Hi, all
I am absolutely in awe of this new VST. Whilst there are a few VSTs claiming to cover the Yamaha SY77 they tend to just be sample based which will never capture the nuances you can get out of the Advanced Frequency Modulation (AFM) engine.
SWAYED is a deep emulation of the SY77/TG77 and SY99 AWM2 and AFM engines and SY77 effects (the SY99 effects are quite different), and in my view the developer, SHEAF, has pretty much nailed it
For the past few days, I have been comparing my favourite SY77 patches loaded in my TG77 against the same patches in SWAYED. With effects turned off, I cannot hear any differences between the sound being played on the TG77 and the same sound in SWAYED - at least the ones I have checked. With effects on, there are some sounds where I can hear differences, but a few tweaks on the SWAYED effects parameters will usually address that.
So, I am seriously impressed and have purchased it. Yes, I have a TG77, but that is in a rack that does not leave the studio, so this gives me the option to recreate classic SY sounds on stage within my gig rig (on Cantabile of course), or have multiple instances in a recording, or even the sole source if ever my TG77 heads off for the great gig in the sky.
So, if ever you’ve wondered what the SY77 is all about, I highly recommend checking out this plugin, which runs in demo mode if not registered.
The SY77 is one of Yamaha’s finest sound engines, and the digital filters were amazing for the day. As a digital workstation, the SY could sound “very analog” (far more than it had a right to!). Those analog sounds were often the AFM engine through the digital filter. Circa 2006 I once asked the late Clyde Atkinson (RIP - an FM expert over on Yamaha Musicians) that if I had a DX7II, an FS1r and a Nord G2 Engine (with patchable FM) what would an SY77 give me. Clyde persuaded me that there was something special about the AFM engine in the SY, so I checked it out and I was glad that I did.
The effects on the SY77 are very grungy and can dull the sound, but it gave the SY77 a signature sound. I had an SY99 until recently, and whilst also a great synth, it had better effects, but an SY77 patch in an SY99 never sounded the same due to the effects differences!
This is an interesting demo from the 99 page thread over on KVR.