Image-Line

collapse expand iconDescription

The team at Image Line is known for making some incredible music production software for computer based studios, and they've improved upon their amazing line of Toxic Software Synthesizers. Toxic Biohazard is the 4th generation in that line, and is loaded with the best, and most incredible features of the previous 3 versions, plus lethal enhancements like an optimized sound engine, "physical" envelopes that have real life modeling of sounds with real world decay and resonance, and a pack of new effects like reverb, phaser and more. Toxic Biohazard features a hybrid synthesis engine, combining the best of FM and Subtractive synthesis. With the addition of a warm, analog-modelled filter and set of built-in effects, the Toxic concept remains one of convenience, simplicity, and superb sound quality.

THE FM TECHNOLOGY
Thanks to high-resolution DSP processing, the Frequency Modulation engine produces sound with an extremely low noise threshold; something that most FM engines cannot offer. The Toxic Biohazard sound was built from the ground up, from unique mathematical calculations and analog-modeling techniques.

THE OSCILLATORS
Completely alias free, and well tuned for all sampling rates, they produce a rich, "fat" sound all across the spectrum. Due to the high quality of the anti-aliasing process, you will not encounter the shredding noise on high frequencies that has plagued FM synthesis in the past. Furthermore, the oscillators are calculated at extremely high speeds, keeping your CPU usage to a minimum. Toxic's low CPU consumption gives you plenty of room for external processing and running multiple instances. The oscillators also come equipped with Maxx Claster's own powerful spectrum analysis technology. This allows you to create your own waveforms, via the simple process of loading a WAV or AIFF format sound file. All of these features make the oscillators very flexible, and allow for use of both synthetic and acoustic waveforms within Toxic. Each oscillator also comes with 32 built in Ëœclassic' waveforms, each shown to be the most useful in FM synthesis.

THE EFFECTS
Made to assure high quality and flexibility are built into the synthesizer itself, Toxic Biohazard aims to reduce the need for external processing altogether. The effect modules are designed to give the user access to several types of effects, from aggressive, tube-like distortion, to warm stereo delay, reverb, flanger, and phaser effects. With Image Line's own pro-quality tape delay emulation, based on non-fixed delay buffer sizes, instead of the usual methods incorporated within digital delays, this delay line gives you warm sound, with "true" feedback and modulation. Lastly, the signal chain features an analog-modeled, parametric equalizer to further shape your sound. The EQ provides access to crisp, clear high-end definition, creamy mid ranges and earth-shaking low-end frequencies. The Toxic Biohazard effect module expands its palette of sound to include everything from dark, atmospheric textures to razor sharp leads, fit to slice easily through any mix.

THE FILTER
Maxx Claster's own analog-modeled, multimode filter is reminiscent of a certain silver box of old. Garnishing a warm, resonant Low-Pass mode, a smooth Band-Pass setting, and a creamy High-Pass mode, Toxic Biohazard gives a wealth of control over tone. The filter is further enhanced by modulation via a dedicated envelope generator and low frequency oscillator, as well as responding to velocity information and keyboard tracking. These features allow for extreme sound shaping, as well as subtle nuances attributed to dynamic playing.

THE SEQUENCER
Powerful, yet simple, the sequencer offers a total of 64 steps, which can be divided into two independent, 32 step modules to allow double-polyphonic patterns. Using Image Line's "Smart Sequencer" technology, when a chord is played, the module defines that chord, and tunes the pattern accordingly. The sequencer also allows for pure playback of the programmed sequence from single notes. Simply holding one chord can virtually create an arrangement for you.
Image-Line Toxic Biohazard Virtual Software Synthesizer

collapse expand iconFeatures

  • 4th Generation in the line of Toxic synthesizers
  • Hybrid synthesis engine combines the best of FM and Subtractive synthesis
  • All the best features from the previous 3 versions
  • Enhancements over Toxic III include optimized sound engine, "physical" envelopes, and new effects

collapse expand iconSpecs

  • PC:
  • Windows 7, Vista, XP (SP2) - (32 & 64 Bit)
  • 2Ghz AMD or Intel Pentium 3 compatible CPU with full SSE1 support
  • 512Mb RAM
  • 30Mb free disc space
  • DirectSound or ASIO compatible soundcard
  • Mac:
  • OSX v10.4 (Universal Binary)
  • G4 1.5 GHz or Intel Core Duo family
  • 512Mb RAM
  • 30Mb free disc space
  • CoreAudio drivers

collapse expand iconReviews

4.15

185 Reviews

81%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend

Most Liked Positive Review

4

A very cool guitar, if you're into the 1980's shred thing!

