Xenobioz has released a beta version Lynx, a freeware unison synthesizer in VSTi plugin format for Windows based host applications. The plugin was made with SynthEdit and will only run in 32-bit plugin hosts.
Earlier this year, the same developer has released Aegis, a very good freeware phase distortion synthesizer based on an old Amiga virtual synthesizer called Sonix. I really liked Aegis and even made a short demo video for it, so I wasn’t too surprised to find out that Lynx is also a really cool and well crafted virtual instrument. The two instruments share quite a few similarities in terms of architecture, however Lynx has a more complex synthesis engine, including more modulation options and unison playback.
Much like its predecessor Aegis, the new Lynx synthesizer features a very useful wave shape editor which allows for complete customization of the two oscillator and LFO waveforms. The editor comes with a handy selection of preset shapes (standard sine, ramp, pulse waves and a handful of more exotic ones), a really cool random shape generator and several useful tools for modifying the drawn waveform shape. These are all well explained in the user manual. I’ve tried to showcase the waveform editor in the demo video below, but there’s a lot more to it once you dig a bit deeper.
Lynx also features a unison mode with up to seven voices per oscillator. Having two oscillators, Lynx can play fourteen voices in total, leading to some seriously fat sounds. Phase distortion is also included and PD amount can be modulated by the two LFOs, ADSR envelopes, note velocity and external MIDI sources. Custom waveforms and phase distortion can result in some very harsh sounds when combined, so the 4-pole Moog style low-pass filter is a very useful addition.
The instrument is still in beta development stage, but I haven’t run into any bugs while testing it. Lynx is a bit hard to grasp at first, but nothing too complicated really and it’s all much easier if you read through the provided user manual. It is a fun instrument to experiment with and certainly capable of producing some interesting and even surprisingly complex tones. If you’re bored of standard virtual analog synthesizers and have a craving for some custom waveform editing action with phase distortion and unison on the side, definitely give this one a try.
Video Demo
Check out the Lynx demo video:
Download
Lynx is available for free download via Xenobioz (3.62 MB download size, ZIP archive, 32-bit VSTi plugin format for Windows, made with SynthEdit).
1 Comment
Buenoplastic
onLynx is now in 64 bit.