Thanks to an almost unlimited number of possibilities, synths still represent a rich seam of undiscovered sounds. Banishing complexity for those unfamiliar with programming, we take a look and listen at UJAM’s latest: Usynth DRIVE.
New Sound Seekers
Ever since the early synth pioneers rolled up their sleeves and brought never-before-heard sounds to the world, these instruments have remained in a class of their own. Revered by electronic musicians, and prized by anyone else looking for soundscapes new, to the uninitiated the synthesiser can dazzle and confuse in equal measure.
Presets For The Masses
Understanding a need, developers and manufacturers have in more recent years offered tools to get artists to creative with comparative ease. Preset hardware synths are nothing new, however earlier audio plugin synthesisers sometimes prized full-on modular tweakage over instant gratification. More recently, Ujam’s Usynth range has sought to bring the preset synth experience to DAW dwellers and others besides.
Adding to Usynth’s palette of essential synth sounds including basses, polys, leads and arpeggios, the company’s recently announced free DRIVE instrument offers house music and electronica essentials presented in the now-familiar minimalist Usynth form. Comprising of just a handful of controls, its Sequencer, Synthesizer, and Finisher panels provide the basis its patches, without a single filter or oscillator in sight…
In the video, we take in some of DRIVE’s preset synth goodness. Having followed its central MO of picking, tweaking, and saving presets, we dive into some of its controls and Finisher goodness. We then take one final roll of the dice thanks to Usynth DRIVE’s magic trick...
UJAM On Usynth DRIVE:
DRIVE is free yet fully functional and similar to all other Usynth titles. Consider it our present to friends old and new. Download now and produce amazing synth tracks within minutes. Under the hood, Usynth is a very complex synthesizer. Each instance consists of 2 individual layers per voice, with Virtual Analog, Wavetable, FM and Multisample Synthesis, Multi-mode Filter, 5-stage envelopes, LFOs, 12-way modulation matrix and much much more. But why would you care! Usynth doesn’t require you to know how a synthesizer works in order to find and create inspiring new sounds. Intuitively tweak to your heart’s content. Think Instagram filters, or steering wheel and two pedals – that’s how you operate Usynth.
Beyond The Preset Synth
Within any instrument subset, synthesisers must surely represent the broadest gamut of sounds available, however, this chameleon-like ability brings a steep learning curve. As in any language, native synth speakers can traverse the instrument’s endless parameters without too much thought, but others may struggle to get any sense out of the instrument. Spearheaded by the preset synths of old, easy synth textures are there to be had with ease in the DAW age. That some of those are free is even better.