Review by EnochLight

Posted by EnochLight on 2003-09-20 07:56:36

I've been following Andras and co's work since Pinknoise started selling the OrangeXT sample CD. These guys seem to put a good amount of work into their sample CD's and ReFills, so when I heard about their new Proton ReFill I figured it was just a matter of time before I picked it up. For anyone who is interested, here's an objective take on its content and why spending just $19 (USD) for the downloadable version should not be missed.

SIZE:

For starters, this baby is just a little over 8 Megs in volume. Now, that might strike some as odd but don't let the small size fool you. Realize that this is some of the most creative programming in 8 Megs of 24-bit samples that I have ever seen. Andras and co really do know how to work the deeper functions of Reason's sample players and make them shine like they should. Bravo!

CONTENT:

26 waveform types
280 NN-XT patches in different types, most multilayered and practically all are multisamples

The waveform types vary from white noise, analog pulses, saw, sine, square, and everything in between it seems. That's the beauty behind this ReFill - the simplicity of the sample content could not be exploited any better than what you will see here. At 24-bit 44.1kHz, the source samples retain excellent studio quality sound while keeping their original analog feel. Mind you, most if not all of these samples were taken from real-live analog hardware, and it shows. We're talking DX7, Jupitor4, Juno60 - good stuff.

Each patch can actually take a few seconds (5 to 15 actually) to load on my Athlon XP 2700+ with a Gig of DDR333 RAM. That's how layered most of these patches are - they really push the boundries like we want! Content is diverse, and is sorted into 11 folders, with a 12th housing the root samples. User beware: this is in ReFill format - you cannot access these samples outside of the ReFill.

From ReasonBanks product page:

::Arp& Sequences
Arpeggio-like short sounds, tempo-synced sequences to create auto accompaniment, or other interesting things. Use them for speeding up your arrangements with fast played melody lines.

::Bass [poly]
a wide range of polyphonic analogue bass sounds

::Brass & String
Yes. You can find here some brass and string patches...;-)

::Epiano & Keyboards
A bunch of colourful synthetic & analogue-like keyboard patches.

::Experimental & FX
Special effects you have always been waiting for!:) Disgusting noises, messages from the space, some tempo synced stuff. Use them to shock your neighbours!:)

::Lead [poly]
Lead polyphonic synthesizer sounds that you can use as melody instruments in front of your mix.

::MonoSynth
Collection of monophonic analogue basses & leads.

::Organ
Some simple and some more complex organs

::Pad
A lot of very complex and rich-sounding synthesizer sounds for use in the background of your mix.

::Percussion
Analogue-like percussion sounds, and a complete GM compatible drumkit... cool!:)

::RAW Patches (single & fat version) for sound design
These patches will be very useful for sound designers. If you want to create new sounds, this is your starting point.

I couldn't have said it better, so there it is copied and pasted from ReasonBanks own site. I can add this however: many of these patches remind me of a real analog hardware synth (Roland Juno 106-ish). They react and feel the same, if not better with my controller's velocity sensativity and the layers upon layers of samples that can be found in many patches. There are a few (especially in the '!Raw 4 Sound Design' folder) that are not multilayered, but they work for what they are meant for.

CONCLUSION:

Overall, this is an exceptional example of how to use the NNXT as an analog synth. Please note: I do not work for PinkNoise or Reasonbanks; I just happen to like a lot of what they did here and thought I'd share some insight from an objective point of view.

The only complaint I have at this point is a long overdue promise of a multilayered version of the original OrangeXT ReFill. If Andras and co can duplicate the programming, layering, and switching on the NNXT with their original OrangeXT samples, then they are sure to have yet another winner on their hands - not to mention, I'll have to buy that one as well! ;-)

Cheers,

EnochLight

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