[Music]
1:03
welcome to my shootout of virtual analog model DS there's so many on the market now it will be quite interesting to see
1:09
which ones actually emulate the hardware best I've got a hardware one in the studio so this isn't about looking at
1:15
the different facilities like effect value for money anything like that this is just which one sounds closest to the
1:20
one I've got on my desk next to me so let's begin by looking at a straight source with filter completely open with no envelopes in play here's the art
Sound Samples
1:30
Aurea mini v3 the diva
1:36
reactor mini-monster
1:42
and the legend you may notice that this
1:48
is labeled as a legend live and that's because I'm using a demo version that doesn't have any automation which have been using to get things to sound
1:54
similar but on necessity we're just using a standard sawtooth with an open
1:59
filter and no envelopes so each of these should really sound the same if there's not like a Model D [Music]
2:13
and they don't but they do have different closes what I listen to is like a low-end it's sort of like a sign
2:20
or a triangle or maybe described as a hoot followed by a mid-range formatting
2:26
sound on the top end boys in Astoria three elements to the sound drew that listen to
2:32
[Music]
2:42
so the mini-monsters got a bit of extra base it sounds like in the legend is that a bit physio would you say monarchs
2:50
clothes slightly different for months aspects to the sale
2:56
diva's got a darker tone and the mini V sounds close
3:03
[Music]
3:12
what's really out here is that listening back to this the legend sounds really close but in previous tests have done
3:19
and while I've been editing this list on various headphones and things the legend sound of further from the others so it
3:24
just shows how much the headphones and your monitoring system really makes a difference to the sounds let's now listen to some longer samples and keep
3:30
your eye on the frequency analysis in the bottom right hand corner [Music]
3:45
so like that they do sound or distinct what I'll do now is I'll turn them off and play them all at once so you can see the frequencies so you can see the plots
3:52
here the Model D goes up to the highest frequency the diva as you could hear was the lowest sorry as they jig around the
3:58
bit that's just where the samples are looping Monica's got a peculiar looking clock there where the drops don't go as
4:04
deep as the others and on the top and there the Model D and the legend look quite similar so does the mini three the
4:10
mini v3 is the only one that's sort of what's the word wavering around like the
4:16
Model D does but yeah the monarch's really really up there just as a quick
4:22
aside after listening to those I think it's worth showing that the levels are all very very similar here at all - 5.0
4:28
except for the the odd torch is minus 4.9 so as I do these things I do try and meter them and do try and get everything
4:34
spot-on but as you start changing parameters they do go out a little bit so bear that in mind now I don't know
4:40
about you I really didn't get into since to play long notes on sawtooth waves so let's have a listen to something a
4:45
little bit more musical just to put it into context I think what's really
5:10
interesting is that the substance really do sound like they're just playing a sample and you put in the sample off whereas the model D has that sort of
5:17
squelching it in the tone now from that legend sound good monarch sounds good I
5:22
think the diva sounds a little bit dull G me jet sounds really low all over volumes are the same so that's all
5:28
another listen to that [Music]
5:37
they all stack up really well doing that I think so that the IVA definitely
5:45
sounds a bit darker the mini V sounds of its physio here's Manik sounds a bit
5:56
harsher maybe mini-monster sounds a bit
6:04
brighter let's have a listen to that
6:11
legend again you have some really
6:18
impressive legend there particularly as when I was playing the longer notes who didn't think it sounded as much like the model D and I'm playing the shorter
6:24
notes so something that's more musical really it sounded more like the model D although none of them particularly do
6:30
because about that squirrel genus again to investigate that a little fair I'm going to add some envelope to the note so some some release so I'm listening to
6:39
the release portion and even though the envelope amounts on the filter all turn to zero does the filter effect have a
6:44
note the case that's the hardware and I
6:50
think I can hear the filter closing as the notes released it's a bit harsh nice
