kHs ONE

kHs One is a bit of a sleeper. It doesn't seem like anything special and the factory presets don't really set the world on fire but when you spend a bit of time with it, you realise that it is a great sounding synth and that it is a lot more capable than you might think.

It's not as simple as it looks, either. The oscillators have their own built in sync function and the waveforms can be morphed so you can do a bit with them. The GUI is laid out so that all the modulation ends up in what looks like a mod matrix but is actually 3 destination slots for each of the 2 envelopes, 2 LFO and Mod Wheel. It's clever and makes kHs One very easy to work with. The two multi-mode filters are better than average without being stand-outs and you get a waveshaper style distortion, chorus and delay effects.

No one aspect of the synth stands out, yet the overall result is really quite good. It's not too hard on your CPU, either. At $99 it probably doesn't look like great value but I suggest you have a good long look at it if you are after a competent, easy to use and great sounding V/A synth. Kilohearts seem to ahve fairly regular sales so you might be able to pick it up at a good price.

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This is an updated review(version 1.011)

So, a new synth, which does not do any new magic, no new inventions or innovativeness, just a new synth, with high quality. I took a quick peek on it and thought it look like a synthmaker "save as plugin" kind of thing, but they don't say it is, so it must not be.

Lets be constructive, It's a cool synth, it's very analog in its sound, which in my opinion is great, because not many synth in this price range has that ability (i got this with the start up 60% discount though). It's more than great for electro/techno/trance/dance kind of sounds and of course vintage 80'ish synth sounds. It contains all the essential stuff like LFO, ADSR, Filters, and they are easy to route around.

3 OSC thay say, but the 3rd is "just" a sub with few options which is a shame, all in all the OSC section is a bit lacking, as it would be nice to be able to choose between more waveforms, even though you can shape the SAW and SQUARE. I also miss a noise osc, wonder why they didn't tag this great feature along. Again it really only does contain all the essential stuff you would expect (or almost), and nothing more.

The unison is cool, up to 8 voices with detune and spread, and it really works well, it can really bring spark to doll sounds, especially after the 1.011 update.

The effects section contains a shaper, a chorus and a delay unit, very useful and easy to use, they are not surprising you, but effective for the every day usage.

The presets take the synth around and showcases it very nicely, theres not a lot presets, but the ones thats present are cool and usable for many genres.

Computer wise it's on the average of CPU heating, the update toke care of small issues, and is running smooth now. When you hear the quality and compare it to the CPU usage, the quality is in favor.

It does not need any documentation or manuals if you have used this kind of synth before, but they have a forum if you have trouble with it.

So, a new synth yeah, ONE great new synth from a new team on the scene. It does not beat the other VA's on the market, but it sure does a great job anyway, as the quality is as good as it can be, for the sounds it can produce. Tags for this synth most be words like "Quality" and "Easy", because thats exactly what it is.

Looking forward to more updates for this little monster.Read Review