Rob Jackson ANALOGySTR is a new vintage-inspired string machine plugin for iOS and macOS, using sub-octave divider oscillators.
This weekend, I reported on three great effect processors from Rob Jackson that you can now get for very little money from the Apple App Store for iOS and macOS. New week, new app from the developer.
Rob Jackson has released ANALOGySTR, a new retro string machine app and plugin for iOS and macOS.
Rob Jackson ANALOGySTR
ANALOGySTR is a new 16-voice polyphonic retro string machine plugin. According to Rob Jackson, ANALOGySTR is a tribute to the analog string synthesizers made in the 19790 but not a replica or digital emulation of a specific instrument.
The plugin features the developer’s classic interface design: not polished and no super-realistic string machine visual, but very simple with sliders. At its core, ANALOGYSTR uses sub-octave divider oscillators to achieve the distinct sonic character.
It features three distinct base “string” tones, which can be mixed with additional sub and octave controls. Then, you can shape the sound further with a vibrato effect, an ADSR envelope, and low and high-cut filters.
On the second GUI page, you can find classic string machine effects, including ensemble, phaser, and plate reverb, each with a mono and super-wide stereo processing mode. The effects are fully tweakable with various parameters.
ANALOGySTR has full MIDI support and is playable as a velocity-sensitive MIDI instrument over a keyboard range from A0 to C7 on any MIDI channel.
It also responds to mod wheel/vibrato (CC#1), expression/volume (CC#11), sustain (CC#64), all notes off (CC#123), and pitch-bend (+/- 2 semitones). Lastly, it also ships with various presets, covering different sounds, including organ, choir, and synth pads.
From Pink Floyd to Jean-Michel Jarre, from The Cure to Air, chances are you’ve heard these “string machines” on countless recordings. Funnily enough, because of the limited technology at the time, they don’t actually sound a lot like real strings, but have a distinct tonal character of their own which has become iconic and much loved.
Based on sub-octave divider oscillators originally developed for transistor organs, the basic sounds are somewhat thin and reedy but the addition of phaser and “ensemble” effects gives the instruments their distinctive sound and huge appeal.
First Impression
At first glance, this is a very nice-sounding string machine for iOS and macOS. Although it’s not the most comprehensive one on the market, it does offer a nice range of sounds. And for the price, it’s a no-brainer anyway.
Rob Jackson ANALOGySTR is available now on the Apple App Store for $2,99/2,99€. They run as a standalone app and AUv3 FX plugin on macOS (Apple Silicon + Intel) and iOS.
More information here: Rob Jackson (App Store)
More information here: AppStore
Hi, just a little clarification regarding macOS. All my new universal purchase macOS / iOS releases this year will also run on Intel Macs as they’re specific macOS builds and don’t have a dependency on Silicon or the automated “Catalyst” tech.
Support for macOS also goes way back to 10.13. Minimum iOS is 12.0.
Cheers, -Rob