Product Reviews by KVR Members

Battery was my first VSTi dedicated to drums and still the one I use most. It is stable, sounds good and comes with a nice selection of sampled sets. The expansion sets are wonderful and I suggest them for anyone. The expansion sets also work in Kontakt. Two complaints that I frequently here about batter is lack of synth modules, and no dedicated outputs. I don’t mind the absence of synth modules because I consider some dedicated drum synths to be much better than what you get in an all in one package. The absence of extra outputs is a bigger problem is you want to process bass drum separately from the rest of the kit. My way around this has been to separate the bass drum to a second instance of batters. This can be done in the beginning, or when you reach the point of finalizing the mix. One of my favorite features in Battery is the ability to use drag and drop within some hosts. In Sonar I can drag slices from some VSTi’s that chop up loops directly to pads in Battery. This is a quick way to build some unique kits by chopping up everything from turntable scratch loops to machinery rhythms. Battery does not stream so some kits can take a lot of space. One the other hand, I have noticed that some programs that convert Battery kits to work in other drum VSTi’s seem to greatly increase the size of the kits, and thus those VSTi’s use even more memory when using Battery kits.

The one big problem with Battery is the advertised Akai conversion. I have never been able to get a decent conversion. In the worst case the conversion process will lock up the computer. I have tried this on 5 different computers of different brands, Windows operating systems, and CD Drives. No luck. It will just not work for me.

User Interface - Functional but nothing special to look at.

Sound - Very good.

Documentation - A book is included in the box.

Presets - A selection of nice kits, but I suggest getting the expansions.

Customer Support - Good but updates to Battery have been very slow. No answer or solution to the problem of Akai import.

Value For The Money - More expensive than the two main competitors.

Stability - Good as long as you do not try the Akai import routine on Windows.

Copy Protection - Occasional CD check.

Frequency Of Use - Very often.

CPU Load - Light.

Fun Factor - Easy to create fun and interesting kits.

With the release of Kontakt I am not sure I would buy Battery again.Read Review

I owned a Yamaha DX7 for a few years. It was cheap, light, and one of the first affordable synths with velocity sensitive keys. With all the benefits of using this keyboard on stage I hated the sound. FM7 is a software version of the DX7, developed by Native Instruments with the blessing of Yamaha. When FM7 hit the market I wondered why anyone would want a program that sounded like the thin, lifeless DX7. It was a year before I gave in to the positive reviews and tried this VSTi. To my surprise this is the one VSTi based on a hardware synthesizer that sounds better than the hardware. Much better. No DX7 ever made the luscious pads available on FM7. This is partially due to greater processing power of the host computer, a higher processing rate, better D/A’s, multi-stage eg’s and a decent effects section.

There are 100’s of patches available online for the DX7 and FM7. I received the extra sound set from NI free when I bought FM7. It has 128 beautiful and useful patches. Programming FM is very different than subtractive synthesis but at least FM7 has a tab designed for simple programming. I prefer to tweak patches created by others rather than start from scratch.

FM7 responds will to sustain pedal, after touch, pitch bend and modulation wheels. However, it does not allow the right click CC control assignment found on many new VSTis.

User Interface - Looks nice and provides tabs to access many functions and an easy mode page.

Sound - Very good.

Features - FM synthesis with excellent eg’s and effects.

Documentation - A decent book book.

Presets - Not a lot but what you get is good.

Customer Support - Better than what you get from a hardware company.

Value For The Money - A bit expensive for but this is still THE FM VSTi.

Stability - Never crashes my system.

Copy Protection - Occasional CD check.

Frequency Of Use - Maybe half of my songs.

CPU Load - Very light.

Remote Patch Change - Patch increment and decrement works from my keyboard workstation. Only holds one bank so bank change is useless.

Fun Factor - Medium if you like programming FM.

I would buy again, but first I would consider some of the competition that is half the price. The low CPU usage for a sound this good is probably the best reason.Read Review

Vaz instruments have a unique sound that some love and some hate. The sound is a bit edgy compared to most subtractive synthesizers. However, is it not a thin sound that plagues many VSTi’s. This full but edgy sound is reminiscent of the Arp line of analogs. For my use it is best used for arp patterns. With work you can get some nice pads and cover the old string machines of the late 1970’s. One suggestion is to bypass the included effects and use outboard effects of more quality. Good reverb and tube effects will do wonders for the sound of this VSTi. Support is good though the official forum is hardly used. The developer does appear on other forums, including KvR, and is willing to answer questions and take suggestions.

