Review: SynthMaster ONE Synth Plugin by KV331 Audio

One of the latest synths released is SynthMaster One by KV331 Audio. SynthMaster ONE is actually based on the engine of the larger predecessor Synthmaster, but through the new surface, the design is easier to operate and more attractive. The only difference is the synthesis, which is limited to Wavetables.

After the great success of the virtual Synthmaster synthesizer of the developer company KV331 Audio, this is copied with Synthmaster One.

Overview

The plug-in has been somewhat reduced in function, but it still has a very unique look and has a revised GUI. Like its predecessor, One has a great Preset library, which is interesting for every genre. There we find around 500 presets sorted by categories, all from the factory bank.

The quality is there and the user can find very well done presets using SynthMaster One’s oscillators + sub-OSC and a quite heavy number of parameters, all these displayed on a single GUI and multi-parts on the small centered “LCD screen”: Routing, Filters, Arp, FX.

My favorite part of this synth is the ARP, really nice with a lot of modes and options. One thing is that the maximum number of octaves could be more than 4 for generating arpeggios.

As a simple example, a piano has 88 notes for around 7 octaves, so if we could play on 8 octaves and not 4, more possibilities could be computed by the ARP section!

The main fuel for SynthMaster One is the 2 oscillators+subs synthesis, and there is a very well-done library of waves for all sources in the plugin. The main impression I have in this class of synths, as for Predator 2 by Rob Papen, is that these synths are powerful evolutions of the classic freeware Synth1 (link: https://www.kvraudio.com/product/synth1-by-ichiro-toda).

A massive list of features!

SynthMaster One comes with a semi-modular structure with two oscillators and two sub-oscillators, two filters with zero-delay feedback and input gain, drive and acid parameters, four ADSR envelopes, two LFOs, a 16-step sequencer with MIDI import function, An arpeggiator and eleven different effects (Distortion, LoFi, Ensemble, Phaser, Six Band Equalizer, Compressor, Vocoder, Delay, Chorus, Tremolo, and Reverb).

The Arpeggiator in SynthMaster One features classic arpeggiator modes such as Up, Down, UpDown, DownUp, UpDown2, DownUp2, AsPlayed as well as Sequence, Chord, and Arpeggiate modes. Each of the 16 steps of the arpeggiator has its own Velocity, Note Number, Note Length, Slide, and Hold parameters.

Stereo Oscillators with up to 16 voices in Unison mode: Each of the 2 oscillators in SynthMaster One have stereo output, and can have up to 16 voices in “unison”. Using the “voices”, “voices mix”, “detune curve”, “detune spread”, “pan spread”, “tone spread” and “phase spread” parameters, each oscillator can generate a rich “supersaw” type sound.

Zero Delay Feedback Filters: All of the 4 filter categories in SynthMaster One are developed using the zero-delay feedback filter technology. With advanced filter parameters like input gain, drive, and acid, you can get that “analog” sound from the filters!

SynthMaster One has a large factory bank with 500 presets by these sound designers: Arksun, Aiyn Zahev, Bulent Biyikoglu, Gercek Dorman, Nori Ubukata, Rob Lee, Ufuk Kevser, Vorpal Sound, and Xenos Soundworks. They already made a lot of banks for SynthMaster 2, so of course, the quality is there!

I tried bass presets, and listening to these presets I think they are far away from the classic synth preset you find everywhere.

Rich Set of Effects: SynthMaster features 11 different effect types: Distortion, LoFi, Ensemble, Phaser, 6 Band EQ, Compressor, Vocoder, Delay, Chorus, Tremolo, Reverb.

The quick access to the FX section on the LCD middle screen is perfect to enable and disable quickly these FX. When using your favorite Reverb plugin after SynthMaster One, just disable Reverb FX on the synth to avoid a double reverb!

Microtuning: SynthMaster supports Scala tuning, so tuning can be set either for each preset or globally by loading from a Scala tuning file.
Preset Browser: SynthMaster features a comprehensive preset browser with separate search criteria for instrument type, preset attributes, music style, or preset author.

Importing MIDI patterns as Arpeggiator Sequence: Monophonic or even polyphonic (chord) MIDI patterns can be imported into the arpeggiators in SynthMaster by just drag and drop the MIDI file onto the arpeggiator view on the plugin window.

Conclusion

KV331 Audio has a talented team able to release awesome plugins. I can simply resume to SynthMaster One is a great quality synth plugin for a small price! The all-in-one GUI and the middle LCD screen ergonomy are very well thought, and the goal of feeling powerful hardware working on a PC screen is working.

SynthMaster One runs as a VST instrument for both Windows and Mac OSX, and also as an Audio Unit instrument on Mac OSX. On Windows, it runs as a standalone application as well. At this price, Synthmaster One is certainly very attractive for beginners, but also advanced sound designers who are looking for new possibilities with a Wavetable synthesis.