SUPERWAVE ULTIMATE SYNAPSE CIRCUIT REVIEW

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT 

SUPERWAVE ULTIMATE SPRING SALE £15.99 NORMALLY​ £19.99 REVIEW!

#VST #VirtualStudioTechnology #Virtual #Studio #Technology #Steinberg #DAW #Instruments #Effects #Electronic #Music #ElectronicMusic #ComputerMusic #MusicTechnology #FutureMusic #SuperWave #Ultimate #Super #Wave #Ultimate #Analogue #Synth #AnalogueSynth

Synapse Circuit brings you more VST synths (and soon to be effects) for your music making pleasures... 

THE SUPERWAVE ULTIMATUM...

My goodness! SuperWave Ultimate looks like something out of the Millennium Falcon! It promises to deliver great sounds for all manner of genres including: Pop, Rock, Electronica, Dance and Trance. Big talk! And for less than £20? Yeah, right! Let's have a look… Could it really be possible to have such a potentially awesome sounding synth for such a low asking price?

If you're technically squeamish look away… NOW!

Technical Specifications

Oscillators
2 Oscillators (Total of 28 Oscillators played simultaneously)
Osc 1 Waveforms: Ultimate Osc, Tri Sync Osc, Noise, Morph Osc, Square, Saw, Triangle, SF2 Exp
Osc 2 Waveforms: Square, Saw, Triangle, Noise, Perc
Ultimate Osc Waveforms: Sine, Saw, Ramp, Soft Ramp, Peak Ramp, Square, Triangle, Peak, Octava, Cluster1, Cluster2, Noise
Morph Osc Waveforms: Sine, Saw, Ramp, Soft Ramp, Peak Ramp, Square, Triangle, Peak, Octava, Cluster1, Cluster2
Osc 1 Controls: Waveform, Gate Sync, On, Ultimate Osc Detune, Ultimate Osc Stretch, Tri Sync Slide Speed, Tri Sync Mode, Noise Cutoff, Noise Resonance, Morph, Morph Beat, Square Pulse Width, Square PWM Depth, Saw Shape, Saw LFO 1 Depth, Triangle Shape, Triangle LFO 1 Depth, SF2 Exp Level, SF2 Exp Spread
Osc 2 Controls: Ring, On, Gate Sync, Sync, Waveform, Range, Fine/Wide, Square Pulse Width, Square PWM Depth, Saw Level, Saw Harmonics, Triangle Level, Triangle Harmonics, Noise Cutoff, Noise Resonance, Perc Level, Perc Decay
Ultimate Osc Controls: Pan Mod On, Master Level, Phase/PW, Stereo Spread, Analogue Drift Rate, Analogue Drift Depth
Ultimate Osc Mixer Controls: Waveform, Harmonics, Semi Tune, Fine Tune, Phase/PW, Pan, Level
Ultimate Osc Mod Edit Controls: Tune Depth, PW Depth, Pan Depth, LVL Depth, Waveform, Key Sync, Rate/Beat
Morph Osc Edit Controls: Waveform, Harmonics, Morph/Beat, Stage

Osc Common
Osc Shift: -2 +2 Octaves
LFO 1 & Env Destinations: Osc 1+2, Osc 2, X-Mod, Tri Sync, Tri Sync + Osc 2
Controls: -Oct +Oct, LFO 1 & Env Destination, Osc Balance, X-Mod Depth, LFO 1 Depth

Filter
Resonant Filter: 12dB, 24dB
Filter Types: Low Pass, Band Pass, High Pass
Controls: Cutoff Frequency, Resonance, 12dB/24dB, Type, Key Follow, LFO 1 Depth

Amplifier
Controls: Pan, LFO 1 Depth, Level

Envelopes
3 Envelopes with Time Scale and Output Contour function
Contour Types (Curve): 13
Pitch Envelope Controls: Attack, Decay, Curve, Time Scale
Filter Envelope Controls: Depth, Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release, Curve, Time Scale
Amp Envelope Controls: Attack, Decay Sustain, Release, Curve, Time Scale

