Harmony Central Buying Guides

Electronic Musician has collected information on thousands of products from hundreds of manufacturers and organized it into easy-to-understand charts. These charts give you a detailed overview of available products and provide many useful specifications for comparison.

Software Instruments

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Page 5 (Native Instruments - Software Technology)

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Manufacturer	Product	Version	Type	Minimum System Requirements	Automation	Format	Synthesis Methods	Special Features	Price
Native Instruments	Xpress Keyboards	1	Software synthesizer bundle	N/A	No	N/A	Subtractive/analog modelling/FM		$119
Native Instruments	Pro-53	3	Synth	Win 98, 2000, ME, XP, Pentium 266 MHz, 64 MB RAM, Mac OS 8.6 or higher, G3 266 MHz, 64 MB RAM	Yes	Standalone, VST 2.0, DirectConnect, MAS, FreeMIDI, ASIO, SoundManager, DXi, MME, DirectSound	Subtractive	Fashioned after the vintage cult synths of the '80s, includes effects unit	$199
Native Instruments	Battery	1.01	Drum sampler	Win 98, 2000, ME, XP, Pentium 266 MHz, 64 MB RAM, Mac OS 8.6 or higher, G3 266 MHz, 64 MB RAM	Yes	Standalone, VST 2.0, DirectConnect, MAS, FreeMIDI, ASIO, SoundManager, DXi, MME, DirectSound	Sampling	For drum sounds, 54 inst., each w/128 velocity layers, tuning, vol., pitch, bit reduction, shaper, F	$199
Native Instruments	Elektrik Piano	1	Electric piano software instr.	N/A	Yes	N/A	Sample playback		$229
Native Instruments	Intakt	1	Loop sampler	N/A	Yes	N/A	Sample playback		$229
Native Instruments	Kompakt	1	Sample player	N/A	No	N/A	Sample playback/subtractive		$229
Native Instruments	Bandstand	1	N/A	N/A	Yes	N/A	Sample playback		$229
Native Instruments	B4	1.1	Tonewheel organ	Win 98, 2000, ME, XP or NT 4.0, Pentium 233 MHz, Mac OS 8.6 or higher, PPC 604, 233 MHz, 64 MB RAM	Yes	VST 2.0 , ASIO, SoundManager, DirectConnect, MAS, DXi, MME	Additive	Authentic simulation of the original tonewheel organ, scanner vibrato / chorus, rotary speaker	$235
Native Instruments	FM7	1.1	Synth	Win 98, 2000, ME, XP, Pentium III 450 MHz, 128 MB RAM, 16-bit sound card, Mac OS 8.6 or higher, G4 400	Yes	Standalone, VST 2.0, ASIO, DirectConnect, MAS, SoundManager , FreeMIDI, DXi, MME , DirectSound	FM synthesis, subtractive, wavetable	Extended sound architecture, analog - style editing, graphical editors	$299
Native Instruments	Absynth	3	Semi modular synth	Win 98, 2000, XP Pentium 400 MHz, 128 MB RAM, Mac G3 400 MHz, 128 MB RAM (plug-in use)	Yes	Standalone, VST 2.0, ASIO, DirectConnect, MAS, SoundManager, FreeMIDI, DXi, MME, DirectSound	Additive, subtractive, FM, AM, ring modulation, and wave shaping	68 breakpoints per env, semimodular, drawable waveforms, authentic tonewheel organ simulation	$299
Native Instruments	Akoustik Piano	1	Grand piano software instrument	N/A	No	N/A	Sample playback/modeling		$349
Native Instruments	Kontakt	N/A	Sampler	Win 98, 2000, ME, XP, Pentium 300 MHz, 128 MB RAM, Mac OS 8.6 or higher, G3 300 MHz, 128 MB RAM	Yes	Standalone, VST 2.0, DirectConnect, MAS, FreeMIDI, ASIO, SoundManager, DXi, MME, DirectSound	Granular, resynthesis, sampling	Dynamic resource allocation, real-time granular time - stretching, comprehensive modulation capabiliti	$399
Native Instruments	Reaktor	3	Modular synth	Win 98, 2000, ME, XP, Pentium 300 MHz, 128 MB RAM, Mac OS 8.6 or higher, G3 300 MHz, 128 MB RAM	Yes	Standalone, VST 2.0, DirectConnect, MAS, FreeMIDI, ASIO, SoundManager, DXi, MME, DirectSound	Subtractive, FM, Wavetable, Sampling, Granular, Additive, Resynthesis and more	Native modular real-time software for synthesis, sampling and effects processing, instruments and pr	$499
Native Instruments	NI Komplete	3	Synthesizer, sampler, effects, bundle	N/A	Yes	N/A	N/A		$1,499
