impOSCar3

I have several GForce synth plugins, and they have excellent audio quality! The patch management system could be a bit better. I have some nice impOSCar synth on my latest song called "In The Right Direction", which is currently at the top of my music website, which can be found at this link if you want to hear it:

https://www.soundclick.com/aaronaardvark/?content=songs

I bought the impOSCar in the last deal that GForce was running for 3 weeks. Even if you didn't had the opportunity to get in in that period, I do believe that this synthesizer is a must-have for everyone that is looking for a synthesizer full of character. It's always good to remember that this plug-in was released 6-7 years ago and I really wished I would've discovered it earlier.

User Interface
The interface is based on the original hardware and you can get your head around it pretty easy. It's a single page interface, while you have to turn a knob to edit the user waves or enter the MIDI learn function of impOSCar. It's straight forward and fun to use.

Sound
The best part of impOSCar got to be the lovely sound. This synthesizer never sounds bad and truly shines, thanks to his own and unique character.

It's still considered one of the best analogue sounding synthesizers out, while the original OSCar was mainly digital, beside the filters. I don't really care for those topics and I probably will never touch a real OSCar since there are only like 2.000 pieces made. The only thing that matters is how it sounds and I do think that impOSCar is one of the best sounding plug-ins ever made. On top of that its very light on the CPU. 1-2% per instance on a little dated dual core system.

Features
The additive feature adds another flavour to impOSCar and gives it a wider range of sounds than any average subtractive synthesizer. The different LFO sync rates, like internal, clock or MIDI are useful to make some really nice modulations on different or unusual tempos. I really like slow filter modulations.

You can imagine the filter separation to be like 2 filters but it's hard to describe, how many different shapes you can get out of this feature, together with adding some nice drive to the filters too.

The 2 effects, chorus and delay, can sweeten up a sound in no time.

Documentation
PDF in 6 different languages to get you started, while I still think you can just dive into this synthesizer to explore it the best.

Presets
500 presets in the factory of impOSCar with some sounds made by a guy that made sounds for Jean Michel Jarre, if I'm correct. Plenty of others to download from the GForce site and KVR's Bank & Patches section. I do have to say that I like the factory sounds a lot, but impOSCar is just that much fun to play with that you always will find yourself tweaking it.

Customer Support
I purchased it via PayPal which was obviously supported by the GForce shop, but after some e-mails and a manual payment to their PayPal I had my impOSCar waiting for me in my account. I also read that some people had issues with the installer under Win7 64bit and Dave (from GForce) did uploaded the single files so they could pass the installer, so the support really seems to be decent.

Value For Money
Like I said, I did get in in a deal period and so it was one of the best purchases ever, but even the original price is still a real bargain, considering you like the flavour of impOSCar.

Stability
Not one single crash in 3 weeks.

Summary

A truly sweet synthesizer with some sweet filters and character. It's just that much fun to play around with it and get lost for hours and in the same time the simplicity is raising creativity, becoming more and more a part of my sound and productions.

The impOSCar is a landmark on VSTi synths, and probably the one closest do delivering the "analog sound" most of us seek. However, it's not exactly an analog emulation per se, because the original OSCar had digital oscillators.

The basic sound is very pure and warm, rich in harmonics and very clean, but under the hood we'll find that the oscillators also support additive synthesis - something you don't get on your everyday VSTi. This is very useful for harsh sounds, synthetic bells, experimental noise and for advanced sound design. The thing with the oscillators is that they have that full-range-but-not-icepicky sound so rare in synths today - it is a colour of its own, like Eddie Van Halen used to say, a "brown" sound...

The next stop is the "Drive" feature - something I abuse on my day-to-day music making. But, just like the original, it doesn't distort the sound - it is merely an overdrive to change the harmonic response. Very useful for thick basses and leads, and the reason I don't care about the lack of an "Unisson" option.

The filters are also at an league of its own. The Separation knob is unique to this design, and splits your filter in two, giving you more control over ressonance. The basic 24db/oct lowpass is turned with two 12db/oct filters, for example . You can also crank the Q knob and use Separation to turn a bandpass (or lowpass+bandpass, or whatever) into a very rich formant filter.

Other than that, the interface is very easy to use after you get a grasp of it. I'd reccoment this software to anyone trying to learn analog synthesis, because everything is at your face, and harder features are very inviting to experimentation. The patch library contains a large number of quality sounds, and the manual explains the harder functions in detail.

