The interface is tricky, but this is a complex synth. I find the new GUI more appealing than the previous version. The cool part is, aside from the LFOs and Envelopes, all the controls are visible at all times. There a couple of things to watch out for because the default settings for knobs are often zero. For example, as soon as you assign an oscillator to a filter, the sound goes silent. These is because filters have a volume control that defaults to zero. Similarly, envelopes have no effect immediately after they're assigned because the "length" setting defaults to zero.
The sound is vastly improved over the previous version. Each oscillator now has a "Fat" oscillator to go with it that is slightly detuned from its mate. It's quite easy to get thick, monster sounds with these fat oscillators, the improved chorus and phasing effects in combination with the 24db/octave LP filter. Detuning the oscillator pairs from eachother is a little more tricky as pitch envelopes have to be used.
Many of the presets have a distant spacey sound akin to Ethereal's name. My favorites are "Submarine Bells" and "Distant". Despite its name, Ethereal is definately capable of some aggressive, thick analog sounds too. Using the stereo spread control can quickly add some depth to some of the presets.
The killer thing about Ethereral are its numerous 64 point, tempo-synced, looping envelopes for shaping various aspects of the sound. Each of these can operate at seperate tempos. Nicely, the curvature of the slope between the points is adjustable as well.
A very cool addition are the user oscillators. These have an extremely easy to use gui for creating oscillator shapes with drag-n-drop placement of additive synthesis harmonics. Ethereal excels at wierd looping rhythmic noises.
I only have two minor issues with Ethereal. It is a bit heavy on the CPU and I prefer other reverbs.
I haven't seen the new documentation yet. Ethereal is rock-solid stability-wise.
Customer support I would expect to be excellent. The developer has personally discussed the product with me via email and implemented some of my suggestions for improvement.
Check this one out. It's a GREAT value alternative for a complex envelope synth.Read Review
