Looks like a lot of fun! Currently in pre-release:
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I havenāt tried it yet, but the feedback ok KVR is quite mixed, a lot of people saying its āfunā but not really making sounds they would actually useā¦I will definitely try it myself when its released and a few clever pre-set makers have been at it!
Iāve spent some time with Sumu and itās fantastic. Just be aware that itās deep and not easy to grasp at first. I bounced off it initially and then gradually got used to it ā kinda the Octatrack of synths perhaps?
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It is released! The demo is available for download. Itās probably best to say itās still beta though, as there are some issues being reported.
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Sumu is an incredible and poetic piece of work, however even if youāre familiar using spectral synthesis and spatialization tools, itās very much its own take on the subject.
What has been immensely helpful to begin to make sense of it all has been the following:
Read the friendly manual
Sumuās manual has all the thoughtful instruction, misty Cascadian vibes, and technical details youāll need. Click to download: SumuManual.pdf
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There are already several clever presets available from various artists. But if all one does with Sumu is download it and poke around for a bit (as I did initially) then yeah, impressions ā especially ones based on preconceptions ā will be quite mixed at best.
Thatās not a dig on the instrument. The user interface is excellent. But there are enough new ideas that reading the friendly manual is necessary.
Yeah, itās basically unusable in Renoise on a relatively beefy system at the moment. A bit more waiting wonāt kill me though, Iām pretty sure I was in infantās school when this was initially announced 
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I will definitely give it a fair shot when I have the time to invest, I like Madrona Labs workā¦but not every synth is for everyone (Dawsome Myth was the first Dawsolme synth I didnāt buy!) and with ImpOscar 3 and Legend HZ bought last week I am synthed out (in a good way!) right now.
Iāve been playing with the demo all week and will probably get it before the intro sale ends. Itās definitely hard to grasp, especially when you start playing with the partials map and pulses. But when it works, it makes these truly stunning, weird, digital soundscapes. The manual is also utterly charming and educational.
(It really needs an LFO, though.)
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i got Sumu! the presets are nuts. as far as useable: i love making weird sounds so this is in my wheelhouse. great sound design tool/sample generator
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If you enjoy Sumu I would highly recommend checking out Kaivo. In common with Sumu itās a sound mangling workshop as much as a synth, only with a focus on wave files and granulation.
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Madrona Labs are looking for more Sumu testers if anyone fancies helping outā¦
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A new update for Sumu is available with a lot of bugfixes and improved browsing.
I love the sound of this instrument. Itās unlike anything else I have and is deeeeeeep.
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FYI, Sumu 1.0 has just been released.
This is the first formal, non-beta version. The discounted pricing is also continuing at this time.
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this is the best bit of gear Iāve used this year, such amazing unique sounds. Absolute chaos to use compared to other things, but tons of happy accidents. This is one of those tools I really want to spend time with and learn properly.
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I like Madrona Labs stuff but really cant get many sounds out of this I like, it is interesting and fun to use, but not for me sound wise (so far). I had the same feelings with Dawsome Myth - loved everything about it other than the sounds I was getting out of it! I mean the sounds are interesting and clever, I just couldnāt āuseā them in any musical way.
Maybe I am just not a granular/partials/resynth kina guy!
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Tempted for sureā may have to download the demo and get jammin
Aalto is very accessible to me, sonically. Iād say itās the least āout thereā of their offerings that I use for me. Itās still weird, but I find I can get it to work in a ton of contexts. Thereās a very organic quality to the vstiās that I donāt find in many others.
I also feel like you have to sort of go through a lot of the presets to get a feel for all of the different nooks of what any of their plugins can do. Theyāre all capable of Richard Devine-ish bloop/beep/sqwack, but I have little need of that in what I do. If I keep going though, thereās some really cool sounds that are playable or sequence-friendly that just feel good to me.
My 2 cents.
With Aalto and Kaivo presets I start unplugging cables one by one (usually from right to left lol) until Iāve stripped it down to minimal functionality. And tweak as I start plugging them back in.