Mensla releases FMD, a FREE FM distortion plugin for Windows
Angelo Fazari is a developer and musician working out of Toronto, Canada. Using the brand name Mensla in his role as a developer, Angelo has released two plugins so far: MS-2 and FMD.
MS-2 is a free FM synth plugin that we covered back in February of this year, and it’s available for macOS and Windows.
Mensla’s latest offering, FMD, is a free FM distortion plugin for Windows, with a macOS version coming soon.
FMD has a minimalist interface that follows the same aesthetic blueprint as MS-2, although it’s nowhere near as busy. The simple black-and-white UI provides Input, Output, and Drive controls around the main FM knob.
FMD introduces a little saturation by default, but with the FM knob and Drive, combined with a soft clipper, you can completely transform the sound.
The FM knob adds rich FM harmonics by modulating the input with a sine wave. Adjusting the FM knob sets the amount of distortion by altering the frequency and amplitude of the modulator (sine wave).
Depending on the sound you feed into FMD, you can generate some very aggressive but manageable results that will sound awesome in the right context.
In the demo video, the developer shows how quickly and easily you can transform basic sounds into something with much more attitude using FMD. The developer also highlights the effectiveness of pairing FMD with the MS-2 FM synth plugin.
The video walks us through creating some Acid sounds with MS-2 and distorting them with FMD. I may be showing signs of age here, but although not entirely similar, the first thing that came to mind on hearing the Acid demo was the opening nightclub scene from the original Blade movie.
My nostalgia aside, the two plugins look like a good match.
FMD comes with one slight catch in the form of a Vegas-style slot machine pop-up that confirms that you’re in demo mode. The slot machine appears after three minutes of use, and you can close it after one winning spin (free of charge, of course).
And while we’re talking about spins – if you haven’t checked out Spin, the free carousel music box library for Kontakt, I recommend doing so!
The pop-up doesn’t affect the plugin’s functionality; it’s a complete product. It sends you to the developer’s website, where he also promotes his music and podcast under the name FazariMusic.
If you want to delete the pop-up, you can download a pop-up-free version by supporting the developer on Patreon (by any amount you choose). Becoming a patron also gives access to exclusive content, including MS-2 presets.
FMD is available in 64-bit VST3 and Standalone formats for Windows.
Download: FMD (FREE)
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