CFA-Sound DC-Zero Vintage Synth for Kontakt

[Cyforce]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HexhOf8h0I&t
Introducing DC-ZERO by CFA-Sound – a vintage synth for Native Instruments Kontakt. Inspired by an iconic synthesizer of the 80s, known for the charming sound of its DCOs, the distinctive and fat chorus, and of course, its easy-to-use workflow.

As the first part of this new synthesizer theme product line for Kontakt “Fusion series” – as the name might suggest – the fusion of wavetables and multisamples, combining both paths of sound generation together as a powerful synergy, allowing more creative space and more sound design features and possibilities for the user, as previous synthesizer sample libraries for Kontakt had to offer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3rpOvBxaIc

– vintage synth instrument for Kontakt
– 175 professionally crafted presets covering a variety of sounds
– combined use of wavetables and multi-sampled waveforms
– 3 oscillator layers (pulse, saw & sub waveforms) and additional noise oscillator
– pulse-width control and modulation via envelope and LFO
– monophonic (with legato) and polyphonic voice mode (both with glide & chord mode)
– 24db lowpass and additional highpass filter
– saturation, stereo width control & limiter
– dedicated fx rack using the state-of-the-art effect tools of Kontakt
– Effects: lofi-drive, Choral, Phasis, Supercharger GT compressor, Solid-G EQ, Replika delay, & reverb
– low footprint in disk space with only 152MB in size

More info: https://www.cfa-sound.com/products/dc-z ... r-kontakt/

[Nug Wrangler]

nice

[BONES]

This looks amazing, and it definitely sounds like a Juno, but the full version of Kontakt makes it a no-go for me, I'm afraid.

[Cyforce]

nice

Thanks

This looks amazing, and it definitely sounds like a Juno, but the full version of Kontakt makes it a no-go for me, I'm afraid.

That is understandable, the only catch is unfortunately that in order to make it compatible with Kontakt free player, the instrument/library must be licensed via NI (it also brings advantages, NKS etc)...
-> https://www.native-instruments.com/en/s ... licensing/
but it also leads to extra costs for each unit sold (or serial, in case licensed via NI for the free Kontakt player), from ~10-14 € - this would inevitably increase the sales price, and for many then the product would also become less attractive. For large instruments, for example, it makes perfect sense to go the route via NI licensing / Free Player.

[Lbdunequest]

Why should i choose this over Cherry Audio's, Roland's or Softube offerings?

[kmonkey]

For some reason visually and soundwise this release ticks all my boxes. Tempting.

Why should i choose this over Cherry Audio's, Roland's or Softube offerings?

I don't think it is supposed to work that way. No one should convince you to choose anything - no one but yourself. You can try most of the stuff that you mentioned and then make your own selection based on your taste and sensibilities. Though this one can not be trialed there's a nice youtube demo.

[Lbdunequest]

For some reason visually and soundwise this release ticks all my boxes. Tempting.

Why should i choose this over Cherry Audio's, Roland's or Softube offerings?

I don't think it is supposed to work that way. No one should convince you to choose anything - no one but yourself. You can try most of the stuff that you mentioned and then make your own selection based on your taste and sensibilities. Though this one can not be trialed there's a nice youtube demo.

If there was no competition then i would agree with your statement. But there is an i mean the emulations of synth that is sampled here. Cherry Audio's emulation price is very similar, to my eyes and ears its a much better value. So back to my initial question given i have a choice, why should i choose this plugin ?

[kmonkey]

If there was no competition then i would agree with your statement. But there is an i mean the emulations of synth that is sampled here. Cherry Audio's emulation price is very similar, to my eyes and ears its a much better value. So back to my initial question given i have a choice, why should i choose this plugin ?

I don't think you understand what I said. No one dispute that there are multiple choices of the same thing.

What I was trying to point out to you is that you are not supposed to ask someone else which instrument you need to buy - you need to make educated decisions about that by yourself. Especially when there are options to try this by yourself. Not with this specific instrument but if you tried others you mentioned you would come to a conclusion I guess.

I would understand if you asked someone here about the specifics of the instrument in the subject but you did not do that. Instead, you are asking someone to answer a question only you can answer because of one simple fact: we are all different. Another one: tastes vary. Workflow vary. and so on.

