Triangle I

I remember back more than a year ago I downloaded T1 and T2, and at the time I was still learning alot. After a few tweaks and so much a novice at synthesis could do with not much of second thought I kept Triangle 2 as it had the sound I wanted and triange 1 was deleted from my machine.

About 3 month ago I noticed people talking about the original and how it has a unique sound, I thought to myself was I misssing something it wasn't that incredible to me a year before...so I go and pick it up and start playing with it...after a few day of having it on my machine I have over 50 patches for the synth all incredibly usefull and 95% are various basses.

Ok The synth can be confusing for newbies trying synthesis and programming (as you read above I can vouch for that) but this thing is a very fast synth that will get the sound you will want to keep in a short time. The filter on this baby can scream at higher resonance (though tb303 is possible with this synth the filter does distort at high frequencies so the squelch is not there but for 303 stabs it rocks)but when having certain sounds at a low frequency, clicks appear that will not go away with any adsr work but raising the cutoff will rid the clicks but the sound is no longer what you need (IE Bass)but most of the time will be hidden by the percussion in your music anyway so its not the biggest deal.

the Oscillators still confuse me as it doesn't say what wavform your using but its not a problem if you use your ear. the sound is phatt and raw but can get digital sounding easily...many sounds can be made from this synth from 303's to evolving pads, to screaming leads and a whole lot more even nice organ sounds and various percussion.

the lfo's and eternal fx are very usefull espeically for pads and strings, the delay is a nice touch for adding a delay without to much cpu being drained. The synth even has a noise generator for addding dirt to your basses or to make percussion and wind noises.

This synth is perfect for low subby basses, housy basses, and For dirty german hardhouse basslines that we all love :)This is not a one trick pony as I have heard people say,its a power synth in my arsenal going head to head with T2 and iblit as my favorite free analog style softsynths, 2 thumbs up to Rene for creating this weapon.

Initially I wasn't overly impressed with Triangle, but it's grown on me. I liked the smoothness of the sound straight away, but felt it wasn't too versatile. But after using a few times, I've had a good range of sounds from it. It has a very musical filter (in that it will still sound good when self-oscillated) which is not too common in VSTis. I find it good for mid range sounds, and good in the higher range too. What lets it down is the bass response of the filter - it seems to be common in VSTis that it's hard to get filters to work in the bass range. Sure Triangle will give nice rounded warm basses, but it won't resonate usefully down low - it's good for warm bass, but not if you want to do spikey bass with fast decay/attack times.

But I'm being picky really - only classic synths such as 202 or SCI Pro-One have really fast decay portions to the envelope - even Junos etc are a tad slow on that front, and old Korgs are even slower. But Triangle holds up against most common analogue hardware.

In fact, I mainly like it for some of the more delicate sounds - it's not a power house, but careful programming will give some rich filter sounds when you modulate to get movement going in the mids. It doesn't sound anything like a Korg MS series synth, but it reminds me of the type of hollow haunting sounds you can get with those. Which is praise for Triangle - you CAN compare it with analogue synths (unlike alot of VSTis).

The layout is good - obvious and logical with no frills to brighten it up too much.

Not too hard on the CPU, and rock-solid reliable.

The FX are a good addition to the sound - nice chorus and decimator. They complement the patches rather than overpower them.

I don't use it in everything by any means, but it's a good workhorse for those general-duty sounds and some occasional flourishes. Not an in-yer-face character synth, but good quality at what it does.

Quality is the main theme - won't set you on fire, but you can rely on it.

I've had this freebie on my hard drive since I first heard about it, and I gotta admit I didn't start giving it much useage until I tried the Pentagon demo, at which point I thought hold on there might be something to that Triangle thing. Well it wasn't quite that drastic, but it certainly was underused. Well since then I've wisened up and gone back to Triangle and I gotta say at times I find Triangle more useful than Pentagon. It's just easier to deal with than Pentagon at times, due to the less knobs, plus having limitations is nice. If I need a nice lead that I know will be a monophonic melodic line I'm going to open up Triangle before P1, sure P1 has a great mono mode but Triangle is a lot more user friendly for quick leads, and even bass lines (the one time I wrote a tune with a synth bass it was provided by Triangle). Just concider this thing to be a super moog of sorts, it can create those classic Moog leads and bass sounds, but do soo much more. As far as the GUI goes I like it, it's friendly on the eyes, a good size, and I dig the color scheme and overall design. All and all this is too good to be a freebie, don't overlook it.

