Tone2 gives its hybrid wavetable synth Icarus3 a massive upgrade with granular and additive synthesis, new FXs, and more.
Update: Tone 2 Icarus 3 is available now
In recent years, there has been no getting around the topic of wavetables in the Synthesizer sector. Hardware and software developers released tons of new wavetable synths. For budget users, there were also impressive additions to the free area with the VAST Dynamics Vaporizer 2 or SocaLabs synth.
One of the best software wavetable synths is Icarus2 from the German developer Tone2. A massive update is scheduled for April 2024. It will be called Icarus3 and the last plugin from Tone2. Markus Krause, the lead developer, announced this on the KVR Forum.
Tone2 Icarus3
Yes, it’s not good news that Icarus3 will be the last plugin from Tone2. However, the company will not go out of business. They will focus on updates and new sound sets. So, this version will be the final version. But this will be a massive one.
Tone2 has expanded the popular wavetable Synthesizer in all areas, turning into a multi-engine synth. It’s fully downward-compatible with all previous versions, including songs and patch recall. Where to start is difficult because the new feature list is huge.
There’s a good chance I’ll forget to mention a few things, but let’s start with the oscillators. In Icarus3, you can explore 13 new hypersaw modes based on algorithms that prevent occasional “phasing” and huge volume peaks.
These include “MegaSaw 12” with up to 12 detuned oscillators, “SuperStereo 14” with 14 oscillators, and modes that emulate the drifting of analog synths. Tone2 promises that the plugin has the best-sounding hypersaws/supersaws on the market. Is this marketing blah blah or true? We will see.
Granular, FM, and Additive
2023 was the granular year, and the good news is that Icarus 3 will also be expanded with granular synthesis. It will ship with four different granular modes (classic, BPM, variable, freaky), and the wave knob controls the sample position.
Then, Icarus3 hosts an upgraded FM engine with eight new modes, and Tone2 promises that it will not suffer from any significant aliasing. You get new modes with integer, subharmonic, and fractional ratios.
Another big news for Icarus3 is the all-new additive synthesis engine, which drastically extends the synth’s sonic range. This is great for disharmonic, weird sounds.
According to Tone2, it’s not limited to sine waves but can handle any waveform or synthesis mode. It ships with 22 different additive modes, offering various approaches to additive synthesis. For example, “Add Bell” gives you morphing between a bell and an organ sound with up to 16 oscillators.
New Filters, FXs, And Tweaked Modulation
That’s not all. The upcoming Icarus3 upgrade/update offers much more to explore. For example, it ships with two new analog-style lowpass filters modeled after the Moog Ladder and the Korg MS-20 circuits.
Besides this, you can create new sounds using many new effects for the filter and global sections. There is a new unison effect, two Krauftrock phasers, a Haas FX, seven new distortion types for the filter section, a unique “Sitar Resonance” reverb type, and three new distortions for the FX section.
In the setup section, you can also find a new transient-shaper that boosts the high-frequency transients to add punch and clarity.
The modulation also benefits from a makeover. Not massive but tweaks that makes it more versatile and easier to use. The modulation matrix is now animated and shows the current modulation value. This makes it a lot easier to understand how patches work.
There are also three new modulation sources: random+-, flipflop+, and white noise+- plus new targets. You can now modulate the MSEG1 and MSEG2 speeds with any source.
Also, the built-in arpeggiator has new functionalities, including a new multi-timbral mode for the arpeggiator (dual layer root) and the ability to play two-tones and triads. Further, it comes with over 230 newly designed presets that give you an overview of the new features.
Another highlight is the new, reworked GUI, which is not only much more modern and clear (native support for 4K, 5K, 8K UHD displays) but also customizable. Besides the 26 different sizes (with/without a keyboard…), it comes with 30 new skins that can be selected on the setup screen).
These are the highlights, but there are still countless new features, improvements, etc. You can read the entire change log here. Here’s a little summary
More News Of Tone2 Icarus3
- VST3 and AU versions now support MPE
- improved wavetable editor with a new sweep mode “warmth”, supports HiDpi, and more
- audio engine now uses 64-bit precision for higher sound quality
- microtuning-range is now limited and can not longer run ‘out-of-tune’.
- major makeover for the existing FX algorithms
- support for hardware acceleration and reduced CPU load
There is no video for the Icarus3 yet. As a placeholder for the official new video, here is the one from update 2.5.
First Impression
This is a huge update that will be coming onto the market soon. As a user, I would be happy to pay the update fees.
The new massive feature set flips the actual wavetable synth into a multi-engine synth since the actual engine is in Icarus3 only a part of it. Not to forget, the fun drum sequencer with glitch is still onboard.
Tone2 Icarus3 is available now for $169/149€. It runs as a VST, VST3, and AU plugin on macOS (native Apple Silicon + Intel) and Windows.
The upgrade is free for anyone who bought Icarus2 directly from Tone2 after November 2023. All others will be able to upgrade with a significant discount.
More information here: Tone2
Tone2 products are available at my partner
Hi! I was the one who suggested that Tone2 should add additive synthesis modes inspired by Razor and Zebralette 3. I was also one of the customers who wanted to see more FM modes for the wavetables, as 3 ratios were definitely not enough. You can thank me for helping make Icarus 3 great.
Cheers!
The MPE-support is perfectly implemented – I already had the chance to try it out.
Great update – worth every penny.
Too expensive.
Too expensive for previous owners.
The devs put a lot of effort into Icarus 3, and you should support them.
Yea but Dev said he will stop\quit developing plugins.
but maintainance remains active. That’s his main focus for the future. He stops developing new plugins from scratch but he maintains all existing ones in its portfolio. Plus they release new sound expansions.