You are basically asking someone to convince you to purchase this over something else.

Why would you rely on someone else's opinion when it comes to picking or buying something as a musical instrument (be it software or hardware)?

Look I don't have a problem with that, sorry if it looks bad. I was just stumped, I think you are setting up yourself for failure if you depend on other people's opinions about the specific instrument when there's an option to try or to hear stuff in advance. That's all.

Sorry maybe someone other will be able to help you.

[BONES]

That is understandable, the only catch is unfortunately that in order to make it compatible with Kontakt free player, the instrument/library must be licensed via NI (it also brings advantages, NKS etc)...
-> https://www.native-instruments.com/en/s ... licensing/
but it also leads to extra costs for each unit sold (or serial, in case licensed via NI for the free Kontakt player), from ~10-14 € - this would inevitably increase the sales price, and for many then the product would also become less attractive.

Yeah, I always assumed there was a catch to making it compatible with the free Player, given that you don't see many cheap things for the Player. If I did my sums, it would probably have worked out cheaper over the years to have paid for a full Kontakt license.

If there was no competition then i would agree with your statement. But there is an i mean the emulations of synth that is sampled here.

If there was no competition then i would agree with your statement. But there is an i mean the emulations of synth that is sampled here. Cherry Audio's emulation price is very similar, to my eyes and ears its a much better value. So back to my initial question given i have a choice, why should i choose this plugin ?

How can you not see what this offers over the other things you mentioned? There is a lot more to this instrument than any of the others you've mentioned, just look at each one's feature list. Soundwise, of course, you need to decide for yourself but I imagine this sample-based instrument will be more CPU efficient.

Cherry Audio's emulation price is very similar, to my eyes and ears its a much better value.

Then I think you need your eyes and ears checked because DCO-106 has an awful GUI and doesn't really sound that good, especially if you are looking for an accurate emulation.

[Cyforce]

Why should i choose this over Cherry Audio's, Roland's or Softube offerings?

That's an absolutely understandable question, and that's exactly the question I've often asked myself over the last few months.

I can't answer that question for you, but you can - at the end of the day, you decide which tool/plugin appeals to you more (be its flexibility, features, workflow, presets), but I'm happy to give you my view on the topic tell briefly...

It may also have to be mentioned that DC-Zero has not been created quickly in the last few months, but rather in the last 1-2 years as a side project, which has changed completely about 2-3x. Actually, it was initially planned as a complete "Juno" layout, i.e. without the modular look/layout - but, there are already some Juno clones - and it has also become more of an art platform (due to just a few changes in the concept), roughly like a modular rack (visually) where with eg DC-Zero the Juno part is only the synth voice. And for later libraries, the synth voice might be something completely different, the workflow and effects around it, etc remain the same. So as a core concept...

Back to the core question, since Cherry Audio DC-106, CA-2600, etc - yes, everything with "clones/emulations" is "more difficult" because Cherry Audio makes really good plugins, and they sound very good (I have some of their plugins myself) for an attractive price on them - of course things from Roland, u-he or Softube sound a little better, more detailed.

As "cons"...
- You need NI Kontakt (full version)
- because NI Kontakt - no UI 100-200%

as "pro"
- It's NI co Kontakt - a solid platform for samples & wavetables, efficient & good sounding
- Kontakt Effects - sound great, especially things like Supercharger GT (= Tube Comp)... some Juno VSTs just don't have that right?
- because it`s on NI Kontakt, no problems for the instrument itself with possible updates (as often with plugins)

Of course, you can't demand the price for a "Kontakt instrument" like the mentioned examples Roland/ Softube ... it's not a full emulation (VCAs, filters etc) as a plugin... But - everyone can decide for themself "What price, is my effort put into the product, fair in my own eyes"

But... and that's the real crux of the matter, in the end, you decide for the following reasons:
- Does the tool appeal to me visually? (ease workflow pleasant)
- Does it sound good?
- Is the value-for-money factor ok?
- how are the presets

So, for something more, you can buy a DC-106, for example, no question. But maybe some people will like the presets not that much, or UI. Also, most of them, be it Cherry Audio, or TAL Uno-X - don't come with Choral, Phasis & Supercharger GT...

