Product Reviews by KVR Members

I've been using TS-808 for years now and it has always gotten me what I wanted: 808 sounds. The live synthesized audio provides more variation and liveliness than static one-shot samples and the controls on the synthesis provide more control than the largest of TR-808 sample libraries.

The multiple outputs available in TS-808 is greatly appreciated and frankly necessary for modern processed 808 sounds.

It has the GM Standard mapping for MIDI so there's no need to rework MIDI scores or MIDI drum kits, and it also has a more compact 16-note range above that at C5 that I personally prefer using for programming rhythms.

A minor detail that I really appreciate is the ability to type in the values for knobs rather than only being able to turn the knobs with a mouse. Not only does this let me obsess over my sound, it also lets me enter values that exceed the limit of the knobs for wild and impossible sounds that still operate based on emulated circuitry.

The UI is beautiful and uncluttered, designed by Limeflavour who does great work.

Finally, for free? It blows the hundreds of paid TR-808 sample packs straight out of the water. It's an elegant solution to anyone's 808 problems.

VProm is the single most accurate and useful Linn LM-1 emulation I've found, possibly because it is the only one to actually emulate the hardware rather than play back some recorded samples. The big draw for this is the hihat which is actually a constantly looping sound with an amplitude envelope that opens up over it whenever the hihat is triggered; this causes each hihat hit to sound different which makes it sound more alive or organic. My singular gripe regarding this is the inability to load a custom hihat EPROM to loop like the original hihat, instead it only plays custom EPROMs as a one-shot.

Tuning samples down low causes the sounds to have a familiar gritty sound that you can't achieve in a modern day by just pitching down a sample and playing it back slower, and this is much appreciated as that gritty aliased sound is exactly what I wanted: Gritty, not muffled.

Each sound can have its own unique output from the plugin, allowing you to put your own effects on each drum sound while only using one instance of VProm.

Regarding custom EPROMs, this is where VProm gets even more fun for me. You can create authentically formatted sounds using Promenade from Electrongate (do not use wav2dmx or dmxwav as the math is reportedly incorrect) and load them into VProm to hear your own samples played back through an accurately modelled AM6070 DAC and optionally (on by default) CEM 3320 VCF filters on the bass, conga, and tom sounds that were in the original LM-1 hardware in order to remove noise from the tail-end of the drum sounds.

Additionally, the Oberheim DMX uses the same DAC as the Linn LM-1, and thus VProm can load its EPROMs with no trouble and it sounds, due to the similar hardware, pretty much just like the Oberheim DMX.

If you want an authentic vintage sampler sound, VProm is how you get it.