Albino

Still one of my go-to-synths. At least for "common" synth sounds like subs, noises and pads. Not so for lead sounds. That's a matter of taste though. It does also plucky sounds or percussions very well.

The overall sound is very good, although I wouldn't say excellent or outstanding. I'd say it doesn't have its own very unique character. That I find great for layering, because Albino never tends to overlay the original sound, but very often suits perfectly to the main sound.

The modulation matrix is great and gives a lot of possibilities. With all the modulators you can create very complex modulations and movements.

Another great feature is the vast preset library that ships with it. Unbelievably big! And it serves all kinds of sounds for all tastes and styles.

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Been using Albino 3 since around August 2008. I simply love this thing to pieces. Here's why: variety. Percussion? Use the noise waveforms. Evolving sounds? Learn the modulation section. But what really tops it off for me is the "randomizer" preset tool. I get lost twiddling with this for hours. Reverse engineering a preset is super easy, almost everything is on one page in this synth. The layer option truly makes it a beast. The "accuracy" setting allows you to induce a sort of "analog drift" into patches, which is a plus. Some things sound so nice with this.

The only negative aspect of it is the pitch bend "max limit" control... It's not on the main page. I don't know why this infuriates me to the point it does, but other than that, there's nothing wrong with this synth.

Some of my favorite uses for Albino 3: audio input to drive FX with my guitar, or, gods forbid; voice :D Also fun to mix in some of the percussion presets (or roll my own) with things like Stylus RMX. They add a nice level of upper crispy rhythm. Easy to get weird time signatures out of the built-in step sequencer. The FX section is really sweet, with a nice reverb.

Presets: sooo many. Varied. But I have to note: you can use old presets for previous versions of Albino. Which leads me to Arksun's beautiful presets for Albino. Lovely way to dive in there and learn how these sounds are made, and thoroughly recommended.

Using Albino 3 in Reaper on an AMD X2 4400. No crashes. Busy patches use 2.5 to 5 % CPU at most.Read Review

I have been using the Albino for a while now and find the sound quality ,the GUI and stability of this instrument excellant.

I have several differant vsti's and my experience of programming the instrument enjoyable. the interface for me was easy , and intuition to become familar with. Visually on the screen the panel is clear and easy to see.

I can use Albiono for "warm rich sounds or really awful abusive sound. digital clearity or analog warmth. it's all here . the manual is very good and easy to understand , covering all of the instruments functions clearly. the presets are great sounding thought I might not use of them in my songs , they are very good. arppeggiator is very useful and intuitive to use ,a deep modulation matrix with a friendly design enabling complex modulation setups quickly , good filters and a large number of wave forms for the programer with a taste for the the unique. the effects and the effects routine is flexible and good sounding.I would highly recommend trying the demo. would I replace it if lost or stolen(if that were possible ) absolutely.

the soundand the GUI have made thisone of my favorites to work with.Read Review

Albino 2 is one of the best virtual analogs to be found. It's approach to making sound is direct and elegant. Although a semi-modular design Albino 2 doesn't go overboard with features, it stays focused on what makes a good virtual analog synth.

In terms of sound Albino 2 is clean and beautiful. There is a smooth and liquid sound that most synths lack. That's not to say you can't get squelchy and huge with Albino 2 but in general it's a great all around synth. A one trick pony Albino 2 is not. Furthermore, Albino 2 has it's own signature sound. Think of signature sound like you would a Prophet or Jupiter or Oberheim. In terms of quality Albino 2 sounds as good as any hardware synth on the market.

Albino's features include up to 4 oscillators, 2 filters, 4 LFOs, a great arpeggiator and modular matrix. The design is in partnership with LinPlug who've been using mod matrixes in their synths from day one. Buttons represent oscillator pairs although they can be used from 1 to all 4. Similarly there are button banks for the 4 LFOs, arpeggiator and mod matrix, a tidy way of keeping everything on one page while staying cleanly designed.

Other nice features are the analog/digital/noise options per oscillator. Digital oscillators have 60 waveforms from sine and saw to 50 spectral waves. The analog oscillator features a wave and spectral dial for many combinations per oscillator. There are 6 LFO waveforms, and 27 routings of 33 synth functions in the mod matrix. There are more complex mod maxtrixes but few built to function as gracefully.

Included are 5 stage envelopes for amplitude, each oscillator, the 2 filters and modulation. There are 8 effects from modulation to delay and an excellent effects based filter. You can do everything in Albino 2, exprssive leads, phat basses, pads, FX and extressive soundscapes not to mention the arpeggiator which is available in the mod matrix.

Being in the middle price range ($199) users will expect reasons for purchasing of Albino 2 and there are many.

First, there are over 1000 presets in 22 smartly classified catagories programmed by Rob Papen, world class sound designer. Another benefit is getting to have a look at how a in-demand synth programmer makes his sounds. You can use them 'as is' or as starting points for your own creations. Make no mistake, these patches are superb, several reminicent of Papen's work on EMU's Orbit 3. The difference between the Orbit and Albino 2 being a VSTi specifically built to accomodate Rob's vision of how a synth should work. In return you get top notch, ready to use sounds. Patch libraries of this quality often cost as much as Albino 2's price.

Everyting about Albino 2 represents quality. It sounds good without the effects which speaks highly for the LinPlug based synth engine. Due to it's intuitive design you will be up and running quickly. Whether a novice or pro, Albino 2 offers good value.

The overall quality makes Albino 2 a must have for your studio.Read Review

Albino is the best VA synth for me. The presets are amazing and inspiring. All in all it sounds very comfortable ! ( Comfortable is exactly the right word ! :-) )
I also own Delta III which is great too, but I never
used it again since I own Albino ...

I would like to see more features and of course more presets created by Rob Papen ...

Thank you very much Peter and Rob !
Keep up the collaboration !

EagleEyeRead Review