NOTE: I did not accept any money for this review, from Brain Control or anyone. The thoughts and opinions below are entirely my own.
So I downloaded the free TuneFish 4 synth from Brain Control – it’s the first non-GB synth I’ve used – and I’ve tinkered around for a couple months now. I have to say, I’m finding it to be a pretty versatile, user-friendly experience.
TuneFish stood out for me in my research because multiple reviewers commented on the range of sounds it could produce, and it’s recommended for EDM artists, which is the type of music I’m currently drawn towards.
Let’s start with the good stuff.
TuneFish 4 has both additive and subtractive synthesis options, sporting bandwidth, harmonics, drive, and white noise knobs (to name a few), as well as a range of filters, two ASDR envelopes, and two LFOs.
All of these act on a single oscillator, but a unisono effect can split this channel into up to ten different voices.
It also allows a number of modulation effects – which is fast becoming my favourite part – so I can control any one of those knobs using either the EGs or the LFOs. And there’s also a few special effects, like reverb, delay, flanger, and so on worth playing with.
One of the coolest features is the ability to use one mod to modulate another. This helps create a sense of randomness in a track, when using white noise to create a weather effect, for example.
All this gives me a lot of tools to craft and shape, without being overwhelming. There’s a helpful display of the waveform so I can actually see what I’m doing to the sound, and darker bands that appear around any knob I’m modulating, so I can see how, and how much it’s being affected.
So a pretty flexible, transparent device in most cases. However, there are a few drawbacks.
First, it doesn’t give very much precision control: None of the knobs actually show any specific numbers you can type in. You just turn the knob until it sounds right.
I found using the mouse wheel allows for finer control of this, but it’s still quite limiting, especially when quick and precise adjustments are need, like with beat shaping.
Second, you can’t modulate any of the special effects like reverb, distortion, delay, etc., which seems like a no-brainer. Why allow so much flexibility for all the other features but those ones?
Third, two LFOs and EGs are not always enough for more complex sounds. Sometimes I end up using both envelopes, just to create a single effect as part of the larger sound. If I need another EG, I either have to double up or create a duplicate track with slightly different settings, and try mixing them together.
In addition, the LFOs don’t accelerate enough to become their own oscillator, which further restricts their capability. For example, I learned recently how using one LFO to modulate another can create some cool sci-fi effects, but the frequency on the LFOs isn’t fast enough to allow this.
Finally, many settings can result in some background noise. Not the end of the world sure, but filtering that out can sometimes trim off more of the sound than I would prefer. And I barely use the chorus effect because it crackles so much.
Overall though, I’m pretty happy with it, especially since it’s free! If I ever feel stumped on how to produce a sound, I can usually generate new ideas by checking TuneFish’s long, LONG list of presets. Highly recommended for newer music artists like myself.
Stay healthy, y’all!