The AM106 advanced Ring Modulator has just been released by Amazing Machines as a free download for Native Instruments Reaktor.Ring modulation is sort of an oversimplified term in synthesis: multiply one signal by another – voila, ring modulation! While that might be the textbook definition of ring modulation, developers often put their own spin on ring modulation within their instruments, and the AM106 demonstrates that there are a few different things you can do while multiplying two signals, such as inverting the polarity of either one of those signals with the “X POL” and “Y POL” controls, or even scaling the amount of modulation routed to each of the two signals with the “CV1” and “CV2” multipliers.
It’s still a simple little Reaktor block that fulfills a basic purpose, but I can’t help but notice that the core cell is expertly programmed, which has a much more desirable result than simply routing two signals through a factory multiplier module, which might be a quick and easy solution for people (like me) who don’t want to mess around with core level programming, but you can’t deny the advanced DSP knowledge at work here.
On the whole, it’s an exceptional and very capable ring modulator that will most certainly come in handy for conjuring up all kinds of dissonant bell-like tones for experimental atmospheres or other more conservative uses in place of frequency modulation.
The AM106 Ring Modulator is available for free download via Amazing Machines (4.36 MB download size, ZIP archive, contains two files in ISM and ENS format for Reaktor Blocks, documentation in PDF format for Adobe Reader).
