"The "pairing series" is back! In this one we explore the Zakal, a spring reverb / feedback device from Colossus Audio. We start by using the Metal Fetishist as a sound source but quickly flip the tables and use it as a sound processor instead, making Rythms with the feedback tones that come through its input from the Zakal.
The background noise you may hear comes from my microphone, not from the instruments. I will be more careful next time.
"Zakal is a resonant audio feedback instrument. It generates feedback using reverb springs, with the feedback signal shaped by a low-pass filter and a delay in the feedback path or simple feedback. Additionally, Zakal can function as a spring reverb effect, offering versatile sonic possibilities.
Zakal contains amplification and recovery circuits designed to generate audio feedback through its reverb springs.
A switch allows you to engage the LPF and Delay within the feedback path, enabling creative control over the frequencies fed back into the spring reverb, shaping unique resonant textures.
When used as a spring reverb effects unit, the POST EQ provides precise shaping of the wet signal, offering enhanced tonal flexibility.
At the end of the chain, a 3-band EQ provides additional shaping of the output, offering precise control over the final sound. When used as a spring reverb effects unit, the EQ enhances the wet signal for even greater tonal versatility.
ZAKAL does not include a power supply. It operates on a standard 9V DC (negative center, 2.1mm barrel plug) compatible with most guitar pedal power supplies. If you do not own one feel free to reach out, and I’ll help you find a suitable option."
"Join us for an exploration of TRAILS as part of our Pedals & Patches series of videos, exploring pedal FX with modular gear, synthesizers, around the studio and with some other instruments too. Pedals aren't just for guitarists, so lets get creative with them!
Trails offers 7 FX that make your sounds sustain and grow, there's resonators (think Rings) with sympathetic strings, bell like chord generation, live and frozen buffer granular processing, a unique distortion like nothing I've used before, micro loopers, pitch shifting delays, vinyl record emulating delays and more!"
"sonicLAB REVNET is an algorithmic reverb with uncompromising sonic quality."
"WHY ANOTHER REVERB ?
There are already hundreds of reverb plugins on the market. The question is, why do you need another one?
Because sonicLAB offers a unique approach to defining control and modulation across multi-scale elements—from sound processors to MIDI event generators—delivering uncompromising sonic quality.
We are happy to introduce REVNet, a complex algorithmic reverberation and spatial sound design instrument. Rather than simply emulating traditional plates or rooms, REVNet is designed to create unique reverberations. By combining dynamic feedback topologies, stochastic modulation, and pitch-tracked harmonic resonance, REVNet operates as much as a synthesizer as it does a spatial effect.
REVNet is for uncompromising sound design. Crucially, unlike static reverb algorithms, REVNet allows you to manipulate its internal reflection network on the fly."
"Meet BLEASS Peaks, a new generation audio filter that turns traditional filtering into a fully playable performance instrument.
➡️ In Internal mode, you can shape the sound using up to 32 resonant peaks/notches.
➡️ In MIDI mode, the plug-in becomes a playable polyphonic filter, where MIDI notes control the filter frequency. You can run up to 8 filter voices at the same time.
This lets you play filter movement using MIDI notes or chords, shaping drum loops and synths in real time. You can create evolving filter patterns, rhythmic effects, and perform filtering like a musical instrument.
🎨 Additional tools include 5 FX slots (distortion, delay, compression, bitcrush, and filters), plus LFOs, envelopes, and macros.
BLEASS Peaks unites classic audio filtering with the spontaneous spirit of performance to deliver an entirely new class of creative filtering effects.
The plugin is built around BLEASS’ advanced multi-peak polyphonic filter design. When set to Internal control mode, this creates a single bell-filter curve containing up to 32 resonant peaks/notches. Details of the filter curve, such as the quantity, root frequency, and spread of the peaks/notches, are set parametrically, making it easy to shape the filter’s response and bring it to life via the plugin’s synth-style modulation sources.
BLEASS Peaks truly comes into its own when operating in MIDI mode. In this configuration, the filter’s root frequency is controlled via MIDI coming from live-played notes or a recorded track. Better still, BLEASS Peaks can generate up to eight such filters simultaneously, making this a true polyphonic filter.
MIDI control makes the filter fully playable and performable, opening up a whole new constellation of original and compelling filtering effects. Drum loops can be tuned to follow chord progressions, rhythmic harmonic pulses can be added to pads, arpeggios can be brought to life with complex frequency-shifting chorus effects… the creative possibilities are endless.
Additional colour and detail can be added to Peaks’ filtering via a set of five assignable Effects slots. These allow you to enhance the filtered sound with distortions, dynamics processors, delay, and even conventional low- and high-pass filters.
As with the filter itself, Peaks’ effects can be brought to life by the plugin’s various modulation sources, with each modulator mappable to up to four destination parameters. There are three LFOs, three envelopes triggered by the incoming audio plus a fourth triggered via MIDI, and four Macro controls. Alongside these internal modulators, the plugin also recognises various realtime MIDI CC and MPE sources.
Used as a conventional single-voice filter, BLEASS Peaks is at the top of its game, allowing easy-yet-deep control over the spectrum of your audio, and offering many ways to inject life and movement into the effect. Enabling MIDI control makes that advanced filter behave as a playable instrument, unshackling you from the limitations of conventional filtering and giving you direct hands-on control over the effect.
However you choose to use it, BLEASS Peaks is a uniquely creative, intuitive and fun tool for shaping, colouring, and injecting originality into your music.
"This is the first demo of the Spectral Pressure Chamber - a multi band compressor, that uses a thermo dynamic simulation as the analysis layer. A spectral analysis of the incoming audio splits it into energy for three chambers. The energy leaks. The chambers get over saturized with pressure. The stiffness of the walls decreases. The entropy increases.
While being able to work like a regular multiband compressor, it doesn't always act in the same controlled way. Sometimes it is sweet, sometimes it is full of artifacts. And it is insanely relaxing to watch the simulation visualized in the plugin in realtime.
It will be available at unusable.ai sometime in mid-april."
Teuri’s “Cellular Distortion” system puts multiple distortion models at different points on an XY pad and lets you live in the tension between them. Drag through the grid and blend through textures that were never meant to coexist. ragged fuzz bleeding into clinical overdrive, soft saturation collapsing into bitcrush.
No snapping, no quantizing, just continuous, organic layers of deterioration.
Since the different models can produce sound at different levels, Teuri internally handles these differences to give you a smooth morphing experience.
Highlights Model Selection
Teuri comes with a broad palette of distortion characters; from analog circuit models to experimental processes that have no hardware counterpart.
Whether you’re reaching for the warmth of a pushed tube stage, the grind of a germanium fuzz distortion, or something that treats your audio less like a signal and more like a material to be torn apart, Teuri’s model selection is built to cover the full range of what distortion can mean.
Distortion Cells
Different distortion models are added on an XY pad, and the internal “Positional Blending” system handles smooth blending between them, regardless of model. The “blender” also attempts to balance between the gain differences that the models have in real-time.
Modulate More
Teuri has a modulation system, similar to the one in Glow and Smear. Offering up to four modulators which can be optionally synchronized to the DAW’s BPM & retriggered by the DAW’s playback state.
A desktop spring reverb unit featuring a built-in miniature spring.
You can use its high-quality, authentic spring to achieve a beautiful, classic reverb—or you can dive headfirst into the lush, vibrant resonance of a wildly oscillating spring, letting yourself drift and drown in its saturated wetness. It gets absolutely drenched.
And while nobody explicitly told you to shake it, smack it around, or slam it against the table... well, naturally, you’re going to do it. After all, there’s a real spring inside that actually shakes! It’s the thrill of the authentic.
Mix the clean-boosted signal (GAIN) with the spring-reverb-processed signal (REVERB), then adjust the overall output volume using the LEVEL control.
When the switch is in the down position, the signal bypasses the effect, passing directly from IN to OUT. The LED illuminates when the effect is active.
*Powered by a DC 9V power adapter (center-negative / Tip = -); sold separately.
DEEP/4 is a painstaking recreation of one of the most powerful multi-effects processors ever built. Every algorithm has been rebuilt at the instruction level from the original 24-bit DSP hardware, preserving the exact digital character of the algorithms that made these units legendary in studios worldwide.
