Strobe2 FXpansion

Strobe 2 as well as being an excellent polysynth has many unique features, such as the ability to morph between presets which reminds me of the snapshot feature of NI's Maschine Jam. Modulaation is a breeze and the random and XY pads are fun. Be aware though that it's a little heavy on the PC!

Strobe is inspired by the classic single-oscillator synth designs (think Roland's SH-101), but it's polyphonic and features unison (32 unison voices for each main voice).

The Main oscillator combines Saw and Square waveforms with level faders for each and pulse width for the latter, and includes a Stacking option with Detune, enabling up to four extra oscillators to be stacked, independent of the Unison.

Sound generation is bolstered by four sub oscillators (Sine, Triangle, Saw and Square, each with its own octave setting) and a Noise generator.


"At the centre of the interface is the Scope display, providing visual feedback."

The signal is shaped by a single multimode filter offering 22 filter types and a Drive control; an LFO with swing and pulse width; two envelopes (Modulation and Amplitude) with tempo Sync and Loop; and a VCA with adjustable analogue colour.

The TransMod system enables modulation of most parameters, and each assignment includes a secondary slot for applying a scaling modulator. Other options include an Arpeggiator and a Ramp module for delay and rise time generation.

Finally, at the centre of the interface is the Scope display, providing visual feedback on the oscillator and LFO waveforms, and filter curve.
Ground zero

In terms of layout, Strobe2 is pretty much identical to Strobe 1; but under the hood, the audio engine has been completely rebuilt. Version 1 patches you've created in Strobe's native preset format can be imported via Strobe2's Legacy tab or from your OS's browser.

The new engine is far better CPU-optimised than its predecessor, and the previous extreme oversampling rates (x16 and x32) have been ditched, although oversampling is now always active (x2, x4 or x8), and the option remains to switch the rate when rendering.

The new interface offers scale options (75- 220%), two colour Themes (light and dark), a fold-out preset Browser, plus two tabbed pages for the new Effects and upgraded Arpeggiator.

Said Effects section comprises 28 processors, 19 of them lifted from Fusor (TinCan Reverb, for example), and new ones including FX-Verb (an algorithmic reverb), Pattern Delay (a multitap delay), Env Shaper, Enhancer, Nonlinear Ringmod, DirtyDAC (an old DA converter emulation) and various EQs. The effects are inserted in series in two three-slot chains, with mix blend dials for each effect and each chain.


"The Filter Drive is now gain compensated and includes a Leak level control for introducing the pre-filter signal."

Meanwhile, the 32-step Arpeggiator has all the typical options you'd expect, such as Swing, Gate time, Rate and Mode, as well as a modulation Step Sequencer. This last can be used in tandem with the Arpeggiator (each can reset the other) and as a TransMod source.

Further new features include eight Quick Preset slots for easy access to up to eight patches, with time-variable morphing between them, freezable at any point in the morph; 16 TransMod slots, up from the previous eight; parameter locking when changing patches (including the Arpeggiator); a Randomizer with X/Y pad (morph between randomly generated variations in each corner) and its own Quick Preset slot; and three new TransMod Processors.
Synth matters


The new arp and effects contribute immensely to Strobe2's 900-odd new patches, but there are changes to the synth itself that prove transformative, too.


The sub oscillators can now match the Main oscillator octave as well as up to three octaves below (as per v1), and the Sub section as a whole can be unlinked from the main Oscillator's pitch-related parameters (Sync, Stack and Detune) - ideal when you want to retain a solid underpinning while the Main Oscillator is doing something more complex.


There's also a Phase Reset option for the Main Oscillator, facilitating consistent note onset, and each oscillator section includes a Tone control, which is basically a high shelving EQ.


The Filter Drive is now gain compensated and includes a Leak level control for introducing the pre-filter signal; and the LFO offers an additional sub cycle, which is a multiple of the main LFO. Finally, both Envelopes have doubled maximum time ranges (32 seconds each for Attack, Decay and Release).


All of this expands Strobe2's sound capabilities considerably, and A/B-ing it with v1 reveals a much more vibrant- and expansive- sounding synth. This is particularly noticeable with pads, leads and textures, where the new effects often play a big part.


Of course, the arp patches are also considerably better, with complex 32-step patterns outshining the eight- steppers of v1, although sadly the Legacy arp patches don't include the arp programming, rendering them pointless.

Basses benefit, too, with more potential in the edginess department. Nevertheless, there was a certain directness of sound to the original Strobe that worked particularly well for simple basses, and that has changed.

