GForce has updated their site, branding, and pricing (now with both lifetime licenses and subscription options). And there are two freebies, time-limited through the end of November: a Mellotron M400 instrument, and the one I suspect most readers will be into, GForce’s take on the 1975 ARP Axxe synthesizer.
What you need to grab the freebie. Sign up for an account, use a combined installer for GForce.
Does it Linux? Not natively; researching WINE.
You’d be forgiven for mistaking the Axxe for an Odyssey. Indeed, this 1975 monosynth essentially is a stripped-down Odyssey — but with one oscillator and one filter. In GForce’s case, that makes the Axxess the simpler sibling of their full-on Oddity3.
The original Axxe, though, was an important instrument, precisely because of its simplicity (and, naturally, lower cost). It was good enough for Paddy Kingsland at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, and Herbie Hancock and 808 State played one. I got my hands on one once, and it’s a joy.
Now, I’m a completionist, and I love limitations (really), so I’m very happy to add GForce’s Axxe emulation to my overflowing plug-in folder. It’s just a lovely, accessible synth.
KORG has also been doing great software emulations, including of the Odyssey. So I pulled up both, switched off effects (critically), played both and … I don’t know. These are each distractingly good. The GForce model holds its own. We’re lucky to have both.
GForce has done a nice job with the amplitude envelopes and filter on their Axxe. And you get the usual GForce treatment, meaning that getting this for free is a serious steal. That includes polyphony on-demand, the unique x-modifier modulation feature (with dedicated envelope), a thick unison mode, and GForce’s lovely effects section.
This is just a terrific sounding synth. It’s hard not to sit just plucking at it, listening to the thwonking sounds short patches make — again, without effects, even.
So go get it.
https://www.gforcesoftware.com/product/axxess
And hey, if you want some Mellotron sounds, too, that’s also free until December:
https://www.gforcesoftware.com/product/m-tron-select-2
The subscription part of this announcement I suspect will be the divisive part. There are Essential, Core, and Ultimate offerings, each with monthly and annual options, $12.99 – $22.99 / $129.00 – $229.00, respectively. It seems there’s no plan to touch the lifetime license keys, though, and as they’re on sale right now, they’re well worth a look.
They’ve also updated their installer. Everything looks great, though I had to realize it was more helpful to opt for “SELECT” rather than “ALL” on this installer to pick up my upgrades and licensed tools, unless I was missing an option:
Previously: