Review: Arturia Analog Factory Experience 2.0 (Mac/Win)

Aug 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Marty Cutler

             

THOUSANDS OF CLASSIC SOUNDS AND A KEYBOARD TO CONTROL THEM

BONUS MATERIAL
Bonus Material: Analog Factory Revisited

Arturia enjoys an established reputation for authentic-sounding and detailed software replicas of classic synths. Many computer musicians, however, prefer straightforward access to vintage synthesizer sounds with a less complicated approach to customizing presets. Enter Analog Factory, which subsumes the sounds of Arturia's vintage instruments and provides simplified sound-design options in a remarkably easy-to-use soft synth.

Analog Factory Experience (AFE) bundles the software synth with a hardware keyboard controller that duplicates its virtual knobs, buttons, and sliders. The keyboard also has navigation facilities that obviate any need for the mouse. Version 2.0 software adds Jupiter-8V sounds to the collection of vintage instrument timbres, many of which include the arpeggiator and sequencing features of the instrument's Galaxy module (see the online bonus material at emusician.com). In this review, I will focus on the hardware controller and its integration with Analog Factory software.

Keys to the Factory

In addition to the standalone versions for Mac and Windows, Analog Factory software supports AU, RTAS, and VST on the Mac and RTAS and VST in Windows. The software authorization procedure has changed slightly — and for the better — in that you now have the option of authorizing a single computer or purchasing and authorizing a Syncrosoft USB hardware key, in which case you can install and run the instrument on any machine of your choosing as long as you have the key inserted.

FIG. 1: Sporting real wood side panels, Analog Factory Experience’s keyboard controller eschews a graphical display in favor of the immediacy of old-school knobs and sliders.

The absence of LCDs or LED displays and the controller's sturdily constructed 32-note keyboard with wood side panels underscore an old-school, analog ethos. Its weighty, solid form factor assures stability when sitting on your desktop (see Fig. 1). The full-size, Velocity-sensitive keys have a nice, springy, synthesizer-action feel. I wish the keys were also Aftertouch sensitive, but at AFE's price, it's hard to complain. Above the keys on the instrument's left, notched pitch-bend and modulation wheels are easy to reach and feel solid, with a strong spring-action return for the pitch-bend wheel. Likewise, all knobs, sliders, and buttons feel securely ensconced in the unit, with no wobble.

Factory Work

FIG. 2: When the Shift button is lit, you can rotate the Level knob to quickly scroll through categories and presets. Pressing down on the knob lets you select any criteria that fit your needs.

Some controls perform more than one task, and secondary functions are operative when the Shift button is lit. Those controls name their secondary function on a stenciled tab with a light background, with its primary function in a dark background. For example, the Level knob normally controls the instrument's gain, but when Shift is engaged, you can navigate through Analog Factory's browser and define criteria for patch selection by pressing down on the knob (see Fig. 2).

Pressing Shift turns the Octave plus and minus buttons into patch-selection buttons for any of the sounds you had previously delimited. Likewise, the eight buttons that select snapshots let you save snapshots when shifted. The ability to shift between functions is sensibly laid out, although I occasionally forgot and found myself selecting patch criteria when I wanted to adjust the volume, or transposing when I wanted to move through the presets (a red LED in the Octave button flashes with increasing frequency as you transpose downward).

Next to the Level knob are the Filter section's cutoff frequency and resonance knobs. These integrate smoothly with the software instrument; I never heard a trace of zipper noise. The knobs need to reach the programmed value of the parameter before the parameter actually updates, but I prefer that to a radical jump to a new value. It's also helpful that Analog Factory shows the preset knob position onscreen, so you get visual feedback as you make the tweaks.

The LFO section lets you adjust rates and levels, but it is often difficult to know beforehand what parameter the LFO is tied to. In some cases it is oscillator frequency, and in others it is filter cutoff or amplitude.

The four Key Parameter knobs, because they relate to several different synthesizer architectures and many different patches, follow suit in their unpredictability. In one instance, a knob might invert a filter envelope, or it could scan Prophet VS wavetables. In other patches, it may detune oscillators by slight degrees or in intervals. It's probably best to familiarize yourself with Key Parameter knob assignments on a patch-by-patch basis. According to Arturia, a forthcoming software update will display onscreen the parameters assigned to each of the four knobs. Handily, the aforementioned Snapshot buttons sit just below the LFO and Key Parameter sections, allowing you to store your favorite tweaked sounds or eight instruments whose controls you have memorized, simply by hitting one of the eight buttons with Shift active.