Summing these three main features I must say that, in my opinion, this is the best sounding VSTi ever written.

OK I downloaded the demo of this badboy 2 years ago when I was 1st getting into VST and played around with it, monitoring via headphones and was blown away! (This thing sounds like my vintage hardware synth). I was recently looking to add an other gem to my arsenal and again came across its great ratings and downloaded the demo again and again was blown away (this time monitoring through some M-Audio BX5a's). I bit the bullet and bought it.

UI: One of the great things about this synth for me is its simplicity. All the parameters are on one page (what you see is what you get). About 90% of all the parameter are controllable by CC# too, which can be "revealed" with the turn of a knob. Perfect little size with the ability to "hide" the keyboard too. I suggest you plug in, map some cc#'s to your midi knobs and have at it. You're pretty much up and running out of the box.

Sound: This is where this BEAST shines. The filter is quite simply amazing and capable of the nastiest lows and most piercing highs. They've done a great job of making this thing sound authentic. So much so that I checked my monitors at one point because it sounded as if I may have ripped them. After fiddling around with the "drive" knob on the UI I soon found out that this "rusty" sort of "broken tube" sound slowly disappeared as I adjusted the amount. It's sound quality is outstanding. Dont take my word for it...or for that matter the words from the all the famous folks who use it (Trent Reznor, Crystal Method, BT, etc). Do yourself a favor and download the demo.


Features: Like I said its simplicity is one of my favorite things about this synth but its got some cool little bells and whistles like "user wave creation" and a decent set of quality basic effects.

Presets: 500+ quality presets. You cant beat that.

Value For Money: This is one of THE BEST value purchases I've made. Its overall quality far outweighs its price. Very reasonable indeed.

Stability: Also a TOP selling point to me. It works like a charm in Ableton. Its CPU use is GREAT for the sound that it produces (i've never seen it go above 4% with one instance-I run a Conroe 2.13 over clocked to 2.8G). Its never crashed or given any weird pops/clicks/graphical errors, etc.

So all in all...Im very glad I made this purchase. It has stood the test of time. Check the forum, the recent 2007 reviews, the countless "pro" opinions on this synth...its just the shit. Its capable of lots of bread and butter and quite capable of creating unique sounds.

From soaring poly-pads to squelching, distorted hellish sounds it packs POWER. You can almost feel the voltage. This f*cker SCREAMS!!!

Wow. When I read the review for this thing, I thought, "No way this 4-year old soft synth could be that good!" Oh, how I was wrong. Never before I received such joy just from playing a synth. I don't even need to put it in a song. Just open it up, and rock some chords on this thing, and before I know it, I am smiling like a baby. It is absolutely breathtaking. It can do everything, although I find it best for keys and pads, rather than basses. It can do good basses, but its abilities are somewhat wasted. Like driving a Ferari to the grocery store.

UI:
It can be a little confusing at first, but you wouldn't believe how well the manual clears it up. Without the manual, I would probably give it a 6.

Sound:
I can't even do it justice with words. Just try the demo, and then when it starts making horrendous, disturbing noises (the copy protection on the demo slowly increases the noise level in the background until it becomes deafening), but it. Best beal on the planet.

Features:
It's not Absynth or Massive, but I am not going to dock any points for not cramming it full of features. It has what it needs, and uses it all well. The filters are... geez, I'm speechless just thinking about it.

Documentation:
As mentioned before, the manual clears up any questions you may have about the UI, so I give it a 10.

Presets:
I am not much of a preset user, but it does come with a lot, and they show off its extreme might very well. Also, in the newest update (not in the demo) there is a much better preset browser built into it, so that is very nice.

Customer Support:
I am giving a 10 for the addition of the preset browser. It was something that obviously a lot of people wanted, so the updated the synth to have one. Plus, they seem to be owned by M-Audio now, so you can't go wrong there (I think).

Value For Money:
If there was an infinity symbol available instead of a 10, I would give it infinity. If you buy one synth, buy this one.

Stability:
Has not crashed yet. I did have some weird issues running multiple instances, but as far as I can tell, I fixed that when I updated to the latest version.

Holy canole, what a beast....seriously the most bang for your buck here. It can do the dirty jobs of nasty gritty basslines, or fluttery synths, sound efx, pads, whatever you want, you can achieve from this synth. It is very easy to use once you get used to the gui and options it poses. I will be utilising a lot of sounds from this synth. Seriously, If I had only this synth, I would be ok.

