By Craig Anderton
It seems we've finally broken out of the "let's emulate a Minimoog" era of soft synth development, as companies are now creating original instruments that truly take advantage of what the virtual world can offer - e.g., Native Instruments Absynth, Reason Malstrom, Arturia Brass, AAS String Studio VS-1, Cakewalk Rapture, Spectrasonics Omnisphere, etc. These (and several others) reach a level of creativity and utility that realize the promise of running synthesizers in a virtual environment.
Now FXpansion, which has a history of not releasing me-too products, continues that tradition with DCAM: Synth Squad, a suite of three plug-in (VST/AU/RTAS) instruments. An additional, fourth plug-in (Fusor) recalls Korg's Legacy Cell combiner, as it provides an environment for layering, mixing, combining, and modulating other members of the Squad, along with a full suite of processors for insert, aux, or master applications within the Fusor environment. The effects are particularly important because like analog synths, none of the Synth Squad instruments (except for Amber, which needs a chorus to emulate string synth sounds) includes effects. So in a way, this is a semi-modular setup as you can use Fusor to create "super-patches" with lots of layers and processing. Also note that all the Synth Squad members can run in stand-alone mode, so live performance is in play as well.
Why three instruments? Each one is different, although they share certain characteristics. All are modeling- rather than sample-based, and they all aim to re-create an "analog" vibe but with additional features that transplant them into a digital world. They all use the DCAM (Discrete Component Analogue Modelling) process, which means that FXpansion aimed for analog-like sounds with more "character" as opposed to creating perfect digital waveforms. However, the effect is subtle - it's not just about throwing in some random pitch changes and saying "see, now it's like an analog synth!" Instead, the overall sound has a kind of animation normally not found in soft synths that strive for accuracy above all else. The paradox, of course, is that it's much easier to design mathematically-perfect sounds than sounds that are imperfect in a useful, musical way.
Another element all devices have in common is the "TransMod" system for programming modulation settings, which is an interesting variation on the modulation matrix concept. I initially found it confusing, but it's really quite clever. When you open up a synth, the user interface shows the Main view, which displays the initial parameter values. But then there are also 8 TransMod "slots." Each contains a modulation source of your choice (the first three default to velocity and two performance controls), and lets you add modulation with that source to virtually any parameter in a quite simple way that combines both modulation amplitude and scaling.
For example, one slot might contain velocity, which you route to filter cutoff and amplitude, while another slot contains an LFO, which you route to pitch and filter cutoff. That's a really simple example - TransMod lets you go wild with cool modulation effects - but it gets the point across. As someone who firmly believes that modulation is key to making expressive synth patches, I appreciate how easy it becomes to see and adjust modulation routings - as well as tie in with external hardware controllers - using the TransMod concept.
(Incidentally, regarding hardware control, I don't know whether FXpansion collaborated with Cakewalk on making the DCAM synths compatible with Cakewalk's ACT hardware control protocol; but whether by accident or design they work together very well. To me, this implies that the DCAM instruments expose their VST automation parameters in a logical way so that they would also work well with hardware control devices like NI's Kore or Novation's AutoMap, although I didn't have time to investigate these too.)
If you want more background info, there's a pretty complete description of the basic specs and features online. So, we'll concentrate on what the specs don't tell you - what these synths are like to install, use, and tweak.
I downloaded DCAM: Synth Squad from the FXpansion web site for use with my PC Audio Labs 8-core XP SP3 computer. Installation is basically a "double-click and follow the instructions" deal. If your computer connects to the internet, you can authorize the software online but if not, you can authorize in other ways. Overall, I was up and running in a couple of minutes. The PDF manual is also helpful, and there are plenty of presets (including useful assignments for modulation controls) so you can make sounds out of the box. A separate preset browser lists all presets, and lets you hear them in context - nice.
Now, let's look at each instrument. One heads-up: Although FXpansion is clear about the intended sonic goal of each instrument, they're capable of producing other sounds. For example, Amber is a sort of "monster string synthesizer" like the old Solina or ARP Omni, but it can make some pretty cool bass lines as well. And speaking of Amber...
Amber's main interface.
I started loading presets, and having been alive when the string synths Amber is emulating were around, it immediately became clear that Amber nails that sound - in large part, by emulating the octave divider designs of that era. This creates really huge sounds without eating up a lot of polyphony (and for trivia fans, was the basis of the "Organtua" instrument that I designed for PAiA Electronics).
Structurally, Amber has Synth and Ensemble sections, which are two independent sound generators with their own filtering. The Ensemble section also has a formant filter and chorus (with three modes), and of course, there are various performance and modulation options. Most of these will be familiar to synth enthusiasts and I don't want this to turn into a 10,000 word review, but there are also some unusual twists - like the LFO having swing (very cool), various options for how Amber handles polyphony, and a loopable/syncable mod envelope. And like the other DCAM instruments, there's a nifty "eye candy"oscilloscope screen in the middle that shows a graphic representation of waveforms, filter responses, and the like.
