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Akai Professional has released Force 3.2, a free update that adds a variety of features, including MPC instruments, Air Effects, probability and ratcheting, Ableton Link v3 and more.

MPC Plugin instruments/Effects – You can now purchase a range of new AIR instruments/Effects for FORCE. The new collection of plugins brings together the AIR team’s expertise in sampling, synthesis, and DSP. Each instrument comes in both Standalone and MPC Software desktop versions. Akai Force Standalone Sampler/Sequencer

The instruments include:

Fabric XL

Air Stage Piano EP

Mini D

Flavor Pro

Air Organ

Air Piano

Air OPx4

Studio Strings

New Air Effects:

• AIR FLAVOR – Get that vinyl record feel from any sample or sound source using the new AIR Flavor insert effect. Select from over 30 different timbres including Radio Transistors, Tubes, Boom Boxes and Amplifiers to manipulate your source sound. You can then add and simulate analog record Distortion, Flutter, and Noise while also impacting the stereo field to create more mono sounding audio effects.
• AIR AMP SIM – FORCE 3.2 brings a new Amp and Cabinet Simulator to the FORCE platform for adding harmonic distortion to samples, vocals, drums, synths, bass, and guitars.
• AIR GRANULATOR – Granulator has also been updated making it easier to mangle your audio and create new timbres and tones using its granulation engine. The new update for FORCE 3.2 also gives users control over three new parameters: Reverse, Shape and Skew.

Probability and Ratcheting:

In FORCE 3.2 you can now add Ratchet effects to your MIDI and add groove to rhythmic elements or melodic lines. The Probability MIDI setting lets you choose the probability that a note from your MIDI track will play based on 0% to 100% probability.

Track Re-Order:

In FORCE 3.2 you can now re-order your tracks by simply changing the tracks position directly from the Matrix, Mixer, or Arrange windows. New track position will take effect when you leave the editing popup.

Automation Snapshots:

In FORCE 3.2, you can now capture a snapshot of all of the automation parameters in your project within a launch row. Once a snapshot has been captured to a row, automation settings can be launched with event data on that row.

Tuner:

FORCE 3.2 adds an integrated high-fidelity instrument Tuner to its arsenal of tools. Now you can tune your external MIDI CV synth, guitar, bass or any other musical instrument using the FORCE Tuner completely standalone.

Find out more on the Akai website to download. Akai Force Standalone Sampler/Sequencer

The instruments include:

FORCE 3.2 also includes other enhancements, improvements, and new functionalities

• FORCE now contains support for Ableton Link v3
• DrumSynth Multi now has mute groups
• FX Racks now include racks that use the Flavor and Amp Sim effects
• References to Master have now been renamed ‘Global’ or ‘Main’
• The TUI Project popup gets an Audition F-key
• Arpeggiator settings are now saved and recalled with the FORCE project
• XYFX location is now saved and recalled with the FORCE project

G-Sonique announces BFX24, a free filter plugin, but you can not download it just yet

It is not common for a company to tease a free plugin – you can usually just download it right away – but that’s what G-Sonique is doing with its forthcoming BFX24 filter.

Set to be released in celebration of the company’s 15th anniversary, this is a bi-polar analogue-style multifilter that can operate in low-pass, band-pass, high-pass and band reject modes. As you’d expect, it also comes with cutoff and resonance knobs.

You can modulate the cutoff value in both directions with the bi-polar envelope follower, and G-Sonique says that the plugin is suitable for use on everything from drums, percussion and guitars to synths and live instruments.

BFX24 will be released in December, but if you want to be able to download it for free, you’ll need to jump through a few procedures.

As well as signing up to the waiting list on the G-Sonique website, you’ll also have to ‘like’ the company’s Facebook page and share the BFX plugin on Facebook.

BFX24 will be free until the end of 2022.

KV331 Audio is giving you another chance to download SynthMaster Player, its preset-packed ROMpler synth plugin, for free.

This Player edition of the acclaimed SynthMaster instrument comes with 2,000 NKS-compatible factory presets, but offers limited editing functionality. You still get 12 macro controls per preset, though, so the opportunity to personalise these sounds is there.

In addition, you can increase the number of sounds available to you by purchasing any or all of the 37 preset expansion packs that are offered for purchase on the SynthMaster website.

SynthMaster Player runs on PC and Mac in VST/AU/AAX formats, and is available for free until 1 November, regular retail for $29. Go grab it on the SynthMaster website.