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(i do mostly goa/c64-like nostalgytro, mind you...) I reviewed this thing some time ago, but here's some comments after some time... It's sad the feedback etc parameters can't be changed. As I understand this is all software so why not make them even chageable via MIDI or something? The flanger gets old in about five minutes, chorus is cheap but okay in lesser amounts. Great delay. Distortion in nice, altough loses bass sometimes. Not good for really HOWLING acid growls but for acid sounds has a sound of it's own which is fine. Can do lovely clear high leads.
About the most annoying thing is that there's no separate envelope for sound so it's hard to get good release for sounds. Of course it can be achieved via short filter decay but it's hard anyway and some things just aren't possible. This is a bit odd as afaik an amp envelope generator isn't a very complicated piece of circuitry.
The resonance whistles a bit too much in the higher end; I would have preferred a more crisp sound. In the lower end it sometimes lacks the growling character that would be welcome for acid stuff.
With external FX like good EQ's and such is great.
It's impossible to do good PWM modulation with this. Detuning 2sqr oscs is nice but not enough.
I would also have liked a pitch control for osc 1.
The audio in is great. Makes for a nice guitar/bass effects box. Crisp distortion, nice delay and the ring modulator/ decimator can make some very weird electric sounding sounds. How about 200bpm guitar riffs? Can do. This is great for gating (is this the right term? I'm not pro with "real" music terms) long sustained sounds like live guitars, etc.
The audio in can also give a new life for old synths. I have recently played a bit around with a Kawai K1mk2 which in itself is 80s digital crap but with the distortion, filter and delay of EA-1 can do some cruel stuff!
With a dirty guitar distortion pedal this makes more satisfying acid riffs...
This is exactly what I don't like about hardware: the new modelling synths that are heavily reliant on software could do SO MUCH more if more of the settings just were tweakable... Imagine the potential the Electribe series would have if ALL parameters in the synth engine could be changed at will!
Way too expensive. Just think about it. This is forgodssake a box of plastic that makes some bleeps and chirps. $400-500 is an outrageous prize for a thing like this!
This thing has made me consider getting any more equipment seriously. Software is free and more versatile. Otoh Windows makes everything unreliable and unefficient... Still thinking about getting a Virus or something similar. The question is: are the additional realtime controls and things like that worth $1500?
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