DeveloperNick Culbertson (Moby Pixel) shared this video intro to Mighty Synth Sampler, a free software synth for iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Mighty Synth Sampler features a full subtractive synth engine, powered by AudioKit. It offers three independent oscillator layers with volume, semitone, detune, and pan controls. You can shape your sound with amplitude and filter envelopes, a low-pass filter, LFO, unison, glide, drive, and more.
Other features include a built-in arpeggiator, flexible play surfaces, and MIDI support.
Features:
Free app with all core features included
Three-oscillator synth engine with detune, pan, and semitone control per layer
Amplitude and filter envelopes with per-oscillator scope
Low-pass filter with cutoff, resonance, and key tracking
LFO targeting filter cutoff, pitch, or volume
Unison with up to 8 voices, width, detune, and offset control
Effects: reverb, delay, chorus, drive, phaser, compressor, panner, and more
Built-in arpeggiator with BPM sync, octave range, and pattern modes
Multiple play surfaces: keys, pads, All 4ths layout, scale layout, and more
16-slot sampler with loop points, root note mapping, and note range editing
Record audio directly in-app
Import audio files and SF2/SFZ SoundFonts
Downloadable sound packs (free and paid)
Create, export, and share your own instrument banks
After entering public beta back in February, Ableton has officially released Live 12.4, bringing wireless audio streaming, updated audio effects, improved stem separation and a new educational Learn View to the company’s flagship DAW. Live 12.4 is a free update for all owners of Live 12.
Introduced in 2016, Ableton Link is a feature that allows music-makers using Live and Link-compatible hardware and software to link up their devices over a local network for hassle-free, tempo-synchronised jamming and collaboration. Live 12.4 sees the launch of Link Audio, enabling users to stream multi-channel audio between Link Audio-equipped devices over a local network in real time.
Enable Link Audio on multiple machines running Live, a mobile device running Note, or on a Move or standalone Push, and audio from those connected devices will appear as an input in Live, making it quick and easy to monitor, sample and record with automatic latency compensation and no cables in sight. (On both Live and Push, it’s possible to send and receive audio, but with Move and Note you can send but not receive audio via Link Audio.)
Here’s What’s New In Ableton Live 12.4:
This is an immensely useful upgrade to Link that should make life a whole lot easier for producers that incorporate multiple Ableton devices into their workflow, or collaborators working across several Live-equipped machines.
Live 12.4 updates three audio effects: Erosion, Chorus-Ensemble and Delay. An oldie but a goodie, Erosion introduces a lo-fi character to a signal by modulating a brief delay with filtered noise or a sine wave, producing a bitcrusher-like effect. 12.4 ushers in a new version of Erosion that expands its sound design capabilities by allowing for a continuous blend between sine and noise modulation and offering fine-grained control over stereo width; it’s now equipped with a spectrum visualiser too.
Delay’s modulation capabilities have been given a boost with a new LFO section, updated with additional time modes, LFO shapes and waveform shaping via the Morph control. Chorus-Ensemble has been updated with two new parameters that open up access to a wider palette of chorus effects: Time lets you set a fixed delay time and Taps gives you the option to switch to a one-tap delay (Chorus-Ensemble previously used a two-tap by default) reminiscent of vintage pedals.
Live 12.4 also brings a handful of improvements to the stem separation feature introduced with Live 12.3 last year. It’s now possible to highlight a portion of an audio clip in Live’s Arrangement View and separate only that selection, which will be useful for quickly isolating specific moments within a track without having to create a new clip. Additionally, separated stems can now be merged into a single audio file, making it easier to strip vocals out of a mix and leave the instrumental intact.
Also new in Live 12.4 is Learn View, a “redesigned learning experience” that replaces the existing Help View, designed to make it easier for beginners to educate themselves on Live’s interface and key features.
Combining short instructional videos with written explanations, Learn View allows you to view tutorials in a floating picture-in-picture window within Live, filtering lessons by topic and ticking them off as they’re completed to track your progress. Only a handful of video lessons are currently available, but Ableton says new modules will continue to be added as time goes on.
Ableton Live 12.4 is out now. Visit Ableton website for more info.
Dezert Audio has released PolyFreq, a free analog modeled synthesizer plugin for macOS and Windows.
PolyFreq is a synthesis engine rather than a sample library, but the focus on vintage analog character is just as present.
The synth draws on Soviet-era analog hardware. The developer describes the filter as “bold Soviet-style,” and the sound character fits that description. It’s pretty raw, but I like it.
When listening, the inspiration feels close to the Polyvox 18, a Soviet analog synth from the early 1980s that has its own raw, distinctive sound. It drew from the Korg MS-10, but kind of went in its own direction, and PolyFreq has a similar rawness.
Under the hood, you get dual oscillators feeding a nonlinear analog-style filter with three modes: low pass, band pass, and high pass. The signal path uses saturation and a nonlinear response to introduce the analog character and instability you get from real hardware.
Unison mode is also available with adjustable drift, spread, and detune. The drift control is my favorite part of the synth and is super effective at adding subtle pitch instability, making the sound feel more alive.
Another cool feature is the randomizer button near the top of the interface. One click generates a completely new patch, and the results are usually more musical than random noise.
After a few random clicks, I landed on a bass sound with sync modulation that had an awesome glitchy and somewhat unpredictable quality that worked really well. If you’re looking for quick analog-style inspiration, it’s a good place to start.
PolyFreq is free to download from Dezert Audio’s website. You need to complete a free checkout and create an account. When you open the plugin for the first time, enter your email and password to activate it. Donations are optional.
PolyFreq is available in AU and VST3 formats for macOS (Sequoia 15.7 and above) and VST3 for Windows 10 (64-bit). Both versions require an internet connection for activation. Download: PolyFreq (FREE)
