Combining delay, pitch shifting, reverb, and noise generation, Solid State Logic’s Halloween giveaway is a surprising gem.
There’s a risk to these “spooky” Halloween things, of course: they might have limited appeal beyond the novelty factor. But while it’s out there, SSL’s (hold on, this is a mouthful) “X-Orcism II: Voices From The Crypt” is something special.
Here, I took it for a test run to show off its sonic range – on percussion in this case, with a drum synth from Ableton and Roland’s TR-727:
Okay, yes, there are some spoooooky labels – “Echoes, Crypt Size, Howl, Tombverb, Ghoul, and Wail.” But what’s underneath here is really a combination of delay, pitch shift, reverb, and noise generation, in an experimental vintage setting that says as much BBC Radiophonic Workshop and retro horror as it does Halloween per se.
Things are flipped from what you might expect – Crypt Size is actually a delay time with Echoes increasing feedback. Howl is a noise generator. Then this gets even more fun once you start automating parameters.
They have a full walkthrough – and makeup aside, there are some serious applications here. (Actually, this is pretty much how everyone here in Berlin looks by the end of the winter):
It’s just really, really good, and you actually can use it in everyday contest just by dialing down the settings. These different effects are stacked up, and the presets are quite extreme, so what I’d recommend is turning everything down and then slowly dialing it up again for effect.
Freebies sometimes come with spooooky, uh, copy protection and massive installers. (Have I sometimes recommended those? Yes. Did you scream at me? Yes, you did.) Not so here: there’s an email, an easy installer, and that’s it. They also included a convenient Logic Essentials folder for users of that DAW. And it’s a good demo case of what SSL is doing with their plugs, there’s a polished preset management system, clear resizable UI, tooltips, and reader support and keyboard navigation for accessibility.
So yeah, if you wanted to interest me in your other software, y’all, mission accomplished.
SSL has a sale on their shop now, as well:
https://store.solidstatelogic.com