Low Frequency Oscillators
2 LFO's (Low Frequency Oscillators)
LFO 1 Waveforms: Triangle, Saw, Square, Sample and Hold
Modulation (LFO 2) Waveforms: Triangle
Beat Ratios: 33
LFO 1 Controls: Waveform, Rate/Beat, Fade, Key Sync, Beat Sync
Modulation (LFO 2) Controls: Depth Select, Rate/Beat, Depth, Key Sync, Beat Sync

Arpeggiator
Classic + Phrase Arpeggiator
Modes: Up/Forward, Down/Back, Alt1, Alt2, Alt3, Alt4
Range: 1-4 Octaves
Beat Ratios: 18
Controls: On, Tempo/Beat, Phrase On/Off, Chord On/Off, Hold, Mode, Range, Tempo, Gate

Sequencer
32 Step Sequence x4 (Modulation x3, Gate)
Directions: Forward and Reverse
Beat Ratios: 18 (Independent beat resolution for each sequence)
Sequence 1 Destinations: Pitch 1, Cutoff, Amp, Pan, Morph
Sequence 2 Destinations: Pitch 2, Cutoff, Amp, Pulse Width, X-Mod
Sequence 3 Destinations: Pitch 1+2, Cutoff, Amp, Ult Stereo, Tri Sync
Sequence 4 Destinations: Cutoff, Amp, LFO 1 Rate, LFO 2 Rate
Sequence 1 Controls: On, Key On, Reverse, Beat, Smooth, Pitch 1, Cutoff, Amp, Pan, Morph
Sequence 2 Controls: On, Key On, Reverse, Beat, Smooth, Pitch 2, Cutoff, Amp, Pulse Width, X-Mod
Sequence 3 Controls: On, Key On, Reverse, Beat, Smooth, Pitch 1+2, Cutoff, Amp, Ult Stereo, Tri Sync
Sequence 4 Controls: On, Key On, Reverse, Beat, Smooth, Calibration, Cutoff, Amp, LFO 1 Rate, LFO 2 Rate

Effects
Effect Types: Tone Control, Chorus, Phaser, Delay (Stereo, Cross, L/R), Sweep Filter, Limiter with Drive
Tone Controls: Bass, Treble
Chorus Controls: Rate, Depth, Wave, FBK Mode, On, Pan, Phase, Mod Depth, Level, Pre-Delay, Feedback
Phaser Controls: Rate, Depth, Wave, LFO (Internal/External), Stages, Key Sync, On, Stereo Diff, Freq Min, Freq Max, LFO 1 Depth, LFO 2 Depth, Feedback
Delay Controls: Time/Beat, Feedback, Level, Type, On, Beat Sync, LPF Feedback
Sweep Filter Controls: Wave, Beat Sync, On, Key Sync, Cutoff Freq, LFO Depth, Rate/Beat
Limiter Controls: Bypass, Threshold, Drive, Squash

Other Features
Integrated Patch Browser for loading and saving of FXP and FXB files
10 and 20 note polyphonic versions available
SF2 Wavetable Expansion Oscillator
Main volume control
Mono/Polyphonic control
Portamento control
Midi CC control with learn capability
FREE Trance SF2 Expansion containing 30 plus multi-sampled waveforms
384 high quality presets

2 GHz+ Processor recommended / 1024 x 768 pixels screen resolution / 24 bit colour depth

Gosh! Did you get all that?

REALIZATION Above: Ultimate working like a dream in MAGIX Music Maker 2017 Premium. Well, I've got to say that the GUI of Ultimate looks superb! It evokes the feel of a hardware synthesizer - I can visualize the controls on a physical keyboard and/or module.

Ultimate is a beautiful looking vintage analogue VST instrument. Now, let's check out how it sounds...

PRESETS

The preset patches are nothing short of brilliant! Ultimate absolutely delivers upon the aforementioned music genres. The bass patches are rich as are the leads and pads. Run them through the onboard arpeggiator and you'll be further astounded. Some patches have sequences as part of the sound and they sound wonderful!

