Red Sound Darkstar User reviews -Page 11

Synth Site: Miscellaneous: Darkstar: User reviews Add review

One Click listings

Average rating: 4.1 out of 5

page 3 of 10: <<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >>>

duster a hobbyist user from usa writes:

I own several different synth modules (sh-32, an200, dx200) and the xp2 of course. I just wasn't to satisified by the sound of this thing. I think the sounds are thin and transparent, and that the response of control still isn't as sensitive as other modules. Maybe I need to get under the hood of this thing some more. I bought mine for $45.00 not bad for the dollor. Sh-32 blows it away....or just go with micro korg.

Rating: 2 out of 5 posted Sunday-Feb-29-044 at 04:38

mcm a professional user from New York writes:

It's quite a treasure just waiting to be tweaked. I used to to create sounds rather than perform, as it has some delay in switching patches and some minor noise, which is easily gated away. For the price, it is quite impressive.

Rating: 4 out of 5 posted Friday-Feb-20-044 at 16:37

richard byerly a part-time user from usa writes:

this is one wicked sob!i was pulling hairs trying to decide how big a pile of analogue synths to buy,which i didn't have room for.this puppy takes care of most of them.great lows and monster filter sweeps to bug the hell out of my neighbors!

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Monday-Sep-01-033 at 01:32

Ringmod76 a part-time user from planet Earth writes:

Good: 8 voices, very strong (and unique-sounding) multi-mode filter, several waveforms on OSC2, good modulation possibilities, built like a brick sh**house, CHEAP!

Bad: Plastic buttons, useless presets, noisy output, arbitrary selection of what parameters are on front panel vs. buried in menus, programming is cumbersome (at least at first).

Ugly: Mine crashed 10 minutes out of the box - seems some units don't play nice with MIDI. However, my problem is quite fixed now. Also, the manual is one of the worst I've seen.

Overall: it ain't perfect, but at the price ($150 new), it kicks ass. The sound is unique (and there's ample amounts of it) and holds its own in a mix with a Nord Mod and an MS-2000. Sonically, it blows away my other budget synth (EA-1). I've already gotten some great Oberheim-ish pads and aggressive de-tuned lead sounds with it, and I already have lots of other ideas of what to do with it. Very good addition to my band's setup.

Rating: 3 out of 5 posted Thursday-Jul-10-033 at 13:16

sinepost a professional user from oregon writes:

ok, after my drunken gushing over this unit on harmony-central here is my sober review of the darkstar xp2. $129 new from MF, which i'm still grinning about. 8-voice polyphonic VA, multi-timbral over 5 parts per program, 2-OSC/LFO/ENV per voice. out of the box i was quite impressed until i gradually noticed a DX-sounding similarity to all of the sounds, but i was only messing with the presets. the big surprise was just HOW much better i could make this thing sound with a little layering and programming. i REALLY like this filter. even though it's only 12db, it is smooth and has a bright and unique sound. i wouldn't compare it exactly to any particular analog, but it's sound leans toward older roland and oberheim poly synths, as long as you don't abuse the resonance. by sending a constant MIDI note into the unit you can filter any external audio quite nicely. if you use the copy/layer feature of the darkstar you can get mad lfo-fx or oscillator stacks that will blow your mind. it has a nice chorus that really fattens up the bass (somewhat juno-esque). also, the attack of the envelopes on this this thing are really quick, which makes for really tight tonal percussive sounds/drums/etc. one thing i'm surprised about is that people have such a hard time with the user-interface, i think it's intuitive and easy to get around...given the number of available knobs it's actually quite brilliant. the one feature i do wish it had (and correct me if it exists) is the ability to share one filter over the 5 parts. otherwise it's a little tiring to match the filter settings over the different parts. anyway, i'm very pleasantly surprised with the dark star and you really can't go wrong considering what they're asking for it now.

Rating: 5 out of 5 posted Tuesday-Jun-17-033 at 15:31

page 3 of 10: <<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >>>

More Stories: