Product Reviews by KVR Members

Bought it on the strength of the sounds and the ability to sequence, but after 6 months I don't really like it.

VAZ 2001 creates quality sound, but the method of getting there is IMO unconventional.

Nothing is quite where I expect it. Sometimes I think this is being different for different's sake.

Be prepared to have to spend time getting to know VAZ 2001.

The forum is also clumsy to use. Again, it works, but like most of VAZ, it doesn't work like you expect. But the support is there if required, and willing and cheerful with it.

If I knew now what I knew when I bought it, I wouldn't have done it.

Sorry VAZ. Disappointment.

Sonic Synth is a fairly comprehensive pro sample set that's almost half the price of SampleTank XL.

And it's open ended. Additional sample cds can be bought for a low price, increasing SS's scope with time.

The only small awkwardness is 4 midi channels per VST mixer channel. But bouncing tracks isn't necessary.

I had 13 tracks running simultaneously, grouped to feed 4 Sonic Synths into 4 VST mixer channels, and with loads of reverbs. No problem.

It sounded great. Hear it here http://www.rossiterandco.com/files/Sonique%20Reality.mp3

Realistic nylon and electric guitars playing over big string orchestras and choirs at the touch of a few buttons. No manual required. It's all obvious and immediate.

This is what VSTIs have needed for a long time. Play-and-go real sounds at sensible prices.

Update 2002: The e-rom cd packages have proved to be a real bonus, extending Sonic's (and my) scope.

I haven't used Pro-52, Scorpion, Delta or Electron since I got P1. IMO Pentagon sounds all round better.

Beginners: You get 300+ ace quality presets. V few duds in the pack and many, many stars (Keith Days, Fingered Bass, Standard Bigness, Plain Melody etc). And you have the chance to learn to programme a proper synth like the pros do.

Medium Pro Users: You can find the sound you have in your head. Pentagon 1 rarely says no.

Experts: You can use your own pcm waveforms, or lfo waveforms for genuinely innovatory sounds.

While every softsynth has its strong points, Pentagon seems to have it all.

It's a genuine musical instrument. And its from Tierra del Fuego!

If it has a downside, then it doesn't have quite as many mod routings a Linplug's Delta.

edit feb 2002: New improved GUI 10/10.

At first I thought Bismark was a really great way to play all my free soundfonts.

But I soon discovered I couldn't load more than 8 of them (VST limit), and that 8 Bismarks, or even 4, on the screen quickly became very cluttered and confusing. All these little blue boxes everywhere, and, the Sample Name Area difficult to spot, being in a tiny font in the bottom right corner.

However, if you only want to play one or two soundfonts simultaneously then Bismark works fine, and the sound quality is fine.

When I needed support I got it 3 days later and in hard-to-understand english.

The filters and envelopes are more like on-off buttons, and don't compare with a synth.

Yes, Bismark plays soundfonts, but in a way you'll quickly grow out of.

If you have ambitious plans, ie, 4 soundfont tracks or more, then pay a little more and get VSampler, with 16 tracks and a properly organised layout.

I've owned an Electron for what seems like ages, and though I can drop it for a while for the latest thing, and occasionally bitch about it, I always come back without fail.

Why?

The oscillators and filters (especially the filters) are very effective. Small changes give big effects.

Electron sounds and behaves like a real synth with all the variety that this means. It's a pro product.

It doesn't have multiwave oscillators (the main minus point), but the three oscillators it has offer a lot of scope.

Recently a whole new set of high quality (and free) presets came out and yet again breathed new life into it.

If you can't afford a Pro-52 (still the best) then Electron is a real synth at half the price.

I think very highly of this machine.

It combines sample playing extremely well with numerous types of drum synthesis, which can be mixed and matched and tweaked freely.

To date it has 13 different synths and 4 different samplers. This is a lot to explore, yet there are enough presets or LM4 kits to import so that you can get started immediately, without having to "get technical".

There are other goodies also inc auto flam, alternate, roll and sequence.

An attractive feature is the animated interface so that from one single screen you can see everything that it going on, no matter how complex the kit, an essential to my mind.

I don't own Battery or Attack, but DR-008 appears to combine the best of both for around the same money, another good point.

Angus Hewlett, the author, is committed to developing the product with promises of more features, synths etc. So far he has backed this up with the free Synare synth module, which is some proof of this committment.

17 months later: Still using it. Drum machine of choice!

20 months later: Now got low cost Slicy and Fill-In Drummer Plugs. Just keeps getting better.