I've got to say that not only does Ultimate look and sound fabulous, it's beautifully created. What do I mean by that? What I mean is that the synthesizer has been created to perfection when you take the cost into consideration! There were no instances of hanging notes and it wouldn't crash when I put it into a decent budget DAW that is MAGIX Music Maker Premium. I played some notes on my Akai USB musical keyboard whilst the sequencer (of the DAW) was running and it didn't cause a crash like other synths have done.

Well done!

COMPLEX

No doubt that we're looking at a potentially complex synth in Ultimate! I'm talking from a programming perspective. In order to get the most out of any synth you must program your own patches - in my humble opinion. If, like me, you're not very technical, you'll soon get to intuitively understand the parameters.

I'm going to have great fun creating my own patches.

CONCLUSION

SuperWave Ultimate is an absolute no brainer. It looks great, sounds even greater and it's been created with such precision that I didn't worry about the possibility of it crashing my DAW in the middle or composition.

You will do well to add this one to your collection. Even at £19.99 you're getting such a steal of a deal. You're just laughing should you snap it up for the spring sale price of £15.99! The arpeggiator, effects and sequencer in addition to the sound shaping possibilities with the vast range of oscillators makes for one awesome sounding and inspirational synth! Get it now! Quick - before the sale ends!

SCORE Come on... This synthesizer was put together by a scientist! It's clean, clear and precise! Ultimately (see what I did there?), you can get some deep bubbling basses, searing laserbeam leads, electrical pads, and some dirty old sleazebag electronic sounds! Seriously... Gosh!

Ultimate scores a super-well deserved... Synapse Circuit Platinum!

You can purchase it here: SUPERWAVE ULTIMATE

Enjoy! Thank you for reading!

Synapse Circuit / Blue Gene

K331 AUDIO SYNTHMASTER ONE SYNAPSE CIRCUIT REVIEW

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT 

K331 AUDIO SYNTHMASTER ONE $63.00 - SPRING SALE REVIEW!

#VST #VirtualStudioTechnology #Virtual #Studio #Technology #Steinberg #DAW #Instruments #Effects #Electronic #Music #ElectronicMusic #ComputerMusic #MusicTechnology #FutureMusic #K331 #Audio #K331Audio #SynthMaster #One #SynthmasterOne

Synapse Circuit has great pleasure in bringing you yet another great synth, and it's FREE! 

THE MASTER...

SynthMaster One is an easy to use wavetable synthesizer with an intuitive workflow. Although it shares the same engine with its bigger brother SynthMaster, it comes with new features like wavetable synthesis. With its simple layout, rich wavetable/waveform content and inspiring factory presets library, designing new sounds with SynthMaster One is a real joy. Read on!

Sometimes great VST synthesizers can be offputting for novices, and even some semi-professionals. A lot of Electronic Computer Technology Musicians just want to install an awesome VSTi (and effects) and start composing straightaway! Well, you can do this with K331 Audio’s Synthmaster One.

Synthmaster One comes with many waveforms and wavetables, as a result you can create amazing patches! You can also add your own! Synthmaster One comes with the most amazing presets you will ever hear on a VSTi! Beautiful analogue sounding patches for all types of Electronic genres.

GUI
Me? Again, I am not what you would call an out and out expert in VST. However, I do like to get stuck in and alter the preset sounds to create my own unique take on them (the presets). I don’t understand people who would just use the presets as they are. Oh, well… Anyway, the Synthmaster One user interface is not only aesthetically pleasing but I find that it lends itself to tweaking the parameters. The interface is very inviting to those who, like me, just want to experiment and intuitively tweak the settings to create the desired sound. I am sort of old school in that when I used to have hardware synths I had to learn to program them pretty quickly to get the most out of them. I only had a few Kawai synths, and boy, did I program the heck out of them! I was so good at get the most out of these Kawai synths (K1 & K4) that people thought I was using more expensive synths! Synthmaster One takes me back to the days when I intuitively understood what I was doing when creating new synth patches!

FX Above: K331 Audio Synthmaster One working inside the MAGIX Music Maker 2017 Premium DAW flawlessly! It has some wonderful onboard effects, distortion, EQ, compression, chorus, delay, and reverb. These effects really go that extra mile in giving a patch a certain sweetness that just delights your ears!

