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Spectrum Sampler
Reviewed By xh3rv [all]
May 13th, 2013
Version reviewed: 1.0 on Mac
I'm posting a positive review to confirm quality here. The nature of Max For Live simply doesn't guarantee this - I suppose it shouldn't - but this is really an exceptionally strong concept, and well executed IMO. This device is somewhat similar to a grain freezing tool, but it's processing spectrum rather than waveform. Further, Maurizio Giri has developed a simple and useful interface for exploring dynamics in the spectral/granular sampling. It's kind of mind-blowing. Like many Max tools, the potential for stumbling on extreme manipulations exists. However, there is a lot of structure in spectrographic representations of sound, and exploring that with this tool isn't overly arbitrary or random. So, it feels intuitive and flexible. Great way to get some surprising, useful sound.Read Review
Since there's no review on KVR yet -
This is a versatile reverb that can be used anywhere I've tried to put it in a mix. It's an (adjective)-sounding reverb, capable of a lot of adjectives, and it bridges different uses of reverb - as subtle sonic reinforcement, or reverb as a dramatic effect - more seamlessly than I thought was possible.
While the raw aesthetics of the GUI have been debated on KVR (it's reskinable, anyway . . .), I've not seen anyone critical of how much functionality is packed into it. Stereo shaping, EQ'ing, and other fundamental sound-shaping tools are inside the reverb exactly where they need to be, and the early reflection / late reflection split is easy to follow.
The preset library is quite nice, and is comprehensive in that it covers small/large, subtle/dramatic, crisp/diffuse, etc. - it's reliable, and has solutions. Pro tip: clicking the master gain/mix text lets you lock those while browsing presets, an extremely useful function.
The early reflection 'rooms' are quite clever and very functional - while it seemed a bit gimmicky initially, after some time spent tweaking all over the map, the ER rooms are all unique, and all usable in various configurations of the rest of the reverb.
Haven't turned this thing off after weeks of demo'ing and a few days of having it registered, it's a work-horse and a show-horse.Read Review
This is a versatile reverb that can be used anywhere I've tried to put it in a mix. It's an (adjective)-sounding reverb, capable of a lot of adjectives, and it bridges different uses of reverb - as subtle sonic reinforcement, or reverb as a dramatic effect - more seamlessly than I thought was possible.
While the raw aesthetics of the GUI have been debated on KVR (it's reskinable, anyway . . .), I've not seen anyone critical of how much functionality is packed into it. Stereo shaping, EQ'ing, and other fundamental sound-shaping tools are inside the reverb exactly where they need to be, and the early reflection / late reflection split is easy to follow.
The preset library is quite nice, and is comprehensive in that it covers small/large, subtle/dramatic, crisp/diffuse, etc. - it's reliable, and has solutions. Pro tip: clicking the master gain/mix text lets you lock those while browsing presets, an extremely useful function.
The early reflection 'rooms' are quite clever and very functional - while it seemed a bit gimmicky initially, after some time spent tweaking all over the map, the ER rooms are all unique, and all usable in various configurations of the rest of the reverb.
Haven't turned this thing off after weeks of demo'ing and a few days of having it registered, it's a work-horse and a show-horse.Read Review
