Morphing and kinetic synth pads, leads and atmospheric textures are the order of the day with ROLI's superb Equator2 - one of my personal go-to paintbrushes for when I need to add a touch of lively colour to a mix. Though the company is best known for its extraordinary range of Seaboard MPE instruments, its their ultra-flexible soft-synth that I genuinely tend to reach for most frequently. Over the course of Black Friday and Cyber Weekend, the synth can be picked up with 40% off the standard price. A genuine bargain in my book, standing firmly amongst some of our other top Black Friday plugin deals
First released in conjunction with ROLI's Seaboard Grand, it was subsequently relaunched as a standalone soft synth, with the impressive second iteration landing in 2021. Back then, our reviewer Si Truss said that to him, Equator2's breadth of timbral and sonic control resulted in a synth that goes "toe-to-toe with any ‘super synth’ on the market, and makes a very convincing case for the power of MPE."
Equator2 is built around four different synth engines (Wavetable, Granular, Multi-Sampler and Noise). Equator's gamut of filter types, effects slots and shaping abilities mean that basically any type of sound is available to be morphed and experimented with. Even if you don't currently own an MPE instrument to get super expressive physically, Equator2 still presents a deep treasure trove of sonic wonderment that will astound those using even a standard MIDI keyboard.
If you do have an MPE instrument, then Equator2 offers custom transfer shapers for tailoring and routing how the format's five dimensions affect and modulate the synth’s sound engine, this is great for really exploring a sound, and getting some interesting concoctions going.
Though I've used many different soft synths over the years, it does tend to be Equator2 I reach for when I just want something instantly interesting in a track, the fluidity of its UI and the speed at which its engine works makes the process a breeze. I personally like using samples as a source, they can just sound so realistic - and the ability to contort them just slightly off to the side of reality is a tempting prospect when you want things to sound unique. Pile on the raft of effects (which includes reverb, filtering, delay, compression and much more) and you've got an always-ready powerhouse of sonic colour.
The 1400 presets you're presented with from the outset are a solid starting point, and it really doesn't take much to nudge them into a wholly different, yet equally as transfixing domain.
Grab Equator2 now for the low price of $151.53 and check out our wider range of Black Friday plugin deals here
