Synthmaster/KV311
The leap in years from 2000 (see other page) to 2014, is considerable. Things have changed. A synthesizer used to be a real physical device. In our days, a synthesizer is often a so called soft synth, bits and bytes to load into the computer.
Restarting with Logic 9 this year and experimenting with its sounds did not satisfy me. I missed my good old Ensoniq TS-10 and its sounds. (Although I don't miss the inserting of numerous floppy discs with sounds.. what is a floppy disc again?)
Things started to change when I found on the internet the AU plugin Synthmaster Player, which gave me with its sound the same inspiration I found in the Ensoniq TS-10 a long time ago, much better than the standard synthesized sounds Logic 9 has to offer. The quality of Synthmaster is twofold: a) the overall sound quality, and b) the excellent programming of the sounds delivered as presets.
Synthmaster Player 2.6
Click to enlarge
For me reason to buy the Instrument version of Synthmaster. Until now I did not explore the Instrument version, its sounds, and its capability to adjust them, and even making new sounds (which is an art on itself). As said in the right column, I deliberately limited myself to the free Player version to make a demo. Also for me the return to skills I used to perform with the good old Atari Notator.
Website
More information about the Synthmaster Player and Instrument can be found on the website of the KV 311 team, here.
Sounds used for the demo
The image below shows the sounds from the free Player version of Synthmaster in the demo song that you can hear in the right column.
Click to enlarge
Used sounds in demo song (can be heard in right column) using Synthmaster Player 2.6
Synth music 2014
(older pieces (1997-2000) can be found here)
Synthmaster Player demo
Title: KayVee311, finished May 11, 2014
Equipment: Logic 9 on Imac OS 10.6.8
with the Synthmaster Player as AU plugin.
Only the player!
Although after hearing the free Synthmaster Player I immediately bought the full version (Synthmaster Instrument), I do not use the full version in this piece. I wanted to see and hear what the result is using the free player only.
The limitations I set myself:
• I use the free Synthmaster Player only (version 2.6), and only the sounds that are in the player. About 35 instances on 35 Logic tracks are used.
• All effects (reverb, echo, chorus etc.) are generated by the player. All logic plugins or other third party plugins are disabled. What you hear is not mastered (no compression, limiter), I just mixed it using primarily a Sennheiser HD540 headphone.
Listen to KayVee311 here
Loading the player..
No mediaplayer? Then click here..)
This limitation is not the real world of course. Although there are some drum samples in the free player, a basic drum kit, the Synthmaster is not ment for that. So the percussion/drum section in the piece is limited (apart from the fact that I am not a drummer..).
Also, in the player the number of voices that can be played simultaniously can not be changed (in the Instrument version this can be done of course). For instance, the sound I start with in this piece needed more voices, if you listen well you can hear that voices are cut off.
The reverb effect in the player is of a very high quality. But what I did, piling up the track effects instead of reservering a separate bus for the effects, is not the best way to make the ideal mix.
The Instrument version has endless options to change sound in real time via midi controllers. The Player version has limited options. I make use of these options, in some sounds you can hear variations in cutoff-frequency and some other things.
That said, it is evident that serious sound-makers should buy and use the Instrument version. But it is quite stunning where the limited free Player version is up to.
Not free - This music, although free to listen to on my website, is not free to use, not public domain, and may not be used for other purposes other than listening here on this website.
