Product Reviews by KVR Members
All reviews by Mnemonic
Review Something or Find Reviews
Fatsondo is a real gem of a synth, capable of some fantasitic sounds, but let down in a couple of areas.
The sounds it can produce can be truly beautiful, lovely rounded sounds that sit well in a mix. It is equally adept at lush pads, thick basses and cutting leads, making it a great all-rounder. A lot of the quality is added to the sounds as a result of Mikael's obvious expertise in the effects department. The chorus and delay effects work very well and the processor section adds an extra dimension to this. The flanger also works very well and the presets show off the synths capabilities.
Haven't had much contact with Mikael, but the little I have had has been prompt and polite. Looking at the website, updates of synths seem to happen at regular intervals. It's a bit of a shame that he doesn't have a forum and presence here at KvR, as it would give his synths a bit more publicity.
But, with every great thing must come some bad:
The GUI: Well, it's not mind-blowingly attractive and it isn't one your friends will gasp in awe at, but hey, I'm a grown man and I can deal with that, just so long as it is functional. Unfortunately, that is where it lets me down. A number of the knobs (especially the oscillator waveforms) are *very* small and difficult to operate. The "feel" of the knobs is also a let-down as they are difficult to make precise movements with. The sliders work well though.
The "quirky" bank loader: Maybe it's me, but I'd like to see a more conventional bank loading system. The idea of having to remember the exact name of my bank without browsing is a bit of a pain (as it is with all MHC synths).
Those two points aside, this really is a quality sounding synth that is easily accesible to anyone at any level. If Mikael could use his obvious talents at synth programming and hire in someone to make a better interface, this would be up there with the big boys.Read Review
The sounds it can produce can be truly beautiful, lovely rounded sounds that sit well in a mix. It is equally adept at lush pads, thick basses and cutting leads, making it a great all-rounder. A lot of the quality is added to the sounds as a result of Mikael's obvious expertise in the effects department. The chorus and delay effects work very well and the processor section adds an extra dimension to this. The flanger also works very well and the presets show off the synths capabilities.
Haven't had much contact with Mikael, but the little I have had has been prompt and polite. Looking at the website, updates of synths seem to happen at regular intervals. It's a bit of a shame that he doesn't have a forum and presence here at KvR, as it would give his synths a bit more publicity.
But, with every great thing must come some bad:
The GUI: Well, it's not mind-blowingly attractive and it isn't one your friends will gasp in awe at, but hey, I'm a grown man and I can deal with that, just so long as it is functional. Unfortunately, that is where it lets me down. A number of the knobs (especially the oscillator waveforms) are *very* small and difficult to operate. The "feel" of the knobs is also a let-down as they are difficult to make precise movements with. The sliders work well though.
The "quirky" bank loader: Maybe it's me, but I'd like to see a more conventional bank loading system. The idea of having to remember the exact name of my bank without browsing is a bit of a pain (as it is with all MHC synths).
Those two points aside, this really is a quality sounding synth that is easily accesible to anyone at any level. If Mikael could use his obvious talents at synth programming and hire in someone to make a better interface, this would be up there with the big boys.Read Review
SimSynth Live
Reviewed By Mnemonic [all]
October 7th, 2002
Version reviewed: 1.0 on Windows
I've been using Fruityloops for years now, and had pretty much ignored this plugin, thinking it would do nothing in addition to what I already had. It wasn't until the VSTi version came along that I decided to properly demo it, and boy was I shocked!
This has to be one of the warmest sounding synths I have ever heard, software or otherwise. It can produce everything from big room-filling pads to rich, rounded basses to cutting lead sounds. All this and a breeze to program to boot (this synth, along with Linplug's Alpha, would be excellent for the novice sound designer).
An effective filter and those solid Image-line effects add to a package well worth the $35. Only let down is that the documentation is a little lacking, although it is perfectly adequate.
Absolutely no regrets.Read Review
This has to be one of the warmest sounding synths I have ever heard, software or otherwise. It can produce everything from big room-filling pads to rich, rounded basses to cutting lead sounds. All this and a breeze to program to boot (this synth, along with Linplug's Alpha, would be excellent for the novice sound designer).
An effective filter and those solid Image-line effects add to a package well worth the $35. Only let down is that the documentation is a little lacking, although it is perfectly adequate.
Absolutely no regrets.Read Review
Well, I don't often write reviews of products, but this one I just had to...
For just $29, this has to be one of the great VSTi bargains out there. A superbly warm synth that can generate gorgeous pads, cutting lead sounds and punchy basses. And to go with this, one of the clearest interfaces out there.
I'm normally a bit of a no hoper when it comes to programming synth patches, but even I've been able to come up with some great sounds with this baby. Just find an existing patch you like (there are plenty supplied with the synth), keep pressing the "GEN" (randomisation) button until you get a sound you like and then manually tweak it to perfection.
Stability is also good. I'm running Alpha in Sonar 2.0 with the fxpansion VST-DX adapter and I haven't had any problems whatsoever.
And to add yet another thing - you also get some of the best support out there. I had a little problem when I ordered Alpha, so I emailed Peter and he had it fixed within half-an-hour. He's also brilliant at answering questions left for him on his support forum, right here at KvR.
Due to the clear interface and ease of programming, I can wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone from the experienced artist (who'll love its low CPU usage) right down to the absolute beginner (who'll have their own bank of sounds within an hour of purchasing). Add to this full MIDI-learn capability and the incredible modulation matrix (hey, I paid £600-odd quid for a Proteus 2000 with one of those!) and you have a synth that will be one of the mainstays in your VSTi armoury.
So, you might say I'm pretty happy with Alpha - I can see me using it in just about all my projects in the future. And besides, $29 is nothing really, is it? Go on, you know you want to :)Read Review
For just $29, this has to be one of the great VSTi bargains out there. A superbly warm synth that can generate gorgeous pads, cutting lead sounds and punchy basses. And to go with this, one of the clearest interfaces out there.
I'm normally a bit of a no hoper when it comes to programming synth patches, but even I've been able to come up with some great sounds with this baby. Just find an existing patch you like (there are plenty supplied with the synth), keep pressing the "GEN" (randomisation) button until you get a sound you like and then manually tweak it to perfection.
Stability is also good. I'm running Alpha in Sonar 2.0 with the fxpansion VST-DX adapter and I haven't had any problems whatsoever.
And to add yet another thing - you also get some of the best support out there. I had a little problem when I ordered Alpha, so I emailed Peter and he had it fixed within half-an-hour. He's also brilliant at answering questions left for him on his support forum, right here at KvR.
Due to the clear interface and ease of programming, I can wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone from the experienced artist (who'll love its low CPU usage) right down to the absolute beginner (who'll have their own bank of sounds within an hour of purchasing). Add to this full MIDI-learn capability and the incredible modulation matrix (hey, I paid £600-odd quid for a Proteus 2000 with one of those!) and you have a synth that will be one of the mainstays in your VSTi armoury.
So, you might say I'm pretty happy with Alpha - I can see me using it in just about all my projects in the future. And besides, $29 is nothing really, is it? Go on, you know you want to :)Read Review
