reFX have released Rippler, available at the intro price of $99.00, increasing to $129.00 after the promotion.
Best known for Nexus—the iconic workstation plug-in that dominated dance music production with macro-friendly presets—reFX has taken an exciting turn with Rippler. Rather than focusing solely on preset playback, Rippler is an expansive, sound-designer-focused physical modeling synthesizer designed to bridge real-world acoustic dynamics with complex digital synthesis.
At the core of Rippler is physical modeling, a sound generation method based on simulating how physical objects vibrate when struck, plucked, or blown into:
- Exciters: Sounds begin at the Exciter stage—the physical impulse that triggers resonance (analogous to striking a drum or plucking a string). Rippler offers 32 built-in samples, custom impulse shaping, user sample import, and sidechain audio routing. This means you can process external signals (like a drum bus or vocal track) through Rippler’s physical models.
- Resonators: The excitation signal feeds into dual resonators configured in series or parallel. Choosing from 12 physical models—ranging from strings, plates, and membranes to marimbas, vibraphones, and open/closed tubes—yields rich, realistic acoustic textures. Bi-directional energy coupling lets the two resonators react dynamically with one another.
- Manual Additive Mode: Sound designers looking beyond physical acoustic models can draw in custom harmonic partials using the Manual resonator mode to construct synthetic or experimental structures from scratch.
Rippler does not limit itself to physical modeling alone. It pairs acoustic resonance with a full subtractive synthesis engine, giving you two conventional oscillators with phase, wavefolding, and asymmetry controls per layer.
To shape these hybrid tones, Rippler includes dual multimode filters with 27 filter types, including vintage ladder models and a vowel/formant filter. Modulation capabilities are equally extensive, featuring four envelopes, four LFOs, custom mapping curves, and deep MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression) support. Expression controls seamlessly map per-note pressure, slide, and pitch gestures onto physical continuous variables for expressive, lifelike performances.
Features include:
- Dual-Layer Architecture: Two independent synthesis layers (Layer A and Layer B) plus a global master processing stage.
- 12 Physical Resonator Models: String, Beam, Squared, Bell, Membrane, Plate, Drumhead, Djembe, Vibraphone, Marimba, Open Tube, and Closed Tube.
- Manual Resonator Generator: Custom additive partial editor allowing hand-drawn harmonic structures with real-time morphing between snapshots.
- Versatile Exciter Engine: Features a built-in noise generator, 32 factory impulse samples, user sample import, and external sidechain input.
- Subtractive Layering: Dual oscillators per layer equipped with Phase, Wavefolding, and Asymmetry controls.
- 27 Filter Options: Includes low-pass, high-pass, band-pass, notch, vintage ladder variants, and a formant-shifting Vowel filter.
- Deep Modulation Engine: 4 LFOs (64 waveforms), 4 Envelopes (ADSR, AHD, DADSR, DAHDSR), 4 Macro controls, random generators, and a drag-and-drop Modulation Matrix.
- Full MPE & Aftertouch Support: Native support for MPE controllers with per-note pitch, pressure, and slide modulation assignment.
- Comprehensive FX Engine: 13 effect modules (Reverb, Delay, Bucket Delay, Compressor, Distortion, Chorus, Phaser, Stereoizer, Particle, Limiter, EQ, etc.) usable across per-layer and master chains.
- Arpeggiator & Modifiers: Built-in arpeggiator featuring dedicated pitch-offset and velocity-offset modifier lanes.
- Extensive Preset Bank: Ships with over 440 factory presets with tag filtering and favorite management.
Watch the preset demo video HERE.
Rippler is available to PC and Mac users (VST3, AU and AAX).
For more information on Rippler, click here:
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