All 43 original algorithms, mathematically verified against the original DSP architecture. No guesswork.
Features
Four Independent Effects Engines
The DEEP/4 is a powerhouse multi-effects processor featuring 43 fully programmable, high-fidelity algorithms including reverbs, chorus, flanging, delays, distortion, and pitch shifting. Operate it as a single massive effects system, a pair of stereo processors, or four entirely independent units. Its advanced routing matrix supports true serial, parallel, and feedback configurations to sculpt complex effect topologies that conventional units simply can't touch. Flexible Multi-Unit Routing
Run all four units in series for massive effect chains, split them into parallel paths for layered textures, or use feedback routing to create evolving, self-modulating soundscapes. DEEP/4 provides independent routing control for each pair (A/B and C/D) plus a main bus link — supporting serial, parallel, and two feedback configurations with adjustable feedback amount. Use it as a single 4-unit processor, two independent stereo pairs, or four standalone effects. 43 Algorithms Across 7 Categories
From lush reverbs and complex multi-tap delays to pitch shifters, dynamics processors, and guitar amp simulations — every algorithm from the original hardware is here, rebuilt at the instruction level and fully programmable.
"A short demo of an upcoming filterbank for mac and pc (au and vst3). A simple patch from the prophet12 is being processed by the filterbank. Utilizing random, synced random, random slew, etc for creating movement of band levels as well as panning.
"Debussy’s Clair de Lune… played on a Moog Muse… then politely fed into Entropy Encoder (unusable.ai) until it started hallucinating.
This is a pre-release preview with automation-heavy settings and sequenced randomization firing at different musical divisions, so the “codec decay” breathes and glitches in time. Expect swish, birdies, smear, framey wobble, and the occasional moment where reality briefly loses its license.
🎛️ Source: Moog Muse
🧪 FX: Entropy Encoder (pre-release preview)
🌀 Automation + synced random at multiple time divisions
"Introducing the One-Bit Delay plugin - a VST/AU inspired by the one-bit sampling delay circuits from the 90's. it is my love letter to the classic delay chips like the PT2399 and M50195P.
this plugin uses a one-bit stream at its core. like the classic chips, this plugin uses delta-sigma modulation to manage noise above the audio band (though the plugin has a configurable sample rate to change the noise level!). also the One-Bit Delay plugin has demodulation filters tuned to the PT2399, and the harmonic distortion is modeled and closely follows the change in resistance applied to the internal oscillator (like the PT2399).
thank you all who continue to support me, I'm truly grateful - your support is allowing me to continue to crystalize musical artifacts."
1. FX Collection 6 | Reference Effects For Music Makers
2. How to | Pitch SHIFTER-910 | Setup MIDI In
3. Tutorial | Efx AMBIENT | Overview
4. Efx AMBIENT | Dreamlike processor
5. Pitch SHIFTER 910 | Harmonics sculptor
6. Tutorial | Pitch SHIFTER-910 | Overview
"FX Collection 6 is a carefully curated selection of 39 studio mixing tools and creative production effects which couple advanced digital signal processing and analog modeling to achieve unparalleled audio precision.
From revered studio emulations to forward-thinking processors, FX Collection 6 allows beginners and audio professionals alike to transform their sound, enhance their mix and add those final touches that bind everything together.
New in FX Collection 6
FX Collection 6 features a unique balance between studio mixing tools and creative production effects.
Efx AMBIENT NEW
For cutting-edge producers looking to shape singular soundscapes intuitively. It delivers novel, emotive textures through 6 expertly designed modes.
Pitch SHIFTER-910 NEW
For music makers, especially rock & indie ones, who want to add grainy textures, harmony and space to their vocals, but also guitars, keyboard and percussion.
Bus TRANSIENT
A professional transient shaper designed to give you instant control over the attack and sustain of your sound. From tighter drums to punchier mixes, it delivers fast, musical results.
Mix DRUMS
Designed to increase the impact and perceptual loudness of your drums, while preserving peak levels. Developed with mixing engineer Emre Ramazanoglu, it streamlines complex drum processing workflows into a single, efficient tool.
Tape J-37
Tape J-37 is your go-to tool for bringing tube-driven depth and character to your sound - whether adding subtle tape coloration to a master track or driving the input of a bus or insert with harmonic distortion."
"In this video we discover what the reinvented MESSOR pedal by Cosmotronic can do to a variety of sound sources. We also have a look at all the controls.
0:00 intro
2:30 features explanation
17:07 drums and loops
34:47 sidechain example
41:53 full mix and stems
55:23 closing thoughts
57:09 thank you for watching!
57:22 outro"
A COMPACT ANALOG COMPRESSOR
Messor is a fully analog stereo feed-forward VCA compressor designed for studio, modular, and live systems. The architecture is derived from the original Cosmotronic eurorack module, with extended headroom, improved channel matching, and a revised sidechain topology optimized for wide dynamic ranges.
HIGH HEADROOM
The internal ±12 V regulated power rail provides substantial headroom and consistent operating conditions for both line-level and modular-level sources. It reliably handles high-transient material from synthesizers, drum machines, and percussion-heavy sources without premature clipping. High-impedance inputs and balanced outputs simplify interfacing with modular systems, samplers, and balanced studio equipment.
Signal flow begins with a low-noise stereo preamplifier offering up to 18 dB of gain, followed by a pair of matched VCA control blocks. The feed-forward topology provides predictable transient behavior, accurate envelope shaping, and stable stereo imaging. A post-VCA conditioning stage adds tube-like saturation, introducing controlled harmonic content when driven into overload.
After sculpting sound in space with The 3B, The 3FX explores the creation of sound spaces capable of transcending all your instruments.
ARCHITECTURE
The heart of The 3FX is built around three fully independent effect voices, each based on a coherent 8-module architecture:
Two delays per voice, usable in series or in parallel An advanced, progressive feedback path up to controlled self-oscillation An analog 12 dB/octave multimode VCF (BP, LP, HP) to optionally process the audio spectrum, both on the delay lines and on the dry signal Independent levels for the dry signal and each delay line A panorama control to position the voice within the stereo field. The stereo input signal is distributed across the three voices: left / left + right / right. A mono signal is distributed across all three voices. Each voice can be used alone, stacked or combined with the others to create textures impossible to achieve with a conventional delay.
"We talk with Eric Johnson of Structible.com about the Pedal to Metal system for housing and controlling guitar pedals in a rack-based system, and their cool controller surfaces for vintage rackmount synthesizers.
"This is Endless, a user-defined stompbox and platform that helps turn your ideas into effects. Endless turns your description into an effect without any coding in our Playground effect builder, or lets you code your own."
ENDLESS MODULE OVERVIEW
Swappable front plates
Blank plate included with additional designs available.
Premium design
Custom-machined aluminum enclosure and knobs.
High-quality audio
Stereo 48 kHz / 24-bit audio with a clean, low-noise, studio-grade analog input and output preamps.
Any Power
9–12 V DC, center-negative or positive polarity, 200 mA required.
Customisable expression
pedal input
TRS expression pedal support.
Easy USB file transfer
Simple drag-and-drop patch loading.
Runs one effect at a time
Use existing effects or create new ones and share them with the community.
Real-Time DSP Core
720 MHz ARM Cortex-M7.
GitHub Repository
SDK and examples to get you started with fully developing effects.
0:00 Intro
1:30 Hands on / Delay
9:54 Glitch Knob
14:23 Modulation
18:35 Dissolve
25:28 I get lost
29:44 TR-1000 / drum machine demo
34:25 Matriarch / ambient demo
"Parting is a box of pleasant surprises. Moments of chance will give bursts of a glitch delay that can smear into a reverb, modulated by tremolo or vibrato, filtered, and, most importantly, dissolved into lofi aliasing or stretched out reverse. All of this may jump around in halves and octaves of itself - it’s up to you and Parting, together. Controls
Dissolve has two functions. Below noon, it reduces sample rate, creating an increasingly degraded version of the signal. Above noon, it reverses the signal, and repeatedly cuts the reverse clock in half as the knob is turned, creating an increasingly long and degraded reverse.
Rate sets the rate of the modulation LFO, which is also the frequency of triggers for moments of chance.
Depth sets the depth of the LFO.