It also comes with a very fat selection of presets . This is also one of the first Vsti's that I have ran across that I didn't want to tweak the patches, they were so pleasing and usable, I just would let some of them be. The awesome thing also is, that it sits so well in a mix, not too overpowering, not too thin, jussst riight!

The manual that comes with this synth, is very basic and tells you some history of the synth. But don't worry, just tweak the hell out of this synth, it will never crash, never. Very lite on the cpu too. So you can learn on the fly without having to worry about non stability.

Just go get the demo, and then buy it...

So, your sitting in front of your computer head in hands for the millionth time saying to yourself "why the hell do my tracks not sound like my favourite producers". I've read the magazine production articles, I purchased the new compressors and exciters and I even bought that new soft synth that scored 9/10 in my favourite music making magazine but I'm still struggling. Thought about giving up this whole music making thing?

Well before you do - stop!!! Go to the Gmedia website and download the demos and be prepared to fall back in love with making music on the computer again. The Imposcar is the single best soft synth I have ever heard. It cuts through the drum track like a knife and sits beautifully in the mix. You flick through the presets and just smile to yourself. Knowingly.

I am not writing this review as a technical insight into all the modulation possibilities or to highlight the signal flow of this synth. I am writing this review as a (previously) frustrated bedroom producer who has been surfing the web, reading ALL the music making magazine articles and reviews for 3 years looking for a range of soft synths that actually cut it . I've been through most of VSTi's available and NONE apart from Absynth 2 have stayed on my hardrive. Gmedia synths have. Period.

If you want to get on with making music, being creative and get back to enjoying and having fun with producing then buy this synth. If you want to stop thinking to yourself "maybe I better read the manual of that old VSTi on your hardrive again" as your not satisfied with the sound its producing then buy this synth. Yes, there is a magical quality to Gmedia synths and most importantly they SIT IN THE MIX. Something that many soft synth manufacturers claim but actually fail to deliver!

In my opinion Gmedia make the most essential and usable range of soft synths in the world. This company has single handedly got me back to feeling positive about the possibility of one day, of making "pro sounding" music. And selling it.

The only soft synth that I would give 10 out of 10 for sound, filters, presets and mixability. End of.

impOSCar can appear at first glance to be a somewhat boring synth. Subtractive synths, especially those modeled on classic antiques, are a dime a dozen these days and impOSCar does't radically depart from a design that was in many ways fairly conventional decades ago. Once you start to browse through the presets however, you're in for quite a shock. Beneath its simple and unassuming UI lies one of the richest and most verstatile software instruments on the market. Listen to the patch "ToDieFor" in the default factory bank and you might have to convince yourself you're not playing Absynth by mistake.

The secret to impOSCar's versatility is the suble interaction of some individually mundane features:

1. Crude additive oscillators. 16-band static oscillators may seem boring but they open up a huge range of timbres most subtractives can't touch.

2. A superb filter. Ok, perhaps this isn't so mundane, but impOSCar's filter is quite possibly the fullest and warmest software filter yet. With a full range of single and dual-filter combinations and a user-definable peak separation you can do anything from bruising drum & bass growls to gentle resonant filter sweeps.

3. Retriggerable envelopes. This may seem like a novelty at first but careful staging of both envelopes with the lfo can lead to some very complex repeating phrases. There are several examples of this in the supplied sound banks but suffice it to say that with some work you can do things with these that normally require complex graphical multi-point envelopes.

Of course GMedia's covered all the other bases. Great printed manual, nice on-board arpeggiator, rock solid stability, midi learn, simple but effective built-in delay and chorus, and unintrusive serial number protection round this out to what has got to be the software instrument closest to perfection yet. CPU usage is shockingly low. If I were to pick nits I'd complain that each patch bank only holds 32 patches and that there's no way to map aftertouch as a modulation parameter, but that's really just about all I can think of. The lack of a few standard synth features like ring mod and oscillator sync means you probably won't be able to get by with this as your *only* synth, but I can't really fault GMedia for sticking to the original design.

Let's hope that the Minimonsta is evidence that they intend to experiment even further with whatever they do next.

A fantastic synth with a truly beautiful sound and some incredible modulation features. If this was a monosynth (like the original Oscar) it would be worth the £100. As a poly beast, it's just huge VFM.

User Interface
Sweet. Looks just like the Oscar. Admittedly confusing at first, but that's the Oscar's fault, not GMedia's. Once you get to know the controls, though, the GUI is a joy to use.

