Loftsoft ces-1

analog style vsti with advanced waveform shaping

loftsoft homepage: http://www.loftsoft.co.uk
a noteworthy vsti for it's sweet, harmonics-rich oscillators. under each osc waveform display are your standard pulse, saw and tri waveforms, and a control to set the pulsewidth. as the lower waveform begins to intimate, all four parameters can be added simultaneously to produce a great amount of variation. the special appeal is that if you are using a parameter-grabbing host like logic, all of the parameters are externally controllable. throw some ramps in hyper edit on those waveform shapers and you've got the most gorgeously harmonic oscillator tones i've come across. the ability to shape each oscillator seperately can also create striking 'comb filter' timbres, although i haven't experimented greatly with harsher sounds on this synth.

the architecture emphasizes flexibility as the seperate amplitude sliders for each oscillator modulation source attest. range parameters let you tailor the width of other modulations. the envelopes allow you to set negative and positive levels, in addition to other knobs that attenuate positive and negative routing to various destinations. another nice touch is the graphic envelope display, which creates a shadow to indicate velocity mod range on both axes.

on a 1.2g athlon the performance is without error, and all parameters automate smoothly, without zipping. cpu usage is reasonable, although understandably a little higher than a single waveform synth. it's ideal for exploring new textures if you're familiar with basic subtractive synthesis, although it's presently limited by the lack of any filter other than a single 4 pole low pass.

both an asset and a burden imho are the rotary knobs, which can be precisely set in ms by grabbing and turning at a wide radius. unfortunately, the scale is linear as opposed to exponential, so if your tendency is towards shorter envelopes, ie. for stabs or arpeggios in dance, it's a little less immediate to get the right timing since you're always pulling far away down and to the left, though you can ultimately set it to the precise time you require.

similarly, many of the parameters have a positive and negative swing to them, and i have yet to find any 'centering' protocol, ie. shift-clicking on other synths. this makes patching again a little arduous if you've got a nice sound but decide you'd like to try a completely different envelope and wish to zero out several parameters.

i have noticed a couple of notes not trigger in simultaneously sequenced chords, but no polyphony drop-outs. overall, in the burgeoning softsynth market, the tones of this synth caught my ear and convinced me to register it. a very sonorous and musical instrument.

the good news is that the only handicap on the demo version is that timing is offset by the block size of your computer, which can produce very slight (ie. unnoticeable) errors in timing.