7:04
it's not a bit duller that's good that's
7:11
a bit harsh again [Music]
7:21
the upsell legends taken me by surprise there so I'm placing legend first and put in the Monarchs second I can't
7:27
really separate the mini V and the mini monster and have put diva in fifth place because I'm not sure if it's the filter
7:34
or if it's the oscillators themselves by giving it that darker tone okay round two let's have a look at a straight-up
Waveform Analysis
7:41
square wave on each of them you
7:47
you while the divas got a completely different tone and I think this is
7:53
something to do with the various revisions about each of them have been modeled on
7:59
because that's completely different you
8:05
you the legend models two revisions that was
8:11
the laser revision so look at the harmonic distribution
8:20
this revisions got an ideal harmonic shape
8:27
this one doesn't it's got weaker harmonics between the
8:33
stronger ones you given a completely different tone
8:43
you legends really close as well let's take
8:49
a quick look at the frequency analysis of each of these the mini monster sorry
8:54
the mini v3 looks like the Model D and the legends pretty close Monica Ken's missing those deep troughs
9:00
but the mini monster the diva they seem slightly different to me the diva has those incidental harmonics dropping down
9:07
from left to right and the mini monster hasn't going up but the they look almost to two ideals to me but it's not what
9:13
they look like it's what they sound like so let's listen to it again in musical context yep I think they all sound
9:41
really good actually the mini monsters a bit confusing because although it sounds the quietest on the meters it actually
9:47
looks like it's the loudest I'm going to discount Deaver because I think it's the
9:53
wrong model that sounds good
10:01
reactors a bit harsher maybe mini
10:07
monsters got a good tone but I still don't understand why the volumes are so different Legend and mini of e coming
10:17
first place for that one for me mini monster will be up there as well but the levels are sort of unlocking it down a
10:23
position so that's knocked it down to third place along with monarch and diva I think it's based on a later division
10:29
so it's a bit of an unfair comparison really this is the final oscillate around round three we'll take a look at
Round 3 Waveforms
10:36
the triangle [Music]
10:44
bit harsh on the top and with the mini V maybe so that's got a real feel of this
10:54
well maybe not yeah does it just hasn't
11:01
got that top end [Music]
11:09
really impressed with mini-monsters waveforms I just can't get my head down the levels why the swords so low and
11:15
high look how low this one is here and legend legends really stacking up to be
11:22
a front-runner here yeah legends got a clear lead at the
11:28
front now I think so let's start to challenge them and
Round 4 Sawtooth
11:34
give them a second oscillator to play with again just using a simple sawtooth
11:41
on both oscillators and ii pitched up about a third of a semitone up fav sin
11:49
[Music]
12:33
I think they all cope with that really well beavers the one that's least liked it and I think that's the darkness of
12:39
the tone so again I think it's legend for me on this one it's it's one I've only heard of a couple of weeks ago when
12:44
I started looking out for things to put into this review okay round five let's
Round 5 Filters
12:49
start looking at the filters its what the model Dee's famous for after all what you notice when you try to match up
12:55
to sins is that the character really shines through when you tweak them in the cutoff and the resonance and as you
13:00
turn in the resonance for example it's a bit like changing an EQ and you changing the the Q value on one of the ranges and
13:07
you're never going to get it to sound exactly the same somewhere else of yours is open your recuse open and someone
13:12
else is closed for example before month in there sounds a bit different and you're never going to match them up so
13:18
the filters really shine out once you start playing with them and they will do bring out the character of the sin so let's let's take a look at the cut off
13:24
first [Music]
13:33
what I really like here is the way the beat frequency sort of makes a grinding crunch in sound as the two oscillators
13:40
phase in and out I really like that it
13:47
really dictates the character of the synth that doesn't really do it
13:57
[Music]
14:05
now we've turned the filter down and we've lost those high-frequency the D was really coming into his own really
14:10
