Ultra Analog VA-2 by Applied Acoustics Systems

Ultra Analog VA-2 has an average user rating of 4.00 from 4 reviews

User Reviews by KVR Members for Ultra Analog VA-2

Reviewed By factorypresets [all]
November 28th, 2009
Version reviewed: 1.1.4 on Windows

I've been holding off on buying a VA for a long time because, while the sounds are good on many of them, their architecture is usually quite limiting. But I found a huge discount on Ultra Analogue so I thought I'd take a chance on it.

First thing I noticed was the sound. The oscillators are fantastic. I can't think of anything I've used that has better sounding waveforms. I'm particularly pleased to find sine waves as an option. Which is another feature usually missing from emulations of classic synths. The filters also sound very rich and sweet. Although, at high Q settings, there are nicer sounding filters out there. But if you want screaming leads, they will certainly scream for you.

Next up, the signal path is quite flexible for what it is. 2 multi-type filter and amp paths. Each with an ADSR for the filter and another one for the amp. Plus one lfo for each chain. Oscillators can be mixed between the 2 paths and filter one can be routed to filter 2. So you can use the filters in series, parallel or a mixture of both. Simple ideas, but they weren't on the early hardware synths and so they are not usually on modern emulations. The sound can be further treated by an arpeggiator, a further vibrtato/ tremelo lfo and 3 fx.

The GUI is not pretty. But it is set out to make the signal path easy to follow. Which is probably more useful than a nice graphic, anyway.

The manual is fine for getting your head around this synth. Given the straightforward nature of Ultra Analogue, it'd be hard to fail on this score. Only criticism I can think of is that it took me 3 or 4 minutes to work out that the big green LED over the modulation knobs was the invert button they referred to in the manual. Took me a couple of tries to work out that it wasn't an on/off switch. I don't know if you'd blame the manual or me for that confusion.

Customwer support? What can I say? I bought it, I installed it, and it ran just fine. I have no idea if AAS will answer your emails or not. And that's the way I like it. I guess that addresses the stability question as well.

Which brings us to value for money. For me, knowing what I do now about it, I would have happily paid the full price for this toy. Mainly because it covers the bases that so many classic emulations miss. But. given the popularity of synths like Oddity and Minimonsta, I have to think that I might not be your typical customer, here.

Still and all, if you want some classic analogue sounds in a quick and easy-to-program package, you'd be hard-pressed to beat this synth.

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Comments & Discussion for Applied Acoustics Systems Ultra Analog VA-2

Discussion: Active

ariston
29 October 2013 at 7:25pm

Heck, your in-depth, knowledgeable and utterly "pro" review convinced me Jimmie. Off to buy UA 2 now.

THIS POST HAS BEEN REMOVED

ariston
30 October 2013 at 2:38pm

Hey Jimmie, it's not your English that's the problem, I think your English is fine. A review is supposed to be more than "gosh, it's great, I love it", though. That's merely an opinion; a review is supposed to be informative, which means that you should write about why and how you came to this conclusion. The only information I can glean from your "review" is that you like it - now why the hell would I need to know that? Sorry if this sounds personal, but I think that the KVR review section could be such a treasure trove of information, and yet it gets abused time and again. Maybe you should read the KVR guidelines for submitting reviews.

THIS POST HAS BEEN REMOVED

ariston
30 October 2013 at 6:02pm

Okay, that's fair enough. Sorry if I was a bit too harsh, I realize there was no bad intent. On the subject of UA2: I really wish it had been more awesome, because all they did was give it a makeover, instead of enhancing it and adding features. It is what it was... a nice synth that's been overtaken by the modern posse (Diva, Synth Squad, Monark, etc.)

noou
29 October 2013 at 8:53pm

IMO, VA-2 sounds exactly the same as VA-1 (except for the new fx), that is not very analog at all.
It's a shame that, after all this time, they only refurbished the GUI and the fx, while leaving the synthesis engine out.

digitalboytn
30 October 2013 at 9:25pm

Yes Sir..They did the same thing with Lounge Lizard too...They gave it a new GUI and a few FX,but it is essentially the same as the previous version...Not really an upgrade at all...Just a coat of paint :)

planetearth
1 November 2013 at 6:23am

Does anyone know for a fact that Ultra Analog VA-2 and Lounge Lizard EP-4 are really just "re-treads"? It was my understanding AAS had been working on them a while, and made some improvements. Now, I'm starting to wonder.

Admittedly, now that I read the Website, it appears the "new" stuff is mostly the effects. The sounds themselves come from a "renewed factory library" for UA VA-2 and a "new" factory library for LL EP-4. Not really sure what that means, other than they got rid of some of the older, cheesier sounds for UA VA-2. LL EP-3 was okay (though not my "go-to" for EP sounds); I'm not sure how many "new" electric piano sounds you can model--or really need to, for that matter.

Ultimately, what's important here is that the two OPs were able to resolve an obvious misunderstanding. I've been guilty of doing a quick "opinion piece" when I should have written a review, too.

digitalboytn
23 January 2014 at 9:49pm

The sound engines are exactly the same...All they did was add a few FX and a new GUI...They didn't gut the building...They just painted it on the outside :)

planetearth
24 January 2014 at 2:11am

Nice analogy.

I downloaded the UA VA-2 demo, and while it doesn't seem that much different from what I had, it's not bad. I would have gotten it on sale, but I doubt I would have paid full price for what amounted to a "new coat of paint"...and some nice effects. ;)

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