Wednesday, June 25, 2014

XILS Lab XILS 4 Review



Recently I was given the opportunity to check out XILS Lab's new XILS 4, which is the successor of XILS 3, a plugin version of the famous VCS3 by Electronic Music Studios (EMS).  The original release of the VCS3 came in 1969, making it one of the oldest synthesizers, yet today it's still lusted after and used by many great electronic artists, like LCD Soundsystem, Vince Clarke, Brian Eno, and Kraftwerk.  At first sight, the VCS looks more like old communications equipment than it does a musical instrument, and the plugin's interface accurately recreates that feeling.  The interface isn't quite as easy to grasp as your more modern plugins at first, but if you're considering the X4, you likely know that and are embracing it, as different interfaces are what allow synthesists to create so many different sounds.