sounds at the move and it's got those real nice grandi crunchy sounds [Music]
14:26
unfortunately a thing that sounds awful when it did this was playing it on different octaves and different keys up
14:32
and down a keyboard and I could hear this funny noise and thought was a distortion and it's not it's actually the Monarchs attempt at making that
14:38
grindy sound yet really nasty not really a grind in more of a buzz-buzz buzzing
14:44
[Music]
14:51
it's like a zingy Zig Zig Ziglar compared after the diva and to the model
15:00
D the cut offs are all slightly
15:05
different but we're listening to the oscillators here later on put them all on one kilohertz exactly to Zone in on
15:10
the differences of each of the filters anyway back to the mini monster that
15:22
sounds nice but the crunchin isn't there
15:32
yesterday it sounds good the temper with
15:38
the beat frequencies are slightly different in that it is difficult to get them matched exactly but what I've done
15:43
is of detuned the second oscillator up from the first by about a third of a
15:48
semitone so quickly one more run through [Music]
15:54
so you can hear the buzzing in there and
15:59
it's in there and in here sounds like
16:04
someone I'm doing the fly well I'm getting really used to saying the legend sounds good on that the diva sounds good
16:12
as well and I'm just wondering if they've modeled a sin that doesn't have
16:17
as open a filter if you look at my other no comparisons you'll see the model DS brighter than the Voyager which is
16:23
brightness of a7 and I wonder whether what they've modeled the beaver on has had a slightly dollar filter than most
16:31
model DS and the reason I'm thinking that is divas really praised for its filters also looking up a pro one verse
16:37
of the repro one they didn't filter so well I'm not a really bright buzzy filter so UHG or you hear not sure you
16:45
pronounce it tend to be good at this sort of stuff so ad there's got to be a reason behind it and giving them
16:51
benefited out really because the the quality of their other stuff anyway let's have a listen to the start of that
16:57
section again [Music]
17:18
sounded like the sort of family a muddled DS really there aren't they many
17:26
of these are lot softer [Music] Devers gray Monica be good if it wasn't
17:38
for the funny buzzing mini-monster just
17:45
hasn't got that bite and legend does
17:52
just a quick listen to the end of that section again that's a bit too soft
18:01
[Music]
18:15
many monsters too soft to release between the diva the legend and demonic monarchs got that funny little
18:20
businesses between Beaver and legends here and I can't really choose between
18:28
and let's let us into something more musical so here we have two swords the
18:35
second is attuned to a fourth above the first they've got some decay on them
18:40
some release it's difficult to get the max to think on this the mini monster is on like over a second and the others are
18:46
about 600 milliseconds
18:55
[Music]
19:13
the Monarchs got that one for me
19:28
[Music]
19:40
I think monarch wins this battle but just let's have a look at those at those levels without all Toria once more so
19:54
there you go is put two DB between those two so yeah it's really not about what the levels and what the meters say it's
20:00
about what you're hearing and that really does depend on your monitors or your headphones etc so never going to be
20:05
exactly the same [Music]
20:24
you [Music]
20:34
legend is sounding really good I like the legend results for round five then
20:39
legend and Yvette come in first place mini monster and mini become equal third
20:44
place and I've put Monica at the fifth I know it did really well in the last test but about funny buzzy buzzy noise just
20:50
can't get past that okay here we are round six on resonant harmonics and this really shows how the
Round 6 Harmonics
20:57
filter does affect the overall tone of the synth what I've done here then is of
21:02
tuned oli all the core tops to exactly the same frequency by telling off all the oscillators and set in the resonance
21:08
on full then setting the course offer around twelve o'clock and then tuning that using the frequency analysis to
21:16
around 1 kilohertz then using my ears after that to tune them also the perfect that way you can reduce the variables
21:22
and you can hone in on a single aspect of the sound in this case the resident harmonics so I'm just holding the note
21:32
cut off the same I'm just tearing the resonance up until it becomes too much of a feature of sound then turn and open down a random value
21:45
