AZS Spice Vol.2 for DUNE 2 Review: Worth $22.95? (2026)

The AZS Spice Vol.2 for DUNE 2 review in one line: it's a 79-preset bank of dark, digital wavetable and FM sounds for DUNE 2, and it's worth $22.95 if that's the lane you work in.

Here's the problem it goes after. You open DUNE 2 with a half-finished trance idea, a rolling bassline and a pad bed, and you spend forty minutes in the oscillator and modulation pages building one lead. The synth is deep. That's exactly why starting from an init patch eats your session.

Presets are the shortcut. But most banks sound like every other bank, and the sound you wanted was darker and edgier than anything in the factory list.

That's the gap AZS Spice Vol.2 targets. It's built for producers making trance, electro house, psytrance or ambient who already own DUNE 2 and want atmosphere with some teeth. If that's you, keep reading. If you want warm analog pads and friendly pianos, we'll save you the $22.95 in a few paragraphs.

What Problem Does a DUNE 2 Preset Bank Actually Solve?

Time, mostly. And a certain kind of creative momentum.

DUNE 2 rewards deep programming, but a deadline or a hot idea doesn't wait for you to dial in a wavetable position and an FM ratio. You want to audition a sound, hear whether the track wants it, and move on.

The second problem is sameness. If you've scrolled through the stock presets enough times, you know their shape. A bank from a dedicated sound designer gives you a different starting palette.

The third problem is more specific. DUNE 2 version 2.5 added features, and a bank built around them can show you ways to use the synth you might not have tried yet.

What's Actually in the Bank?

The bank holds 79 presets, split into four groups.

• 20 Basses & Bass sequences
• 14 Leads
• 16 Pads
• 17 Plucks & Sequences

Do the arithmetic and you'll see the weight sits in the low end and in rhythmic material. Basses and sequences together account for over half the bank. That tells you who it's for: someone building a driving track, not a cinematic score.

Every preset has Modwheel assignments. That matters more than it sounds. You load a patch, push the wheel, and something happens, whether that's a filter opening or a timbre shifting. You get movement without opening a single modulation page.

Various patches also respond to velocity, changing character rather than just getting louder depending on how you play them.

How Does It Sound and Where Does It Sit?

The developer describes the focus as digital textures built from wavetables and FM. It's also darker in character than Vol.1, with emphasis on atmospheric elements and edgy sounds.

Read that as a promise about the top end. Wavetable and FM patches tend to be bright and a bit brittle. A dark bank leans on that grit instead of smoothing it away.

Load one of the basses and play it low. A digital bass built this way usually shows a stack of upper harmonics riding over the fundamental. Roll off a little above 8kHz on your bus if it fights your hats. That's a normal fix for the whole category, not a flaw in this bank.

Pads are where "atmospheric" gets tested. Play a long chord and hold it for eight bars. Does it evolve, or does it sit there like a held organ note? Check the Modwheel too. A good pad should reward you for touching it.

We can't promise you'll love every patch. Nobody does with a bank this size. But the stylistic lane is clear, and a clear lane is more useful than a bank that tries to do everything.

The Basses and Bass Sequences

Twenty presets in the biggest group, and it's the one we'd audition first. Bass sequences are a smart inclusion. They give you a ready-made rhythmic part you can drop under a kick and build around.

Here's a scene you'll recognise. You've got a kick and a clap, and the track feels empty. Drop a bass sequence in, mute the original line, and see whether the groove locks. If it does, you've saved an hour. If it doesn't, you've lost thirty seconds.

The Leads

Fourteen leads is the thinnest group for a trance or psytrance bank, where the lead often carries the track. If you want a dozen distinct hooks per session, this won't last you long.

That said, the leads fit the dark, edgy brief. Expect cutting, digital tones rather than soft, rounded ones.

The Pads

Sixteen pads, aimed at atmosphere. They're the right tool for ambient intros, breakdowns and the long tail of a psytrance build.

Hold a chord, ride the Modwheel, and listen for how the texture changes. That interaction is the point.

The Plucks and Sequences

Seventeen presets here. Plucks are the backbone of electro house and a lot of trance, and the velocity sensitivity pays off most in this group. Play a soft note and then a hard one. A good pluck changes tone, not just volume.

Is the MIDI and Demo Project Worth Having?

Yes, and it's the part of the package people undervalue.

