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reFX NEXUS2
Is a next generation ROM synthesizer-plugin that delivers a level of sonic quality unsurpassed by even the highest end hardware. Euphoric leads, glowing keys, otherworldly pads… NEXUS2 does it.
Nexus2 is the kind of instrument that you go to when you don’t want to spend time programming – it’s a ROMpler rammed full of inspirational, pro-quality sounds.Updates to the original Nexus brought many improvements, such as a new distortion effect, a polyphonic/chord arpeggiator mode with strum option, an internal limiter, and lock modes, so that sections retained settings when switching presets.reFX claims that version 2 packs in more than 70 brand new features and refinements.
The Library tab enables you to browse the 7622 factory presets via the faux-LCD screen. These are split into 164 subcategories, including Arpeggios, Dance Leads, Piano, Fantasy and Dream, Epic Pads, Gated Pads, Classical and more.
Tweaking potentialYou can’t create sounds from scratch using Nexus2, or import samples into it, but there are sound-shaping options aplenty. The front panel knobs and buttons are unchanged since v1, yet the LCD panel offers some neat new tricks.The Mod screen offers control over vibrato, portamento and pitchbend (now with a +/-48 semitone range), but the main point of interest is the spruced-up modulation matrix. This now has over 100 destinations, and all effects (except ensemble) have at least one modulatable parameter.Mod sources include the mod wheel, aftertouch, pitchbend, CC and host automation, and twin user LFOs. When we used the first version of Nexus we grumbled about the lack of those user LFOs (they eventually debuted in v1.2), so this time we’re going to suggest that since the mod matrix is more powerful, there should be user ADSRs too.Nexus2’s arpeggiator and Trancegate each have their own page and are among the best we’ve seen. As well as the usual arpeggiator modes for up, down, order, and so on, Nexus2’s has a mini-sequencer in which you can set the octave and – new for v2 – semitone transposition per step.Sequences can be up to 32 steps long, and you can set the note length and velocity for each. The display zooms in and out as you adjust the length, so that the sequence always occupies its full width. Markers above the sequencer area show quarter-note beats and the current play position, and there’s a movable loop-point marker.Fans of funk will enjoy the new Shuffle option, although we’d like eighth-note swing, too. Strangely, the random mode didn’t work – it gave the same results as the ordered one.Whereas the arpeggiator triggers notes within the synth, the trancegate is an effect – it modulates the volume level, and can create choppy, gated trance pads. The length is now freely adjustable and new Delay and Fadein controls can introduce the gate effect gradually when a new note is played (we’d like this on the vibrato too). The marker and shuffle functionality of the arpeggiator are replicated here as well.There are lots of preset patterns for the arp and trancegate, and you can also set odd pattern lengths for each to create shifting, prog-tastic polyrhythms.
SummarySome computer musicians are quick to knock Nexus, and while it isn’t a full-on synth, there is plenty of scope for taking a factory patch and twisting it into something different. Many of v2’s additions are conducive to this, so the upgrade makes sense for existing users who want to get more out of the instrument.For a huge bank of high-quality, ready-to-go synthetic tones for contemporary genres, it’s hard to beat Nexus2. Many of the sounds are instantly inspiring in themselves, and the slick interface and preset categorisation help to keep that inspiration flowing.We can’t say that about every virtual instrument and the majority of them don’t sound as good as Nexus2, either.
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Category: Musical Instruments:Pro Audio Equipment:Software, Loops and Samples
Location: Exeter