Free music software round-up: Week 14
Some classic hardware synth emulations are included in this week's selection of plug-ins, but there are also a couple of original instruments on the menu.
This is in addition to several new effects, including one that comes with a NSFW warning (you can't say that about many audio processors).
If you're a freeware developer, remember to drop us a line when you're releasing something new - an email to musicradar.pressreleases@futurenet.com will do the trick.
Kriminal Krolar SX-2
Platform/format: PC/VST Download
Released this very day, Krolar SX-2 was inspired by Roland's late-'70s synth the SH-2. This being the case, it comes with a similar set of features, though it does also benefit from the addition of a polyphonic mode (the original was monophonic only).
ElektroStudio Plug-ins
Platform/format: PC/VST Download
The ElektroStudio range contains several free instruments, including the eSLine virtual string machine, the Mellotron-inspired Tapeotronic, the Rhythmus beatbox (pictured above) and the DavoSynth. As well as running as VST plug-ins, you can also use them standalone.
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Jeremy Evers Atlantis
Platform/format: PC/VST Download
Atlantis is a currently-in-beta synth that also comes with a dedicated effects module that can be used to process other audio. It's now skinnable (the one in the pic was created by Limeflavour) and looks like it could have quite a bit of potential. Give it a try.
Morfiki grANALiser
Platform/format: PC/VST Download
Described as a hybrid of a granulator and a delay, grANALiser promises the likes of chorus, pitchshifting and ring modulation. Even more intriguingly, we're told that it contains "explicit pixel animation that should only be viewed by adults". We should have guessed as much after seeing that name…
AcmeBarGig Cab Enhancer
Platform/format: PC/VST Download
AcmeBarGig's roster of free plug-ins is growing rapidly (in fact, it says that'll be releasing a new product every week for the foreseeable future). Cab Enhancer is designed not just to emulate a speaker cabinet, but also to enhance an existing mic'd or IR cab.
Xoxos Acoustic/Malt
Platform/format: PC/VST Download
A couple of new offerings from Xoxos: Malt (which is short for MIDI alt) uses an LFO to alternate between two MIDI channels; and Acoustic (pictured above) is described as a "simple acoustic body resonator model" (this is based on the resonator model from the company's Boing2 bowed synth).
I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.