UVI UVX80 ¤79

Buying into the world of retro analogue synths is a funny old game. It seems that for every owner who hails their synth as an under-acknowledged classic, there are others who will decry it as a thin, digitalsounding waste of money – though this doesn’t seem to stop prices continuing to rise.

UVI have chosen to take one such classically anomalous synth – the Akai AX80 – and capture it for use in their sample-based UVI Workstation virtual instrument (also suitable for Falcom users). The AX80 hit the streets in the same year as Roland’s Juno-106 and had, on paper at least, a better specified sound engine – dual tunable oscillators plus sub oscillators, LFO and low-pass filter etc. However, it is perhaps closer to the Roland JX-3P, and certainly has its own sound.

As with their other vintage-inclined soundware, raw samples of various fixed patches are the starting point for a modern reimagining of the original. Whilst it is possible to play various sounds in a nearunadulterated state, additional processing allows you to create a wider range of more modern polished sounds, and certainly ones with more complexity.

There’s the usual UVI attention to detail in terms interface design, though there are times where the visual tribute to the original muddies the clarity of signal flow.

Overall though, at 79 euros, UVX80 won’t break the bank, and is another worthy addition to the UVI stable.

VERDICT 8.5