u-he ACE (Any Cable Everywhere) EURO69 - US$85, u-he ACE

If you're anything like me, you've probably looked at huge modular synthesizers with a large degree of awe mixed with a fair dose of confusion. Then preceded to figure out how good it would look in your studio, which furniture needs to be relegated to the shed for it to fit, and what gear you could sell to afford one. All the while understanding the impracticalities of owning a massive system including the steep learning curve, monophony, patching, not being able to save patches, not to mention sleep deprivation. Modular synthesizers are definitely relevant and certainly have their place in many applications, such as sound design and scoring. But to begin with, the cost of owning one puts it far out of reach of many people, just like me.

I am constantly looking for new ways to create new sounds that both sit well and hold their own in my productions, especially against my other software, plug-ins and hardware synthesizers, modern and vintage. My interest in sound design has lead to an interest in modular synthesizers. Unfortunately my budget hasn't. I was recently in a mates studio and he gave me the heads up about u-he. I don't normally get interested in new soft synths, but this one definitely gave me a nudge as it is based on the capabilities and possibilities of modular synthesizers.

Urs Heckmann has developed and released the u-he ACE (Any Cable Everywhere) that is taking a different approach at the saturated soft synth market by using a semi modular design incorporating solid basic audio signal generation with extensive modulation sources. Offering two oscillators, two LFOs, two filters, two ADSR envelope generators, a ramp generator, an oscilloscope with some well added, tweak-able parameters but not over saturated (which is mostly the case with other soft synths) effects. The layout of the ACE is well thought out and intuitive. Audio can even be produced without the virtual patch cords as the audio path connects these modules together. Where the ACE really shines is its ability to patch cables and modulate audio, al a modular style, and there are 25 signal sources and over 30 signal targets which create some really amazing sounds. This is where the fun begins.

ACE's adage of Any Cable Everywhere, really holds true. LFOs can be used to generate and pass audio, just as VCOs. Audio as well as controls from non-audio modules such as envelope generators can be patched to the inputs of any module. And there are plenty of options for this.

The modules available offer many inputs and generally a coupe of outputs that allow you to patch as many cables from the outputs as you like. Basic patches like routing the output of the ADSR to the filter can produce some really nice sharp timbres. The two multiple modules offer mixing capabilities of up to four audio signals with the additional capabilities of ring modulation and amp modulation. This can result in some really cold and crisp metallic noises, clangs and hits. One of the really interesting attributes is the ability to just randomly patch cables and tweak knobs until you soon stumble upon a really cool sound. Yet it will take focusing on the signal path to actually create the sounds you want and this might be more challenging for beginners as the spaghetti of cables can be confusing as to the affect they have on the audio. The saving grace is that the manual covers many of the features for those still unsure of the sheer number of possibilities available. And it is a simple read.

While the oscilloscope looks neat sitting top and middle and is a good representation of what it going on with the audio, the novelty fades as you quickly get the feeling that it was placed there to fill a gap. It is limited to displaying audio waveforms only. There are simple voice controls that also give the opportunity to stack the patch with itself. This can lead to some seriously powerful sounds but at the expensive of your CPU as it quickly eats up the available power. U-he make no efforts to cover this up, in fact readily warn you that it is CPU intensive. I find that with most patches it is actually fairly well behaved and about on par with similarly capable soft synths.

While most of the fun occurs on the synth window, there is an additional tweak windows. The tweak window has some really cool features like stacked voice tuning, circuit bending - slop, cross talk and osc cap failure as well as the mapping generator and additional tweaking parameters. These features can really contribute towards making the synth behave just like some of my not too stable vintage hardware synths. Set some of these parameters to about 10% and you get that lovely sounding analogue-esque drift and instability.

Speaking of the sound, the moment you load up an instance of ACE you get a very rich and warm sound that is as analogue as any other soft synth I've used, except Spectrasonics Omnisphere (which uses samples of vintage synths instead of self generating waveforms). The basic sound of ACE is as good as it gets. But gets even better once you start patching cables and tweaking. One of the surprisingly positive things about the ACE is that each patch is not saturated with effects but rather they are tastefully applied here and there. The effects that are available, especially the chorus, actually sounds pretty nice which is reassuring. I constantly have to turn off the multitude of effects found on other soft synths and when I do I generally find that the underlying sound leaves plenty to be desired. Not so with the ACE. They have nailed the underlying sound which means they don't have to drown it in space-y futuristic sounding - complete song in a single preset - effects.

The patch window displays the presets in a simple and straight forward column view and one feature I really like is the short notes the designer has written, mixed with a suggestions now and again. This is really cool to hear how the patch can be changed especially for those not all together familiar with creating intricate patches.

u-he have created a vastly flexible and very powerful soft synth. Urs Heckmann explains that the software synthesizer ACE delivers top quality sound at a highly competitive price. With selection of modules and clear layout make ACE the ideal instrument for newcomers. While I definitely agree on the first two points, I hope he is referring to newcomers to modular synthesis because someone trying to start learning the very basics on the ACE will quickly get confused and frustrated with the patching and cables.

The ACE scores top marks from me for software. It has everything going for it and trivial things against it. The sound is really amazing. The interface is neat and straightforward for someone with at least a small understanding of creating good sounds. The price is low. Actually I almost forgot about the price, it is that insignificantly significant. If you're just like me then you have to weigh up the feasibility of every purchase. But the price is EURO69 or US$85, which is stupidly cheap for a synth that offers this much flexibility and power. Yeh, you read that right, it is that cheap. US$85 for the ACE will be one of the best investments you could make to your studio. And this is coming from someone who tries to justify the $000's on a real modular, yet with the ACE you get some really clever added features. You get multiple instances that you can simultaneously use. Patch memory. Polyphony, chords. This addresses all the weaknesses of a real modular at a mere fraction of the price in fact you soon forget about the price and start remembering that sound. Along with the u-he Zebra, I find myself reaching for the ACE when I load up a template or start a new track, especially when I want to have some fun, sit back, tweak sounds and create new timbres.

Pros:

That sound. As close to nailing that analogue sound as software can get.

Patching that is actually fun, creating plenty of unusual sounds.

That price.

Not drowned in effects.

Cons:

Not ideal for beginners, but a good start for those with some knowledge also those interested in modulars.

High CPU usage when running multiple instances and intensive patches.