Review: Digital Synsations Vol 2 by UVI

In this Review we are going to be going to review UVI’s Digital Synsations 2, a collection of 3 digital hardware synths emulations from the nineties the Ensoniq Fizmo, Kawai K5000S and the Roland JD 800/JD 990 which artists such as The Prodigy, Genesis, Kraftwerk, Vangelis, The Pet Shop Boys have used in some of their music.

When these synths came out they were either too expensive for the normal person to buy or too complex and too much of a hassle program or were just forgotten in an oversaturated marketplace but each had their own kind of innovation that they brought to the table.

The Ensoniq Fizmo (DZmo)

The Ensoniq Fizmo (DZmo) utilised a form of synthesis called Trans wave synthesis which is much like wavetable synthesis but with Trans wave there are many more loop points to which the sound can cycle back around as opposed to just one in a wavetable which allowed you to create some really nice textures and sounds that seem to evolve endlessly.

The Roland JD800/JD990 (DS-890)

The Roland JD800/JD990 (DS-890) where spaceships on their own with an amount of knobs and faders that would make any astronaut jealous and angry at the lack of functionality in their own spaceship compared to the Roland JD800. So as you can imagine this synth was a hassle and a half to program but could make some nice tunes though when you locked in on them which made this synth very sought after even today.

The Kawai K5000s (DK5S)

The Kawai K5000s (DK5S) utilized Additive and PCM synthesis which stands for Pulse-code modulation which means it utilized digital samples as well as additive synthesis as the basis for its sound which had the benefit of being able to more accurately recreate the sounds of acoustic instruments like pianos guitars and strings.

The interfaces of all three synths look similar with the same types of effects and functions used for each synth which does simplify them a bit compared to their hardware versions but that doesn’t matter because with the UVI Workstation or Falcon you can do quite a bit more than with the original hardware machines.

The Workflow

The layout of each synth is nice to look at and very easy to learn with basic ADSR controls for the amplitude envelope and the filters including Cutoff, Resonance, Velocity sensitivity and Filter depth envelope and a few nice effects sprinkled in like UVI’s Thorus, Sparkverb Reverb, Delay, Stereo controls and a Bit Crusher give you all of the controls and effects you need to create some awesome sounding patches.

The simplicity of the interfaces of these synths is something I really like and something that UVI does very well, in my opinion, they can really make something complex and make it easy and fun to use which is great for beginning musicians but with the functionality of their software like say falcon you can make any patch as complex as you like which speaks to the more advanced musician/programmer.

The Sound

UVI have used over 22000 samples to create 528 presets to choose from in these three synths which should keep you busy for quite a while especially when you start to layer the presets of one synth on top of each other this can create some really fun and awesome sounds to play with but the magic really happens when you stack the synths together into one patch.

Conclusion

Digital Synsations vol 2 is a well-crafted, lovingly sampled and awesome addition to any musician’s arsenal UVI never seem to disappoint when making libraries like this and always manages to give you the best bang for your buck and at the pace they are releasing new libraries and software’s for us to play with really makes you wonder if the employees ever leave the office at all.

All joking aside though UVI makes some excellent products and for me, they are worth the investment just because they are always working on them in updates and new content!

Pros:

• 18 gigs of awesome sound
• Easy to use, intuitive interfaces
• Great presets
• Low CPU usage software

Cons:

• None whatsoever

All the virtual instruments from Digital Synsations Vol 2 runs in UVI Workstation version 2.6.10+, and Falcon version 1.2.1+ iLok account (free, dongle not required).

Buy at PluginBoutique: Digital Synsations Vol 2