Free ‘Microphone Emulation’ Plugin, Toyphonic Micraliser, For International Joke Day ’25


1st July marks International Joke Day (who remember?) and plugin developer Caelum Audio is celebrating the occasion with the release of a hilariously – and deliberately – bad plugin that the company promises will “transform your music into something only a toddler could appreciate”.

Toyphonic Micraliser is a mic and speaker modelling plugin that emulates the tinny and unpleasant sound of cheap and undesirable gear. Imagine a children’s toy microphone that your three-year-old accidentally dropped in the bath run through a budget Bluetooth speaker, and you’ll get the idea. As Caelum Audio puts it, “if your singing sounds like a dying cat, this finally kills the cat.”

The plugin’s “ultra-realistic, precision-tuned” mic and speaker modelling is based on “painstakingly captured” impulse responses that can be shaped via Size, Attack and Decay controls, and there’s also a Quality control onboard that introduces an appropriately nasty-sounding bitcrushing effect.

For a free plugin that’s intentionally poor, Toyphonic Micraliser actually offers plenty of modulation options, including an LFO with four waveforms, a 64-step motion sequencer and envelope follower, all of which can be assigned to eleven destinations. “Just because your music is flat and boring doesn’t mean the automation has to be too,” explains Caelum Audio.

A selection of 15 “locally sourced and organic” presets are available – included, Caelum Audio says, “so your AI-reliant selves don’t have to think beyond the blinking and breathing part of your day” – and a randomize button instantly generates new presets by randomizing the plugin’s controls.

While Toyphonic Micraliser doesn’t sound great – it does have some potential as a tool for lo-fi sound design, if that’s your kind of thing. “We cannot be held liable for any personal threats or harm you may encounter upon being encouraged to sing into the Toyphonic Micraliser,” warns Caelum Audio. “You should have known better, you silly sausage.”

Toyphonic Micraliser is available now for macOS, iOS and Windows in VST3/AU/AAX/AUv3 formats. Find out more on Caelum Audio website.

 

Sequential Take 5 Desktop Module Now Available


Today, Sequential has introduced the Take 5 Desktop Module, a new variant of the Take 5 synthesizer that drops the keyboard.

Here’s what Sequential has to say about it:

“The Sequential Take 5 desktop module brings the legendary Prophet-5 sound to your mix, featuring the analog oscillators and filter that transformed electronic music.

Compact and powerful, it fits seamlessly into any studio and is easy to transport for live performances. Modern effects and a powerful modulation matrix deliver sounds to transport you.”


Features:

  • Two analog VCOs per voice
  • Continuously variable wave shape (sine, sawtooth, variable-width pulse) per oscillator
  • Hard sync: oscillator 1 syncs to oscillator 2
  • Square wave sub-octave generator (oscillator 1) per voice
  • Keyboard tracking on/off for each oscillator
  • Front-panel FM (frequency modulation)
  • Four-pole, resonant, low-pass filter per voice, based on Prophet-5 Rev 4 design
  • Filter can be driven into self-oscillation with the Resonance control
  • Bi-polar filter envelope amount
  • Two 5-stage envelope generators (ADSR + delay) with variable routing (filter, amplifier, auxiliary)
  • Velocity modulation of each envelope amount
  • Envelopes freely assignable to multiple modulation destinations
  • 1 Global LFO and 1 Per-Voice LFO
  • Five LFO wave shapes: triangle, sawtooth, reverse sawtooth, square, and random (sample and hold)
  • LFO Clock sync (internal or external MIDI clock)
  • LFOs freely assignable to multiple modulation destinations


The Sequential Take 5 Desktop Module is now available for $1399.

 

Oberheim TEO-5 Desktop Module Now Available


Today, Oberheim has introduced the Teo 5 Desktop Module, a new variation on the Teo 5 that drops the keyboard.

The TEO-5 desktop module delivers the same synthesis engine as its keyboard counterpart. It features analog oscillators, the Oberheim SEM filter, and an intuitive knob-based interface.

Features:

  • 5-voice, 2x VCOs with saw, square/pulse, triangle, and noise
  • Oscillator hard sync and X-Mod with through-zero FM
  • Simultaneously selectable wave shapes plus sub oscillator
  • Discrete SEM-lineage VCF delivers authentic Oberheim tone and presence
  • Filter State knob morphs from low-pass to high-pass through notch, with selectable band-pass mode
  • Poly and Mono LFOs with 5 wave shapes and tempo sync
  • Meticulously modeled envelope responses based on OB-8
  • Modulation matrix with 19 slots x 19 sources x 64 destinations in a flexible design where almost any mod route is possible, including audio rate sources and destinations.
  • Enhanced unison allows variable voice stacking from 1-5 voices
  • Polyphonic portamento
  • Vintage knob recreates vintage synth characteristics by adding voice-to voice variations in component behavior
  • Full-featured arpeggiator
  • Polyphonic step sequencer with up to 64 steps
  • One dedicated reverb effect with damping, pre-delay, decay and tone
  • One multi-effect with stereo delay, BBD delay, tape delay, chorus, flanger, Oberheim phase shifter and ring modulator emulations, vintage rotating speaker, distortion, high-pass filter and Lo-Fi


The Oberheim TEO-5 Desktop Module is available now, priced at $1,399