Review: Serum Advanced Wavetable Synthesizer from Xfer Records

6

Hey what’s good fam!

I finally got my hands on Serum last month after hearing so much about it, thanks to Steve over at Xfer for letting me check it out.

Anyway, if you haven’t heard, it’s a super powerful wavetable synth, but what intrigued me about it was the interface seemed really easy to understand.

Let’s jump into it and see what it’s all about!

So what is Serum?

serumOn the site it’s labeled as an “Advanced Wavetable Synthesizer” , now if you’re anything like me, when you hear “wavetable” you start to think of synths with complex interfaces.

Well, one of the main aspects of Serum was to not only make it sound good, but graphically inviting so that you can really experiment and manipulate all the powerful wavetable synthesis under the hood.

I dig simple, I dig clean, I dig good sounding,  and I dig powerful, all great aspects to have in a synth in my opinion.

I’m never one to say a synth is “the end all” I think each has it’s own character and style to bring to the table. What I will say, is that Serum is a super powerful synth that anyone can wrap their head around no matter what level of synth user you may be.

Quick Specs

So how does it sound?

Reel to Reel Tape RecorderOn first listen, Serum has an aggressive, “in your face” sound that’s popular in many contemporary musical styles.

However, you know I’m more of an ambient/organic guy, and I was pleased to find Serum capable of such sounds as well.

You can get everything from super deep smooth bass, to aggressive bass, leads, and smooth ambient pads. I even found some beautiful plucks and bell type sounds.

The great thing about wavetables is you can get so many different characters from manipulating them, not to mention the fact that you can import your own, or even draw up brand new waves and create them out of thin air using formulas!

Overall it has a very high quality sound, definitely digital, but it can be both smooth and aggressive, both huge and subtle.

I must also say that I was impressed with the fx in the synth and I feel really worked well within the engine.

So what’s the bottom line?

No doubt, there’s always a new synth coming out, and there are usually a few leaders of the pack, Serum is definitely one of those and for me the main draw is not just how powerful it can be, but how accessible it makes wavetable synthesis, no confusion, no tedious tweaking, just see it, tweak it, and get results.

4andhalfsubsI give Serum 4.5 out of 5 subs, I think it’s a very powerful synth for anyone looking to manipulate existing sounds or come up with brand new ones. 

It’s super powerful but that doesn’t come at the cost of usability, and I dig  that.

Steve seems to be a great guy who is passionate about his products, and I can always appreciate that.

Go checkout the site: https://www.xferrecords.com/products/serum/

Leave a comment below and let me know what you think.

6 Comments

  1. SJ: Thanks for showing others this great vst synthesizer. I’ve been using Serum for a few months now and it’s a good synth. Your review is right on… & I agree with the 4.5 ratings.

    Reply

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