I have been in the market for an 80's style shredder for a few years now. As a big fan of George Lynch, in particular the stuff he did from 1985 to 1990, I've been looking for a used ESP Skulls and Snakes model. That said, they are hard to find on the used market, and they command a premium price. Enter the Friedman Cali model. With its high-output humbuckers, Floyd Rose tremolo, and single volume knob, it's got similar specs as the Skulls and Snakes, and with a much lower point of entry. So, I jumped on it, and I am glad I did. I've spent the last few days getting to know my new Friedman Cali and I can say with confidence this is an excellent guitar for the price. That said, it does have some minor drawbacks that I will gladly look past given how amazing the guitar feels and sounds. My particular guitar was a scratch and dent, which in my case means pre-owned. I say this because when I took delivery of the guitar, I noticed a tremolo stop had been installed, poorly I might add. I confirmed with Friedman they did not install these at the factory; hence my opinion the guitar was previously sold to another customer. In any case, there are no other blemishes or visual imperfections to speak of other than, of course, the factory relic job. After my initial inspection, I put the guitar back in the case to chill out for 24 hours to acclimate to the environment. After that, I remove the old strings, cleaned and polished the frets, lubricated the hardware, applied contact cleaner to the pot and switch, put on fresh strings, and gave it a proper set-up. Some things I noticed during the whole process: the b-string tuner doesn't seem to work as smoothly as the other tuners. These appear to be Hipshot open gear locking tuners, similar to what I have on my Tyler, and I know they usually work very well. Next time I change strings, i will pull the tuner and take it apart for inspection. Another thing I noticed is the screw-in style tremolo bar on the Floyd Rose. This is simply an antiquated design and needs to go the way of the rest of the dinosaurs: extinction. I much prefer the convenience, feel, and adjustability of the drop-in replacement bar, so that is what I installed. Now the tremolo feels expressive and smooth, and the bar drops in quickly. Once I got the Cali set up, I was amazed how comfortable it is to play. Let's first talk materials and craftsmanship. The relic job on the maple neck and fingerboard, combined with the rolled fret edges and slick fret crowning, make this guitar feel like you've been playing it for decades. It's really quite special and something you have to play to understand. because of the compound radius and excellent fretwork, I am able to set the action very low without excessive buzzing. I use 9-gauge strings, and two tremolo springs are sufficient to ensure the tremolo sits parallel to the body while keeping low tension on the strings. Bending is super easy and very smooth, and the tremolo feels so expressive. The guitar just feels slinky and rather addicting to play. On the tone front, it's an absolute monster. The Friedman Classic pickups feature Alnico 5 magnets, which happen to be my favorite for hard rock tones. The bridge pickup sounds thick with gobs of sustain, while the neck pickup is round and fat. Both pickups are articulate and clear, and allow single notes in complex chords to shine through. Rolling back the volume knob will clean up your tone nicely, especially with a good tube amp. These guitars were a collaboration between Dave Friedman and Grover Jackson. Unfortunately, they are no longer working together, and Grover has moved to the Nashville, TN area. I do believe Friedman guitars will be hitting the market again soon, made by someone other than Grover. With that said, the Grover-era are pretty amazing guitars, and may become harder to find. So, if you are in the market for a 1980's super-Strat style shredder, I'd recommend checking out a Grover-era Friedman while you can.

VS

Most Liked Negative Review

3

Amazing bass with a major flaw

Being mainly a guitarist, this bass is perfectly ideal for what my needs are. A great bass with a great sound/tone for recording, and many option with the knobs to fine tune and tweak that sound to my preference. However, my biggest gripe is that the string action is ridiculously tight for this bass. I like to play with ticker gauge strings, as I typically go for lower tunings, but this bass is (ironically with it being a 5 string) is simply not made for it. The action towards the neck of the fretboard makes thicker strings unplayable. They make contact with the fretboard at around the 2nd-3rd fret, and raising the bridge to compensate isn't enough. To make matters worse, the screws that are used to raise the strings on the bridge are very easily stripped, and I'm struggling to find any sort of replacements for them.

Filters

Best Uses

  1. Practice4
  2. Recording3
  3. Metal songs1
  4. Rock songs1
  5. fun. and looking cool shredding for the normies1

Cons

  1. None5
  2. Poor Quality2
  3. Virtually no low end warmth.1
  4. Kind of expensive1
  5. Shipping box arrived damaged1

Describe Yourself

  1. Beginner2
  2. 74 years old, been playing 60 years.1
  3. Jazz, rock, classical player for 60 years1
  4. Metal,hard rock and instrumental rock1
  5. Retired 64 YO beginning amateur1

Pros

  1. Sound4
  2. Attractive3
  3. Stays in Tune2
  4. Stays in tune2
  5. Tone2
  • Sounds really good

    5

    submitted14 days ago

    byTrenton

    fromGladwin county

    This pedal sounds quite good. It is quite customizable. If you do buy this, if you do not have the cord used to power it, there is a battery adapter under the actual pedal part. you just put the black pins on the pedal in and take the pedal off. anyways, really good sound if you want a proper rock or metal distortion/overdrive for an affordable price.

  • Not too bad for the price

    3

    submitted23 days ago

    byJeff

    fromNashville TN

    Typical Chinese bling, the sound is lacking.

  • This drum is just like the vintage ones

    5

    submitted24 days ago

    byJeff

    fromSeattle, WA

    Play with freelance jazz and rock standards groups. All kinds of gigs and shows. I want to buy one of the sets.

  • Love this guitar.

    5

    submitteda month ago

    byLarry

    fromMinnesota

    Love this guitar. Easy/Good tuning, very playable, thin neck is fast.

  • Its so good it fits my church setting well

    5

    submitteda month ago

    byjordan

    fromHamilton, new jersey

    This product is the best drums i've ever played on because the shells are a nice color and when you tune the drums up, it sounds so good. When you play it in a open space it fills the room and when you play it in an enclosed space it sounds even better. All Im saying is that this is hands down one of the best drum sets.

  • 23862 SYCAMORE DR

    1

    submitteda month ago

    byETHAN

    fromMission Viejo, CA

    Electronics are really good. Was going to use it for jamming and professional playing. However, I could not lower the action due to stripped saddle screws

collapse expand iconQ&A

Have a question about this product? Our expert Gear Advisers have the answers.

No results but…

You can be the first to ask a new question.

It may be Answered within 48 hours.