Cherry Audio’s Crumar DS-2 gets fresh demo from Andi Vax

Cherry Audio’s new Andi Vax demo gives its Crumar DS-2 emulation the kind of outside scrutiny that matters most for a rare Italian synth: does the software still feel peculiar, or does it just sound like another polished vintage clone? Published on April 17, the video arrives less than three weeks after Cherry Audio launched the DS-2 plugin on March 31 as a $59 collaboration with Crumar Instruments, and as the company’s latest follow-up to Spirit.

That timing matters because the DS-2 has never been a safe, obvious choice in vintage circles. Cherry Audio describes the original 1978 hardware as a “Digital Synthesizer,” built around two digitally controlled oscillators and analog LFOs, VCFs, VCAs, and envelope generators. Independent references also frame it as a hybrid machine, essentially a monophonic synth with a 44-note paraphonic or string-style companion section. Sound Programming lists the original instrument with a 44-key keyboard, dimensions of 83 cm by 45 cm by 27.5 cm, and a weight of 23 kg. It was the sort of box that sat between categories, which is exactly why it has remained interesting.

The new test drive leans into that identity instead of sanding it off. Cherry Audio’s presentation describes the DS-2 as a “weird, wonderful, fat 70s fusion on steroids,” a pitch that signals character first and nostalgia second. That is the useful part of any third-party demo: it tells you whether an emulation keeps the grain, the odd balance between the mono engine and the paraphonic layer, and the slightly left-field personality that made the original worth rediscovering in the first place.

Andi Vax is a strong fit for that job. His official bio identifies him as Andrii Vakhnenko, from Kyiv, Ukraine, and as a mixing and mastering engineer, producer, composer, and blogger. His YouTube channel says it is a professional music software and hardware channel with more than 400 video reviews, lessons, tests, and comparisons, which gives the walkthrough real weight for players who care about more than spec-sheet nostalgia. When someone with that background takes a pass at a niche instrument like the DS-2, the question is not whether it belongs in the canon. It is whether the emulation preserves enough of the original’s digital control and analog soul to justify a place in a working studio.

Cherry Audio’s DS-2 is not competing with a Minimoog or a Juno on name recognition. It is doing something more useful for the Vintage Synthesizers crowd: putting a forgotten Italian design, with its split identity and unusual voice architecture, back within reach of anyone willing to hear what made it different.