Jas-i-Khorlo is a new free Synthesizer plugin that takes you on a fascinating journey through rotating physical modeling synthesis.
Physical modeling or resonator synths often follow this concept: An exciter like a mallet, noise, or a sampler, as in the new Rippler synth, triggers the resonators. These, in turn, can take many different forms. String-tuned resonators are particularly popular.
The Jas-i Khorlo is a new free physical modeling/resonator synth that just popped up, and it combines the two elements in a never-before-seen rotating concept where a cylinder plays a main role.
Jas-i Khorlo
An exciter and a resonator are all you need to achieve beautiful, organic sounds. We know this from Chromaphone 3, Rippler, and other synths. Jas-i Khorlo has both, but lets them communicate in a fascinatingly never-before-seen way.
At the heart of Khorlo is a virtual glass cylinder. Surrounding it are up to eight independent resonators, which can be various shapes, such as string, bell, and others. You can park them in a circle and adjust their positions flexibly.
Together, they form a musical circular road with up to eight of these, each with its own shape and tuning. A road also needs vehicles. For this, instead of cars, up to 8 impulse rings are used, i.e., rotating exciters. These can have different shapes and move in a circle.
Each time they touch a resonator like a string model, it’s a reaction, and they make sound. You can adjust the speed at which they circle the resonators: slowly or quickly. Height also plays a major role.
Adjusting the ring height changes their character, since height is where it grabs the resonators. High is bright and thin; low is dull and round.
Fully Adjustable Engine
What makes it particularly versatile is the full adjustability of the exciters and resonators. You can specify which resonators the exciter ring should hit, adjust the tempo of each ring individually, and shape its character.
This opens up a wide field of familiar yet unique sounds. Jas-i Khorlo covers many classic modal synthesis sounds (acoustic-like bass, plucky strings…) while also letting you explore new sonic territory. For example, circulating sounds or polyrhythms where each cycle drives at a different tempo.
Eight exciter rings on the left and eight resonators on the right are available. The exciter can have various shapes such as impulse, noise, saw, and others. Each one is adjustable in speed, pitch, strength, and attack. The latter two shape the impact of the hit.
Additionally, you can sync the tempo to your DAW host or link one ring with another. This way you can form an exciter carpool. And not to forget, you can even determine for each ring which resonator can be hit and which can be skipped for each round.
Looking to the right, you’ll find the resonators. Each one has its own control panel for the model selection (string, bell, membrane…), pitch, detune, pan, wash, and decay envelope. That’s not all. A hidden second menu gives even more per-resonator control options.
These include stiffness, brightness, and more. So, each resonator can have its own distinct sound character. Depending on the tuning, this generates very melodic output.
Classic Synth Ingredients
The circulating modal engine is a lot of fun to explore; I can already say that. But we’ve left out many other elements. Jasi has also given Khorlo all the well-known synth ingredients.
This starts with a dual-multimode filter that works in parallel or serial and ships with six different filter topologies, including clean, hybrid, comb, and vowel. Each side is fully adjustable, with classic controls: cutoff, resonance, drive, and more.
An impressive set of eight assignable modulators with drag-and-drop is also onboard, located in the lower section. Each is a function generator and can act as an ADSR envelope, LFO, or a drawable modulator. Each mod can have up to six destinations.
Each modulator has a 6-slot modulation matrix, and a global one manages the connections. Additionally, the VCA has an ADSR envelope. While the rotation DNA already keeps your sound very busy, this mod engine puts them on an evolving rollercoaster ride.
In the same row, you also have four assignable macro controls. Last but not least, a multi-FX processor is hidden on a dedicated UI page.
It houses 10 re-orderable, flexible FX, often multimode algorithms: chorus, compressor, delay, saturation, EQ, filter, flanger, phaser, reverb, and limiter. Each FX has many parameters you can tweak manually or modulate with the eight modulators from the mod engine.
The current beta of Jas-i Khorlo ships with 135 sounds, organized in a feature-rich preset browser with tags like tone, character, or articulation. Since it’s in beta, many more will surely be added.
Jas-i Khorlo First Impression
Khorlo is a one-of-a-kind physical modeling/modal synth. While exciters and resonators are familiar to us all, it’s the “rotating” interplay of these elements that is unlike anything seen before. At least for me.
The sounds are those we know from physical modeling/modal synths, but in constant motion. This gives them an exciting touch. It becomes especially unique when working with polyrhythms.
Khorlo is a synth that shows that there are still new ideas to be found amidst the recent flood of new releases. The plugin is currently in beta, and I’m curious to see how Aaron Jasinski of Jas-i develops it further. It’s definitely one of those experimental gems that enrich the soft synth world. And the fact that it’s free is a huge gift.
Jas-i Khorlo is now available as a free download. It’s now in beta, and an official release date is TBA. It runs as a VST3, AU, and CLAP plugin on macOS (native Apple Silicon + Intel), Linux, and Windows.
More information here: Jasi-i
Thank you for posting about the synth! Much appreciated.
Thanks for making it, and for providing it free. Sounds amazing!