You get 21 MIDI files, and they're royalty-free. That means you can drag them into a track and release it without a licensing headache. They give you rhythmic and melodic starting points that match the presets.

There's also an Ableton LIVE demo project. The parts are arranged as heard in the demo, so you can open it and see how the sounds were meant to sit together. We love that kind of thing in a preset bank. It turns a folder of sounds into a lesson in arrangement.

If you don't use Ableton, you lose the project but keep the MIDI files and the presets. Not a dealbreaker. Still, it's a real bonus for Live users.

What Do You Need to Run It?

You need DUNE 2 version 2.5 or later. That's the hard requirement, and it's the main limit of the product.

It's also compatible with DUNE 3, so you aren't locked out if you've upgraded.

If you're on an older DUNE 2 build, update first. Check your version before you pay for anything. Buying a preset bank you can't load is a ridiculous way to lose an afternoon.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The strengths are concrete. Seventy-nine presets, Modwheel on every one, velocity response on various patches, 21 royalty-free MIDI files and a Live project. That's a complete kit for getting a track moving.

The sound lane is also clear. Dark, digital, edgy. If that's what you hear in your head, the bank is aimed right at you.

The weaknesses are just as real.

The 2.5 requirement can annoy anyone who hasn't updated. The lane is narrow, so a producer who wants warm and organic textures will find little here. And 14 leads and 16 pads aren't a deep well.

Owners report the soundset is quality work from the designer. That's a short endorsement, but it points the right way.

Value for the Price

At $22.95, you're paying for a focused bank, not a giant library.

Count what you get. Seventy-nine presets works out to well under a dollar per sound. Add 21 MIDI files you can release commercially and a full Live demo project, and the package holds up.

The honest caveat is fit. A preset bank is only a bargain if you use the sounds. If you'd audition five patches and never touch the rest, the value drops fast. A cheaper or free option is enough when you only need a couple of dark sounds, and you can build those yourself in an hour.

Paying $22.95 is justified when you want a ready palette in a specific style and you'd rather spend the hour on arrangement. It's a good deal for the right buyer and a pointless one for everyone else.

Who Should (and Shouldn't) Buy This

• ✅ Buy if you make trance, electro house, psytrance or ambient in DUNE 2 and want dark, digital textures ready to go.
• ✅ Buy if you use Ableton Live and want a demo project that shows how the parts fit together.
• ✅ Buy if you like royalty-free MIDI as a launchpad for new tracks.
• ❌ Skip if you're on a DUNE 2 version older than 2.5 and don't plan to update.
• ❌ Skip if you want warm, organic or acoustic-flavoured sounds.
• ❌ Skip if you need a huge pool of leads, since 14 won't carry a lead-heavy genre for long.

Try It Yourself

Before you commit, run a few checks once you've loaded the bank.

Play one preset from each group, then touch the Modwheel on every one. If the movement excites you, the bank is doing its job.

Play a pluck at low and high velocity and listen for tonal change, not just volume.

Drop one MIDI file under a kick and see if the groove locks within a minute. If it does, you've found your speed.

Specs & Technical Details

Spec	Detail
Developer	Resonance Sound
Price	$22.95
Plugin Format	N/A (preset bank for DUNE 2)
OS Support	N/A
Activation	N/A
CPU Usage	N/A
Trial Available	N/A
Version Reviewed	N/A (requires DUNE 2 v2.5 or later)

Score Breakdown

Category	Score	Notes
Sound Quality	4.0/5	Dark, digital wavetable and FM character, and owners call it quality work
Value for Money	4.0/5	79 presets, 21 royalty-free MIDI files and a Live project for $22.95
Ease of Use	4.5/5	Modwheel on every patch means instant movement
Features	3.5/5	Strong extras, but only 14 leads and 16 pads
CPU Efficiency	N/A	Not specified by the developer
Overall	3.9/5	A focused, honest bank that rewards the right buyer

The Verdict

Buy AZS Spice Vol.2 if your tracks live in the dark end of trance, psytrance, electro house or ambient, and you'd rather arrange than program from scratch. At $22.95 you get 79 presets, 21 royalty-free MIDI files and a full Live demo project.

Don't buy it if you want a warm, all-purpose bank, if you're stuck on a DUNE 2 build older than 2.5, or if you need a deep stack of leads.

The sounds are edgy and the lane is honest. Update DUNE first, then audition a pluck and a pad. If your pulse picks up, it's yours.