Features
All ths standard oscillators, some you've never heard of and the ability to make your own oscillator waveforms using additive synthesis. A filter with seperation , many modes, a really sweet drive control and the ability to have two filters operational simultaneously. Evelopes, LFOs, gating patterns - the modulation options are mind boggling. There are some presets where you just *have* to take the time to figure out how the hell it was done. Several polyphony modes, an arpeggiator - there's tons to play with on this killer synth.

Sound
From huge warm fat basses to tinkling sparkly crystalline washes of sound, this synth can do 'em all. Ask just about anyone who owns Imposcar - it's the best sounding VA synth out there.

Documentation
Comes boxed with a printed manual , which is nice. The manual covers the history of the Oscar/Imposcar as well as providing a detailed insight into the signal path and controls. A must-read if you are to get the best out of this synth.

Presets
Ships with a swathe of presets, some of which were programmed by famous Oscar users of yesteryear. The vast majority of the presets are impressive and useable.
My one criticism of this synth as a whole lies here, though. The presets are supplied in banks of 36 which are loaded through your hosts fxb import function. They can also be dragged and dropped from explorer. Either way, 36 presets is not a lot at one time. The real gripe, though, is that they are not organised in the slightest. This is my pet peeve with many synths, though. Someone could do the Imposcar user base a huge favour by re-arranging the presets into basses, leads, pads etc.

Customer Support
Top notch. Dave Spiers is a regular on KvR and is always responsive.

Value for Money
Excellent. Like I said at the top - this would be worth a ton if it was a monosynth.

Stability
Rock solid. Cpu load is on the lower side of acceptable. Have never seen it barf.


Summary
I have fallen in love with Imposcar since I got it. The potential for sounds is huge and the synth is a joy to tweak and cajole into the right sound for a track. It's also a hoot just to play around with in idle moments. Most importantly, it's a really *playable* synth and is the first one I reach for when I just want to start playing and see where I go.

Try the demo and prepare your credit card for impact.

I have to say this is one of the best sounding synths I've ever owned, hardware or software. I can't claim to be a big fan of retro-synths re-carved in soft form when there's so much new ground that could be covered instead (as seen with ground-breaking products such as Reaktor and Cameleon), but once I played it it was simply a case of having to have it!. I've no idea what the original sounded like so can't fairly compare how it rates as an emulation, but I do like the look of it and its just the right size; not too big it engulfs the screen and beyond like some other products, not too small that you can't see what you're doing. The only thing I thought was slightly dumb was hiding the chorus and delay behind the logo panel - although I do understand that the reason is aesthetic, to retain the original look of the rubber beast.

The features have been well documented in other reviews, but I'll list a few that really grabbed me:

Filter overdrive - this is just a glorious imitation of analogue distortion that makes the basses quake like an ice age yellowstone park. I ran some harsh leads through my Mackie's and it almost ripped out my eardrums. I can't recall having owned any other synth that has such a blistering feature.

User waves - Create your own waves using a simple form of additive synthesis and use them as oscillators. The end result is as clangy as your old DX synth and really brings a nice digital edge to more percussive or bell-like presets. Actually, Gmedia have provided some really well thought out waves already but the option to create your own is very seductive.

Velocity response - I think this must make the instrument far more playable than the original and has been quite well thought out, although there's no aftertouch which is a bit of a shame. For Electric Piano chords and funk clavinets it works really well and allows for some real digging-in playing.

Arpeggiator, delay, repeated triggering - The arpeggiator is a Roland-style design that does the usual up, down, up-down and random patterns. Nothing unusual, but linked with the delay and repeated note triggering some really funky little patterns can be assembled. They can be synced internally or to the host sequencer's tempo and the delay has a neat little method of handling the length of the delay called "units" which makes using this feature a doddle.

There are plenty of other features to keep the programmer busy such as the flexible portamento (or "glide" as its called here) options, the midi learn and the lovely, rich chorus so its a pretty flexible little synth.

The onboard presets are really good and I bought a load more on Ebay the other day that really show off just how flexible this synth is. A brilliant synth!.

Best. VSTi. Ever.

Really, it's as simple as that. It sounds fantastic, it's very versatile - the additive section is a big factor here, as well as the multi-mode filter. But the other reviews have said enough about that already.

