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Cherry Audio revives the cult classic Crumar Spirit in its latest plugin

Cherry Audio has introduced Crumar Spirit, a virtual instrument based on the classic hardware synth of the same name from 1983.

Cherry Audio is renowned for its software recreations of vintage synthesizers, having captured the spirit of legendary names such as the Roland Juno-106, ARP 2600 and Prophet-10 in plugin form, along with instrument like the Novachord.

Cherry Audio’s latest synth sights is the Crumar Spirit, an Italian analogue monosynth released in late 1983 that’s considered something of a cult classic. Designed by none other than Bob Moog (in collaboration with Tom Rhea, Jim Scott and Sante Crucianelli) the Spirit is known for its complexity and sonic versatility, along with its ultra-rare status: fewer than 100 units were manufactured before Crumar folded in 1986.

Fast forward to 2008, and the Italian company VMConnection acquired the Crumar brand before relaunching a modernized version of the Spirit in 2023. Cherry Audio’s software emulation has been developed in collaboration with Crumar, replicating the innovative design of the original instrument while bringing increased polyphony, enhanced modulation capabilities and a handful of useful new features.

“Spirit is a gateway to sonic experimentation, whether you are after wild, unpredictable timbres or warm, analogue tones” reads a statement from Cherry Audio. “It is not a polite instrument. Nor is it clean, safe, or obvious. However, twist a few knobs and it will reward you with some of the most colorful sounds you have ever heard from a virtual analogue software synthesizer.”

Like the original, Cherry Audio’s Crumar Spirit is a two-oscillator synth with saw, triangle and square waveforms (the latter with variable pulse width) and its oscillators are somewhat unusually routed through two distinct signal paths.

The first path runs through Spirit’s dual resonant filters – one low-pass filter and and a second state-variable filter with high-pass, band-pass and overdrive modes, switchable filter slopes of either 12dB or 24dB and a formant mode for adding vocal-like colour – and its VCA section. The other is routed through a second mixer for blending in ring modulation and a noise generator controlled by Spirit’s Shaper Y envelope.

Along with EGs for both filter and amp envelope, Spirit’s modulation comes courtesy of two LFOs found in the Mod X and Shaper Y sections, which have been joined in Cherry Audio’s software emulation by a new Matrix Z section, a four-slot modulation matrix with 25 sources and 45 destinations.

In addition, Cherry Audio have upgraded Spirit’s multi-mode arpeggiator with swing, humanization and probabilistic sequencing, and introduced a suite of effects that includes distortion, chorus, flanger, delay and reverb.

Voice modes now include monophonic, unison and a cyclic mode that adds per-note variation, along with a polyphonic mode with up to 16 voices, and the synth has been brought into the 21st century with velocity and polyphonic aftertouch.

Features:

• Based on the original synthesizer and circuit designs of Robert A. Moog, Tom Rhea, Jim Scott, and Crumar’s Sante Crucianelli
• Expanded functionality and modulation options
• Monophonic, unison, polyphonic (4, 8, or 16 voices), and cycle voice modes
• Multi voice modes for unison, poly, and cycle that add per-note variation by adding three additional “mini synth” panels, each with their own pitch, pan, filter frequency, VCA Envelope Attack, and VCA Envelope Release settings
• Quick-access Multi voice panel presets such as Hard Panned, Slightly Detuned, Well Worn, and more to simulate subtle or extreme variations between voices
• Over 430 presets in a dozen categories
• Two oscillators with master tune, octave, waveshape, and oscillator sync
• Oscillator B features modes to create a fixed frequency in two ranges – Bass and Wide – for drones, audio-rate modulation, or an additional LFO
• Dedicated Upper low pass filter and multimode Lower filter
• Flexible filter section with keyboard tracking, a fixed formant option for the Lower filter (to add vocal-like color), and low pass slope options
• Two ADSR envelopes with velocity for filter and amp
• Extensive modulation options in Mod X and Shaper Y sections, each routable to dedicated mod wheels
  • Mod X modulation sources: Triangle, Square, Random (Sample & Hold), Shaper Y, Red Noise, Oscillator B. Sync or retrig
  • Mod X destinations: Oscillator A + B, Oscillator A, Oscillator A rectangular width modulation (RWM), Filter Upper + Lower, Upper Filter
  • Shaper Y modes: Free Run (extra LFO), KB Hold, Run, Reset (Envelope and Filter Effects). Sync or loop.
  • Shaper Y destinations: Oscillator A + B, Oscillator B, Oscillator B RWM, LFO Rate, Lower Filter
• Cherry Audio’s “Matrix Z” four-slot mod matrix with four independent pathways to send modulation from one of 25 sources to any of 45 destinations, each with its own amount knob
• Multiple gate options for ADSRs allow for complex triggering
• Two independent mixers and signal paths for Shaper Y and Filter/ADSR with independent outputs
• Glide and pitch bend controls
• Dynamic arpeggiator with three modes – Ripple, Arp, and Leap – with Swing, Chance, and Feel to add degrees of randomness to arpeggiated patterns
• Two independent chains of studio-quality integrated effects with a global effect modulator:
  • Filter/ADSR Effects: Distortion, Flanger & Chorus, Echo, and Reverb
  • Shaper Y Effects: Envelope Filter, Dual Phaser, Flanger & Chorus, and Echo
• Standalone virtual instrument and plug-in versions included
• DAW sync
• User-adjustable oversampling control
• Complete MIDI control and DAW automation for all controls, with MIDI learn and mapping (Preset and Global)
• Cherry Audio’s Focus zoom-in feature, as well as standard UI zoom and resize via drag
• Complete documentation available directly online from the instrument or in downloadable PDF format

Cherry Audio’s Crumar Spirit is available now for macOS & Windows for $59.

