Having had iOS exclusivity for a good while, Kai Aras has now made ShockWave available to MacOS users, available at the intro price of $14.99, increasing to $29.99 after the promotion. The offer ends April 16th.
ShockWave is a versatile synthesizer that merges Phase Distortion Synthesis with a powerful modular workflow.
Built around the concept of Phase Distortion (PD) Synthesis, Shockwave includes a pair of PD Oscillators each capable of creating everything from pure Sine Waves over smooth Sawtooth and Square Waves to Resonance & Sync sweeps, filtered Noise and more.
Cross-Mod between the two oscillators allows for an even greater range of timbres and includes DX-Style Phase Modulation, Linear and Exponential Frequency Modulation as well as Amplitude- and Ring Modulation.
Since PD Synthesis is able to manipulate an oscillator waveform dynamically, convincing analog filter sounds can be created without the need for actual filters.
A pair of Low Frequency Oscillators and 2 Attack/Sustain/Release (ASR) Envelopes serve as main modulation sources and can be used in a number of ways. Envelopes can be triggered from a number of internal sources including other modules such as trigger divider, logic or chance module but can also be connected to each other allowing for a wide range of patches usually only possible in large modular systems. LFOs are individually tempo sync-able and capable of producing total of 5 different waveforms each.
The main output VCA can be controlled by either of the envelopes, both simultaneously or none at all which is perfect for drones and atmospheric patches. A stereo split mode as well as a simple MIDI gate mode is available also freeing up the envelopes for other tasks.
In addition to the Synth Voice, ShockWave includes a dedicated control section housing a pair of 8 step sequencers, a sample & hold module as well modules for trigger divisions, logic comparisons and controlled randomness.
The two sequencers can run independently or combine to one 16 step sequence where rate and length can be controlled independently for each of the two.
In true modular nature almost any control within ShockWave can be modulated with up to 11 sources – simultaneously. Modulations are setup simply by holding a control and dialling in the desired amount in a list of all available sources. A special X-Ray mode adds a realtime display of all currently active modulations right at their corresponding control making it easy to understand what’s happening inside the synthesizer at any given time.
In addition, a dedicated mod page displays all active modulation routings providing an overview of what’s happening within the plugin while also letting the user make adjustments on the fly or remove routings entirely.
Synth Voice and Control Section are accompanied by built-in Delay and Reverb sections placed on send busses with all of their controls including the send levels being available as mod destinations.
Last but not least, ShockWave features a solid MIDI implementation including support for Single Channel MPE, Aftertouch, custom CC mappings and more.
MIDI Output is supported as well and includes Note and Control Change output generated from various internal sources including Sequencers, Envelopes and LFOs making it possible to control external MIDI gear or chain multiple plugin instances for advanced, self driving patches.
Features include:
- Semi Modular Monophonic Synth Voice
- Phase Distortion Synthesis (PD)
- Dual PD Oscillators with 5 Waveforms + Filtered Noise
- Dual ASR Envelopes with variable trigger source
- Dual LFO with Tempo Sync
- Cross Modulation with Linear/Exp. FM, PM, AM & RM
- Mixer section with individual pan and level controls per oscillator
- Output VCA with variable control source
- Pattern Generator for generating sequences from various internal sources
- Quantizer to force note input into a specific scale (19 Scales + User Scales)
- Step Sequencer with 2×8 or 1×16 steps, individual rate and number of steps per row
- Trigger Divider for dividing internal trigger sources
- Probability Gate for adding controlled randomness
- Sample & Hold for additional randomness
- Logic Module to create triggers from various internal sources
- Built-in Delay & Reverb Effects
- MIDI Note and CC output for controlling external gear or chaining multiple instances
- Semi Modular Architecture
- 11 Modulation Sources
- 40 Modulation Destinations
- 2 Color Themes
ShockWave is available to iOS and MacOS users (AUv3).
For more information on ShockWave, click here:
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