B
Great sounds, the interface will turn off some people.
The synth sounds in this unit are good; if you are looking for something near the sounds of a Juno, this box can get extremely close with its voicing structure. No stereo output or Chorus effect onboard, that would have made this even closer to the classic Juno sound.
A few gripes:
First, the interface is awkward, which is forgivable considering the form factor, but should still be acknowledged. It's easy to lose track of what each slider will control whilst the various submenu modes are engaged, and the method of entering submenus is unfamiliar so there is a learning curve.
Second, the only option to power this synth is with a USB cable. In my home studio setup with many other small synths and devices, adding another USB-powered device often means other devices will pick up ground noise when a new device is added. No, I'm not plugging the USB into my computer to power the synth, just using a USB power delivery device.. but then sending analog audio out from this device into an interface or mixer on the same electrical power circuit means that the noise dumped from one device to ground can get picked up by another device and fed back into the audio path.
Third: Tuning stability could be a bit better. I've kept this synth in the same indoor space for a few weeks and I've had to calibrate the oscillators a few times to keep them in tune. Not really a problem, as VCOs do that and that's part of their appeal, but worth a mention. The audible calibration sounds cool while it's happening, though.
Fourth: The only onboard effect is a digital reverb that just does not sound good to me. Very metallic and granular, I just always turn it off since it doesn't lend itself to the type of sound I'm using this for. An onboard stereo chorus would have been a better inclusion in my opinion.
A few gripes:
First, the interface is awkward, which is forgivable considering the form factor, but should still be acknowledged. It's easy to lose track of what each slider will control whilst the various submenu modes are engaged, and the method of entering submenus is unfamiliar so there is a learning curve.
Second, the only option to power this synth is with a USB cable. In my home studio setup with many other small synths and devices, adding another USB-powered device often means other devices will pick up ground noise when a new device is added. No, I'm not plugging the USB into my computer to power the synth, just using a USB power delivery device.. but then sending analog audio out from this device into an interface or mixer on the same electrical power circuit means that the noise dumped from one device to ground can get picked up by another device and fed back into the audio path.
Third: Tuning stability could be a bit better. I've kept this synth in the same indoor space for a few weeks and I've had to calibrate the oscillators a few times to keep them in tune. Not really a problem, as VCOs do that and that's part of their appeal, but worth a mention. The audible calibration sounds cool while it's happening, though.
Fourth: The only onboard effect is a digital reverb that just does not sound good to me. Very metallic and granular, I just always turn it off since it doesn't lend itself to the type of sound I'm using this for. An onboard stereo chorus would have been a better inclusion in my opinion.
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D
Would buy another one
Ground loop noise When connected to the pc. Same as Typhon. I would connect the through 5din but in this case you can’t use it with Cherry Audio Voltage modular plugin by Tim Shoebridge. Only usb connection is available for that. And that vst is the best way to use the synth. I wish Dreadbox did some fixing thing for the ground loop effect or show us a working solution.
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S
Like a box of chocolate
beautiful little synth - controls are pretty straightforward.
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