Post Description

EVOLVER 2 is a Kontakt sound library* based on the best sounds of the famous DSI Evolver synthesizer, and gives you a wide collection of vivid and powerful analogue sounds.

The design goal was to develop an ergonomic user interface to our sound library that exploits the advanced features of Kontakt. The result is a flexible synthesizer which offers fat and warm analogue sounds like the original hardware, but with the comfort of the software environment.

Most of the patches are velocity sensitive and they have been designed for live performers, so a good midi keyboard which supports velocity and aftertouch is highly recommended.

About the hardware

DSI Evolver is an incredible synthesizer that incorporates many of Dave Smith and Sequential's old secrets, circuits and technologies. It uses a monstrous four oscillator voice architecture - two analogue DCOs and two digital - with two independent Curtis analog low-pass filters.

The analogue hack

Evolver is a digital/analogue hybrid synth. It means the oscillators and filters are analogue, but the on-board effects (feedback, delay, distortion, hi-pass filter and mixer) are all digital. This concept is a very serviceable feature for performers, but a bit annoying for us – we don't need the digital effects, we want to use the original analogue sounds!

The "analogue hack" is a way to achieve this: it taps the analogue signals before the onboard effects' AD converters and leads it out as two separated dual mono channels. (This hardware modification needs a skilled technician, so many thanks to the absolute team!)

The results are true analogue sounds, without the unnecessary extra AD/DA conversions. Thanks to the advanced features of Kontakt, we can use its own effect arsenal in a much more flexible and complex way – and this is our big goal!

Features:

• ergonomic user interface

• new re-scaled faders (see pdf below for the details) for a natural feeling

• more than 100 custom made knobs, faders and switches to control the most important parameters of the synth

• customizable global MIDI implementation for 24 controllers

• host automation for 24 controllers

• 30 types of filter in 3 real-time switchable filter slots

• fully editable effects: equalizer, 2 types of distortion, delay, 2 types of reverb, comp

• 2 independent LFOs (waveforms: sine, triangle, square, saw, random) with tempo sync option, allowing modulation for 4 destinations: pitch, filter, volume and pan

• extensive modulation options for external sources: velocity, mod-wheel, channel aftertouch, random.

• template load/save option for sound design

Instruments

The Kontakt instruments of Evolver 2 (.nki files) are distributed in 8 categories:

• EV2 [All layers]
• EV2 Arp & Seq
• EV2 Bass
• EV2 Experimental & FX
• DF2 Key & Polysynth
• DF2 Lead
• DF2 Monosynth
• DF2 Pad& Atmosphere
• 370 patches in total, based on 1.55 GB 24 bit multisamples

The [All Layers] is a special folder for sound designers. It contains all of the instrument layers separately. The patches are “clean”, without any filter effect and with default envelope settings. They can be useful if you want to create new sounds from scratch.

Please note that these categories are not carved in stone, they're just our approach. For example you can use a bass sound as lead, or a polysynth key as monosynth lead or even a pad when you tweak it a bit... it's really up to you!

* Please note that Evolver 2 requires thefull retail version of Kontakt (v5.5.1 or more recent version), as it is not compatible with the free Kontakt Player (it will stop working after 15 minutes).

nJoy!