The problem with most delays is that they’re a bit like dumping water on your whole project, rather than a precise shade of watercolor. They delay everything at once.
So, then there are multi-tap delays, and more precise delays. And then there’s Multitude, a kind of delay studio that allows you to produce rhythmic delay effects with pinpoint accuracy, producing elaborate patterns via a gorgeous, clear interface. You can delay as little as a single note, routing through shifters and filters and LFOs. It’s the sort of plug-in you could use to build entire songs.
You may not know Sinevibes, but the Ukrainian company has been quietly (or, rather, loudly) injecting sounds into tools you know, creating algorithms and presets for the likes of NI, Spectrasonics, and Roland, on hardware, apps, and mobile.
And then there are … these —
http://www.sinevibes.com/plugins/
— a monster collection of brilliant plug-ins, novel in both sound and interface.
And, at a time when developers are visibly targeting Apple’s mobile OS, Sinevibes here is richly integrated with the desktop Apple tools, with OS X Core Animation and Accelerate frameworks used to produce a unique but native, immersive experience. (Oh, and they say you’ll be able to see it by indoor or outdoor light without trouble.)
The specs:
- Four independent delay units with forward and reverse playback modes.
- Five gate sequencer tracks for dry input signal and four delay sends, eight separate sequences storable per preset.
- Eight simultaneous effect processors per delay unit: frequency shifter, sample rate and bit depth reducers, circuit bender, noise, multi-mode filter, saturation, and flanger. Effects can be placed before, after, or inside each delay’s feedback loop.
- Two separate low-frequency oscillators per delay unit, each with 16 modulation destinations, multiple waveforms, and adjustable chaos feature.
US$59 as a 32-bit or 64-bit Audio Unit plug-in. OS X 10.6 or later required.
http://www.sinevibes.com/multitude/
I’ve started playing with it, but won’t have sound samples for another couple of weeks – taking this one back with me into the studio. But this looks set to take its place alongside sophisticated delays like Audio Damage’s Ronin – with an angle, architecture, and experience all its own. In the meantime, have a listen to their various examples for a sense of the range of patterns this can produce: