ImpOSCar2

Synths come in all shapes and sizes, both in the physical world and the digital medium. Learning to play with just a few of these amazing instruments may open gates to an almost infinite variety of sounds which may significantly enhance your compositions.

Take for example the OSCar, a rare analog-digital hybrid that was produced during the first half of the 1980s and was very much ahead of its time due to its unusual features that blended subtractive and additive synthesis. I’m giving it as an example because it represents the inspiration for the product that I’m going to review today, namely the ImpOSCar2.

Yes, ImpOSCar2 is an emulation of the rare OSCar, but unlike the original monophonic instrument, it offers full polyphony and plenty of other features, if you’re able to find them. Although the resizable interface imitates the original and is a joy to look at, don’t expect the labels near the knobs to reveal more than half of the instrument’s capabilities.

Even though you’ll quickly understand the standard subtractive workflow and you’ll be able to play notes in no time, it will take you more than a few tutorial videos before you understand how to use aux modulation, ring modulation, or even how to use the arpeggiator.

Thankfully, ImpOSCar2 comes with a ridiculous amount of presets which you can use right away. Since the original was a hybrid between analog and digital, you can imagine that you’re going to get a very wide variety of sounds. This is also evidenced by the displays of each oscillator; apart from the standard waveform representations, you can also select parameters such as Full Organ, Harpsichord, or Strong Lead.

Another feature worth mentioning is that you can use ImpOSCar2 as an audio effect for an input track, and there are also many presets in the FX category. It’s already obvious that ImpOSCar2 is a very powerful and versatile instrument; you only need just a bit of time to understand all its features properly.