NuEdge Development	Sonic Charge MicroTonic	2	Drum machine	Win 2000/XP, Mac OS X 10.2	Yes	VSTi 2.0	100% synthetic, no samples or tables used	Pattern based drum-machine engine	$89
NUSofting	DK+ Virtual Drum	1.2	Drum machine sequencer	Win	Yes	VSTi	Sample playback	Style library with hundreds of patterns	$40
Nyr Sound	Chaosynth	2	Synth	Win 9x, VST host, DXi host, or Sketch (by Nyr Sound)	Yes	VST, DXi, standalone (via Sketch)	Granular driven by cellular automata	Cellular automata	$90
Nyr Sound	Ice	1	Subtractive synth	Win 9x	Yes	DXi, VST, standalone (via Sketch)	Subtractive	Lots of modulations, large number of components available	$90
Propellerheads Software	ReBirth	2.0.1	Techno micro composer	Win 95, Pentium, Mac OS 7.5.3, PowerPC 66 MHz, 16 MB RAM	Yes	Standalone, VSTi, ReWire	Analog modeling	Accurate software emulation of the classic techno boxes: TB-303, TR-808 and TR-909	$179
Propellerheads Software	ReCycle	2.1	Groove sampler	Win 2000/XP, PII 300, 128 MB RAM, Mac OS X 10.2.8, G3, G4, G5, 128 MB RAM	Yes	Standalone	Sample playback	Slices audio loops, saves RX2, Soundfont, SampleCell, S6000 files. Reason Adapted included.	$249
Propellerheads Software	Reason	3	Synth, sampler, drum machine, analog sequencer and effect units	Win XP or Mac OS X 10.3, 256 MB RAM, 2 GB free hard disk space, CD-ROM, monitor 800x600 resolution	Yes	Standalone, ReWire	Sample playback, subtractive, granular, wavetable	Virtual rack of synthesizers, drum machines, samplers and effect units patchable with virtual cables	$499
Rob Papen	Albino	N/A	Virtual instrument	PC or Mac that matches the host software requirements (min. 500 MHz)	Yes	VST 2.0	Sample playback	1,250 professional - quality presets by Rob Papen	$200
Rob Papen	Blue	N/A	Virtual instrument	VST 2.0 and AU plug-in synthesizer for PC and Mac	Yes	VST 2.0, AU	Sample playback	FM synthesis, phase distortion synthesis, wave shaping synthesis	$200
Roland	VariOS	2.5	Synth, sampler	Win ME, 2000, XP, Mac OS 9/X	Yes	Standalone and with computer	VariPhrase, sample playback, analog model	Open System Module, V-Producer software	$1,495
Scarbee	Scarbee Imperial Drums XL	3.2	Acoustic drum module	Win XP, OS X 10.25, 1.5 GB RAM, 36 GB HD space	Yes	VST, DXi2, AU, ReWire and standalone	Disk streaming sample playback, powered by Steinberg HALion Player	Drum kits, 12 different stick types; 3 beater types for BD	$299
Scarbee	Scarbee Vintage Keyboard Collection	3.2	Sample based emulation of electric pianos	Win XP,OS X 10.2.5, 1 GB RAM, 11 GB HD Space	Yes	VST, DXi2, AU, ReWire, standalone	Disk streaming sample playback, powered by Steinberg HALion Player	Quality emulation of Rhodes MK1 73, Wurlitzer 200A, Clavinet D6 and Pianet N; 18,000 samples, 11 GB	$349
SeerMusic Systems	SurReal	1.01	Synth, sampler	Win 9x, 64 MB RAM	No	Standalone, integrates into any sequencer	Sample playback, virtual analog, advanced FM, physical models, model synthesis, combined synthesis	Plays back Banksets created in Reality and SF2s. Authors SeerMusic Works.	$49
SeerMusic Systems	Reality	1.56	Softsynth, sampler, sound design	Win 9x, 64 MB RAM	Yes	Standalone, integrates into any sequencer	Sample playback, virtual analog, advanced FM, physical models, model synthesis, combined synthesis		$99
SeerMusic Systems	SuperConductor Pro	3.4	Sampler, interpreter	Win, Mac, 64 MB RAM	Yes	Standalone	Hierarchical pulse, predictive note shaping, organic vibrato, expressive intonation tuning	Create realistic performances	$299
Software Technology	VAZ Plus 2	2.02	Synth	Win 9x, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Pentium II, 32 MB RAM	Yes	Standalone, VSTi, DXi	Analog, sample playback, subtractive	Analog polyphonic sequencer	$69
Manufacturer	Product	Version	Type	Minimum System Requirements	Automation	Format	Synthesis Methods	Special Features	Price

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