For Starters

Lately it seems, the computer music medium has seen an accelerated proliferation of programs that cut right to the heart of sound creation. This is a slight departure from the standing tendency of the larger software manufacturers to deepen the feature sets of their flagship programs till the learning curve is so steep you need pitons and a rock hammer to climb out into the daylight. While I certainly appreciate more "Bang for the Buck" and the already vast array of features that seem to be included as standard offerings in the major (and highly inter-competitive) DAW's, frankly...my brain is tired. I, for one, welcome the change to a more straight ahead approach where the raw potential to turn out a thick beat is not dominated by the program in which you make it. Am I asking too much? Synapse Audio is one business that seems to think not.

The Synopsis on Synapse

Let's start with a little history. Who are these guys and where the heck did they come from? If you are in the US, like me, you may not have heard of Synapse-Audio until very recently when they picked up local distribution. I have it on good authority, though, that they have had a solid presence on the increasingly popular KVR-VST website for some time now. Formerly known as Sonic Syndicate, the company has actually been around since the late 80's. Their first venture was an underground success...a freeware step sequencer/synth called the TS-404. This little baby fostered a more advanced version of the program called the Wasp, a rather unique sounding, but flexible analog modeled soft synth. Wasp, in turn became one of the tone generator centerpieces for the company's bigger concept, a complete music production environment...namely Orion.

The program is currently offered in three flavors of varying complexity, but the most advanced and complete (and the only boxed version) is Orion Platinum, which we have put under the scope for you here.

Installation & Setup

Getting setup with Orion is about as simple as installations get these days. Just throw in the disk and click install. Type in your name and serial number when prompted and presto... you are in. It is probably a good idea to immediately go into the "Audio Output Settings" (under Options) in order to configure the program to best utilize your audio hardware. Selecting the driver types will give you a list of the relative hardware available. ASIO drivers are best, if you've got them, as they will give you the lowest latency. Hi sampling at 96kHz is selectable here if you need the resolution and can afford the extra processing power. If you are going to be entering data by way of a MIDI controller, you will also want to go straight to the MIDI In menu under the same section to let Orion know where to look for incoming MIDI messages. Here you can also select a mode that will allow you to apply different MIDI configurations to each potential tone generator.

The Lay Out

Being primarily a song writer/musician by trade, it is rare that I approach an application of any real depth without some musical idea or compositional agenda to tackle. Even when I am fortunate enough to have the opportunity to explore a new piece of software, it is generally with great purpose and intent that I throw myself at the program. You will notice that at start up, Orion is a pleasantly open canvas and this invitation to start fresh was too inviting for me to pass up.

The heart of Orion is its Mixer View, which emulates a traditional hardware mixing console, complete with Inserts, 4 FX Sends per channel, EQ (with sweep-able mid section), Mute, Solo, Pan and Metered fader for volume control. A channel strip is introduced for every instance of synth or sampler that you introduce, giving you easy access to all your instruments and familiar controls to the over-all blend and balance of your mix. To add an instrument, synth, sampler, or drum machine to the mixer all you need to do is take your pick from the list of provided generators in the Insert Menu...and there is no shortage of choices. It is from this menu that you may also access the provided effects and external plug-in processors and instruments that you have already. The programmers had the good taste to make their workstation both VST and DXi friendly to ensure that you can still use your favorite tools despite which format you've already sunk your hard earned dollars into.

Up at the top of the screen is basic info for your project including Tempo, tape deck style Transport Controls, the current Bar #, A toggle switch for Pattern or Song Mode, a button to engage the Loop function in song mode and Start and Length windows to set the parameters for the loop, a MIDI signal indicator, and a knob and meters for the Main outs. The whole presentation is very straightforward and with all said elements labeled clearly...the antithesis of the often fractured and intimidating header menus that most of us have become used to seeing when first diving into a new music program. The knobs and buttons in all included instruments and effects are similarly well defined. The color and over all look of the program is colorful, but not distracting.

So... What is Really Under Orion's Belt?

Orion boasts a very healthy supply of included Synths, Samplers and Drum Kits (presented step sequencer style).

