Antares Kantos 1.0 VST Mac

I've been playing to long to remember mostly guitar and bass but in the last 10 yrs I've learned to play the keys. I have version 1.0 and I use it with Acid Pro 4.2,Sonar 2.2 and Magix Music Maker 2004 Deluxe. I use a 1.7 gig 512 ram HP PC.

Very east to use and a great manual.

I will describe kantos with to words only. Beyond reality. It will take you to new worlds in sound. Sounds that have never been heard before by man. It is the architecture of mans inner soul beyond all boundries of space and time. It holds the hidden truth to exploration that only a mad scientist can appreciate. It is like no other it cannot be compared. Its hypnotic powers will addict all who come in contact with it, for it it is the true essence of power. Thats what it sounds like.

Kantos is an experience that many will not be ready for, but for those of us who are looking for what is beyond, it is the dream that is unfolding.

I have been making music for DECADES, but only as a hobby. I have been working with "computer" music for 4 years now, and am a total software junkie. I love computer music tools, and tend to compose now using algorythmic sources, or non-traditional sources, such as image-to-midi tools.

I use Kantos in Bias Peak 3.0 on an iBook G3/500 running OS9 (since Kantos doesn't run in OSX).

I listen to results using headphones, as well as the computer speakers (!) to get a broad range of what the sounds may be like on a variety of hardware. Once I am more-or-less pleased with a sound component, I transfer it to CD and review it on speakers and in-ear headphones.

The Kantos interface is typical of much software created after the breakthru KPT (for Photoshop) interface, which was SO un-windows! Very dense, but easy to understand once you play with it a bit.

Installation was very simple, with no glitches of any kind.

No automation (excepting beat-box presets, which arguably use automation) or midi control is used, which is one of the selling points. You DO NOT have to know notation or midi to use this. It is audio to audio. Ears, and hopefully a refined sensibility, are all you need.

A broad variety or presets, easy to tweak, are presented.

I have no idea how good or bad the manual is, or even if there is one. It is totally (I think) unnecessary. It does help to know about audio basics, such as wave shapes, what delays do, etc., but very basic only. And you can learn these things by HEARING what they do with this tool.

Sound is excellent, and the processing (bounce) is fairly quick, depending on the complexity of the patch. Even long (8 minute) audio (mono) processes for most presets in less than 2 minutes.

Presets sound fine "vanilla", but I always feel that tweaking a preset is what makes it "yours", so I am a compulsive tweaker.

Also, what I ALWAYS do is after the bounce, is "preview" what the resulting audio would sound like if it were processed again with the identical preset. If doubling effect sounds good, I save the preset, save the current version, and reprocess. If it doesn't sound good, I discard it and keep only the first-processed version.

Kantos supports mono and stereo input.

The price was a bit steep, but WELL worth it. And the work which went into this software is impressive! It deserves to make back the R&D.

I especially like the VERY unpredictable results using complex input to generate output which BARELY relates to the original.

Of course, you can also do minor effects only, but I am always interested in how software can twist an original object into many varied forms, from which, with TASTE, you can select the best!

The only thing I wish it had was morphing capability over time, or automation over time, to vary the settings. My favorite implementation of this idea is "Play Zone" window of Arboretum's Hyperprism. But given the variety of what Kantos puts out, this is a minor quibble.

Great stuff! Only the price stops me from rating this a 10.

During the last threee years of experimentation with soft-synths and various plug-ins, I have been delighted by many products but have never found one that could do what my outboard synths and effects could do if pushed hard enough. Kantos 1.0- to quote their slogan- indeed, changes everything. This audio driven synthesizer plug-in is capable of other worldy effects and sounds from rather ordinary sound sources: a simple guitar riff can sound like an other-worldy orchestra!
I use Kantos on Mac OS 9.2. I have tired it in conjunction with Logic, BIAS Peak 3.0 and Ableton's Live 1.5.1- works best with Logic and Live.
this program is great for making strange soundscapes and ambient stuff

The interface is a futuristic delight and is easily grasped, particularly if you are software savvy to begin with. The manual is very helpful and is, essential an excellent introductory tutorial. Since AnTares advertises Kantos as being MIDI free, there is not a great deal to be said in that regard. The ability to get good sound out of it depends on your creativity and willingness to experiment. Experimentation is key here, so if you are a born twiddler, you'll love it!

It sounds... like nothing you've ever heard. I fed it a simple, mellow piano loop and by manipulating the second oscillator by semi-tones, came away with a kind of interstellar Pan flute solo! Input MUST be mono for "predicatble" (a relative term here) results; output is stereo, depending on the application you plug it in to. The only slightly stifling thing is that the input that works best is simple, harmonically un-complex sounds since the engine is driven by pitch. Too many harmonics can confuse it and cause strange- and ocassionally very interesting-results! The output is definately worth sifting through your sound library for appropriate mono sounds though!

If you can't already tell, I love this product. It isn't for everyone, though, I must admit. The more abstract your work, the more it will suit you, is my opinion. It is a bit of a CPU hog. The only time it has crashed on me is when I had too many other plug-ins running in tandem: best to record Kantos and then layer effects on it.
My only wish is that it were capable of being a stnad-alone synth as well: oh, the places we'd go......