The synth itself is best described as a three-oscillator structure where each oscillator originally (in v1) offered a choice of preset single-cycle waves, plus a facility allowing the user to draw new waves or modify existing waves in interesting ways, either by means of a fractal tool or via other in-built waveshaping methods. What It Isīefore focusing on the v2 improvements, perhaps it would be a good idea to recap on the essential structure of Absynth. If you want to use Absynth with both Mac OS 9 and OS X, you need to register twice, once for each OS. Registration is simple and automatic, and you can reauthorise if you change computers, operating systems or key hardware system components.

Installation is from CD, and to improve the copy protection you must now register with NI within 30 days or the program times out. In stand-alone mode, Absynth 2 can communicate via ASIO 2 (Mac OS 9 and Windows), Direct Sound (Windows), MME (Windows), Sound Manager (Mac OS 9) and Core Audio (Mac OS X). When stand-alone operation is selected, Absynth's sample-playback rate may be set by the user, while when it used as a plug-in - a far more likely scenario these days - the audio format follows that set in the host application.

As I understand it, there is no MAS OS X support because Digital Performer will work with the Apple-standard Audio Units plug-ins under Mac OS X. Audio Units support became available just as this review was going to press, and RTAS (OS X and WinXP) support is imminent. Absynth 2 supports VST (OS X, OS 9 and Windows) and DXi. The good news is that this has been fixed in v2.Ībsynth originally ran as either a stand-alone application or as a MAS/VST/DXi plug-in for Mac or Windows. More important was the fact that all the wonderful rhythmic effects that could be created with Absynth, using multi-step envelopes and LFOs, couldn't be locked to song tempo. One of these was the 'design before functionality' appearance of the interface, though by now most of us have got used to that - indeed, in the v2 update I'm about to look at, it has been retained pretty much as it was in Absynth 1.

The original version of the NI Absynth virtual instrument was reviewed in SOS by Paul Ward in 2001, and though Paul was largely impressed by the instrument, he also had some valid criticisms that have since been upheld by other Absynth users, myself included.

Absynth's main (background) and Patch windows.Ībsynth gets a significant overhaul, to include tempo syncing, sample playback, granular synthesis and a module library.

Absynth 5 manuals