What is Absynth 1.x?

Software synthesizers are all the rage these days. So, being the poseurs we are, we got all excited about Native Instruments' Absynth, a programmable soft synth you can use as a stand-alone instrument or as a component in a studio setup. However, our excitement quickly faded as its limitations bummed us out.

Absynth uses a host of tools to create sound. Each sound, or patch, can consist of up to six oscillators, four filters, three ring modulators, a wave shaper, a delayed effect, and various envelopes. The app's wavesynthesis architecture is semimodular: The patches are user-configurable, but their flow remains static. You can create sounds from scratch or with factory presets, and use them with other major audio-sequencing and recording platforms, including VST 2.0, DirectConnect, MAS, ASIO, FreeMIDI, OMS, and SoundManager.

Installation is simple, and the included printed manual is fairly straightforward. We were pleased when Absynth integrated effortlessly with our Pro Tools rig and with Cubase VST. The interface is fairly attractive and logically arranged — its main window holds patch names, MIDI device info, a virtual keyboard, master settings, and buttons to access a bevy of subwindows (that's where the good stuff happens).

The Patch subwindow houses 12 modules, which work together to create sounds. To generate and alter sounds, you assign various modules and then tweak their parameters to your liking. However, because you can*t alter Absynth's sound flow from module to module, we felt restricted by this process. We didn't have the freedom to route sounds as we saw fit like we can in other programs, such as BitHeadz's Retro AS-1...

The Envelope subwindow is powerful, and its flexibility impressed us. It houses envelope generators, allowing you to alter patch-module parameters overtime. We created some complex, time-based sounds using multiple envelopes. Also good are the LFO (low-frequency oscillator) subwindow, which houses three oscillators for additional modulation; and the Wave subwindow, which lets you edit sound waves graphically.

However, Absynth has its share of anemic features. The Effects window offers delaybased effects — that's it. This one-effect ploy might have been cool in the seventies, but today it's a joke. The MIDI window, which handles routing of external MIDI controls, is limited, too — it supports only five controllers handling basic tasks (pan, volume, filter frequency, and so on).

In operation, Absynth performed well with other software. We didn’t come across any CPU issues or sound problems, and external MIDI control was smooth. Unfortunately, Absynth’s inability to sync its parameters to our sequencer via MIDI beat clock or MIDI time code hampered our effort to create sounds that modulated in perfect rhythm with our other tracks.

Though Absynth allowed us to sculpt some pretty expressive sounds, its uncompromising routing and MIDI limitations made us question the usefulness of this software. Considering Absynth’s price and the other software options available, Absynth has a ways to go if it wants to make our shortlist.

Freid, Andrew. (October 2001). Absynth. MacAddict. (pg. 46).

Download Absynth 1.x for Mac

Architecture

IBM PowerPC

System Requirements

From Mac OS 8.0 up to Mac OS 9.2

Compatibility notes

Emulating this? It could probably run under: SheepShaver