The M-Tron has been a “must” for any vintage sounds’ lover since when it came out, years ago.Now with the M-tron Pro they are taking the whole concept to a new level.
You’ll probably remember GForce released another product in the meantime, Vintage String Machine, or VSM. Well, we could say the M-Tron Pro is the direct evolution of both.
It has (of course) the original sounds from the M-Tron, and it ads a lot of new sounds coming from some rare Mellotron banks (45 brand-new tape banks) as well as from other cult instruments (Birotron, Optigan, etc.) Some of the original sounds have also been remastered at Abbey Road Studios; you know this is old stuff and it needs some beauty treatment…! For those who hate the 8 seconds playing system of the original sounds, well, there are also looped samples available now. Please, don’t tell the purists, thanks!
M-Tron Pro is VSM’s heir for the underlying sampler engine and controls. Basically if you know VSM you’ll feel at home here, while original M-Tron users will be amazed at the control power they have with this new beast: dual layer and split keyboard operation, 29 parameters per layer including synth parameters, vintage-style ensemble and delay effects, low-pass, band-pass and high-pass resonant filter section, dynamic keyboard control, including filter aftertouch.
Wait, there’s something more: they added also the Tape reverse and Tape half speed buttons, which lets you alter the sound in an interesting way.
As in VSM, there are tons of great patches created by “world class recording artists and programmers”. The good old Wakeman is part of the team, let’s hope he did not burn his monitor after creating the patches!
A special mention goes also to the…. pdf manual. Yes, it’s one of the few times where I would have liked to have it on paper, since it’s really a useful and very entertaining read. Don’t skip it, ok?
That said, if you have the original M-Tron and want more control over the sound + more sounds (did I tell you there are also some Roland VP330 choirs?), go for it. The M-Tron Pro Upgrade costs €59.00 (plus VAT if applicable).
If you are new to these sounds, well, have a look at GForce’s website and listen to some of the demos. There are good chances you’ll fall in love with the M-Tron Pro and you’ll end up buying it. With €139.00 (plus VAT if applicable) you’ll get hours and hours of fun.
Platforms: standalone, RTAS and VST on Windows XP/SP2, Vista 32, Vista 64, RTAS, AU and VST on OS X 10.4.x, OSX 10.5.x.
Read also the interview with Dave Spiers, co-founder of GForce.
