work with it due to the gain which is not the same for all preset.

[Yim]

It doesn't help that so many of the presets are very 'hot' out of the box. I have to turn down the decibels by at least 4 to 6 to be workable.

They should switch the distortion module to a limiter that is on by default. I don't see any use for an extra distortion knob as there is already one in the amplifier section with enough drive. Also the distortion is applied after the delay and reverb so I don't see the point. Feels like they needed to fill the space with something. Even a simple tone knob would be more useful.

[Teksonik]

happens in Waveform 12 and the latest Cakewalk also.
vanguard.png

Hmmm that's definitely not happening here on two different systems.

Maybe a graphics card or drivers issue?

[JamminFool]

happens in Waveform 12 and the latest Cakewalk also.
vanguard.png

Hmmm that's definitely not happening here on two different systems.

Maybe a graphics card or drivers issue?

maybe. but i doubt it. you would think i would see other similar graphics card or driver issues. and i don't. bog standard surface laptop studio.

[FigBug]

happens in Waveform 12 and the latest Cakewalk also.

Thanks, I can reproduce it. Will be fixed in next build.

[JamminFool]

happens in Waveform 12 and the latest Cakewalk also.

Thanks, I can reproduce it. Will be fixed in next build.

nice to know. def not a showstopper, but nice to see it addressed.

[hurricaneaudiolab]

My review: Vanguard 2 looks great, it sounds fantastic, you can pretty easily avoid "the vanguard sound", and it's not complicated. The preset browser is pretty good, you can import the old Vanguard 1 soundbanks, installation was a breeze (with their portal), and it is extremely CPU friendly. A bit too expensive for what it is (I mean, it is essentially Vanguard 1), and the number of NEW presets is way too low. They're most likely going to to offer preset expansions in the future, but before they do that I highly suggest they add more modern (not Trance from 2004) presets first, and for FREE. The reverb and volume on most of the presets is highly inconsistent and most of the time it's way too much and way too loud. The new dark V2 skin is too ugly, but they included the Classic skin which is much better, but I would appreciate color variations. Customizing your own skin is not that difficult.

The sound is probably more wide and sparkly then it is heavy and fat. More digital than analogue. But that's ok because it's different. I'd say it kind of sounds like Sylenth and Thorn, although less heavy and thick. Lots of legacy sounds included which sound like legacy sounds, and you have to weed out the good from the bad, but even the bad ones can turn to good with a little bit of tweaking. That usually means turning the reverb WAAAAAAY down and lowering the detune/unison/stereo spread. Modulation is pre-wired and relatively simple.

I like how you can have your avatar up in the header. The skin browser is great and easy. You dont have to close the plugin when you apply a new skin. I like that you can favorite things on the front page. Wish the oscillator selector had forward/back arrows (please!). I'd also appreciate some sort of warmifier (maybe a simple EQ) because sometimes the sound is a little too harsh. Vanguard 2 needs a few more features to bring into the future, but it's a good start. Would have been received more positively at a lower price - $59 would have been just right.

Overall, I'd say it's a solid synth, and one I can see myself using.

7.5 out of 10


https://youtu.be/2PNxnkpfeeE

[JamminFool]

Wish the oscillator selector had forward/back arrows (please!).

good idea.

[BONES]

Oy! Vanguard2 has Serum-itis, too? I get NERVOUS auditioning patches in Serum because I know my ears will start bleeding. I HOPE Serum 2 ships with a built-in limiter. <<fingers crossed>>

Seriously? I'll take too loud over too quiet every, single time. You can always turn the channel down but having to add a plugin just to increase the gain is really annoying. The other thing that is helpful is to always have a limiter on your output while you are working. You can turn it off before you render the final product but it protects your ears and your monitors while you are working.