Sound Radix Radical1 is a new additive Synthesizer plugin featuring a modular, unlimited-engine architecture and custom DSP options.
Sound Radix is a developer company likely familiar to mixing and mastering engineers. For me, they were associated with their 32 Lives software, which allows you to use 32-bit plugins as 64-bit plugins. That was a long time ago.
With Radical1, Sound Radix is taking a radically new direction and has released its first Synthesizer plugin. It’s not another VA but an intriguing additive Synthesizer.
Sound Radix Radical1
Additive synthesis, the more experimental form of synthesis in which sine waves and other elements are combined, has received greater attention this year. As you probably know, two new plugins have been released with this synthesis.
Melatonin Sine Machine, a synth designed to make additive synthesis easier, and discoDSP has upgraded its best-known Vertigo to version 5.
Radical1 is, by comparison, a flagship additive Synthesizer for people who want to delve deep, although the developers market the plugin as a super intuitive synth. Whether the promise that the synth is designed for everyone (musicians, sound designers, and curious creators) holds up remains to be seen.
The new synth uses an advanced modular additive engine that allows you to build sounds from harmonics, which are sculpted, bent, and animated. I’m writing about an “advanced engine” because that’s the case.
The Radical1 engine is multi-timbral, and you can use as many layers, blocks, and modulators as your CPU can handle. Sound Radix promises the user is not just scratching the surface; they are working at a harmonic level.
This starts pretty impressively already on the oscillator level. You can work with morphing fluid oscillators and generators that support spectrum drawing and spectral sample resynthesis.
Shaping & Processing
Then, you have a wide range of spectral shaping tools, like spectral filters and harmonic modifiers. The modulation system is also impressive. You have ultra-fast, sample-accurate envelopes, LFOs, and more sources.
The crazy thing is: there’s no limit to the number of modulation sources; you can use as many as you want. Yes, that makes ultra-complex sounds possible where something happens at every point. I’m pretty sure sound designers like Richard Devine will love it.
This flexibility extends to the effects section, which has a modular signal path. There are audio and MIDI effects. On the audio side, you can work with time-domain effects like filters, dynamics, spatial tools, and more.
Also onboard are spectral effects designed to bend the harmonic domain and perform spectral-level transformations. Alongside these, it hosts a range of MIDI effects, including arpeggiators, sequencers, note-shaping tools, performance tools, and more.
If that’s not enough, you can even dive deeper and use your own custom DSP code in Sound Radix Radical1, using the Formula Blocks. The developer promises it’s limited only by users’ imagination.
Further, it supports polyphonic aftertouch and MPE, enabling the creation of very expressive additive sounds. The developers promise that the available modules, effects, and presets will expand in the future.
A demo with sound examples is not currently available.
First Impression
Radical1 is currently in pre-release and only available for macOS. Videos showing the plugin in action are also missing. However, what’s on the spec sheet is very impressive.
I’ve seen such a comprehensive additive Synthesizer in a long time. This brings back memories of complex synths like the Amaranthaudio Cycle.
Sound Radix Radical1 is now available for $129, down from $199, as a preview version for macOS (native Apple Silicon and Intel). This is an early-access discounted price. A Windows version is coming in early 2026.
It runs as a VST, AU, and AAX plugin and requires a free iLok account and the iLok License Manager software for registration.
More information here: Sound Radix
If you are into sound design, i recommend this synth as well:
https://audionerdz.net/product/vectra-deluxe-edition-early-access-power-synth/