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Product Reviews by KVR Members

All reviews by nirsul

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Waldorf Edition: PPG Wave 2.V

Reviewed By nirsul [all]
April 16th, 2002
Version reviewed: 1.10 on Windows

Excellent product. Has many classic sounds from the 80s. Thick, Fat Basses, Soaring leads and many intersting pads. VERY analogue in character.
The documentation is one weak side of it - I had to operate my brain cells a bit to understand some of its hidden features. A graphic description of the waveforms would have been nice ! as there are so many of them.

The sounds are truely inspirating, withing less than 2 hours of installation I had a catchy theme (along with my FM7 and a drum track).
The arpegiator is great and it is saved with patch - just try a one finger ARP in DOWN mode to hear STYX's Mr.Roboto !
There are more than 700 patches (I have yet to listen to many of them). Its multitimbral feature is great.

Modulation matrix is quite good.
Graphic editing of ENVelopes is easy - But do not expect a complex Envelopes - FM7 is king in this area.

User interface: easy to use , very beautiful onscreen.
but not having waveshapes display means only 7 out of 10.

Sound is grainy and very 80s and is said to be very authentic (by real PPG owners).

A good source for PPG (and a real manual),there are some demos of the real thing in MP3:

http://www.wavesynth.com/ppg/

Here is a small question for you:
Without looking at the real PPG - are the interfaces the same ?

CONS:
- only 2 stereo outputs 1&2 + 3&4.
- Documentation
- No waveshapes display

For the price (I paid 162 U$) It is a real bargain.
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GalactiX

Reviewed By nirsul [all]
April 4th, 2002
Version reviewed: 1.0 on Windows

Such a great gift .
One thing though: when changing a preset - it delay a bit so it may be inapropriate to use with lots of program changes.
I like the choirs and the keyboard is nice !
Don't know if am wrong but it has a bit of a mellotronish sound, doesn't it?


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Triangle II

Reviewed By nirsul [all]
April 3rd, 2002
Version reviewed: 2.0 on Windows

I was one of the beta testers and could tell Rene what I liked and what I didn't.
Rene is a generous person in giving many people a professional synth in a hard to beat price. Triangle 2 is definetly NOT Triangle 1 - only the name is common.
It has some patches which are already known form the flagship synth Pentagon but, many are not such as the truely amazing Harmonica patch and some of the OBx-like patches.
We should strive to keep Rene out of the hands of big synth companies - so that he continues creating more of those screaming beasts.

So: Rene - will we have a skinnable version ? :-)
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Rhythm'n'Chords

Reviewed By nirsul [all]
March 5th, 2002
Version reviewed: 2.0 on Windows

2 weeks ago I tested the demo and 1 minute later - dumped the thing off my PC. :-|

TODAY, enter 1 minute of boredom,1 minute of curiosity - wow !, this minute cost me 69 U$ !
It is not a synth so no presetes and no sound but what I like the most (after 2 hours of using it):
PROS:
1. It really makes for a guitar accomp, great patterns.
2. I am sure everybody knows this situation: you improvise a group of chords into your sequencer and then try to record the bass track by memory - I am sure you all know that after the 1st 4 chords you forgot what came next. But with this VST you have a visual chord notepad so recording a the next track is a s easy as lloking at the screen - this only makes this worth buying!
3. It actually helps me compose - I am no longer limited by my (relatively) basic set of (always used) chords..
4. Easy to use GUI.


CONS:
1.too few variations of patterns - forces you to purchase additional packages. (not today , sorry !)

2. This version is NOT the same as Cakewalk's and only in next version woll it have programmable patterns and more features.

If you do not play a guitar and do not have musical theory education and have a bad memory for chords - BUY IT !!!








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Triangle I

Reviewed By nirsul [all]
February 3rd, 2002
Version reviewed: 2.0 on Windows

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 !