What I *really* like is the tempo-synced note retriggering, the stepped LFOs and the arpeggiator. Put them together and somehow more music seems to come out than you put in - exciting riffs just seem to appear from nowhere. This is fantastic news for a rubbish keyboard player like me!

I'm biased...I used to have an OSCar, and for reasons beyond my control, I no longer have it. It was my most favoured synth - big powerful sound, very playable, immensely flexible. GMedia have made an incredibly true emulation - you either like the sounds the OSCar makes or you don't, but you simply cannot fault the attention to detail that was implemented in getting this VSTi to sound identical to a real OSCar. And considering that an OSCar is a very collectable synth, considered one of the more powerful and characterful synths, then it's even more impressive that they nailed it with impOSCar!

GUI- same as an OSCar. You don't need a degree to see what's what. Big points for the parameter display over every knob, CC edit page is a breeze to set up control over every single parameter.

Sound - Simply stunning. Big fat warm analogue sounds (OSCars had DCOs but it was the analogue VCFs that were the hallmark). ImpOSCar has exactly that filter sound - no bass loss, the same amount of noise if overdriven as the original. Dual filters separatable - which is what gave OSCars such a good sound, so it's also highly flexible and can make very vocal type patches. Ranges from full-on analogue fat, to ethereal digital cleanness (when you use the additive section and don't overdrive the filters). Full bottom end, can squeal, roar, searing leads. Also (a big ALSO) the filters are effective at the top end - most usual analogues lacked in the upper range, as do many VSTi filters. ImpOSCar sings sweetly right at the top of the keyboard, without making you wince. It's an unusual synth that can sound like a bass grunty monster and also like a ProphetVS/Wavestation (the additive tones often remind me of these synths).

Features - loads. Subtractive, dual filters (lots of types), additive, FX that sound like a part of the synth (instead of tacked on), full automation, loopable envelopes (combined with LFO and on different timing cycles makes it capable of very unusual modulations), arpeggiator. Alot more under the bonnet than first appearance may suggest. Has a ducking delay (hugely useful for clean mixes) little things like that are rare in VSTis (even in full FX suites!) and make it truly splendid.

Docs - A real paper manual! Love it. Don't really need to RTFM, but it's a good'un anyway.

Presets - 13 or 14 banks supplied - covers all bases to get you going. Ultravox, Underworld etc? (patches supplied from these and other users)

Support - great. If you get no reply from GMedia (which you will) you often see one or two of them here at KvR.

VFM - IMO excellent. Some may balk at the price - but consider... it is a very true emulation of one of the most collectable (and now rare) synths ever commercially produced. I can't buy one here - if I could it would be $3000. Make your own mind up.

Stability - rock solid. Never crashes even when changing any parameter (such as oscillator type) whilst playing. It's a fully working first release!

Full marks.

I love this synth!

I have bought several VSTs over the last few years and found very few to be useful. Most end up in my, “not currently using folder”. They all produce a wide variety of sounds, but I just didn’t find myself going back to use them.

ImpOSCar is quite different. It is the quality, as well as the quantity, of the sound that makes me want to go use it.

The filters are the best I have heard, including hardware! The filters can be over driven which is just fantastic. Makes impOSCar scream!

I was impressed with the demo, but not knocked out. I loved the quality of the sounds, but now that I have the full version and I can play the full scope of the sounds I am in heaven.

It is also really easy to program impOSCar. It comes with a tutorial video that will get you tweaking in a matter of minutes.

I had a problem registering impOSCar; I was imputing my registration code incorrectly. The support was fast and friendly. I haven’t had any better service, but I have really good support from most of the smaller companies I have dealt with.

ImpOSCar has been rock solid, with no hang-ups or crashes.

I figure this synth is good for just about any style of music. I use mainly acoustic sounds and find impOSCar’s synth sound it add extra life to them, again I think it is a combo of the filters and the synth structure.


I guess I should mention the variety of sounds. First it is very expressive to playing style. The LFO sync and appreciator make for some great groove patches. The pads are smooth and expressive. The leads can scream like a bastard, if need be. It can also get very digital/ PPG type sounds. I can’t find much it doesn’t do well. The sounds can be bright or dark or evolve over time. What I find interesting, is the dark or muted sounds still cut through the mix, go figure.

To me, ImpOSCar is a true instrument, which makes it my first synth choice. It has a life to it that other synths wish they had.

Bottom line: My favorite VST synth!!!

Peace,
david

In all fairness and for those who feel my discussion may be tainted, I was a beta tester on impOSCar.