Shape sets the LFO shape: Sine, Square, Reverse Saw, Saw, Random Sine, Random Square, Envelope
Chance allows random bits of signal to enter the delay/reverb buffer during an LFO cycle.
Smear adds diffusion and feedback to the delay lines, turning them into a lush reverb as the knob is turned up.
Glitch creates various clock subdivisions.
Time sets the timing of the delay/reverb, as well as the reverse.
Filter sets the cutoff point of the post-dissolve filter.
Mix sets the blend of dry and wet signal.
Aux switch for tap tempo, half speed, or preset switching.
Soft-touch On/Off footswitch with relay switching for minimal switch noise"
KORG Introduces KAOSS PAD V: A Touch Evolution for Modern Performance and Production
MELVILLE, NY - Korg announces the new KAOSS PAD V, a reimagined evolution of its expressive touch-based effects platform, designed for the way musicians, producers, performers, and content creators work today. Building on the iconic KAOSS approach, the new unit arrives as a powerful real-time sound manipulation tool for vocalists, instrumentalists, producers, and performers delivering an advanced dual-touch control surface with expanded effects and sampling on stage, in the studio, and in streaming environments today by reacting instantly to gestures, shaping sound through intuitive touch interaction, and integrating seamlessly into contemporary setups. The KAOSS PAD V centers on a redesigned touch interface capable of responding to two simultaneous gestures, allowing users to control paired parameters at once and create evolving textures, layered movement, and dynamic transitions in real time. Filter and delay, pitch and reverb, modulation and feedback, and many other combinations become fluid, tactile musical expressions rather than static settings, helping performances feel more alive and interactive. Connectivity and integration play a key role in this new generation. KAOSS PAD V supports MIC, LINE, and USB inputs simultaneously, enabling vocals, instruments, and computer audio to blend into a unified performance system. A balanced microphone preamp ensures clean vocal input, while a dedicated high-impedance input allows electric guitars and basses to connect directly without added hardware. An integrated USB audio interface streamlines recording, processing, and streaming, making it equally suited to DAW workflows, livestream setups, and headphone monitoring. A newly designed power circuit and refined audio path support low-noise, stable operation whether used in performance venues, studios, or creative spaces anywhere music is made.
Vocal creativity takes a significant step forward with the new Voice FX engine, providing harmonies, vocoder-style layers, pitch-morphed tonal shaping, and expressive textures applied in real time. The platform even allows users to control external MIDI equipment with their voice, opening distinctive performance possibilities that extend beyond traditional effects processing. Guitarists and bassists also gain a powerful new performance partner. With direct connection via the dedicated high-impedance input, KAOSS PAD V offers fingertip-controlled ambient swells, rhythmic modulation, time-based glitch elements, atmospheric reverbs, and other expressive textures, all shaped by movement across the pad rather than menu navigation or fixed parameter adjustment.
Sampling and looping are built directly into the creative workflow. Users can capture up to eight bars depending on tempo, overdub layers as they perform, keep precise loop positioning during playback, and keep performances rhythmically grounded through BPM-synced Step Hold operation. Multiple playback and slicing options support creative rearrangement, making KAOSS PAD V a capable tool for remixing, live improvisation, and evolving pattern creation. Honoring its lineage while expanding its scope, KAOSS PAD V provides access to a curated range of classic KAOSS effects alongside refreshed modern processing, from filters, delays, reverbs, and modulation to advanced voice shaping and contemporary textures. Users can further refine their sound using onboard editing tools, tailoring parameters, creating customized variations, saving personal presets directly to the device, and even adjusting pad-LED color and program behavior to suit their workflow. With 300 total programs available - 200 factory presets and 100 user location - plus support for external SD or SDHC cards, the platform balances immediacy with depth.
Compact, robust, and designed for real-time expression, KAOSS PAD V measures 210 mm wide by 226 mm deep by 49 mm high and weighs approximately 1.3 kg (excluding power supply). It includes RCA line input and output connections, balanced/unbalanced MIC/GUITAR input, headphone output, MIDI In/Out, USB connectivity, and ships with an AC adapter and Quick Start Guide. Operating stability from 0 to +40°C ensures reliability across environments. With KAOSS PAD V, Korg advances the KAOSS concept into a new era, keeping the immediacy and visual interaction that made the series a staple while deepening control, expanding sonic capability, and aligning the platform with today’s creative demands. For more information, please visit NAMM Booth #6802 or online at www.korg.com.