Pentagon's little brother may have stopped growing (for the time being?) but it's sure not retarded!

Triangle I is a perfect FREE entry into the world of analog synthesis. Make no mistake, it cannot compete with Pentagon or Cronox, but I have never come across a single free analog softsynth (and I have all of them, trust me:) that offered more features, a more beautiful, lush sound, or a more logical interface. In fact, it seems like most people (including myself) keep using it even *after* they bought PI, which alone is a testament to the rich - and unique - quality of its sound.

Personally, I am not in love with its look, but it looks like René just might update its GUI to that of Pentagon. Its only serious limitation is that it's monophonic, but nothing stops you from using several of them simultaneously. In all, Triangle I is complex and control-rich enough to give you a fascinating opportunity to learn analog sound creation, but simple enough so that you don't get overwhelmed by all the knobs and buttons (of which, BTW, there are 55 - more than the Roland JP8080 has...)

Many people mentioned the lack of documentation. FALSE! THERE IS A COMPREHENSIVE MANUAL AVAILABLE IN HTML, and while I don't know how you can access it from rgcAudio's website (it seems like René is so busy making his superb products even better, he tends to forget about the website...:) if you send him an e-mail he will provide you with the link.

Summary: if you don't download it and give it a try, you are a fool - and I do stand by that statement.

It's free and a product by rgcAudio, so you might as well stop reading this and just download it. René's instruments are always musical and of high quality. This is certainly no exception. You could look at it as the little brother of the polyphonic Square I, another of his highly regarded older generation virtual analog synths.

Being a monosynth, some of the most common uses for Triangle is bass and lead sounds, which it handles well. The filter on this little guy has a very warm, musical quality to it that is kind of rare in the virtual world. Though I'm sure it is capable of aggressive sounds, it definitely seems to lean towards sweeter, gentler timbres. The newer engine instruments such as Triangle II and Pentagon I seem better suited for more powerful, edgy, aggressive sounds.

With 3 oscillators, 4 LFOs, built-in effects, more advanced control features like aftertouch sensitivity and various other features, it is surprisingly flexible for a freeware instrument.

Bottom line: It has a unique sound, lovely little musical filter and is free. Definitely a worthwhile download.

Holy cow! How many superlatives am I allowed to describe this absolute stunner of a synth? This thing fulfills the promise made by so many other analog emulators. Quite frankly, I had grown bored with that particular trend, but the Triangle 1 has shaken me out of my ennui. After plonking down HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of dollars on merely "good" sounding analog plug-ins, here is a freebie that'll get a lot more use than any of 'em. I'm an aging analog synth hack, and I've owned most of the names you'd recognise, and a lot you wouldn't. I still have a room full of the wood and metal beasties, but they, too, will be used less often than Triangle 1. It sounds AMAZING! As good as my NORD. A lot of people don't like the interface, it seems, but I think it's marvellous. Everything is where it oughta be, and follows a logical path from the oscillators straight through to the much-appreciated DDL. Speaking of which, the delay is a nice touch, and gives an "instant-Klaus-Schulze" gratification, without depriving the synth of it's presence. Three LFOs!!! Okay, so it's monphonic, but that doesn't deflate the price of a used Minimoog. The presets are superb and inspiring. Documentation? It's an ANALOG SYNTH, you fool! You don't need documentation! As for customer support, they give a free synth, fer criminysake! I call that support. Stable? So far, and that's through DirectiXer, so pretty good, there. Oh, and it'd be a value at a hundred bucks. I'm definately ordering up the Pentagon when I have the dough!

