5 Reasons to Love VPS Avenger
Vengeance-Sound’s VPS Avenger is a seriously powerful instrument – so much so that it’s possible to use one instance of this ‘synth’ to build an entire track! With comprehensive sequencing, effects routing and even a drum machine onboard [wait, what?] it’s probably no stretch to say that this is one of the most ambitious instruments ever made. So here’s what’s so special about VPS Avenger?
1) It’s got a Whole Drum Machine Inside!
Avenger’s got wavetables, analogue signals, sampling, draw-your-own and granular oscillators, but perhaps the most interesting thing to load up is an entire drum machine with a whole library of preset kits and patterns.
The drum machine can be played with the onboard drum sequencer found below the oscillators, and can even be routed through its own effects setup, as can any other oscillator. Here’s more about that…
2) Every Oscillator can have Different Effects
There are plenty of effects to send Avenger’s oscillators through, but not every single one has to go through the same treatments. Each has its own routing map and can be sent through a specific chain of processors, independent of what the other oscillators are doing.
You can see where each oscillator is being sent by looking at the effect modules as well. In the image below, one oscillator is going to filter 1, one to filter 3, and a further two are both going through filter 2. When the signals hit the next step, the combination can be completely different.
3) Instant Supersaws and One-Finger Chords
Detuning is handled by the dedicated V-Saw panel, where Avenger’s signal generators can be spread apart in a unison style, for those dripping electronic supersaws, or even super-marimbas, should you want something like that. Here there’s also vibrato settings including amount and fade-in.
You also get a Voicing panel, which lets you set up multiple notes at different positions, creating chords when you input only a single note. Sub oscillator settings are also here.
4) Insert FX Racks
Not only does Avenger have great effects and easy ways to route them, you can also combine multiple effects together into a grouped rack system. As well as a Master FX rack for the synth’s output, there are also Send Racks, which you can access from any oscillator’s effects routing, making this part of its signal chain at any point compared to the other effects processors.
5) Getting in the Zone
The central panel’s Zone page lets you define keysplits and layering for your oscillators. This means that you could set oscillator 1 to play over the first three octaves of your keyboard, oscillator two to play the middle three, and oscillator 3 to play the top two, and so on.
You can overlap, combine or separate the various parts of your patch however you want using this method, and it comes in especially handy when you add the onboard drum machine into the bargain.