The Crow Hill Company Releases Lo-Fi Strings, Free Tape-treated String Library With A Warm & Nostalgic Sound

Founded in 2023 by composer Christian Henson (formerly of Spitfire Audio) The Crow Hill Company is an Edinburgh-based developer of software instruments and sample libraries.

Launched in 2024, Crow Hill’s Vaults collection is an ongoing series of free sample libraries and virtual instruments. At any one time, six Vaults instruments are available to download: each month, a new instrument is dropped and one is archived. Archived instruments can still be accessed in return for a small charity donation.

The latest addition to the Vaults series is Lo-fi Strings, a string library with a nostalgic sonic palette. In developing Lo-fi Strings, Crow Hill processed clean string recordings through a vintage cassette deck in an attempt to bring the characteristic sonic imperfections of magnetic tape – compression, saturation, pitch instability and tape hiss – into the orchestral world.

Lo-Fi Strings shares the same basic interface as the other Vaults plugins. Two central dials control two main parameters: Timbre is a subtle volume and filter control while Dropout introduces additional imperfections to the sound, mimicking the dropouts that can occur in cassette recording. Four additional controls along the bottom of the interface can be used to tweak a high-pass filter, saturation circuit, reverb and stereo ping-pong delay.

Check out the demo video above to get a flavour of how Lo-Fi Strings sounds – it’s a gorgeous instrument with oodles of vintage charm that could come in useful across a variety of musical contexts. (If you’re scoring an indie rom-com and don’t have the budget for a real orchestra, it’s your lucky day.)

While you’re over at Crow Hill’s website, there are five other free instruments currently available, including a TB-303 acid synth, mallet piano, rubber bridge guitar and bodhrán, a traditional Celtic percussion instrument.

Lo-fi Strings is compatible with macOS and Windows and available in VST/VST3/AU/AAX formats.

Download Lo-fi Strings on The Crow Hill Company website.

WoO.1 is a pocket-sized sampler designed for endless on-the-go looping.

WoO.1, the debut instrument from Hong Kong-based Wunderkammer, has been previewed in a recent series of demo videos ahead of its imminent launch on Kickstarter.

The instrument – pronounced ‘woo one’ – is a pocket-sized, battery powered sampler designed to allow users to layer loops and patterns whenever and wherever creativity strikes. The WoO.1 could be described as a classic Casio SK-1 sampler on steroids.

With its thin, rectangular body and chunky, retro control panel, it’s tempting to compare the WoO.1 to Teenage Engineering’s cult classic OP-1. In reality though, its workflow and price point mean that WoO.1 has more in common with Teenage Engineering’s EP-133 KOII.

Much like that sampler, the WoO.1 can make use of samples imported via its USB input or recorded directly from its built-in mic. Samples can be trimmed using the instrument’s front panel controls, and then played chromatically and polyphonically using the button keyboard.

The WoO.1 is designed to work as a looper, letting users layer an apparently unlimited number of tracks to create compositions. These can be saved as grooves and chained to create longer arrangements. It will also offer simple resampling, making it easy to replay a loop at different pitches and tempos, as well as apply effects, with high-, low- and band-pass filtering and a pitch shifter on offer.

It appears that right now, each new layer is effectively baked into the loop – ie the layers are saved and exported as a single audio file – although in a reply to a query in the YouTube comment section, Wunderkammer has indicated it intends to implement individual stem export in a future update.

The device also features a variety of other tools, including an arpeggiator, MIDI output and a ‘music game’ mode, which promises to teach users to play along with 7 built-in songs in a variety of styles and tempos.

As well as allowing users to record or import their own sounds, WoO.1 will come stocked with 161 built-in sounds.

Features:

• Unlimited Track Looper: Layer unlimited tracks with different sounds.
• Save Function: Save your loops to Sample or Groove slots for further editing.
• Dynamic playing effects: Use the function knob to control the volume and add a dynamic touch to performances.
• Undo Support: “One-touch undo” let you fix mistakes instantly without interrupting your flow.
• Resampling Support: Resample stored loops from Sample mode to take your creations further.
• Single-track FX mixing: Mix and refine any individual track in your loop.’
• One-Touch Sampling: Capture sounds instantly and convert them into any of the 140 sample slots just by selecting your bank and instrument key.
• Resampling Support: Resample pre-saved clips easily into Loop mode to rearrange and create new tracks.
• Remix Instrument Sets: Copy your favorite INSTs into a SAMPLE bank in Sample mode and customize them into your own set.

WoO.1 is still in the prototype stage so we’ll be interested to see how it develops as it heads towards production and release.

Wunderkammer is currently yet to launch its Kickstarter campaign – due to launch 19 August – so we don’t have a confirmed price. The brand’s site invites interested parties to reserve a unit in the first run for a deposit of $3 though, which will also secure a discount of ‘35% off (save $150)’ – so we’d expect a final price a little below $450.

Those that sign up now are also promised access to a VIP community and ‘secret extra gift’. Head to the Wunderkammer site for more information, and keep an eye on the Kickstarter page for updates.