Great synth, but please fix this:

Virtual instruments Retrologue
1

R2 is still my favorite synth, but I wish Steinberg would fix existing issues:

  • something is weird about the keytracking center note; for instance, when I set it to C4 and then do the test to confirm it, it matches the virtual R2 keyboard, but in my DAW it is C5
  • often value readouts simply cease to show up
  • the browser should remember how I set it; with every launch I have to click 4 times to get it to that state again, including sorting
  • selecting another patch in the browser should automatically load it, not require a double click; like in Diva
  • there is something wrong with the self-oscillation of the filter; notes start with a delay; and it sounds a bit weak and cheap above 80% or so
  • the release of the envelopes should stop when setting it to zero; currently when I accidentally set it to max, it will play and play and play, even though I have set it back to zero and retriggered the note with zero release
  • speaking of the envelopes, the sustain levels should change live as I move the slider; currently one has to play the note again and again to check whether the new sustain setting is ideal
  • sometimes when switching from single to multi voice mode in the oscillators, the waveform jumps from saw to sine, so I have to switch it back to saw manually
  • two-hand operation for resetting parameters to zero and fine-setting is a PITA, for instance when setting the cross-modulation or XOR parameter right, which is a bit tricky and requires fine-setting
  • with patches with long release and/or effects, the sound tail is carried over to the next patch when changing patches; that sucks
  • although it is more of a feature request, I think a stereo width control for the multi voice mode in the oscillator sections would make sense; basses do not like width, but traditional unison
2

Steinberg and Yamaha are amongst those who name the middle C “C3”, where elsewhere it is named “C4”. That’s just the way it is. But keep requesting this to be changeable. We are requesting a flexible approach for Cubase for 30 years now.

3

I see. But still, it doesn’t really matter where a company puts the middle C, because C4 for instance is defined by its exact frequency, not by its distance from middle C. So how can a C3 (130.81 Hz) be a C4 (261.63 Hz)? One side is wrong…

4

It is actually not defined in the MIDI specification and thus manufacturers back in the 1980’s were free to chose what midi pitch 60 is called.
Look, I don’t want to get into an argument about this. It is a discussion that runs through humanity for some decades already.