Creamware Minimax ASB Review

Creamware Minimax ASB

$899

asb.creamware.com

If you fancy yourself an analog purist or are caught up in the current retro-fetishism movement, you may be hoping for a thrashing of Creamware’s software-based model of one of the most famous analog axes of all time, the Minimoog. You may be disappointed, but I can’t administer such a whipping to the Minimax ASB, which is based on the same sound engine used for CreamWare’s Minimax software plug-in for its SCOPE platform. Is it a dead-on recreation of the Mini? No. It is, however, a fine analog-sounding synthesizer.

Creamware Minimax ASB Nonetheless, the Minimax, by its very name and design, warrants a comparison to the venerable instrument that so obviously inspired it. There have been a staggering number of manufacturers that claim to have accurately modeled the famed Moog filter. Some have been fairly close (GForce Minimonsta), while some have been way off. As far as the Minimax is concerned, its filter sounds fantastic. While it is not an exact reproduction of the Moog filter (at least none of the Moog filters I have owned), it is as close as I have ever heard in a software-based synthesizer. Its resonance whistles and screams just like the real deal when you crank it up, and it does not exhibit any of the “buzz” that plague most software filters when you crank the Q up and the cutoff down.

If I were subjected to a blind test, I could tell that there was a difference between the Moog filter and the Minimax’s, but then again, I can hear the difference between two different Moog units of the same make. And so can you. Therein lies the problem with comparing the Minimax ASB to the original Mini: No two Minimoog’s ever sounded alike, and that often causes me to raise an eyebrow when I hear folks claiming (and disclaiming) the accuracy of an emulation.

Nevertheless, the Minimax sounds very Moogish. I compared the Minimax ASB’s filter and oscillators to both a vintage Moog synth, as well as the Moog-styled (and extremely accurate) filters and oscillators on my big modular system. The first thing I noticed was that Creamware nailed that certain low-end “oomph” that one rarely hears on a virtual analog. Minimax delivers some serious power in the bass frequencies. It doesn’t take long to recognize the next coup: there is no stepping evident from the cutoff frequency knob. Considering that resolution has long been a problem for many a synth that scans and stores the settings of its front panel, this is a major achievement. The Minimax may not be the only programmable synthesizer that sounds this smooth, but it’s the only one I’ve heard that sounds this close to a real Mini.

In Use

Minimax’s metal-and-wood package is weighty and robust. Unfortunately, the unit draws its power from a big wall wart. There is a pair of quarter-inch unbalanced outputs around back, along with a pair of quarter-inch unbalanced input jacks. There is the usual trio of MIDI jacks, though many instruments in this price range lack a dedicated MIDI Thru port. There is also a USB port for connecting the synth to a computer for editing.

Across the top of the desktop design, you’ll find a crop of knobs and switches that correspond to all of the Minimoog’s knobs and switches (along with a few more), albeit in miniaturized form. The knobs are a bit stiff, but I suspect they will loosen up in time. However, they’re nothing like the big black and silver knobs on a real Moog. Despite the numerous controls, I never felt that the Minimax’s diminutive panel was crowded, and I rather liked its low profile and small footprint. It makes it easier to find a place for it in your studio.

The lower sliver of panel space houses many of the features that are specific to this version of the Mini. First, as you would expect from a modern instrument, there’s patch memory: You get 128 factory patches and 128 user slots. There is also a group of buttons dedicated to the built-in effects processors—delay, flanger and chorus, but no reverb. Additionally, you’ll find a free-spinning knob and a set of “match” LEDs, which can be used to judge exactly how far off your tweaks are from the factory settings of a given patch. Along with its 12-voice polyphony, there are enough current touches to ensure that the Minimax can hold its own against more modern designs.