Quite simply the impOSCar synth is as close to the difficult to find British made OSCar synthesizer. Made in the 80s the OSCar had an extreme range in terms of frequency range and timbral capabilites. The impOSCar emulates this tradition and goes a few steps better. The basic waveforms are all represented with a twist, you can edit your own and save them. Keep in mind this was novel in it's day and is still fairly novel in a virtual analog.

The filters, like the original have a wide range, it screeches, snarls and squawks if you want it to, in fact the impOSCar would be a great synth for just about any style of music electronic or otherwise. Unlike me, there may be people that don't enjoy a full spectrum of timbres and like a filter that focuses on a sweet spot that sounds very nice, very polite, perhaps a bit on the boring side...that however is not the approach taken on the original or GMEDIA. Having worked with the developer of the hardware I think he gets the last word on whether the virtual emulation does right by his synth which is the case.

There are many sweet spots in impOSCar. Although frequently used as a lead synth because of impOSCar's polyphonic take on the original there are all kinds of additional uses for the synth. The pads are smooth and rich with or without effects. Although a proponent of a synthesizer design being the cumulation of all it's parts, including effects, impOSCar is one of the few synths that just sound great without extra help. Mind you, the chorus and delay effects are excellent.

Sound quality is excellent, clean and with the character of the OSCar. impOSCar ups the ante with a huge range of timbral qualities. Need it to do leads, they are silky smooth to nearly out of control - but the user definately has the choice as the layout is highly functional and fun to use. Although some traditions are slightly different in the end it's 20 minutes of your time learning them.

There is also a top notch arpeggiator that allows for several functions that make it useful for composing rather than a traditional up/down/random kind of unit. Small things like gating make substantial differences in tone or rhythm. Which brings us back to the filters. They have a wide range. This allows for a lot of sonic exploration. Besides that the two oscillator simplicity and lfo's are simple and yet lend complexity.

Don't take any of our word for it, try the demo. When using it listen for the character of impOSCar's sound. It's there in spades, and that's why you buy a synth and why some synths become legends. Like the Oddity, GMEDIA have scored an impressive emulation of a great instrument with a few improvements.

The timbre range is generally smooth, almost sauve with phat basses and beautiful pads. The presets are a good indication.

I rave about impOSCar to friends. Try it, see why so many people love this synth.

this may very well be the single best sounding vsti thats been made so far....its really that good.

the depth, range and quality of the sounds it can create are wonderfull. its virtual analog/digital hybrid perfection.

the tone of the filters is outrageously good. imho, they are second to none in the vsti world and they even blow away the majority of filters i've heard in the hardware world as well. (including on many analog products.)

its easy to program, sits well in a mix, the presets kick ass (and there are a lot of them), its been very stable, and its a hell of a lot of fun to use.

this is a wonderfull synth.

User interface: 9/10, coz it looks like the original Oscar which it's supposed to do. After using it for 3 weeks, I've found it supringly easy to use, as the controls are grouped well in my mind, and the "sections" are labelled.

Sound: 10/10. This is without a doubt the best sounding VST instrument I've ever heard. The filters are sweet and can be overdriven, I'm amazed at the sound quality. Beautiful! The kinds of sounds impoSCar can make are just my cup of tea (hey, if the original Oscar is good enough for Underworld and Basement Jaxx ;). And I find it easy to fit in the mix.

Features: 9/10. Not a one-trick-pony, but not a bread and butter synth for all types of sound. For what kinds of sounds it does, it has a suprisingly large palette if you are prepared to tweak a little.

Documentation: 10/10. Printed manual is very nice looking and laid out. The manual was very helpful for me to find out features I hadn't worked out by just playing with the demo.

Presets: 10/10. The initial demo bank, although small, gives a very good idea of what Imposcar is cable of. The presets that come with the boxed version are very good too!

Customer support: 10/10. I emailed Gmedia asking about something and they responded quickly. And I've seen the programmer answering questions round here too, though he said he prefers if people log through support on the Gmedia site so they can get back to ya ASAP

Value for Money: 10/10. For what you get, Imposcar is amazingly cheap. And an original Oscar would go for alot lot more. It just sounds so good. I would have paid more for this instrument if I had to, but thank god Gmedia made it affordable :)

Stability: 9/10. No crashes yet on my P4 1.8 Ghz. When switching patches sometimes you get artefacts from other patches staying with the sound for a bit. I suspect Gmedia will fix this in next update.

