SQ8L


	Features SQ8L Clav Shootout


	SQ8L updated to version .91b! New features include Authentic Panel GUI for easy programming, Always-On Sound Engine that audibly responds to parameter changes in real time Amazing Unbound Cross-Modulating LFOs with logarithmic curves and exotic wave-followers.

		Watch this space for tutorials, videos and tips for the hot new SQ8L/SQ8X VST!

There IS such a thing as a Free Lunch!

Rarely has the “you get what you pay for” concept been more wrong than in the case of the absolutely free SQ8L VST instrument from Synthmiester Seigfried Kullmann. If you would have told me 20 years ago that someday an IBM-compatible PC would be able to run a spot-on software-based clone of the SQ80, I would have said “yeah right, and Weird Al Yankovic will have a number one album and Battlestar Galactica will be an acclaimed series.”

it just shows how much I know.

It would be enough for the VST to be a tone-perfect recreation of the SQ80, which it is. As it stands, the SQ80 is one of the most faithful “classic synth reproductions” in the industry, and that’s saying something. In a world where major industry players can funnel tens of thousands of dollars into R&D and still come up with clones that resemble, but don’t duplicate the original, the SQ8L nails it! Compare this to reviews of the formidable MiniMoog, Prophet and Roland VST clones out there. Even casual reviewers will comment on the fact that the software clones bear a striking similarity to their hardware predecessors, but fail when it comes to perfect emulation.

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DOC Knows Best

The story of how Seigfried Kullmann came to model the SQ80 so closely is really the tale of two DOCs. Doctor Rainer Buchty, who extensively re-engineered the original hardware, and the Ensoniq DOC chip.

Rainer’s work made him come to realize the importance of the famous Ensoniq DOC chip to the sonic character of the synth.

This is the same chip that is the heart of the groundbreaking Ensoniq Mirage and the infamous Apple II GS. In fact, the Ensoniq music component caused the second round of lawsuits between the Beatles Apple Corps. music empire and Apple Computer.

The resulting lattice of agreements between the two companies began a series of events that would culminate in Apple’s near-dominance of the music industry in the early 21st century with the iPod and iTunes! You could almost say that this musical empire all began with a little 8 bit chip designed by Ensoniq uber-genius and co-founder Robert "Bob" Yannes (who also created the famous Commodore 64 SID chip!).

What’s Up DOC!

While other soft synths like the Wusikstation essentially duplicate the Ensoniq signal flow, only Seigfried Kullmann has developed a sound based on the specifications of the original Ensoniq sound engine. It could be argued that the DOC chip has as much or more influence on the sound than the famous Curtis filter bank that graces the synth. Without this key innovation, the SQ8L (and its commercial big brother, the SQ8X) would be just another VST.

But the SQ8L is more than just a clone. One look at the capabilities of the LFO section, for example, and any die-hard synthesist will be in module nirvana! But don’t take my word for it. Download the free VST and fire it up in your host. The sound will blow you away. Or double your money back!

Download the VST from Buchtynet!