By combining faithfully modelled classic filters with newly developed modern designs, and giving you powerful ways to combine and modulate them, Filter Ark becomes a deep, expressive environment for contemporary sound design."
"A new world of classic and modern filter design
For decades, the KORG Collection series has recreated KORG’s most iconic instruments using CMT (Component Modeling Technology), preserving the sound and character that shaped generations of synthesis. Filter Ark builds on that foundation and takes it further, placing the filter at the centre of the creative process. By combining faithfully modelled classic filters with newly developed modern designs, and giving you powerful ways to combine and modulate them, Filter Ark becomes a deep, expressive environment for contemporary sound design.
Combine up to four legendary filters at once to unlock sound design possibilities that were previously out of reach. Stack multiple iconic filters, blend vintage character with newly designed filter types, and build complex signal paths that evolve over time. With a powerful modulation system including LFOs, an Envelope Follower, and a Step Sequencer, Filter Ark gives you the tools to create movement, depth, and expression far beyond traditional filtering.
Faithfully modeled legendary filters
At the heart of Filter Ark are the filters that helped define the sound of synthesizer history. From the raw drive of the MS-20 and the smooth sweeps of the Polysix, to the warm thickness of the miniKORG 700s and the sharp resonance of the ARP ODYSSEY, these iconic designs are faithfully recreated with exceptional accuracy.
Each filter features its original user interface, allowing you to shape classic tones intuitively while preserving the distinctive character and response of the instruments that made them legendary.
Innovative modern filter types
Filter Ark also introduces a new generation of modern filter designs. Newly developed types include physically modelled resonators and a vowel filter that simulates human vocal formants, expanding the creative possibilities far beyond classic approaches. These filters invite experimentation and open up distinctive new ways to shape sound, from subtle tonal colour to highly expressive and unconventional textures.
Flexible routing with up to four filters
Flexible routing sits at the core of Filter Ark’s design. Combine up to four filters in series, parallel, feedback, and other configurations to build signal paths that simply aren’t possible with conventional filter plug-ins. Whether you’re shaping subtle tonal detail or creating complex, evolving effects, the routing architecture encourages exploration and rewards experimentation. Ready-made routing templates are also included, providing a clear starting point while still leaving room to go deep.
A unique and powerful modulation system
Filter Ark features a flexible modulation system designed to bring movement and expression to your sound. It includes a morphable LFO, an Envelope Follower with side-chain input, a customisable Step Sequencer with adjustable steps and playback modes, and a Random Generator. Together, these modulation sources make it easy to create evolving textures, rhythmic motion, and dynamic response that go far beyond static filtering."
In this video, we share the first real world tests of Concrete, without aiming for a polished or final demonstration.
We explore how the device works as the final stage in the signal chain, as a master effect, and within a mix on an individual instrument. Throughout the video, moments where bypass is engaged are clearly marked, so it’s easy to hear exactly when Concrete is affecting the signal.
Special attention is given to saturation. We’re exploring how different drive modes interact with dynamics, not as an obvious effect, but as an integral part of the signal path.
We also demonstrate sync mode and stereo operation. The filter reveals a particularly interesting character in stereo, where the interaction between channels adds depth, movement, and a sense of space that is difficult to achieve in mono.
Preorders for Concrete are now open on our website at a reduced price for the first drop. The price will increase for future batches.
"Concrete is a next generation compact effects processor that combines digital sound engines with a true analog filter.
Each channel features its own analog high pass and low pass filters, designed for precise and musical sound shaping.
Several drive types come preloaded, while additional engines can be downloaded from our website and loaded into free slots, allowing users to build a truly personal sound.
Channels can be used independently or linked together for cohesive stereo processing.
Concrete supports full MIDI control and naturally pairs with Monolit as part of a unified studio and performance ecosystem.
During the preorder phase, Concrete is available at a reduced price for those who want to support the project from the start.
The price will increase at release.
The first Concrete drop is planned for the first half of 2026."