Maybe a completely different perspective, the instrument offers the possibility to use it more like a synth via samples + wavetables in combination - but you shouldn't forget the content in the form of presets...

What does a good soundset cost for a mainstream VST synth? The market average is ~€19.95 for 64 patches. Of course, some are also cheaper, some also charge 40-50€ for 100 patches. (also e.g. for presets for e.g. Arturia Jun-6V.. )
So just from the preset factor - 29.95 € (without on sale) for 175x - a fair price I think. (sure the modulation is more limited as on VST synths).

In short, you can see it as a synth within NI Kontakt, or as a good preset library - or both. But comparing it, to a full VST emulation is like comparing apples and pears - as we in Germany like to say .., if it comes down to "synth X is already available a few times as an emulation - why should I be interested in the new emulation" - then no one should have made an emulation of MiniMoog, 1176, LA2A comp, etc in the last +5 years - nevertheless, they come and are popular

If you like the look, concept, and the demo appeals to you - maybe you should choose this one. If not - well choose another one. Just pick, what you like, what fits more your need. If you look more for a full VST synth, without a doubt, CA DC-106 or TAL Uno-X will be a great option, and probably a better one. If you look more for something preset-based, without much creating own patches etc - well, then DC-Zero is maybe a better option... it`s all your choice and i`m just trying to be there fair and open, and not to sweet-talk you

[bluesawsq]

as "pro"
- It's NI co Kontakt - a solid platform for samples & wavetables, efficient & good sounding

Is it really efficient compared to a proper synth plugin?
I guess DC-Zero requires 4 separate stereo filters per voice to implement the VCF, one stereo filter for each oscillator (pulse, saw, sub, noise). A proper Juno synth VST requires only a single mono filter per voice for the VCF. And similarly, 4 stereo filters vs 1 mono filter for the HPF.

[BONES]

It's more CPU efficient because it doesn't have to calculate the oscillator waveforms in realtime like a synth does. The tradeoff is that it will need more hard-drive space and RAM but more RAM is a lot easier than more CPU cycles.

[bluesawsq]

It's more CPU efficient because it doesn't have to calculate the oscillator waveforms in realtime like a synth does. The tradeoff is that it will need more hard-drive space and RAM but more RAM is a lot easier than more CPU cycles.

The oscillator waveforms in Juno are very close to ideal saw and square waveforms. It should be relatively simple and efficient to calculate those in real-time in a synth. And a sample-based approach would still need interpolation and antialiasing filters. You cannot sample every possible pitch in advance. Pitch bends and ENV/LFO modulation must be calculated in real-time anyway. See detailed discussion here: viewtopic.php?t=529132

I have not checked how the oscillators are created in DC-ZERO. But I don’t see much need for multi-samples. The pulse waveform is probably a wavetable. The saw and sub waveforms could be multi-samples, but probably there isn’t any advantage in using samples for those. Wavetables would be simpler and more flexible, with easy control of osc phase etc. Noise oscillator is probably the only one where using samples makes sense, because there is no proper built-in noise oscillator in Kontakt.

The DC-ZERO seems to be mostly about a nice GUI and good effects. If it was mainly about professionally crafted presets, then maybe it would make more sense to create those presets for a proper synth plugin, like Dune 3 or ANA 2. Those synths also support multi-sampling if some presets would require sampled sounds.

[nordickvr]

As a Kontakt instrument it's really well done!

...So just from the preset factor - 29.95 € (without on sale) for 175x - a fair price I think. (sure the modulation is more limited as on VST synths)...

Seen it this way you get some highly usable sounds right out of the box.
Congrats for the launch.

[BONES]

The DC-ZERO seems to be mostly about a nice GUI and good effects. If it was mainly about professionally crafted presets, then maybe it would make more sense to create those presets for a proper synth plugin, like Dune 3 or ANA 2. Those synths also support multi-sampling if some presets would require sampled sounds.

Dude, are you serious? It's a Juno emulation, it needs to sound like a f**king Juno, not something you can do with any old synth. Seriously, did you even listen to the demos? I'm not big fan of ancient analogue krap but you can hear that this thing has the distinctive Juno character in spades. You're not getting that from ANA or DUNE without a shit-ton of effort and, even then, likely only in very specific sounds.