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smarka
smarka’s Reviews
This is amazing
This is a really impressive professional sounding instrument.
First, it's a really well sampled guitar, take out all the extras and just listen to the plucked guitar instrument by itself, it's really good. Clean, tons of character, realistic, interesting low/mid/high velocities, etc.
Secondly, straight out of the box, with the default modification settings, you get an amazing professional level sound. A intimate, melancholy, studio type of sound that's just dripping with character.
Finally, each modification slider adds a distinct color to the overall sound. The instrument is just begging to be adjusted and tweaked. Everything reasonable I've tried has sounded great. It's just implemented at a really high quality.
Great Braaam, tons of flexibility
That massive hit is SO good. Has that over the top cinematic sound for sure. But what really sets this apart is that it contains all those individual contributor braaams. There's so much flexibility here. It's amazing!
Unique high end sci fi textures
These are all great! The first four patches have that highly processed synth sound (you'd associate with sci-fi or space) with just enough of the original sound to give it a really unique texture. However, unlike most instruments in this area, there aren't a ton of phantom harmonics and the processing was done purposefully and minimally (for this type of sound) which gives tones that fit into mixes really well.
The final patch (Solar Winds) is also great, but very different from the others. It reminds me of the "planet sounds" NASA released (like 7 years ago), but if they were played through a wind tunnel. It's a super cool sound with tons of phantom harmonics. The sound is amazing out of the box if you want it to use it as a more expansive "mimicking NASA videos" sort of sound, I'd recommend reducing the reverb by ~20%. You lose some of the unique character, but get a vast sound. Anyway surprisingly versatile. It makes me want to write some space music.
When they said her name
This is such a fascinating way to raise awareness. It's hard to describe, this straightforward VST conveys a deep sadness and longing that's more than just a typical reverb/manipulation heavy choir sound. Just dripping with emotion in the right register. Farmehr has designed a really inspiring instrument. A very specific sound that I think will resonate with a lot of musicians. But I really think the source of the sound helps in conveying that emotion.
I might be biased from knowing the source of the sounds, but there's also something uniquely heart wrenching and haunting about hearing the specific voices and sounds of this movement in this way.
Now from a practical perspective.This instrument focuses on a heavily manipulated/saturated/reverb-y sound. That classic organic sound with synth like manipulation that most of us here have a soft spot for. This manipulation of the human voice has been done before, but the way it's manipulated and the strange shimmering harmonics definitely give it a unique sound/feel.
There are three instrument types: Choir, horn, tonal. I'd recommend starting by playing around with the choir. That "haunted" manipulated voice sound is gorgeous, especially in the lower registers.
A0-E3(ish) is where the instrument effortlessly sounds the best, especially with the choir sounds. The vst sounds great in the higher registers, but (this leads to my main critique) you can hear some slight synthetic manipulation up there. This is mainly seen in beginnings and edges of those added harmonics. There are some vibrant metalic tones that sound gorgeous, but they have a rigid quality if played too quickly or in sequence in the higher registers. You'll get the hang of these quirks quickly, and when you work around them, there's a really lush soundscape you can paint with using these higher registers for sure.
I think you'll easily work around these limitations. The attack and release knobs are there as well. Presets are great, but I'd recommend having a few settings on hand for different registers. I strongly recommend you give this a try. I started by just letting the instrument take me where it wanted to go. It's been really inspiring so far.
Thanks Farmehr, I hope people do use this VST and talk about its origin. #MahsaAmini
Great sounds with a few limitations
A really great haunted sound. Definitely has that winter feel with the shimmers and long decay. The frost viola is especially interesting, feeling both organic and heavily modified. It's a really great high end sound.
It definitely excels sitting back in the mix providing texture. I've already played around with it in a few mixes and it really changes that ambiance to a haunted, frozen sort of sound. Great instrument for texture.
Two minor issues you'll probably encounter. The first is the GUI, there are several knobs next to a cloud icon that don't seem to do anything when adjusted. I'm not sure if there was a problem with the installation, but after messing with it for a while, I got frustrated and stopped caring.
It's a great sound out of the both though, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.
The second issue is easy to work around but something to keep in mind. There are these cool shimmering harmonics, but they suffer from a slight problem of sounding very similar note to note. Played in isolation, these harmonics sound great, but because there's so little variation in the harmonics that there is a sort of synth like quality that develops, especially in the upper register of the viola instrument at "medium" velocity.
I don't want to over state this issue. If you vary up your velocities (or even the length of the notes) in the upper register the harmonics sound great. You just don't want too many transitions next to each other without some finesse.
I'd recommend playing with this instrument. It's also surprisingly versatile when you reduce the given reverb and add some of your own. This really changes up the feel of the instrument in surprising ways.
Great instrument!