Cherry Audio Sines is CA’s second original Synthesizer plugin release that let you explore the fascinating world of sine waves using a hybrid synthesis feature set.
Sine waves are fascinating. As a pure waveform, they are very unexciting and dull. If you start to modulate them with shapers, folders, or other waves, they show a completely different face. They blossom like flowers and show a very complex character allowing you to create super-rich overtone sounds.
Cherry Audio is now letting its customers explore this world with their second original synth release Sines, a sinusoidal Synthesizer plugin for macOS and Windows.
Cherry Audio Sines
The transformation of sinus waves are often associated with west-coast synthesis. Instead of subtracting the sound content (subtractive synthesis), new overtones are added here using shapers and other tools.
West-coast synthesizers are often associated with sine waveforms. Some of these ideas can also be found in the Sines plugin, but it’s not a “west-coast style synth. It’s a hybrid synth that combines ideas from the subtractive, additive, and FM fields in a new synth.
Sines’ 16-voice polyphonic engine consists of four sine-wave oscillators with waveshaping controls to bend the basic waves into other classic (sawtooth, square, pulse…) or more complex ones. Each of the four sine oscillators has six waveshaper controls to lead the waves into more wild sound territories. Available are feedback, phase, width, shape, wavefold, and drive, each with modulation source assignments.
A sub (octave-down sine wave) oscillator and a super oscillator (octave-up sine wave) are also available for each oscillator. Clever, each oscillator section has oscillator utility functions and mini displays to make the workflow faster. You can definitely send the sines on a wild, crazy ride here. And you can even configure the oscillators in a modulator/carrier system for a 4-OP FM synth.
Filtering And Rich Modulation
Sines not only uses ideas from the west-coast world but also from classic subtractive synthesis. Thus, you will also find a filter section with a resonant multimode filter with 6, 12, 18, or 24db/oct lowpass, highpass, bandpass, or notch modes. So you can easily dampen the often bright, full of harmonic sounds produced by the waveshapers, wave-folders…
On the modulation side, you get four tempo-synced LFOs with 14 waveforms and four envelopes with velocity controls (filter, amp, and two auxiliaries). All this is managed via a four-slot mod matrix allowing modulation of nearly every parameter of the engine.
Effects
Further, you can refine your sounds using the built-in multi-FX board. It consists of four fully modulatable effects packed with different algorithms: multiple distortion and sample-crushing options; mod FX with phaser, chorus, flanger, or rotary speaker. There are also delays (stereo, ping pong, tape delay) and five reverb effects, incl. the “Galactic” algorithm. Plus, you can use an eight-band graphic EQ for deeper sound refinements.
To add more of a vintage, wobbly character, the Cherry Audio developers also added drift controls aka vintage parameters that apply variation to oscillators and filter frequencies. Not to forget, Sines has a built-in arpeggiator, full MPE support, a resizable GUI, complete MIDI control, and more. They ship the plugin with over 500 presets from professional sound designers.
First Look Impression
I had the opportunity to take a closer look at Sines. I couldn’t do very much with it because I’m currently moving into a new apartment + studio But at first glance, Sines is a very powerful Synthesizer plugin that offers many synthesis concepts in a single plugin. Sonically very good and great for deep dives into sine studies.
Due to the flexibility of the oscillators, you can switch from one synthesis to another with just a few clicks without changing the plugin. A concept that I like very much.. Only the huge GUI with its sheer number of parameters is a bit overwhelming when you open it for the first time. I’m not a fan of a lot of windows, but in that case, the windows wouldn’t be bad at all.
Cherry Audio Sines is available now for an introductory price of $39 USD (reg. $59 USD). It runs as a 64-bit VST, VST3, AU, and AAX plugin on macOS (Intel + Apple Silicon) and Windows. It includes a standalone version as well.
More information here: Cherry Audio
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