Note that Amber draws the most CPU of the various synths, so keep that in mind when you set out to make massive synth sounds.
Strobe, with a TransMod page that shows velocity modulation routings.
Okay, we're not over emulating Minimoogs quite yet, but Strobe doesn't just get those signature "fat" sounds as it also includes a few twists - like a Roland- or ARP-style sub-oscillator, very flexible pulse modulation options, and an LFO/Clock that can give sequenced-type effects.
I thought I'd see how easy or difficult it was to program sounds, so I called up an Init patch. As soon as I messed with the Stack and Sync controls, I was ecstatic. The sync in particular is the best I've heard on a soft synth, and actually, better than many hardware synths I've played. And between the Stack and Detune controls, I was getting bass sounds so fat and powerful they could double as sumo wrestlers. Adding in some sub-oscillator and turning up the amount of Drive on the multi-mode filter (22 options!) took it even further. How about filter modulation? I dialed in to a TransMod page and went to town. I found the TransMod concept easier to deal with in practice than in theory.
Then I started playing with the Arpeggiator, set a short decay time on the filter envelope, and controlled the decay time with mod wheel. Instant electro madness - all in about three minutes from initialized patch to way cool analog sound.
Strobe has an amazingly thick character that's devoid of digital "brittleness." Like string synths, analog synths were part of my life growing up, and Strobe is one of the best analog synth emulations you'll find. And yes, I know that's a strong statement, but I don't make it lightly.
Cypher's main screen. Like Strobe, it also has a cool arpeggiator function.
This is a multi-oscillator synth with waveshapers and filters, and also offers the ability to throw oscillators into the audio range to do FM effects. Of course, being digital at heart, the FM effects are much more predictable than with analog synths because the tuning is as precise as you want it to be.
Cypher is (at least to me) the most complex of the three to program, but conversely, it has so many parameters that if you call up a patch and just start changing values on a more or less random basis, you can create some tasty variations. In a way, it reminds me of when I was first learning how to program a Yamaha DX7 FM synth after doing analog all those years ("what the !@#$% is a 'modulator' and 'carrier,' and why am I not getting the sounds I expect?"). But you can always fall back on the presets, and I look forward to spending some quality time with Cypher so I can make sounds I haven't made before.
Fusor manages the Synth Squad synths by creating a "shell" for them with routing and effects. The list of programs has been clicked on to select the patch "Circuits in Love."
Fusor is essentially a "software keyboard rig" with mixer, effects, and three slots to put Synth Squad instruments - everything except the keyboard stand that you were always afraid was going to get knocked over by some idiot while you were taking a break. Fusor is an extremely complete environment with multiple pages for selecting the synth user interfaces, choosing and editing effects, and inserting aux bus and master effects; there's another page with four additional LFOs and four envelope followers, as well as an "animator" which is a variation on the step sequencer. I mentioned earlier that Fusor is somewhat like Korg's Legacy Cell, but another frame of reference would be Reason's Combinator.
It's easy to underestimate Fusor's usefulness because the synths themselves sound so rich, and it's easy to throw on some effects in your DAW's track - so why do you need Fusor? But when you dig deeper, you see that the step sequencer isn't restricted just to sequencing notes, but also doing modulation and arpeggiation, with multiple triggering modes and other goodies. And of course, you can save this huge mega-synth patch/mixer/rack as a program so you can recall it easily.
DCAM: Synth Squad is much deeper than any review can indicate, primarily because of the possibilities Fusor opens up above and beyond what's in the synths themselves. The only real price for this depth is CPU consumption; even with my 8-core, running three instances of Amber in Fusor with lots of effects brought CPU consumption to almost 50%. On the other hand, once you have a setup with this level of complexity, you probably won't feel the need to add a lot of other instruments anyway - besides, these days just about every host offers track freeze.
It's unfortunate that a trial version isn't available yet, but there are plenty of audio examples on the FXpansion web site (which is why I haven't included any of my own). While even those don't show all of what these synths can do, they're a good start.
There are lots of virtual instruments out there, and some of them are fantastic. But Synth Squad is something else, as it provides a unique sound quality; I keep coming back to the word "character." All three synths have a weight, depth, and level of animation that's unusual to find in any synth - hardware or software, "real" or virtual. Going into this review, I was expecting a competent execution of some useful synthesizers; I was not expecting to be this impressed by the sheer sonic power, and I can't imagine anyone playing with these synths who wouldn't hear what I'm hearing.
It would be a shame if DCAM: Synth Squad got "lost in the noise" of the arguably glutted soft synth market, but that's one reason why I wrote this review - if a jaded guy like me can get this excited about a bunch of soft synths, I'm pretty sure you will too. The bottom line is that DCAM: Synth Squad is a brilliant suite whose performance far outdistances its comparatively modest price.
best synths out there in my opionion