I've been holding off on reviewing Dynamo for a couple of months now, figuring I would eventually get around to really exploring all or most of its 25 or "ensembles." Well, I haven't and I've decided the reasons why I haven't will form the core of this review.
Interface(s): Not a strength here. Faults on several levels--scrolling, unclear and unexplained terminology that the little roll-over pop-ups do little to illuminate. The interfaces and lack of adequate documentation are probably the two major factors that have kept me from getting the most out of this package. The third factor would be some issues with stability.
Sounds: There are some fine ones. As someone else noted, there's a sonic consistency from instrument to instrument, even though they supposedly represent radically different modes of synthesis: FM, Wavetable, standard subtractive, and a variety of hybrids. For some reason, I find that dynamo excels at synth sounds that have a stringy, plucked quality, a rubbery bounce, which I actually like.
Some of the emulations--Many Mood, Sh-2, etc., are pretty good. Some of the fx are pretty. However as my bud Bobro (Kosmolith) would say, most of these sounds lack a solid "kernel" that would let them hang in a mix with acoustic instruments. They sound great on there own.
If you can figure out the relative strengths and useful applications of these many and diverse instruments, you'd probably do better with Reaktor, build your own. If you, like me, are looking to build your programming chops, you might do better with one flexible unit like Pentagon I on which to focus your energies.
Dyanmo is, thus, a problematic package. But I have no regrets. I got it as part of the Future-Retro Bundle, with the glorious B4. If I consider that I paid full price for the B4, then I got Dynamo for a mere $65. Certainly worth that.
