Product Reviews by KVR Members

I'd consider this one the 200-level PM synth by Physical Audio. This one changes up algorithms and increases complexity, resulting in a greater control and more or less greater design capacity for musical sounds than Derailer. (Please see my Derailer review). Although on the surface, Preparation seems less complicated than Derailer (2 strings / bars / rattle / mass materials in Preparation vs 5 bars / connected strings in Derailer) in practice, I find that the rattle concept is more esoteric and the string dynamics deeper, along with flexible scaling of materials. Just my own experience.

That's not to say that the difficulty in control is greater with Preparation, actually I find that the opposite is true. Again, musical results are simpler with Preparation if that's the kind of sound design you're trying for.

Preparation standing on its own is an incredible PM synth experience, I feel it's essential. You can always find a starting point for an interesting new sound design option here. Those looking for something entirely different than the better known synth techniques will be stunned by this.

(I am not employed by or endorsed by PA. Just a fan of their plugins).

Cheers.

An extremely valuable addition to a sound designer's toolkit, or any fan of PM synthesis. For that matter, an excellent proof of concept or educational instrument for a newcomer to PM synthesis. That goes for any of Physical Audio's instruments.

Actually... For a good 100,200,300 level PM synth from this manufacturer, I would start here with Derailer. Then move to Preparation, and finally to Modus. They advance in sophistication, or complexity, in my opinion. There are certainly other PM synth developers that make things somewhat more accessible, but I don't think they necessarily show you what's going on under the hood as well, in general.

Nor am I claiming that other PM synths aren't amazing and must-haves, I have a solid list I certainly wouldn't do without.

I'm sure others have plenty of valid opinions on this topic.

Anyway. Check this out.

(I'm not employed by them or endorsed or whatever, I just love their products).

This PM+Subtractive combo beast is one of my very favorite synths. MPE, deep tweakability, pretty much guaranteed you can get impressive results at a minimum. The presets alone are unbelievable. If you like being rewarded for experimentation, big evolving sounds, and want to hear something you've never heard before, this one is a Rolls. Actually, this synth is why I decided I had to step further than poly aftertouch and get an MPE controller. Get at it.