Synths:
The synths are varied in texture and function to cover the traditional musical basics that one often requires when composing …The BazzLine synth covers the low end nicely with a well-designed emulation of classic analog bass synths. I found it easy to get a phatt bottom sound with just a slight amount of knob tweaking. Another slight adjustment gave me just the edge I was looking for to cut through the mix. Another synth called the Plucked String XT provides a palette of percussive string sounds. The presets for the Plucked String XT include the likes of Picked, Slapped, Thumbed & Nylon GT. This synth is nicely complimented by the arpeggiator (available to every individual inserted instrument), and its "Autochord" function which allows you to simply select the chord qualities in sequence that you want the instrument to play. This combination is further augmented by the program's MIDI editing capabilities which include Humanize, Apply Groove Template, & Apply Plucked Template. This added functionality gives the flexibility to give your performance a more human touch. Though these tools are particularly useful for the string emulating synths and samplers, they are, of coarse, available to every pattern on all generators.

Some of the other synths provided include the Wasp (mentioned above), a rather complete analog modeled synth, with 3 oscillators and deep potential to morph the timbre though LFO modulation. I find the sounds both colorful and edgy. This one is sure to be a hit with the dance/techno crowd. The Ultran is billed as the program's Wave Morphing sampler. Complete with four oscillators, 2 LFO's, and envelope generators for Amp, Pitch, and Filter, this piece provides great potential for variation. Six folders full of presets give you a great platform for adding textural pads to enhance your mix. The WaveDream Synth is similar in construction to the others, but provides a somewhat wider variety of preset sounds to jump from. These range from Leads, to Pads, and "Sweepers". This synth sounded particularly punchy with the arpeggiator kicked in. Last but not least is the TomCat, a synth designed to reflect a more percussive approach for those who are looking for the attack of a drum but don't necessarily want the timbre of a true drum sample.

The Sampler:
The Orion sampler, I feel is one of the best designs in the program. The insert menu offers a tremendous section of samples to start with from Acoustic instruments including, Basses, EP's (I don't quite understand why this is listed as acoustic, but... ok) and Organs to World percussion, Strings, VCOs, Sampled synth voices and so much more. Each instance of the sampler has the ability to manipulate the fundamental of the wave, generate a pitch change, modulate through two LFO's and adjust filter, velocity and amplitude. Easy access to samples is provided through an icon in the general info window of the sampler as well as a very cool feature called the Beat Detector.

The Beat Detector only works with wave files, but allows you to import a sample of your own and have the relevant sections of the sample sliced in such a way that the sample can be manipulated for playback at the tempo of the project you are working in. This is most useful for chopping up drum and percussion samples for use in a song as all you need do is drop in the sample, set the number of beats the slicing will accommodate and run the auto-detect. If you so choose, you can even render the detected material to the piano roll view (where the notes can be easily moved and edited).... even parted out so if you find a snare hit in a bar of drums that you like, you can strip the mush away and use that sound exclusively.

The Drums
The drum devices have to be one of my favorite features of the program. The kits are sonically well constructed There are forty kits in all, and room to design more to your specifications if you have a sample library to be reckoned with. Among the stock sounds, I particularly like the Groovy kit and the Indian Percussion kits. The drums are presented in familiar 16-step sequencer style. Just click to activate the drum you wish to here on the beat you wish it played. Once you have become used to this method of pattern building you will likely find it a very efficient way to build rhythmic structure in your tunes. In addition to the basic level and pan controls, A right click on the track section will get you the added controls of shuffle, tuning, and velocity control for each individual track, which can open a whole new depth of humaness to the preformance when used tastefuly. If the sound and feel of traditional drum synths is your flavor of choice, a soft version of the ever-popular 909 drum synth is available (called the XR909) from the insert synth menu. This drum machine provides dedicated controls for each sound through individual soft circuitry paths.

Editing
The great thing about all of the synths, samplers and drums is quick and obvious access to the editing windows for each instrument. Immediately visible are M(ute) and S(olo) buttons and a grid to select which of 64 (A-H and 1-8) available pattern slots you wish to enter data in. One click on the button to the right of that grid and the instrument face turns into an easily editable representation of the notes in your pattern in a comprehensive Piano Roll view. Here you can enter note events, drag and stretch, and adjust the velocity, aftertouch, pitch, attack and more. Next to the Piano roll view is access to the arpeggiator and individual MIDI settings for the instrument. These elements are all so conspicuous and apparent that they are nearly self explanatory...score another point for ease of use.

