Minimonsta gets Universal update
GForce:
To complete our UB releases we're pleased to let our Mac-based customers know that the award-winning Minimonsta synthesizer and effect is now available in the Universal format for AU, VST and RTAS! Now the Minimonsta runs natively on both PPC Macs as well as newer Intel Macs such as the Mac Pro and Macbook Pro.
Overview
Simply put, if you want a straightforward copy of a Minimoog, with little to chew on besides the obvious, you might be better off looking elsewhere. However, if you want a Minimoog on steroids and with plenty of attitude the Minimonsta:Melohman is the emulation for you. Because, whereas until now the numerous Minimoog clones have simply attempted to copy the original instrument and add the odd one or two features such as polyphony and another LFO, the Minimonsta takes a radically different look at this vintage masterpiece.
The original instrument was manufactured between 1971 and 1982 and was an instant classic thanks to it's musician friendly logical layout, tactile front panel, warm oscillators and powerful 24dB lowpass filter. In it's time 13,000 were sold but in keeping with many other classic instruments, if you want one now, be prepared to pay handsomely.
The Minimonsta is a highly detailed and accurate emulation of this original instrument which operates on two levels.
Firstly, on the Mini level you have all the features and sounds of the Minimoog including accurate waveforms, a painstakingly accurate resonant filter, snappy ADS envelope generators and the wonderful Mini loop-feedback function. Using just these parameters, the Minimonsta has a huge tonal range from fat to fierce and from searing to razor sharp sizzles.
However, there is also another dark side to the beast, and it's here's where you can unleash a full-on Monsta.
Instead of being shackled to a single LFO as per the original instrument, it's possible to assign an LFO to almost any original Mini parameter including filter cutoff, resonance, individual oscillator volumes, even each envelope parameter. What's more, each LFO has several shapes, sync, and delay.
Additionally, for every parameter to which you can apply an LFO, it's also possible to apply an extra ADSR too.
Then there's the ability to assign MIDI modulation to any original Mini parameter an create effects such as dynamic glide times or velocity response to filter (both positive and negative). Put simply, the scope for sound design and sonic creativity is limitless.
And as if that's not enough, you can dynamically morph between twelve patches within a Meta-Patch thanks to the unique Melohman octave. This takes a static software instrument and adds serious performance and dynamic real-time control - a boon to those real players out there.
There are many Mini clones out there, but there is only one true Monsta !
Inside Info
One of the user secrets on the original instrument was the loop feedback trick whereby you could take the output of the Mini and feed it back into the instrument's external input. The resulting signal would then be output and could be adjusted to give anything from a heavier bass sound to extreme distortion. Many users loved it because of it's unpredictability and is faithfully recreated on the Minimonsta.
Suggested Listening
Rick Wakeman - Any solo or Yes album
Air - Moon Safari (Bass)
Herbie Hancock - Chameleon (Solo)
Steve Winwood - Roll With it (Bassline)
Me'Shell Ndegeocello - Peace through Passion (Leads & Riffs)
James Ingram - Ya Mo Be There (Bass)
George Duke - Brazilian Love Affair (Lead)
Sneaker Pimps - Six Underground (Bass)
John Martyn - Small Hours (Steve Winwood Solo)
and many, many more
Selected Quotes
Rick Wakeman : "There's simply nothing out there that comes close to this little beauty"
Steve Winwood (Traffic, Spencer Davis, Solo Artist) : "I closed my eyes and could not believe it was not the real thing"
Will Gregory (Goldfrapp) : "The ability to sculpt the sound using both hands makes the Minimonsta a real musical instrument, rather than just a programming tool"
Marius De Vries (Bjork, Madonna, Moulin Rouge) : "Responsive, realistic, utterly 3-dimensional..... does to the minimoog what the impOSCar did to the Oscar, and more.... another beautiful synthesizer from GForce. CONGRATULATIONS!"
Pascal Gabriel (Brian Ferry, Erasure) : "A brilliant piece of kit. I use a Moog Voyager, and this sounds as good as if not better, it's fully automated, has mad LFO possibilities-and costs a lot less!"
Jan Hammer : "For me the Minimonsta is a wonderful time machine taking me back to playing with the Mahavishnu Orchestra or my group with Jeff Beck. But beyond that, with it's polyphony and 'Melohmagic' it outplays the Memorymoog, which was the foundation for my sound of Miami Vice. It's incredible."
www.macdirectory.com : "....this instrument represents a quantum improvement over the original and leaves all competing Moog emulators smoldering in the dust. A perfect recreation with amazing new features" 5 Stars
Computer Music Magazine : "A fine emulation of the much-loved Minimoog, and, dare we say, an improvement on the original!" Innovation Award and Performance Award
Future Music Magazine : "Purists and pioneers alike will love the Minimonsta - to build on a classic is no mean feat" Platinum Award
A well-known sound designer : "just wanted to say that Minimonsta is my absolute reference while making sounds for other people. Please forgive me if you find a few attempts at cloning Minimonsta sounds in several other synths!"
Recording Magazine : "I've owned Minimoogs from the early '70s through the late '90s. Of all the emulations of that instrument I have experienced, Minimonsta is clearly the most authentic. GForce has done its homework very well and produced a software synthesizer that is almost indistinguishable from the hardware synth it emulates. The modulation flexibility added by the LFO/XADSR matrix and the Melohman functions brings it to a new level in software synthesizer performance."
This plugin is available in the following standards
Formats :
Stand-alone or host use-VST 2.0
(PC/MacOSX), RTAS (PC/MacOSX), AU (MacOSX)
System Requirements :
Windows
Intel Pentium IV 1GHz with 64MB RAM
Windows 98, 98SE, Me, 2000, and XP
VST 2.0 or RTAS compatible host application for plug-in operation
Macintosh
1.25 GHz PowerMac G4 with 128MB RAM
OS X
VST 2.0, RTAS, or Audio Unit compatible host application for plug-in operation
VST 2.0 - Windows : For use with all VST-compatible host (Cubase, Ableton Live, EnergyXT, Tracktion...)
AudioUnits - Mac OS X : For use on Logic Audio, Ableton Live, Digital Performer and any AU-compatible host
Core features
Extremely realistic analog modelling
All original features including 3 oscillators and famous Moog 4-pole, 24dB/octave filter
Additional LFO & ADSR for matrix modulation of almost every parameter
Monophonic, polyphonic, legato and unison trigger modes
Fully programmable with over 6000 factory patches including many from Rick Wakeman
Real-time morphing between up to twelve patches via keyboard control
External input allows filter to be used as plug-in effect
MIDI learn with storable Continuous Controller maps
Delay effect
Full automation support
Price: 149.00 dollar
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