Tracktion Abyss is an innovative Synthesizer plugin that offers a new colorful, visual approach to synthetic sound design.
Synthesis is best learned directly on the instrument. The steps are often the same: what is an oscillator, what does a filter do … the basic elements that you learn once and can later apply to all other synthesizers. With a modular synthesizer, this is even easier because you have to patch the paths yourself. A very direct approach.
Tracktion Abyss
Abyss is a new Synthesizer plugin that uses the world of colors to generate and visualize synthetic sounds. Everything is very colorful. The plugin uses a tone color approach that provides a simple way to create sounds. More precisely, in Abyss different sounds are represented by different colors.
The idea is implemented is very easy and intuitive. You can browse through a swarm of colored sounds that uses worlds like warm, cold, dark, soft… Then simply drag your favorites onto a gradient bar in order to morph and fade between them. You can do this manually, via internal modulation (LFOs, envelopes…) or via hardware control (MPE…).
Modulation & Effects
The modulation section is less colorful and more classic. This section consists of a wide variety of waveforms with sync options. You get also a flip & divide function and they work polyphonically. Two of the LFOs have built-in quantization with the ability to work as a step sequencer with defined scales.
You can modulate anything with anything, including the tone parameters. In this way, you can not only achieve uniques tones but also timbres that you know from classic synths using basic waveforms. Besides, this, you can also introduce additional life and character to your timbres via a noise generator or organic parameter. Plus, you get panning options, a built-in resonant filter, and dirt with which you can saturate nicely your output.
There is also a colorful effect section with beautiful icons. And here, too, the synth is different from everyone else. You won’t find the names of the standard effects here but oceanic icons that try to give you a visual interpretation. Delay is all about bubbles, Jellyfish is the reverb, shimmer effect a sea creature, and the phaser is represented with wavy lines.
Abyss is very special and unique. The concept is well thought out and nicely implemented. You have to give the developer credit for that. And also that he dares something new in the Synthesizer plugin market.
Tracktion Abyss is available now for $77.40 USD and runs as a VST3 and AU plugin on macOS and Windows.
More information here: Tracktion
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