OA-Labs Phosphor-1 is a new free virtual analog Synthesizer plugin for macOS and Windows with controlled instability.
The flood of new synthesizers being created with AI or not just won’t stop. After the Sognevo Galdr “black metal” synth, there’s now another free synth.
The new developer OA-Labs has released Phosphor-1, a free Synthesizer plugin that is built around the concept of controlled instability.
OA-Labs Phosphor-1
Phosphor-1 is a new free virtual analog Synthesizer plugin for macOS and, soon, Windows. The final build is in final testing, states the developer on the website. (8 August). I can’t say whether this new release was created using AI.
Attention: the OA-Labs Phosphor-1 has nothing to do with the Audiodamage Phosphor 3 additive synth. They share the same Phosphor name, and the interface is in green, but the final number and the engine are different.
Phosphor-1 features a polyphonic virtual analog Synthesizer built around the concept of control instability. You can play in monophonic with up to 8-voice unison, legato, and polyphonic.
The engine is pretty straightforward: two multi-wave oscillators with classic controls, a tweakable multi-wave sub-oscillator with drift, and an option to work with cross-modulation, ring mod, and sync. Mix, detune, and feedback amount are adjustable with these shaping options.
From here it goes then into a continuously morphable multimode filter with low-pass, notch, band-pass, and high-pass options. Along with classic controls (cutoff, res, keytracking), it has a built-in drive and a color knob for extra spice, and built-in motion.
Additionally, you shape your raw signal even further with the “shaper section”. Onboard are warp, curve, fold, and bias functions to add harmonics to your sounds.
Modulation & Aging
The modulation table offers three envelopes (two ADSR (amp + filter) and an AD for pitch), and two multi-wave tempo-synced LFOs with drift and offset.
One of the key features of the OA Labs Phosphor-1 is its built-in instability engine, which gives the synth the character of vintage synths. It has a global age parameter and a main character section that adds wear and drift to the signal.
Further, you have a chaos section based on Lorenz that can be used as a chaos modulation source. You can describe it as deterministic motion that never quite repeats. And on the output stage, you have an additional drive.
There is also a built-in programmable per-step arpeggiator with a generative engine with groove. Classic controls like rate, octave, length… give full control over it.
You can also dive deeper and work with the groove engine and features like per-step glitch, probability, and timing. There aren’t many presets yet, but the developer is working on it. He’s also developing an effects section with delay and reverb, MIDI sync, and more.
First Impression
At first glance, a solid new virtual analog Synthesizer. It doesn’t offer anything groundbreaking, but it has advanced features that let you design more sophisticated sounds. Thus, it joins the ranks of the many other VAs that have recently flooded the market.
OA-Labs Phosphor-1 is available now as a free download. It runs as a VST3 and AU plugin on macOS (native Apple Silicon + Intel). The Windows version is in development and coming soon.
More information here: OA-Labs
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