Released in 2021, Waldorf M synth combined digital wavetable oscillators with an analogue amp and filters, giving it hybrid status. If its eight voices of polyphony weren’t enough for you, though, we have good news: a new 16-voice version has just landed.
If you are an existing user, we can confirm that you add these extra voices to your current rig via an expansion board. You can fit this yourself and, as the video below demonstrates, it looks particularly easy.
The new M Voice Expansion VO.6 cost €699, so if you have been craving those additional Waldorf M voices, though, it is certainly an elegant solution.
Otherwise, the M remains the same as before, offering – “the ultimate modern, yet authentically realised, take on a classic approach to synthesis”. It offers two wavetable playback modes (Classic and Modern), the filters sounds great, and you can even import patches from the classic Microwave synth.
Do you remember the free Green Oak Crystal VST synth? Its developer has just released free delay and chorus plugins.
Green Oak Software’s Crystal, apparently released a long time ago was regarded as one of the best free VST synth plugins around, and became a go-to for many budding producers.
After releasing it – more than 20 years ago now – its developer, Glenn Olander, went on to work with Spectrasonics on its acclaimed Stylus RMX, Omnisphere , Trilian, and Keyscape instruments, but now the Green Oak brand has been revived and we have two new free effect plugins to play with.
The plugins go by the names of Tungsten and Cesium, and promise textured delay and lush chorus processing respectively. Each one has a slightly steampunky GUI and runs on PC and Mac in VST/AU formats.
Green Oak describes Tungsten as “a sound design tool to add ambience with texture and colour”. You can use it to create “heavenly echoes, dense reflections, or mysterious drones.”
Cesium promises characterful chorus, and covers everything from “luscious stereoizing to exotic flanging to bizarre spatial effects.” If you want to add motion and depth to your sound, it could help you out.
Given Crystal and Green Oak’s reputation, we have got high expectations for Tungsten and Cesium. You can download them for free now from the Green Oak Software website.
Aqusmatiq Audio has introduced Dedalus Delay, a real-time audio “delay mangler.”
A network of delay lines is granulated and modulated, producing a labyrinth of echoes, which are further processed by filters, dynamic processors, and saturation modules.
Dedalus can create a wide variety of effects, from reverb-like ambiences to evolving resonations to pure noise.
Features:
The delay can be set in rhythmic values, in seconds and also ad MIDI note pitches (resonances)
The delay time can be continuously varied and granulated.
The feedback can be set up to 200% to create infinite ever-changing resonances. A limiter within the feedback circuit prevents the uncontrolled increase in sound volume.
Two cascaded fourth-order filters (low-pass and high-pass) allow shaping of the sound spectrum within the feedback loop.
The overdrive module creates a warm distortion that gives depth to the sound.
The duck/gate dynamics processor allows the sound produced by the delay to “breathe” along with the rhythmic accents of the incoming sound.
The plugin has 8 modulators that can be used to vary all parameters. One modulator can modulate another modulator and even modulate itself. You can draw the waveform of the modulator, use a step sequencer or a random waveform generator.
Aqusmatiq Audio is a new company founded by three experienced audio software developers: Diego Capoccitti, Maurizio Giri, and Alessandro Petrolati. Capoccitti is an electronic composer and expert in Juce and C++. Giri, also an electronic composer, has written a series of books on Max MSP and many devices under his Amazing Noises brand. Petrolati is a classical pianist and an electronic composer, and with his brand apeSoft has created several iOS apps and Max for Live devices.
Dedalus Delay is available now with an intro price of about $19 till March 31, 2023 (will be $49).