Vaz is a bit different than most VSTi’s in how it loads and runs. When inserted into your sequencer you get a logo box. To access the synthesizer you have to click on a bar to change screens. Single instruments can be loaded through a somewhat confusing menu, and you can load a mixer to route multiple Vaz synths. One positive aspect is the ability to audition patches before loading.

User Interface - Based on the black and orange look of old Arp synthesizers. Pleasing to some and hated by others. The horizontal sliders take some getting use to, but are space efficient and responsive.

Sound - Good but edgy. Not useful for everything.

Features - Basic VA subtractive synthesis with a mixer and arp.

Documentation - Minimal at best.
Presets - Enough to get started but lacking in imagination.

Customer Support - Pretty good.

Value For The Money - Too expensive for a basic subtractive VA.

Stability - Never crashes my system.

Copy Protection - Customer friendly Serial Number.

Frequency Of Use - Whenever I need an arp in my song.

CPU Load - Light to medium.

Remote Patch Change - Patches cannot be changed from a keyboard. In fact, Vaz has a strange and confusing patch system.

CC Assignment - Right click MIDI learn as found on many new VSTi’s.

Fun Factor - Low. Good to play but not much to play with.

I probably would not buy again because of the price/feature ratio. The sound is too specialized. Consider the cheaper Vaz Plus for the sound, or the more expensive Vaz Modular for flexibility.Read Review

Reaktor and I have a true love/hate relationship. I love the sound. I hate the CPU load. I love the possibilities. I hate the quirks when using multiple instruments. I love making my own synths, and finding nice synths on the web. I hate the copy protection.

The sound of Reaktor is very nice. Maybe the best sounding VA based VSTi on the market. A say that fully realizing that it can do much, much more than virtual analog synthesis. Compared to Vaz Modular and Nord Modular Reaktor is a very difficult program to master. If you spend the time the rewards are very satisfying. While you can do most everything with Reaktor, I choose not to. Pro52, FM7, ABSynth and others are more useful and efficient than Reaktor ensembles designed to mimic their abilities. But the fun of Reaktor is building exactly what you want, and creating things that you cannot find on the market. I suggest that anyone build their basic synth collection first, then use Reaktor as the product that fills the gaps and gives you the special sounds.

The release of 4.1 addressed many problems and now my biggest gripe is the copy protection. Reaktor is a program that needs to be studied. I would love to install it on my laptop and take it on vacation, and install it on my work computer to study during my lunch break. Sadly you only get two installs with the current challenge response copy protection. I have it on my main DAW where I record the parts, and plan to put it on my second PC which is used to ease the CPU load on my primary PC. This is the big advantage of Vaz Modular over Reaktor.

User Interface - Good.
Sound - Very good.
Features - Everything you can think of.
Documentation - A nice book but there is a lot to cover.
Presets - There is a huge online library made by NI and the user base.
Customer Support - Good considering how many customers NI must have.
Value For The Money - The most expensive VSTi I have, but with the latest update addressing problems of multiple instances the value of Reaktor just increased.
Stability - Good for the complexity of this program.

Copy Protection - Challenge response with a two install limit before contacting customer support.
Frequency Of Use - Occasional but that may increase with the latest update.
CPU Load - Reaktor instruments take more CPU load than comparable NI VSTi’s with the same structure.
Remote Patch Change - Does not respond to patch change information from my workstation keyboard..
Fun Factor - Very high, when not frustrated with the product.

Even with the copy protection I would buy it again, but not until I have a collection of basic synthesizers.Read Review

Pro52 was my first VSTi I purchased other than what was included with my DAW. I still remember the excitement of installing it on my screen and looking at the beautiful interface. It gave me a rush of excitement as I thought about the last time I played a real Prophet 5. As a first purchase it set expectations that have not been matched by other instruments and developers. Later Native Instruments provided a free upgrade to Pro53. This early product still has an excellent sound when compared to other, newer products. Maybe the most important feature of Pro53 is the amazingly low CPU load required by such a good sounding instrument.