Overall, Strobe2 is a more rounded synth than v1, with a far broader feature set, a better preset library and greatly finessed sonics. Review from Techradar

Geist2 - FXxpansion

Incredibly versatile and fully featured beat making software which can also be used to create full songs . Seems a steep learning curve is needed to know all the different things that Geist2 is capable of doing . But well worth delving into, as this is probably the best one of its kind out there!

The original Geist was the successor to FXpansion's earlier software groovebox, Guru.

It comes as no surprise, then, that Geist2 takes the already winning formula of its predecessor and improves it in enough areas to constitute a must-have upgrade for existing users and an even more compelling proposition for newcomers. Before we get into its new features, let's start with a summary of what Geist is all about...
Ghost is the machine

Essentially, Geist2 is an MPC-style pad-based 'groove DAW', complete with sampling, sequencing and song construction, that runs standalone or as a VST/AU/AAX plugin.

At the top of its hierarchical structure (Global) are eight Engines. These are effectively eight instances of the whole instrument brought together in a single interface, so you can run, say, a drum kit into one, a bass in the next, a set of vocal samples in another, etc. Each Engine houses 64 pads (up from the 16 of Geist), and each pad comprises up to eight stacked sample layers, which can be split by velocity, triggered using round robins, or selected at random.

Every level of the hierarchy (Global, Pad and Layer) can host up to six of Geist2's built-in effects, and has its own mixer, complete with sends to four Global auxiliary effects returns. Live sampling is another key feature, with direct-to-pad recording of external signals or Geist2's own output, and automatic, non-destructive slicing of loops across the pads.

Sequencing of pads is done using a familiar pattern sequencer that stores up to 24 patterns of 1024 steps each and features automation lanes for Volume, Pan, tuning, timing Shift, effects sends and much more.

Patterns can be arranged into Scenes, and strung together as arrangements manually or in real time, making Geist2 a full-on production environment in its own right - albeit one that still can't host other plugins.
Window repair

The original Geist could be undeniably fiddly at times, due to the awkward disconnect between its inflexible interface and the multi-layered complexity of its architecture.

While the latter hasn't been lessened (nor should it be!) for Geist2, the GUI has been utterly transformed by the transition to vector graphics and Retina/HiDPI compatibility, and the introduction of a muted, more contemporary new look.

Not only is the whole window now freely resizable with no effect on graphical fidelity, but every panel within it can also be stretched vertically and horizontally (to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the individual pane), with pads reshaping to fit, scrollbars appearing as required, and multiple automation lanes now viewable for each pad in the Sequencer.

It's wonderfully liberating and a vast improvement over the previous setup, but we're surprised there's no option to save workspaces for instant recall - big pads for performance, fullscreen sequencer for sequencing, huge mixer for mixing, and so on.

A few specific elements have been sensibly relocated, too. The Engine and Global Mixers are now unified, and the previously oversized pattern keys section has been shrunk and moved to the top of the Pattern panel, for example.

More importantly, the Sampler has been greatly reduced in size and prominence from its previous dedicated panel to a pop-out extension of the pad section, with no loss in functionality.

Indeed, it's actually gained a choice of Assign modes for capturing each take to the next Layer, Pad or both, or sending it to the Slicer, which makes the process of on-the-fly kit creation faster and more fun than ever.

Speaking of the Slicer, while it's not seen much change beyond a UI redesign, it's worth noting that it can, of course, distribute its slices across four times as many pads now, making those enormous sliced kits much easier to play and sequence than before.

By far the most significant addition to the Pattern Sequencer is the same independent pattern lane length adjustment that we dug so much in FXpansion's Tremor drum machine. Simply drag the end point of a lane to the left to set its length, generating all manner of polyrhythms as each lane cycles around its specified number of steps.

That's all the headline new stuff covered, then, and to wrap up in the space remaining: Geist2 also now includes the acclaimed Bloom delay and Maul distortion among other effects additions, making 47 modules; Vintage mode emulates the sound of old-school samplers; and as well as all the original Geist content, you also get a whole new factory library of samples, kits and projects.
The price of power

Sitting somewhere between evolution and revolution, Geist2 makes enough changes to feel like a whole new instrument in certain areas and the same groove production powerhouse that we already knew and loved in others.

The new interface and TransMod system are worth the upgrade price alone, but independent pattern length, more pads, improved effects and Sampler Assign modes join them to make Geist2 a dazzlingly powerful tool for any dance, urban and electronic producer - both in the studio and on stage.

It might not be the most intuitive piece of music software around, but what it lacks in immediacy it makes up for in functionality, creativity and speedy workflow.