Utopia

I received this product for free during a promotion. I'm not into trance (I prefer house/techno) and I have a strong preference for synths over sample libraries/instruments, so I'm a bit unfavourably biased towards a product like this; anyway I think this is a good tool if you want those "cliché" sounds.

I went through all the presets while playing with my keyboard and I was immediately drawn into making trance (or maybe EDM?) melodies/hooks, so I think this instrument does what it's supposed to do. Some presets may have a bit too much reverb for my taste (I didn't look into the controls avaible in the Kontakt instrument, but I'm quite confident it can be turned down), but the overall quality is very good.

Utopia is geared towards trance music, but I think it can be useful also for dance / pop music when some "trance" elements are needed. I think it's one of those "don't mess too much with gear and write actual songs" instruments.

Would I suggest this product? I don't know. I'm biased because I love using the actual synths synths, but if you like working with the Play Instruments serie and you're looking for a one stop shop for those sounds, Utopia may be a good choice (maybe also for people like me who prefer programming their synths: Utopia could be used as a writing tool and then the synths could be involved in a later stage of the production process, when the song has been written).

It's difficult for me to give a rating to a product like this, because it's not really part of my world... I was unsure if giving 3 or 4 out of five (maybe 3,5 out of 5? :P), but my overall opinion is positive, hence the 4.

Also, please keep in mind that I'm somehow spoiled when it comes to gear (especially synths), so my ratings could be different (lower?) from the average user...