Krotos Audio Concept 2, a free update for its “powerfully simple” Synthesizer plugin with a new granular engine, shaping modulator & more.
In early 2020, Krotos Audio from Scotland released its first Synthesizer plugin called Concept. The name says it all, it’s a plugin where the concept plays a major role. It offers a wide range of functions but has implemented then in such a way that you can quickly and easily come up with your perfect sound. Functions like Tweak it, with which you can roll new sounds, showed the idea of this sound generator.
Today Concept already got its successor with Concept 2, one year after its release. It is a further development in many points and the positive news: all Concept 1 users can download the new version for free.
Krotos Audio Concept 2
Concept 2 is based on the original Concept engine so you benefit from all the same features again and more. It starts with an updated oscillator section, now with granular synthesis. You can use any audio file from your computer via drag and drop as a sound source and transform them into tiny grains. A technique with which you can create quickly dense atmospheric sounds. The developer ships C2 with 300 audio files ready to be granulated.
Then, you get a new advanced shape modulator in the modulation engine. They can act as a complex LFO or envelope with the ability to design their own modulation curves, breaks, and shapes. You can also find these flexible modulators in Pigments 3, Massive X, and other modern synth plugins. Plus, you can patch together multiple instances of modulators giving you a wide palette of evolving movements.
Also, it comes with new presets, more impulse responses for the convolution reverb, and numerous workflow improvements. The latter must be thought through down the last detail, otherwise, the concept of the “Concept” synth no longer fits. Further, it now comes with a darker look which can be seen as an improvement.
First Impression
I liked the first version of the Concept Synthesizer in many ways. However, the engine was a bit too simple. Now with granular synthesis and more modulation power, the whole Concept 2 adventure is much more extensive. The features are still manageable compared to other plugins, which is the idea behind it. The developers don’t want to overwhelm musicians with 10000 features.
The modulation engine remains a big topic in C2, that’s good, and I think it’s the one that makes the plugin more versatile than you might think at first glance.
Krotos Concept 2 is available now for an introductory price of 87,55€ (regular 134,55€) and runs as a VST, AU, AAX plugin on macOS and Windows.
More information here: Krotos
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