Absynth gets a significant overhaul, including tempo syncing, sample playback, granular synthesis and a module library. What do we think of it? Read on...
This limited edition collectable synth comes complete with the advantages of new features in the latest Virus OS — and these features can also be added to previous Virus synths via a free update.
This new member of the Korg tribe offers synthesis, sequencing, drum programming, tons of real-time control plus genuine valves to light up your studio and your sound.
Long before Bob Moog built his first synth, there was the Hammond tonewheel organ; effectively an additive synthesizer, albeit electro-mechanical rather than electronic. So emulating a Hammond with an analogue synth shouldn't be too hard, right? Well...
Ubiquitous though Roland's long-lived range of sound modules appear to be, not many users get the best out of the vast synthesis and processing potential they offer. So here's how to coax circus-pony tricks out of your studio workhorse.
Widely admired for their hardware synths, Novation have now taken the bold step of releasing a software plug-in synth. But is it the wave of the future, or a software pirate's delight?
Native Instruments' flagship modular software synth has now reached version 4, dispensing with the dongle copy-protection that bothered v3 owners, adding many user-friendly features and allowing even greater scope for personalising your patches.
Despite the synth-spangled history of the company, it's been many years since a Roland product ruled the high-end keyboard roost, and 2001's Fantom workstation failed to change this. However, there's much more to the new Fantom S than one extra letter...
Times change. When announced in 2001, the Chameleon, a reprogrammable DSP unit, looked out of date compared with the software studio concept. But with piracy rife, and software companies being bought out everywhere, the idea of reprogrammable, unhackable hardware now seems quite timely...
As we saw last month, there's much to synthesizing a convincing flute sound — and yet basic analogue monosynths have offered reasonable flute patches for 30 years. Surely the process can be simplified?
The Ion might be a latecomer to the world of analogue modelling, but this has afforded Alesis the opportunity of learning from all the virtual analogues already on the market. Free and radical, or negative particle? We find out...
Just as Access's hardware Virus synth was followed by the snazzy Virus Indigo, so the TDM plug-in version for Pro Tools has benefited from an upgrade to Indigo status, making it more infectious than ever...
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...
The ATCX really could be seen as four synths in one, as its unassuming exterior conceals not only an adaptable true analogue synthesis architecture, but also the filter characteristics of classic synths that include the Minimoog and the TB303.
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...
Software instruments are flexible, upgradeable, and frequently offer better user interfaces, while hardware offers better tactile feedback and is easier to use live. But what if you could combine the plus points of both? Enter the Noah...
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...
For their latest software instrument, Arturia have taken on the tough job of modelling a modular synth — and it's the granddaddy of them all, a Moog modular... Switched-on software or spaghetti junction? We find out.