Synthetic II Pro

being my first phase distortion experience, i can't compare 'synthetic' to others of it's ilk, but from what i've heard about casios i'm very glad we've got an option..

there's way more to the oscs on 'synthetic' than your standard osc1/osc2 subtractive, altho it can work as such. runs the gamut of patches.. bass, pads, et al, the thing for bleeps and synth percussion, cascading 'algorithmic' sounds ala early 90's rave hardcore (always figured they were pd.)

the sound is, well.. 'synthetic,' in exactly the way that is good.. jorgen's aesthetic wins major points with me for being well organised and flexible. this is a synth designed to get some use instead of flicking through presets or twiddling cutoff.. a tool for synthesists.. :) but if presets are what you want, they're there.

i gave the presets a '6' since i can't be bothered to find a way to jury-rig logic yet.. (i guess it's not that hard..) there are several banks on jorgen's homepage and the mp3 demos sound great, but i prefer to master the architecture and custom patch each sound. no original sounds, no original music :p all it takes is some exploration and implementation.

there's no manual but the homepage has a run-down on the features, and customer support is excellent! at this time jorgen seems to be releasing new features for one or another of his synths every couple of days, and has asked me some questions about new features for audiosynth, which is kinda cool. all his synths offer very functional free versions, so why are you even reading this :) the pro version has some useful parameters, but the freebie is pretty darn capable.

plus i have to appreciate any designer that realises the value of including different filter types, esp. high pass (well there's two of them :)Read Review

Ok, the user interface may look bland at first but its so functional it makes up for it. And yes, after some time using it, I wouldnt change it for anything.
It simply sounds great, although as noted below it may be best for ''experimental' music and not, say, St. Etienne stuff. That's not to say that its not versatile, because it is. You can get sweet sounds out of it, you just have to try and not press the randomize function(which, again, is great).
Unfortunately, it doesnt come with a manual, but as I said, its so simple to use you dont need one.

I'd say, get this, its free and phat. But then, I'd say 'get this' even if it wasnt free.
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Interesting plugin and nice concept,
it's free so download it to try it anyway,
but the sound quality is quite low, good for lofi effects
and weird basses.
I do hope it will be improved, the idea deserves more quality



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I like the interface on Synthetic II, it may seem a tad simple but that's a good thing. The chorus/flanger really helps out on the brittle timbres. Mind you the timbres are interesting and as stated below this will be a good synth for FX, noises, etc.

But it makes musical sounds as well. I found myself programming a bunch of presets. That's why I like the interface. It's inviting to play with. It could be better and hopefully will but as a (free) synth Synthetic II stands on it's sounds quite well.

It's an interesting synth that's modest on resources but able to create useful timbres.Read Review

This was a bit of a surprise for me...
The first look at the screenshot made me think that this wasn't a serious Synth, but decided to download it and give it a try...
It worked with Logic at the first try, and I tried to make some sound...Really great.

It has some features other VSTi don't have, It has a great range of sounds and possibilities.
It has a clear and sharp sound thet is lovely. Pity the FX are only Chorus and Flanger, some delay would be wonderful

OK, the GUI could be better, maybe with future releases...
There are 4 banks of presets to download, and they're pretty good too. And that "Randomize" function....lovely!
And if this is not enough, it' free and polyphonic!Read Review