I have to hand it to K331 Audio for creating this cost effective - more so because it is currently discounted in a Spring Sale!

DESIGNER
As simple as the interface is, the seasoned professional sound designer would get mileage out of Synthmaster One and then some! I don’t meet Synth Master’s very often, but when I do it never ceases to amaze me what they can do in the name of synthesizing sounds! In fact, it was such a Synth Master who got me into Electronic music in the first place! All this Synth Master needed was a white lab coat!

I think he would have created divine sounding patches if he were around today!

CONCLUSION
Synthmaster One is a phenomenal VSTi for the money - the current sale makes it even more so! There is no excuse for boring formulaic Electronic music! Seriously, have you ever gone to a Trance, EDM, or Industrial event? As a former music journalist, I can tell you that attending these events were seldom fully enjoyable. There may have been one or two bands/artists on the billing worth listening to, the rest were terrible clones. I think some of these lacklustre artists/bands could up their game with Synthmaster One! I really mean that! I would love to hear what an Electronic band like Front 242 would do with Synthmaster One! Front 242, these guys are like what the Rolling Stones is to Rock music; they can give these young pretenders a run for the money any day of the week!

Anyway, enough bitching! I love Synthmaster One! It is a fantastic synth and it, along with some of the recent synths that I have reviewed of late, makes me want to start composing again!

If you are serious about producing music and/or sound design then you NEED Synthmaster One yesterday! Get it now while it is on sale!

SCORE
This one is a no-brainer! The interface is on point! The range of sounds is plentiful! If you have a sound in your head Synthmaster One will synthesize it for you in all its glory!

Synthmaster One scores an astounding... Synapse Circuit Platinum!

You can purchase it here: K331 Audio Synthmaster One

Enjoy!

Thank you for reading! Synapse Circuit / Blue Gene

LESLIE SANFORD COBALT SYNAPSE CIRCUIT REVIEW

 SYNAPSE CIRCUIT 

LESLIE SANFORD

COBALT $FREE REVIEW!

#VST #VirtualStudioTechnology #Virtual #Studio #Technology #Steinberg #DAW #Instruments #Effects #Electronic #Music #ElectronicMusic #ComputerMusic #MusicTechnology #FutureMusic #LeslieSanford #Leslie #Sanford #Cobalt

Synapse Circuit brings you another great VST synthesizer in the form of...

COBALT OUT OF THE BLUE

You may be well aware of the plethora of free VST instruments and effects on the Web; you may also be aware that many of these freebies can be badly programmed. Great ideas and wonderful looking synths/effects poorly realized can have an adverse effect on your productivity. Nothing worse than a beautiful sounding synth that keeps causing your DAW to crash. Read on!

Behold… Leslie Sanford delivers a Cobalt out of the blue…

Do not worry if, as a novice, that the above means little or nothing to you. It is more important to get in there have mess around. That’s how you learn! I created a patch by fooling around, saved it and recalled it.

Above: Little Cobalt, big Cobalt.

IN AWE

Whenever I install what promises to be a decent free VST instrument or effect, I cross my fingers in the hope that it doesn't crash my DAW. It's worth noting that I'm using MAGIX Music Maker Premium in my ongoing tests. I recommend that you test these VST plugins with different DAWs; what crashes one DAW works perfectly well in others!

Well, that's the nature of these things. In the not too distant future, I'll be reviewing other DAWs! Stay tuned…

I'm happy to say that Cobalt is wonderfully realized. It was created to emulate classic synths of the 80s. Gosh! Cobalt sounds phenomenal!

SWEETNESS

The presets sound fantastic! Sweet! The bass instruments are varied, leads cuts the air like shrapnel flying through the air, and the pads are lush!

Those sounds can be used in any music genre. It's easy to program too! Cobalt is a must have!

SCORE
The graphical user interface (GUI) could have been better but the sounds are delicious! .

Cobalt scores a well-deserved Synapse Circuit Gold!

You can download it here: Cobalt
Enjoy!

Thank you for reading! Synapse Circuit / Blue Gene