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Klanghelm’s first reverb plugin, Tens, has been finally released after 3.5 years of development. Klanghelm reboots AKG’s BX spring reverb with its new Tens plugin, and there’s also a free version available, Tens Jr.

It all started from the early 1970s to early 1980s. During the ‘70s and ‘80s, AKG offered a unique take on the spring reverb concert with its BX series. This kicked off with the sizeable BX20, and was followed by the more portable BX10, rackmounted BX5 and then the BX25, which added a built-in delay.

If you want to hear what the BX boxes were all about, Klanghelm is now giving you the opportunity with its new Tens plugin. Inspired by AKG’s design – which enabled various connected spring elements of different lengths and wire diameter to vibrate inside a small, isolated space – this offers a wide range of decay times and outputs in stereo rather than the original mono.

You can tweak the sound using Tension, Whoosh and Metallic controls, while the optional (pre)amp saturation can be placed anywhere in the signal chain. There are three modulation slots; each of these offers an envelope and an LFO, which can be used to modulate any parameter. The envelope follower can be triggered by the input, output or an external sidechain signal, and you can also use it for ducking effects.

The hope is that Tens will be capable of recreating the kind of deep, organic reverbs that the BX models were known for, with those modulation options opening up the possibility of fashioning tremolo, chorus, vibrato and phaser-style sounds as well.

If you want a taste of Tens but do not want to stump up the $24 that it costs, there is also a free version Tens Jr, the little brother of the studio spring reverb TENS. It features TENS model 5 – tank A, which gives you just a single tank to work with. It’s still stereo, and also offers a single fader that enables you to adjust its character.

TENS offers:

• a wide range of decay times (from 0.2 seconds up to 40 seconds)
• as opposed to the original each tank of TENS’ models outputs a stereo signal instead of mono
• various options to deeply alter the actual models via the TENSION, WHOOSH and METALLIC controls
• optional (pre-)amp saturation, that can be placed freely in the signal chain
• three modulation slots to add movement or create out-of-this-world sounds
• every continuous TENS parameter can be a modulation target
• the target can be modulated by either an LFO or envelope follower
• the envelope follower can be triggered by either the reverb input, ouput or even an external sidechain signal
• using the envelope follower for ducking effects is also possible
• the envelope follower can be used to shape the dynamics of the input, the optional amp saturation and the reverb signal
• with the modulation section various modulation effects can be achieved, such as tremolo, chorus, vibrato, phaser-like sounds and more rather unusual sounds plus combinations of the aforementioned effects

Both versions of Tens are available now and run in VST/AU/AAX formats for PC and Mac. Find out more on the Klanghelm website.

Lofi Oddity is an immediate and easy-to-use ear candy playground.

The developer of SketchCassette has just released a free plugin called Lofi Oddity, an audio ‘degradation toy box’.

With their quirky interfaces and unconventional sound, Aberrant DSP’s plugins have been piquing producers’ interest for several years now. In fact, SketchCassette  – the company’s debut release – has even ended up in the hands of Finneas, who used it in the production of Billie Eilish’s What Was I Made For?

Aberrant DSP’s new releases Lofi Oddity a free plugin, is something of a ‘greatest hits’ package, taking elements from three of the developer’s paid-for plugins (plus one that may well be coming soon) and packing them into an easy-to-use ‘degradation toy box’.

In keeping with the old-school vibe, the interface looks like it’s been made for an early version of Windows or MacOS. It contains four modules; first up, Corruption, which provides digital artifacting and stuffer effects inspired by Digitalis.

Next, we move on to ‘????’ – yes, that’s what it’s called. Aberrant DSP implies that the lack of a name can be blamed on the fact that this “uncharted space” provider is derived from a plugin that hasn’t been released yet.

The Tape module offers you a taste of SketchCassette’s C90-style degraded warmth, while the Comp module takes its cue from ShapeShifter.

You can dial in the amount of each effect individually, and there’s also a Master Mix control. 18 factory presets are included to demonstrate what Lofi Oddity is capable of.

Lofi Oddity Includes:

• Corruption module for digital artifacting and stutter effects, inspired by Digitalis
• ?????? full of uncharted spaces
• Tape effect featuring a greatest hits of SketchCassette’s warm, degraded tones
• Comp section for extra glue and punch, inspired by ShapeShifter
• Master Mix control allows any combination of settings to reach from tasteful to abominable
• Custom preset system with 18 factory presets illuminating Lofi Oddity’s broken soundscapes

Lofi Oddity looks like anyone can download and easy to use – it comes in VST/AU/AAX formats and runs on PC and Mac. Go and grab it on the Aberrant DSP website.

Erica Synths shared this video preview of their Perkons HD-01 Drum Synth running firmware 1.1, which adds chromatic tuning of the voices, a new algorithm and more.

New in Perkons firmware v1.1 Updates:

• Chromatic MIDI note input – Set MIDI mode to multi-channel and you can program notes into the sequencer either by playing them live and recording or by pressing the desired step button and then sending in the MIDI note. Voice 1 = MIDI CH1, Voice 2 = MIDI CH2 etc.
• MIDI note velocity input – If the setting is ON in the configuration menu, MIDI notes will be recorded with velocity. Higher velocity means higher volume.
• New Algorithm – Digital Noise – A new algorithm has been added to the Voice 4, Algo 2, Mode 1 slot. It is based on Digital noise PCM. Tune sets the frequency, PARAM 1 sets Timbre and it also correlates with the Tune. PARAM2 sets the amplitude envelope attack time.
• Inverse ODDS behavior option – If this setting is ON in the configuration menu, ODDS after the sequence start will play inversely. For example – if the ODDS of a step are set to 1/4, it will only play on the 4th bar instead of the first. – FX parameters saving with KIT option
• If the FX save setting is set to ON, the BBD settings (TIME, FEEDBACK) will be saved within the KIT.
• Improved trigger/MIDI note recording – Better accuracy of note recording with the trigger keys, trigger input and MIDI.

Find out details on the Erica Synths website.