Product Reviews by KVR Members

MMV2 reminds me of a flight simulator. In front of you is a realistic representation of a Moog Modular with nine oscillators, LFOs, EGs, several filters, a 3x8 sequencer, chorus, phaser, white and pink noise generators, a sample and hold module, a ring modulator, an enveloope follower, fixed filter modules and other modules ready to be connected together with virtual (Reason-like) cables. There is no mod matrix buried under pages of menus. It's all in front of you just like Moog initially designed. In a sense, it is like a primer for sound design.
MMV comes with some wonderful presets that get you up and running. There is a fairly good manual that will walk you through the modules and give you a lesson on synth theory.
Installing is easy and painless; you just enter your serial number and then you can register to be able to downlaod more presets. I think one of the few cons I have against MMV2 is that to import more presets or banks you have to use the original installation disk.
I love the sound. It's warm and gritty. The filters are very responsive. Unlike the real Moog, this virtual version can be polyphonic. However, when adding additional voices the CPU gets gobbled up quickly. Stereo is easily accomplished with the MMV2 because there are two VCAs; each with it's own panning pot. The effect modules are stereo and can be assigned to either or both VCAs. The delay is terrific as is the chorus. The phaser is mediocre at best.
I am enjoying the step sequencer. It's very flexible and besides doing the Berlin school thing, it can easily be used to modulate other parameters in the synth. I like that you can have a heavy pad sound going with a light sequence going on in the background for texture. The sequencer can go backwards, forwards, both ways, in rows or in columns. You can configure one or more oscillators to sequence through one line of the sequencer and another set of oscillators to go through a different line or column, and at the same time you could have one of the lines modulate a filter.
There are several filters to choose from and you can go out of one filter into another very easily. The low pass filters are very responsive. I also like the formant filter which will give you some vowel like sounds. There can be some extensive mods made to it. The Bode Frequency Shifter is an unusual module. It can produce some 50s sci-fi sounds. I confess I haven't used it much only because I am not too familiar with it. None of my other synths have anything that sounds like it. I find the other filters (high pass, general) mediocre.
Another great feature is the Unison mode. This can really fatten up the sound.
I have had a few crashes, because it is very easy to gobble of CPU power when adding voices and unison. But in most cases this is a fairly stable program.
Does it sound like a Moog Modular? I don't know. I have never owned one. But I don't really care if it sounds like the real thing or not. It sounds great; very warm, fat bottom end, breathy sweeps. A versatile pad machine as well as a strong lead synth. The step sequencer is one of the best features and distinguishes it from most VSTi's.
Customer service is ok. I had a question and received an email answer two days later. There is a Yahoo users group as well.
A couple other cons: when used in standalone the virtual control pots move easily. But in VST mode they are too sensitive to the mouse. However, with an external controller the pots can be assigned and are easier to control. The graphics are so detailed, it is hard to read the settings. Fortunately a popup with the current setting appears as soon as the mouse appears over the pot.
This would be a great synth for anyone wanting to learn the basics of sound design. It is also a great sounding instrument that complements other synths.Read Review

I think the previous review goes over the features quite well. Texture is a good vst made great by the free price. It's a fairly straight-forward, simple to use instrument which can come in handy on many tunes. I particularly like the sequencer module which is used to modify the amplitude. You can really texturize your sounds here. The bandpass filter can quickly take your sound to extremes. The graphics is one of my few complaints. It's hard to read some of the labels. The type is too small in the green windows. However, if you pass your mouse over a control and wait a second, a popup label will appear and tell you what it is. The other minor complaint I have is when changing octave or harmony, the sequence only goes up one way. If you are at "0" and want to go to "-1" you must click "0,1,2,3,-2,-1" to get there. The saving of presets is left to the host. The FX (reverb and delay) are very simple, but are very effective. Texture seems very stable and very usable.Read Review

Reaktor has made a great leap forward with ver. 4.02. The oscillators have been approved for a better sound. The appearance is more contemporary. However, sometimes the graphics seem to put more burden on the CPU. The new Reaktor seems more CPU hungry to me. It can really slow Sonar down when using multiple instances and FX. However, it is much more stable and remembers the presets in Sonar. The last version did not. There have been some really fine new ensembles created for R4; several beat boxes are designed for live performance. But I mainly use it for synth pads and leads. There are several FX synths that can mangle your sounds. Most of the ensembles have a great variety of usable presets that are easy to tweak and save. I find it to be very stable as a stand alone. I use it with Chainer with other VSTs live with very little trouble. The new manual is better than previous, but still not very detailed. NI's support is not great, but the forum on their website has a pretty good response. The library offers an incredible variety of instruments for free, and the new paid update has some great new instruments as well. This is one of the most versatile softsynths out there.
One of its biggest features is that you can design and make your own synths. NI gives you all the components to create custom synths. It is this feature which is the difference between Reaktor and Reaktor Session. Builders have uploaded their creations in the free library. There are some amazing synths to find there, as well as some clunkers. Users will rate them so you have a good idea if it's reliable. NI has recently redesigned the library making it much easier to use.
Reaktor is an amazing synth and is worth every penny.Read Review

I have recently upgraded to Absynth 2. This is one of my favorite softsynths. The sounds are unusual and organic. I find it very versatile. It can be an incredible ambient synth or useful in dance. The new version allows you to import samples. You can implement granular sampling and mix it with other samples or the oscillators. However, I find I crash frequently when importing my own samples. But when programming my own patches with the three oscillators I rarely, if ever crash. The power of Absynth lies in the incredible flexible envelopes. The new version has even more to work with. Most parameters have their own envelope. It has a very unusual interface, but it is logical and easy to work with. This would be a great first synth for anybody learning subtractive synth. In standalone it has its own recorder with SOS. I use it flawlessly with Chainer. Sometimes with multiple instances in Sonar 2.2XL I will crash but not too frequently.Read Review