Fxpansion’s DCAM:
the basics, and added the most direct, and modern features to make it soar ahead of most instruments in its class...yes, with that one simple OSC.
Cypher. One of the coolest things about it is that it has all the range of much bigger and more complicated synthesizers out there, but without all the fuss.
Cypher Amber Cypher is the heavy hitter among the three instruments you get in the Synth Squad. It is unique among instruments in that it can be a virtual analogue synthesizer, it also has a specific purpose of creating audiomodulated and FM sounds. It is not like a typical three osc VA synth that has bolted FM on to it for mere potentiality, as it goes way beyond that in an analog-modelled approach to FM, rather than using operators modulating each other and manually calculating frequencies. The Scale control in the OSC section makes these FM talks easy. The layout of the GUI is very easy to get around, and a few glances at the manual here is great for learning all that it is capable of. Looking at the GUI, it seems straightforward enough, but a second glance, and understanding all the features you are looking at, shows just how much depth is packed into
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An instrument modelling stringensemble synthesizers from the 70's? Why, you may ask? Why not? It isn't like anyone has gotten it right, or really gave it a serious try outside of
December 2009
using samples. But while some are asking “why” or responding with “why not”, many are saying “THANK YOU”. Bsaed on the Divide-down synthesizer method, Amber takes it into the future giving it many of the nice features found on the other two instruments, while keeping the sonic firepower packed on the synthesizers it is based on. Many of the cool sounds of the 70s and 80s came from these sorts, and they have been long sought after in the software world. The wait is over,