Finally, before you take into account the review above by Totor read page 2 of this thread...
http://www.kvr-vst.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=533519

USER INTERFACE : Laid out fairly logically, Decent sized controllers, option to show/hide keyboard, value of each parameter displayed in 'selected parameter' window, Looks authentic to original.

SOUND : Probably the best sounding software instrument I've ever heard. Certainly as far as software emulation's of analogue filters go ImpOSCar wins hands down amongst any competition that's around at present. With the extensive sounding sculpting options on offer the ImpOSCar is capable of producing a wide range of sounds and textures. I'm a huge fan of nice warm 80's sounding pads/strings and ImpOSCar dishes these out for breakfast! Want Vangelis style Blade Runner esque sounds? No problem - Check out the 'Blade Dreamer' patch from the preset library and you may think twice about purchasing Arturia's more expensive CS80 emulation. At the other end of the spectrum - Well, to quote Dave Spiers, "It screams like a ba***rd!" :) Best sales pitch I've ever heard and he's not joking either. ImpOSCar is capable of some amazing full on leads and basses that glow with analogue style warmth and character the like of which I have never heard before from a software instrument. Very impressive stuff.

FEATURES : Amazing filter section with wide variety of waveforms, Superb Arppegiator section with extensive control options, Additive user waveforms via wave matrix editor, Built in overdrive, built in chorus and delay FX, Wide range of LFO waveforms and control, Very comprehensive glide controls, Keyboard velocity control options etc...

DOCUMENTATION : Up to GMedia's usual standard - history of the OSCar, Detailed analysis of all controls all in a 'gumph' free 24 page manual. CD also contains 20 min video tutorial which is a great idea.

PRESETS : Plenty of them showing off the ImpOSCar's wide range of sound sculpting abilities. Not arranged in any logical kind of order which is a little disappointing but you could always compile your favourites into your own bank.

CUSTOMER SUPPORT : GMedia are renowned for their after sales support which I used for the M-Tron (Where it was excellent) but not so far with the ImpOSCar.

VALUE FOR MONEY : £100??? Best value commercial software instrument so far. GMedia have got their pricing spot-on and as such I didn't hesitate in rushing out and buying the ImpOSCar. Other software instrument companies should take note. Superb value.

STABILITY : No problems so far.

When I first saw a photo of the OSCar many years ago, I thought it was one of the ugliest yet most unique looking synths at the time. I never had a chance to listen to one, though.

So, when the ImpOSCar VSTi demo came out, I thought I'd take a listen just for curiosity's sake. Then, I pressed the first MIDI note for the first patch, and that's when I realized...

...this is the warmest sounding soft synth I've ever heard! I didn't care that this was an emulation, nor that it was supposed to be an OSCar. I imagined how this patch would sound in my songs, and quickly realized it was a pretty good fit.

I demoed more patches, and came away impressed that it wasn't just about warm sound, but also had nice animated tones, growly sounds that would cut through a mix, and signature sounds that could carry a song. I then placed an order for it.

At this point, my Waldorf Q rack started to sweat. I'm not saying an OSCar is similar to a Q (it isn't), but I frequently looked to my Q for signature ballsy sounds with a lot of animation, and the ImpOSCar provides that. So, my Q will be getting less use as a result.


Other things about ImpOSCar:

* It works fine in Sonar 3 using the VST to DX wrapper.

* MIDI CC Automation works pretty well. I noticed a slight delay between using a MIDI CC to control filter cutoff (I'd guess 1/6 second), but the sound was very smooth. This delay didn't seem to impact my musical use.

* It comes with a nice manual which explains the history of the OSCar, as well as covers all the functions of the ImpOSCar. ImpOSCar comes in a nice box and a CD-R for installation.

* Copy protection is non-intrusive - serial number only.

* The CD ships with a great 20 minute video manual which covers operations well (with audio examples). This, combined with the user manual, gets you up to speed on the capabilities of this synth very quickly.


Bad point:

* The install program requires the serial number. Unfortunately, there is some confusion about how to enter it, and if you do it wrong, the ImpOSCar won't work. Fortunately, this is addressed on the GMedia website as well as a polite apology for their error.


Demo limitation:

* The demo periodically drops out the audio. Otherwise, it is very functional and allows you to get a feel for the ImpOSCar.


Conclusion: I'm really enjoying this soft synth. It raises the bar for sound quality. If I had to, I'd buy this soft synth again.