SOUND ON SOUND
The Monty Python team once famously claimed that being able to play the flute was a simple matter of 'blowing here, and moving your hands up and down here'. But there's a lot more to it than that...
We take a journey through a new software instrument that aims to put the distinctive sound of the famous ARP Odyssey analogue synth into your computer.
The characteristic sound of flute-like instruments is complex — but fortunately not so complex that it can't be emulated fairly successfully with a synthesizer...
What if an instrument could combine the realism of a sampler with the complete control over its sounds that only a true synth can offer? That's what the long-awaited Hartmann Neuron claims to do. We put it to the test...
Korg's CX3 digitally modelled combo organ went down a storm when we reviewed it some two years ago. Now it's time to find out if the dual-manual BX3 is twice as good.
The skilful articulation of a synthesized string patch can improve it no end, even one created using very basic building blocks, as we saw at the end of last month. But we can take this approach much further...
After putting all our bowed-string synthesis theory into practice on a Korg 700 last month, we found that the result was only acceptable as a string sound with a lot of wishful thinking. Can we improve on it?
The man behind the Mini has brought us the Voyager — an updated version of the original Minimoog for the 21st century. How does it compare to the original, how does it sound, and how does it play? Read this in-depth review and find out.
Belgian company Lassence are seeking to gain recognition as a small modular synth manufacturer with their new patchable µVentury II system. But there's plenty of competition in the homegrown analogue market these days. Does the µVentury II have what it takes?
Having looked at the mechanics of how a bowed string instrument generates its sound last month, it's time to put these principles into practice, using nothing more complex than a miniKorg 700 monophonic synth...