Every major sequencer manufacturer now sells software synths for use with their recording applications, but MOTU's MX4 had not been out long before an updated version was announced. We find out whether v2 was worth the wait...
Native's sound design software is back, and with v5, you have more control over your instruments than ever — offering fully user-definable looks, the ability to construct your own modules from scratch, and an improved library. We get patching...
Forget completely flexible software synthesis — what everyone wants, it seems, is emulations of 35-year-old monophonic analogue synths! We check out the latest modelled Minimoog, and see how it compares to the original hardware.
The Fantom X is Roland's best-ever workstation, but it has suffered from one or two annoying omissions, such as the ability to import Roland's own sample format. We explore the Fantom Xr rack module and ask if the v2 OS and editing software provide the solutions?
Although we only reviewed this Minimoog-emulating software instrument four months ago, Arturia have now thoroughly redesigned it, taking into account many of the points made in the original SOS review. So let's take a second look...
Completing the quartet of vintage synth emulations they began with Moog Modular V, Arturia's latest plug-in aims to reproduce the sound of the greatest semi-modular of them all, ARP's 2600. We see how it fares up against the original...
Yamaha's CS80 was one of the finest analogue polysynths of all time. How close have Arturia come to modelling its classic sound in software? We put the software up against the hardware to find out...
The latest instrument plug-in from IK Multimedia and Sonic Reality packages eight Gigabytes of samples, mostly from a huge range of classic synths, in IK's Sampletank front end.
Absynth has always dared to be somewhat different to other software synths, and version 3 continues the grand tradition, with new effects, built-in frequency-shifting, and surround processing options.
Arturia caught our attention with Storm, the virtual studio suite, but of late they have diversified into emulating classic hardware instruments. So how do they fare in their attempt to capture the mighty Minimoog in software?
If you want to get your hands on the latest VST Instruments and Plug-in effects, but don't fancy having a PC in your studio, Muse Research's Receptor could be the answer.
Concrete FX's plug-ins incline towards the less well-trodden areas of sound generation, and their latest is a wavetable synthesizer that recalls the Waldorf Microwave.