I have Pentagon 1.2 B06 (currently...)
But I recorded a small piece with Triangle, featuring a leading solo (lots of after-touch) and it rocks.
One thing missing from this great freeware mono-synth is syncing. but this is great teaser for those who eventually end up buying Pentagon (it seems that everybody is)

UPDATE !!! UPDATE !!! - Version 2 is HERE !

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I was one of the Beta testers of this MonoBeast's new version and was very happy with many of its new features - an excellent reverb within the synth and a synth structure that reminds me of Roland's analog synths (2 osc + sub osc + nosie).

I know that this free synth will cause many potential clients of many other companies to skip purchase of them but this is a free market and may the best synth win !.

I think that Triangle I version 2 is so good that it should have been sold and not be a freeware but there is a great guy seating downunder that thinks that many many people who cant afford buying a synth should have one.

Thanks Rene !

This is one of the best freewaresynths available. I personally don't like the GUI, but that is richly compensated by the broad amount of features, the good sound and the 64 presets. And after tweaking around you will understand quickly how this synth works.

User Interface
I think it looks very good. No numbers on the knobs is good, tweaking by ear is mandatory.

Sound
The sound is smooth and round, the filter is even a little sweet and noble. Layers well with real analogs for colors, doesn't have a solid enough kernel to be truly durable with acoustic instruments IMO.

Features
Many more sounds than I expected, everything intuitive.

Documentation
Considering it's free and simple, I don't expect a printed manual. :) There is a detailed MIDI implementation image at the rgc site, as well as basic information, as much documentation as you need. I hope Pentagon comes with a mini-manual in HTML form though.

Presets
Many good presets- and the Pentagon! you have to check it out.

Customer Support
Good rep, but no 1st-hand experience here, there's nothing wrong with it so far.

Value For Money
That's a joke, it's free!

Stability
Does it crash? Nope. Not yet at least.

Pro:
+ good multipurpose sounds
+ a lot of features
+ MIDI controllable
+ probably the most powerfull free VSTi
+ unbeatable value-for-money rate

Con:
- confusing non-intuitive user interface
- ugly design (a matter of taste, others may like it)

I first downloaded this freeware VSTi several month ago and deleted it right afterwards, since I really disliked the user interface and thought this VSTi is total crap.

Now, after recognizing what power RGC has (Square+Pentagon), I gave it a 2nd chance... I still dislike the GUI. It looks ugly to me, and I have problems handling it, e.g. turning round knobs not knowing what the current real value of this knob is. Some kind of value indicator displayed beneath or in a bubble would be really helpfull.

However, this synth has a lot of features producing good multipurpose sounds and is probably the most powerfull free VSTi out there. A mighty underestimated tool hidden beneath a bad interface.

[Note: The successor Triange II is a great improvement with easier handable better looking GUI and even much more features - and it's still free!]

There is somthing warm and sweet about the sound of rgc synths.Triangle is great for lead work and the fact it is free is unbelievable.The interface is wonderful to look at although some might say a bit hard to program.I just downloaded Triangle's big brother Pentagon 1 and wait till you hear it!Can't wait to review it.I would say the rgc vsti's are among the best sounding out there especially in their price range.A true must have.

Perhaps the fattest sounding analog modeled vsti's available now are these new ones from rgc, and I consider this a favorite for use with midisax because of the very smooth mono legato it features and the very smooth filter response. If you look around you'll see very few vsti's have a truly smooth mono legato AND respond to pitch bend and you need that for midisax use, or any true mono lead synth.

RGC is not above working with a customer to get rid of bugs either, rene actually personally contacted me on a problem I was having, and that few if any others were, and fixed it literally overnight. That kind of service is literally the extra mile.

Well, it's a monophonic synth, that looks really good. A bit confusing since there's no values around the knobs. It's free. Sounds really good, when you figure out how to use it (creating sounds)

Its easy to use, standard layout, use little CPU, presets are OK, but it's possible to create some good leads with some effort.

Never crashed, has no documentation, but you dont need it, since it's just another analoge monophonic synth.

Perfect for those who's new to synths