=========================================
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 !
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FM8

Reviewed By nirsul [all]
January 30th, 2002
Version reviewed: 1.0 on Windows

I have an old DX7 (1st generation), It has a very good keyboard but although I used to dream about buying one (before actually doing so), I almost never use it - it is noisy and the patches are all the same so I use it to control my VST studio. The FM7 is totally the contrary - it has usable patches and a very clean sound, noiseless one.
some patches are great and the added FX and control sliders actually make it the perfect FM synth.
But the price tag is too high , If one man companies like rgcAudio and LinPlug can sell excellent synths at 50 - 100 bucks why should a multi million $ company sell theirs at 300 ? they DO have a bigger resource of money and developers.
Maybe someday the FM7 or maybe a younger and stronger brother will find its way to my VST host
at the mean while I will use my DX7 and the DX7 embedded inside VSampler

UPDATE: About to get my copy - paid 188 U$ + shipping from www.musicians-gear.com . Ignore my review and buy this toy !
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VSampler

Reviewed By nirsul [all]
January 26th, 2002
Version reviewed: 2.73 on Windows

Vistual Sampler 2.73
========================
I use SoundFonts,CubaseVST 5.1 & SB Audigy Platinum card:
That is why this is one of the greatest investments for my humble homestudio.
Until VSampler - I just couldn't route each soundfont to a different effect - not anymore! - with 8 Srereo outputs to Cubase I can route any SF to 8 effects inside Cubase (+ 2 inside VSampler).
One more HUGE benefit - I can stream big samples from the HD
no more RAM limit !
There are some free samples with it but I use mainly SF.(until I get free AKAI samples).

Also reads LM-4 kits - good although most of the free ones are not as good as some of my SFs.

For the small price I paid I got a full DX7 synth (plus a simple analog synth) although I have an original hardware DX7 I use as a MIDI controller.
Many features I cannot even remeber.
What can I say - A GLORIOUS VSTi !

BUY IT - if only for the SF routing issue !

UPDATE: I got the bundled (optional) N#1 instruments - nice fx and some great collection of samples in WAV - may be skipped.

I purchased lots of E-mu & SonicImplants samples (GREAT choice) and one of the SoundFonts could not be read by VSampler correctly (SI's Blue Jay Loose Kit). All other soundfonts I loaded - worked perfectly.

Every time I launch Cubase - I launch VSampler - and I love it !
T H E B E S T ! ! !
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Pentagon I

Reviewed By nirsul [all]
January 12th, 2002
Version reviewed: 1.1 on Windows

[ GUI ]
I Hate the art design,but it is quite efficient in locations of various elements - still better in ver 1.1

[ Sounds ]
Can recreate all the synths I know (except maybe for true FM synthesis but I have DX7). With 4 oscillators and user loadable waveforms, Delay(reverb), Chorus, Phaser and Overdrive - you can't go wrong. ( I did turn off all the EQ on most of the presets, though - it tore my eardrums.)

[ Features ]
Ecellent - Has an enormous variety of routings - I liked the LFO sync options ( My main reason for the purchase)

[ Manual ]
Good but can be more detailed on the subject of working with external sequencers and multiple instances.

[ Presets ]
Beautifull ! Excellent powerfull basses, lush strings , extreme sweeps and more . INSPIRING !

[ Customer Support ]
Said to be the best and indeed it is.

[ VFM ]
SUPER

[ Stability ]
Works fine without crashes.

Conclusion:
===============================================
Living in Ushuaia is inspiring so this is the result of it - A million thumbs up - Rene !

BTW: ver 1.1 is also standalone - GREAT for fast playing or programming sessions!

BUY IT !!!!
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Mercury-1

Reviewed By nirsul [all]
January 6th, 2002
Version reviewed: 1.0 on Windows

I tested it after hearing about it in the video interview with Eric Persing (in Cubase.net) , although he used a simple patch for the bass line , I liked some other sounds - and compared to Dreamstation , Rainbow and other analogs (except maybe for the cronosX which is also on my wishlist )- it sure had a distinct sound , a very powerfull one.
Another BIG PLUS is for the vertical sliders - I just hate those knobs - they are nicer but less usefull while editing!

As others have stated - being monophonic is a bit annoying - and the price tag is abit high. I sure fantasize on purchasing it in the near future. It will complement my current hardware setup. Documentation and support was given medium rates as I do not know enough.
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