and if you look at the frequency analysis you'll see the self resonance at one kilohertz makes more of a feature
21:51
as the resonance becomes more of a feature of the sound as well [Music]
22:19
I think that's really close the feel of that to the model D is great the way
22:30
that resonance comes into perfect I'd
22:41
get confused listening between those two [Music]
22:52
now that's completely different and I'm really surprised by that obviously it depends on what model do your you're
22:58
modeling it on but you know this is Lord was such a close emulation when it came out you know and it's still highly
23:04
regarded so that's that's game is quite surprised to me actually yeah that
23:14
doesn't sound this complex to me who are
23:24
that's good I'm amazed that that's
23:32
exceptional eyes well I have a bad start
23:43
in this this review the the legend or the rest of it's been pretty bang on since then ok but this may go to explain
23:50
some of those differences so here we have the frequency analysis again and we can see on the model do you've got a
23:55
peak at 1 at 2 and at 3 kilohertz the mini views not the one at 1 obviously
24:01
cuz that's worth 2 into 2 and only a very small one at three divas got one at one two and three monarchs got one at
24:08
one two and three but the two smaller them which is different to the model be many months has only got what 1 and 3
24:14
and Legends got 1 2 & 3 so diva and legend looking at these plots you'd
24:19
expect those to be the most similar and and lo and behold they are so let's have one final little number pay particular
24:26
attention to the resonant as it becomes of too overbearing in the sound [Music]
24:39
so diva and legend both sound really close and they were the ones that have the three resonant peaks that were most
24:45
like the model Dee's
24:53
these plots we're less complex and sound less complex I just wonder now if those
25:00
are both showing their age or Toria they've happened many you know the mini V's being out for a while now and I just
25:06
wonder if they've updated the GUI and the functionality but they haven't actually looked at the algorithms and
25:11
haven't really reanalyzed and gone into any more depth and and GMed I think that
25:16
was the very first one out so maybe time for an update on those two well the
25:25
monarchs not doing it for me with this one that just doesn't sound similar to the rest of them which is surprised as
25:31
you say so in that case I'm going to put at the top spot on this round when I
25:36
have diva and legend because they're pretty much indistinguishable close your eyes and flip from file to file they're
25:43
really really close so it's the three M's in third the mini V the monarch and the mini monster they just don't sound
25:50
like my hardware I'm not going to put one above the other because they just sound different here we go round seven
Round 7 Frequency Modulation
25:56
let's look at some frequency modulation the model DS really good at doing clangy Bell type noises so let's see how the
26:03
virtual analog scope with these [Music]
26:16
I'm not going to spend too long on this I could easily spend hours doing just this alone so let's have a look out the
26:22
Deaver copse [Music]
26:30
[Music]
26:35
[Applause] it's set up differently on the dealer to
26:40
the model D but apart from that it sounds okay it sounds like FM board doesn't sound in the model D
26:52
again like the d-backs a fair approximation but neither of them are as crispy as the Model D
27:04
all much fun watching us so far they will do the job they're not brilliant but you know it's it's fm
27:20
I can't really explain why maybe it sounds the same on this demo but while
27:26
have been playing with it's got more of a feel of the Model D not of an emulator exactly none of them as Chris people
27:32
this to me playing with it this is the best of edited this down from about an hour's worth of footage so taking that
27:39
into consideration Mini wants to do really well
27:49
maybe I shoulda used those really massive GUI these come with rather than zoom and only small images anyway this
27:55
one's not really doing it for me so results in for round seven this is quite an easy one for me actually mini-monster
28:02
was the clear winner and that's just as I say through messing about and playing with it for you know for a half an hour or so legend monarch and diva all in
28:09
third place sound wise it didn't feel like there was a lot in it between them D was slightly different in that users
28:14
oscillator one to modulate two and three and the others use three to modulate two and one like like the Model D does
