Persephone listed in SOS 'Modular Gear Of The Year'
One of a flurry of all‑analogue modules released by Expert Sleepers this year, which also included a mightily impressive filter, phaser and oscillator, the Persephone is a VCA that you will go back to again and again.
Read the full article here and read their original review of Persephone here.
New analogue modules video by Tom Churchill
Analogue module series reviewed in SOS
The actual tone of the Persephone is glorious … Overall, and I do not say this lightly, the Persephone is probably the best small‑format VCA I have come across in Eurorack
Read the full review here.
Beardyman in Computer Music Magazine
Silent Way v2 reviewed in Future Music
If you're looking to control CV-equipped analogue hardware from the comfort of your DAW, we can't recommend it highly enough.
Two new Silent Way v2 reviews
Computer Music magazine (issue CM186) gave Silent Way five out of five stars in their review:
It takes a lot to blow our minds, but Expert Sleepers has done it again. If you own a modular hardware synth and you don't have Silent Way, you simply aren't getting the most out of your hardware. It's one of the most spectacularly useful pieces of music software ever made.
Sound On Sound have published a very thorough review in their January 2013 issue:
The control voltages generated by the software are, however, sample-accurate, and I found the sense of ‘connection’ with my old synths tangibly better when playing them in real time using Silent Way, as opposed to through my MIDI interface and a MIDI-to-CV converter. A few recordings proved that the synths were much quicker to respond and more consistent in timing. I typically have to audio-quantise analogue bass sequences to get them as tight as I like, but those generated by Silent Way needed no quantisation to feel solidly nailed to the beat.
ES-4 named in CDM's "Greatest New Stuff In Eurorack"
The comment thread below the article includes this rather nice comment:
“what Expert Sleepers is doing today is definitely a game changer and certainly can implement all sorts of ties between computer based music to a greater extent. Ties aren't new between computers and analog synths, but the approach of audio devices outputting precision DC signals and the ready to use software tools readily available is a new dimension”
Silent Way & ES modules reviewed in Synthesizer Magazin
Silent Way & ES-3 reviewed by Sonic State
“I rarely get to review stuff which I feel is almost flawless, but I think this is one of those occasions”
Silent Way reviewed in Future Music magazine
“Incredible options for controlling modular synths”
“Silent Way is a no-brainer”
“Silent Way opens up sound design options that'd be expensive, difficult or impossible any other way. It's a fantastic new approach to controlling analogue Control Voltage hardware.”
“... one of the most friendly plug-and-play pieces of hardware you'll ever have the pleasure to use.”
Silent Way reviewed in Tape Op magazine
Silent Way gets 10/10 in Computer Music
It got a score of 10/10.
Some extracts:
“It works beautifully. We tried it with a Minimoog, Synthesizers.com modular, Odyssey, Roland SH-101 and even the notoriously cantankerous EMS VCS3. Silent Way was able to get each one to play nicely for at least three octaves.”
“For us, Silent Way is a no-brainer. It’s considerably cheaper than the competition and Expert Sleepers are constantly updating it. It’s a truly brilliant solution to an age old problem and one that might make you reevaluate the practicalities of owning a vintage synth.”
Silent Way reviewed in Sound On Sound
You can read the full review here.“If you dream of controlling your analogue synths from within your DAW software, it may be that your audio interface will let you do just that — with a little help from this plug-in suite.”
“My time with Silent Way was quite a liberating experience.”
“Voice Controller is the star of the show for me. Slick and self-contained, this has the effect of pulling a much-loved analogue synth into the heart of your DAW, with a level of control that is usually the reserve of a virtual instrument.”
“Silent Way is a genuine alternative to a MIDI-to-CV interface, and capable of a greater level of sophistication.”
Brian Eno on Expert Sleepers
Instruments that sound good inspire better music, and it's a struggle to make music with bad-sounding instruments, irrespective of how talented you might be. Software instruments are no different: although they are usually discussed and sold in terms of their 'features' what really makes you return to an instrument repeatedly is the much more elusive factor of inspirational sound quality.
I don't know enough about programming to understand why some software tools fascinate you while others make you want to get another job, but I do know that when I use anything by ES I get excited by what I'm hearing. These tools have the sonic richness of great analogue instruments - with the features of innovative digital ones.
- Brian Eno