If you are not a "mouse wielding" step-record kind of programmer, then a click of the record button will allow you to record events in realtime via a MIDI controller (provided you have already set up Orion to do so). This is best accomplished in Pattern Mode where the pattern you have selected loops indefinitely. Just keep in mind that once you have reached the end of the pattern (with the length you have specified) any events you record will be placed on top of the first run you recorded. This can be a messy clean up if you get into the groove and start playing similar but not exact patterns while the first set of events is playing back. On the other hand, if you are quick on the draw and a decent keyboard player, this can be the fastest means of entering counter melodies or harmonies within one instrument. Also...because just about every move you make on a particular instrument is tracked while the program is armed for recording, you will likely want to demo adjustments to your generators (as far as timbre goes) while the pattern is playing but the record arm is off. Of course, if you happen to get absorbed in the program and forget to disarm as I did, all of the events can be edited or deleted completely in the Piano roll view.

I’ll have one of those and one of these…Oooo, and one of those…

With a full set of 27 effects not counting the VST and DX plug-ins you can throw at it. There is ample processing power here to keep you busy (if not distracted). The Platinum version of Orion has a vast array of Delays, Reverbs, Dynamic processors (gate and compression), Filters and more. Any of these can be added to the mix by right clicking on the insert or aux send knob that you want to apply the effect to. Mixing of the effects is accomplished in the Master Section where returns for the four aux sends each have their own EQ, Fader strip and four inserts. Here signals can be bused around and reroutted in various ways. The included FX sound quite good on the whole and all have the capability to store your settings as presets. For advanced users, control of the Effects can be linked to alternate MIDI generators in the chain for more sophisticated automation and manipulation of effect parameters.

The Song Sequencer

Once you have fine tuned your generators and laid out all the patterns that will be the building blocks of your project, it is time to put them all together into one cohesive piece. Select the Song Mode from the header controls and "view" the Song Playlist. Here you will see all of your instruments listed in the order they appear in the Mixer View. Make a change to the order here and it will be reflected accordingly. To enter one of your pre-constructed patterns, all you need do is left click on the measure you wish to drop it into. Holding the mouse button down and dragging it up or down will change the pattern to others you have created (A1 to A2 for example). Scrolling with a mouse wheel will also have the same effect. The specified length of the pattern is reflected here making it easy to line up sections of different lengths. Double clicking on the pattern block will bring up the piano roll for that instrument. This window is open to zooming in and out and track colors can be changed for easy identification. Like Leggos...all you need to do is stack the pieces together to construct your masterpiece.

Room For Improvement

Being a "Loop hound" I appreciate the ability to use my substantial library of files in this program (through the beat detector), but I do wish for my own selfish reasons that these files could be freed from the sampler window and simply dropped into the project's song sequencer "acid style". Though this would limit some of the tweaking potential provided by the sampler, it would make song construction that much faster by eliminating the need to go through that extra detection process. This concept certainly couldn't hurt Orion and I rather think it would coincide perfectly with the otherwise easy-build style of the pattern based song sequencer. As it is now, (and a good feature) is that waves files can be inserted into the project in their own dedicated audio tracks, but the ability to edit them and view their parameters is limited. Even a right click for properties would go a long way to enhancing the use of wave files in the song sequencer. (Since the writing of this review I have been hipped to an update of the program which professes to remedy this problem - Orion is currently in version 3.8)

Orion can be used as a Rewire Master which is great, for those who use Reason and Live already...This feature gives you the power to use the substantial realtime audio processing (and looping) power of Live without sacrificing the simplicity of Orion's song construction. For current Live users, this sort of negates the point of the "acidization" I suggested earlier, but not everyone is lucky enough to have the program. With regard to Reason, Orion opens up the world of DX effects, which (to some reasonists) may only be considered a marginal improvement, but I think any option to increase processing potential is a good thing. I do wish that Orion would also slave to rewire for the purely selfish reason that I really dig the instruments and pattern sequencers and would love to be able to access them within my Sequencer of choice...did I say I was trying to keep things simple? I digress. It is possible to sync Orion through MIDI Time Code, if your current setup is not Rewire friendly.

Summary

I must admit that my review almost did not get written in time to meet my deadline. What started out as a rather hasty look at the program turned into several, truly absorbing hours of programming and tweaking. Every time I opened up a new sampler or synth I could not resist the temptation of turning a few knobs here or dropping a new lead line there. For its very modest price (under $200), the flexibility and sheer fun of this program make it a truly impressive value... and it is available now. Whether you are just starting out with basic programming or experienced, but looking for a new creative inspiration, Orion is a flexible tool that will get you up and making music in no time at all.

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