28:20
itself and mini v3 it just felt really bland and so that was a bit of a letdown
28:26
honestly I mean I've always liked playing with the art sorta stuff but never really investigated them more than
28:32
just having to play around with them ding-ding final round eight so let's
Round 8 Feedback
28:39
have a look at the feedback on overdrive circuits here the new Model T's got the circuit built in as doula virtual
28:44
analogs I think overdrive of this type is particularly difficult to program so be interested to see which one comes out
28:51
on top here and here a really massive
29:02
change in tone there the other thing it does is it's a brilliant resonance killer which makes for a really simple
29:13
test to see if the virtuals are doing the same job so first up let's have a look at the art Oreo mini v3
29:19
[Music]
29:28
let's turn the volume down see if our helps [Music] now it's either nothing or it's nasty so
29:36
that gets a big fat round zero from me so let's now have a look at Deva
29:43
[Music] stays within a limit doesn't go as mental as the minimum does
29:54
it's not as rich as a Model D maybe it's a bit harsh oh really but it's definitely a useable overdrive although
30:00
for wanted that sort of sound - probably used something else - Rover drivers you know another plug-in or something so let's try the resonance
30:08
trick I didn't bother with the authority because well it was rubbish wasn't it
30:16
yep that works [Music]
30:21
so next up let's take a look the mini monster
30:27
[Music]
30:42
yeah that's impressive that does what the minimo does maybe doesn't do exactly the same but you know it's its emulating
30:49
the synth mark Scots or an overdrive and a feedback circuit
30:59
so k fit Blum not doing much [Music]
31:13
staying well within limits it's not going crackers like the model needed
31:19
[Music]
31:25
[Music] it's okay it doesn't really kill the
31:31
feedback but you know it gets sort of alright fYI you only get 30 minutes demo time
31:36
with this so I've had it on the studio computer on the office laptop and on the studio laptop to get an hour and 30
31:44
minutes out of it in order to put this together thirty minutes just isn't long enough to demo something so the audio in this
31:49
sections have to be bounced down from another laptop anyway let's take a look at legend now
31:57
you again probably a good thing it doesn't
32:03
emulate the madness of the hardware but it keeps it in sensible limits like the
32:08
Monica has a separate Drive circuit music
32:18
the episodes both musical and usable so how would I rate these similar to the FM
32:25
actually I'll put first place mini monster it might not sounded the best but it acted the best it it felt a bit more
32:32
like the model D none of them really sound them at the model D second place of all legends because it sounded so nice but really second and third place
32:38
between Moloch and diva all much of them watched us all quite nice and fifth place we're going to put the art Soria
32:43
I'm actually I like our toy I've got the minibrute which really long thing is a great little synth I mean we've got the
32:49
V collection and I do play around with them I do like them but in this section that would but just didn't do for me
Ranking
32:56
so overall how are the rank these when I set out to do this I didn't really think about putting them in a ranking order
33:03
but as I was doing section by sectors or made Center just to clear my thoughts and to put put things in perspective but
33:10
I'm going to put our Toria and the G Media mini-monster both air well in
33:16
fourth Stokes fifth basis sort of even Stevens in that I think they're both showing the rage I think the others have
33:22
gotten slightly more complex modeling going on so I do think the battle between second and third is between the
33:29
monarch and diva monarch and Yvette they're both the both God divas got that dual tone which sort of
33:35
is a bit annoying to be honest there now I've noticed it I just said I didn't really know it's got more Voyager for
33:41
years look love noticed it yeah it's a difficult one but I think
33:46
I've put diva above monarch it was going to reach out to play one in the track also monarchs sits within reactor which
33:51
is a bit of a pain so that leaves number one as the new kid on the block is there is legend which was really impressed
33:58
with never heard of it before about two weeks ago when I started to look at doing this and and yet it's it's come
34:04
either top or at almost at the top of every single round brilliant [Music]

summarize compile in detail and list it