Personally, I do like it. A friend of mine lent me his to fix because it supposedly was turning itself off randomly. Ended up just being bad PS and, replacing that, I had about 2 weeks solid to experiment with it before I had to return it. Now, I've owned my share of real analog boards (Polysix, Juno, v/a Arps, CS-5, SK-30, and on..) and played with even more. I've also played with most VA's out there and owned a couple too. That being said, no, the Darkstar does not sound analog. It will never replace your old Roland SH-101, and bears very little in relation to a SCI P600, as one fan claimed. It sounds very digital...a bit like a DX combined with a Casio CZ series. But, that doesn't mean it sounds BAD. Yes, the presets ARE bad (waaay too wanky for me), but once you get around them and the admittedly awkward interface and become comfortable with making your own, some really nice tones can come out of it. I do electro-industrial and it naturally supplies that grit and grime I need. People looking to do new age or pop with it are not going to be happy because of this, but I think other genres, like industrial, Dn'B, hard techno, or EBM can definitely make use out of the Darkstar. I was able to, within minutes, whip out some funky bass and lead sounds with a voice or so to spare for FX. I've since returned it to my friend, but in the meantime bought one for myself. For me, it's all a matter of use. I'm not looking for something to wank endlessly on. I want something I can work out some sounds quickly on, use easily in a multitimbral setup, and enchance my songwriting process and the Darkstar has done that for me in spades. Again, it won't be everyone's cup of tea, but for those who are willing to give it a chance and go into it NOT expecting "real analogue" tone, there is a decent board to be had.

Patrick