Very fun to explore!! Bought it today and can’t say enough about how great it sounds. Thanks for sharing this exploration of an Italian powerhouse of a synth
I have to say, I really don't get the fascination with these old machines. Why reproduce all the limitations of the bad old days when you can get a much better, more modern synth that has all the old analogue sounds as well as a whole bunch of things that just weren't possible back then? I've tried all the emulations that are out there, and none of them sound like the old gear - they actually sound better! But even so, they don't sound as good as the likes of Phase Plant, Serum, Venom, or even Omnisphere. All those synths have excellent sonic engines driving them, and you can get fantastic analogue sounds and combine them with all the endless possibilities of modern technology.
A number of these emulations add features that are not present in the original hardware synths. And for people who want to experience the feel of the old vintages but can't find or afford them, there are things like this.
@@80ssynthfan48 Yeah, maybe it's because I lived through the era when these old behemoths were the only way to get those sounds. I think people are fooling themselves though, and paying more than they should for synths that sound nothing like the real thing. In my experience the old synths were nothing but a pain. They had tuning problems and unwanted noise. They needed repaired regularly. I mean, they sounded OK, but anything created in the last 20 years (hardware or software) sounds much better, including the emulations! Can you imagine if the old tech was accurately modelled, and half way through a session you started to lose MIDI sync, or one note stopped responding? I tell you, kids these days don't know the half of it! lol
@@periurban Personally, as I am only an amateur enthusiast, I would like to own at least one vintage synth and then move it on rather than never own one at all. Of course a System 8 for example, plus some these VSTs, would last immeasurably longer but I would rather that was the backup plan rather than the first resort.
The sound of this synth is mesmerizing, but this VST is the biggest CPU hog I have ever used....how is this possible?? I am running 3 instances of the Elka(on the lowest quality setting) and I have a quad-core processor with 16GB of RAM, PC is on high performance mode and I have my DAW buffer size set to 2048. Despite all this, my DAW is stuttering & cracking & popping like a mofo...WTF!?
@@HighlandStudio91 Optimizing and buying a workstation for music making, takes a lot of knowledge to get right. Windows needs to be set up right, the right DAW needs to be used and set up right, the right sound-card, etc. Buy an older (5-6 years) xeon workstation with lots of cores (8-20, stay close to 3GHZ), you can get them staring with 200 Euro or about 180 Dollar. Use a sound-card not usb-interface. Following this you can use 10x or more of this synth at lowest latency and you don't need to pay $2,300.
@@christianwn Fascinating assessment & thanks for your input...but futile, as I've been working with PC workstations for 15 years and currently, only Cherry Audio VST's are giving me problems(most of all, the Elka Synthex.) Until such time as I can afford to upgrade my RAM, I am going to stick with bouncing plugin tracks to audio, when I need to(but with the current prices of RAM due to various shortages of materials & such)...upgrading won't be happening any time soon.
From Cherry Audio's website :"Highly optimized coding for optimal performance with ultra-low CPU load", "Windows Requirements: Windows 7 or above (including Windows 11), 64-bit required. Quad-core computer with 8GB of RAM recommended" so there's clearly a problem with your computer.
Very fun to explore!! Bought it today and can’t say enough about how great it sounds. Thanks for sharing this exploration of an Italian powerhouse of a synth
Been digging into Cherry Audio, as of recent. Good stuff!
Just got it. Absolutely amazing!
Great review as always, Nu-Trix!
synthwave monster of a synth
Sounds good 👌
i had a synthex. the thing was bad ass. i regret selling it.
How is it's CPU load?
I have to say, I really don't get the fascination with these old machines.
Why reproduce all the limitations of the bad old days when you can get a much better, more modern synth that has all the old analogue sounds as well as a whole bunch of things that just weren't possible back then? I've tried all the emulations that are out there, and none of them sound like the old gear - they actually sound better! But even so, they don't sound as good as the likes of Phase Plant, Serum, Venom, or even Omnisphere. All those synths have excellent sonic engines driving them, and you can get fantastic analogue sounds and combine them with all the endless possibilities of modern technology.
you are either deaf or just blinded by the "latest and greatest" hyped crap, but looking at your delusional comment I'd say its both
A number of these emulations add features that are not present in the original hardware synths. And for people who want to experience the feel of the old vintages but can't find or afford them, there are things like this.
@@80ssynthfan48 Yeah, maybe it's because I lived through the era when these old behemoths were the only way to get those sounds. I think people are fooling themselves though, and paying more than they should for synths that sound nothing like the real thing.
In my experience the old synths were nothing but a pain. They had tuning problems and unwanted noise. They needed repaired regularly.
I mean, they sounded OK, but anything created in the last 20 years (hardware or software) sounds much better, including the emulations!
Can you imagine if the old tech was accurately modelled, and half way through a session you started to lose MIDI sync, or one note stopped responding?
I tell you, kids these days don't know the half of it!
lol
That is why I sold most of my vintage gear.
@@periurban Personally, as I am only an amateur enthusiast, I would like to own at least one vintage synth and then move it on rather than never own one at all. Of course a System 8 for example, plus some these VSTs, would last immeasurably longer but I would rather that was the backup plan rather than the first resort.
The sound of this synth is mesmerizing, but this VST is the biggest CPU hog I have ever used....how is this possible?? I am running 3 instances of the Elka(on the lowest quality setting) and I have a quad-core processor with 16GB of RAM, PC is on high performance mode and I have my DAW buffer size set to 2048. Despite all this, my DAW is stuttering & cracking & popping like a mofo...WTF!?
I was running 4 of them without any hiccup on my Mac i7.
@@Nu-trix So essentially, I have to spend $2,300 on a computer, just to run a $40 VST? No thanks....I'll just bounce my tracks down to audio.
@@HighlandStudio91 Optimizing and buying a workstation for music making, takes a lot of knowledge to get right. Windows needs to be set up right, the right DAW needs to be used and set up right, the right sound-card, etc.
Buy an older (5-6 years) xeon workstation with lots of cores (8-20, stay close to 3GHZ), you can get them staring with 200 Euro or about 180 Dollar. Use a sound-card not usb-interface.
Following this you can use 10x or more of this synth at lowest latency and you don't need to pay $2,300.
@@christianwn Fascinating assessment & thanks for your input...but futile, as I've been working with PC workstations for 15 years and currently, only Cherry Audio VST's are giving me problems(most of all, the Elka Synthex.) Until such time as I can afford to upgrade my RAM, I am going to stick with bouncing plugin tracks to audio, when I need to(but with the current prices of RAM due to various shortages of materials & such)...upgrading won't be happening any time soon.
From Cherry Audio's website :"Highly optimized coding for optimal performance with ultra-low CPU load", "Windows Requirements: Windows 7 or above (including Windows 11), 64-bit required. Quad-core computer with 8GB of RAM recommended" so there's clearly a problem with your computer.