Sonic Assault

I see my review was not helpful, so I'll try to revise it with some additional knowledge and assistance. This is not intended to be the manual. In fact it has a manual, so please read that.

This synth has a very unique sound akin to FM. It uses Phase Distortion Synthesis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase_distortion_synthesis.

• 2 oscillators (DCO)
  • There are 2 waveforms per DCO.
  • You can draw the pitch envelope.
  • You can switch them on and off.
  • You can set the octave for the synth.
• 2 LFOs, one for each DCO.
• 2 filters (DCW), one for each DCO.
• 2 amps (DCA), one for each DCO.
• There is a global section for polyphony, pitch bend, glide.
• There is a reverb and delay.
• Key scale.
• Line Select allows you to select both, one or the other, or 1+1 which modulates the oscillator against itself (surprisingly there is not a 2+2).
• The DCOs are combined by a Detune, Modulation, and Output section
  • There are several ring mod algorithms that are a lot of fun to work with.
  • There is a noise generator on the Modulation section.

How the envelopes work:

• You can set up to 16 stages.
• Sus controls which point is the sustain.
• If you have Rpt off, it will sustain only on one point and not fluctuate at all.
• If you have Rpt on (sus becomes end), it will loop through the repeat section as the sustain.
• If you want a standard ADSR, give it steps 3, sus 2.
• It's hard to see, but there is a little bar you can click at the top of the envelope generator that will give you a drop down menu with some helpful options.

After a lot of experimentation, I have found that this synth excels at filling the high end of the frequency spectrum, in a way that few other synths can. It is great for glitchy electronic sounds and retro FM type pads and electric pianos, and yes... you can do dubstep growl basses with it. You can get a lot of the sounds you would expect out of a 2 operator FM synth, but with the ring mod algorithms you can get a lot more out of it.

It's not the easiest to learn or use, but it's worth your time.