This product is not going to give you rhythmic pads with 32 step eg’s or any type of synthesis other then subtractive, but what you get is of excellent quality. You can fill a lot of parts with Pro53 before having to consider freezing tracks. The bass is good, pads are smooth and leads can cut. It has a better oscillator sync sound than any VSTi I own. This is the sound that helped to make the real Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 an in demand product 20+ years ago. NI’s Pro53 does not stop with features available only on the original Prophet 5. They have added effects, touch response, and more.

Make no mistake, Pro53 not sound just like a real Prophet 5, and no VSTi has reached the point of sounding truly analog. Pro53 has a sound that is just a bit thinner, cleaner and edgier than the real Prophet. Even so, it sounds good and to most, it is close enough. I truly with other products could match the sound/CPU load ratio of the Pro52.

User Interface - Looks nice and is not too large.
Sound - Very good.
Features - Basic subtractive analog with oscillator sync plus effects.
Documentation - A very nice book. One of the best.
Presets - Plenty of usable sounds.
Customer Support - Good considering how many customers NI must have.
Value For The Money - A bit expensive for a basic subtractive VA but worth it for the sound quality and the low CPU requirement.
Stability - Never crashes my system.

Copy Protection - Occasional CD check.
Frequency Of Use - Most every song.
CPU Load - Very light.
Remote Patch Change - Patch increment and decrement works from my keyboard workstation, but bank change has no effect.
Fun Factor - Medium.

I would buy it again, even with all the new competition.Read Review

Trilogy is a one stop bass shop with more bottom than Jennifer Lopez. The sound is professional and full while the selection is varied. This VSTi focuses on three types of bass sounds; electric bass guitar, acoustic bass guitar, and electronic bass synthesizer. A large number of patches are arranged first by these three areas, then broken down further to make it easy to track down just the right sound. The best electronic bass sounds are analog and Trilogy provides a nice array of samples and patches. But while the original instruments are professionally processed and sampled, the resulting patches within Trilogy are a bit static. You do have the ability to program filter and eg’s but you do not have the control of the original synthesizers. Nor do you have control of the wonderful analog filters that were originally samples. Tweaking patches feels about like running a Moog or Oberheim through a digital filter, so I just leave them alone. The acoustic and electric bass guitar patches are also nice, but it can be a bit of work to play fast paced 16th notes. Fast 16th notes can cause problem in some cases. There is a solution, but the solution is more a work around than a way to work. This is my one disappointment for the otherwise top level instrument.

This is the instrument I use for bass as I begin every song. In later stages I may switch to a synth with more control or a more extensive bass sample collection. Even then, it is nice and efficient to have a single bass instrument that I know well and frequently depend on for bottom end.

User Interface - Looks nice but too large.
Sound - Absolutely wonderful.
Features - Few but not really necessary.
Documentation - A pamphlet comes in the box.
Presets - Lots and lots.
Customer Support - Responsive.
Value For The Money - Good considering that this VSTi can be used in almost every song you produce.
Stability - Never crashes my system.

I would buy it again.Read Review

Atmosphere is a collection of wonderful pads created by synthesizers and effects I could never afford. The number of patches is overwhelming but arranged logically into subfolders with names that give hint to their sound and source. The variety is great but tweaking of patches is limited. The UVI engine cannot perform a fraction of the synthesis functions used to create the sounds. Thus, Atmosphere is more like a simple Rompler than a synthesizer. In exchange for the limited editing of patches you gain CPU efficiency. Other VSTi’s can create patches that compete with the sound of Atmosphere but they do so at many times the CPU overload. The one thing that Atmosphere does need is lots of memory. Some of the samples are very large and Atmosphere does not use streaming. If you use many instances of Atmosphere then you will need in excess of 1 gig of memory. This should not present too much of a problem as you most likely will not be using many pads in one song.

User Interface - Looks nice but too large.
Sound - Absolutely wonderful.
Features - Not many to speak of unless you count all the synthesizers and effects units used to create the sounds.
Documentation - Just enough, supplemented by a Yahoo group and interaction with the developer.
Presets - More than you can keep up with, and they are great.
Customer Support - Hard to say without customer problems.
Value For The Money - Good, even for the expensive price.
Stability - Never crashes my system.

I would buy it again.Read Review