Minimal Audio releases Current, a subscription-based flagship virtual synthesizer (starting at $15 monthly).
It seems the Minimal Audio team has been very busy over the last couple of years and shows no sign of slowing down.
Minimal Audio has given us plugins like Rift, Morph EQ (one of my favorites), Fuse Compressor, and the subscription-based sample platform Stream.
Some of their products, such as Rift Filter Lite, were free for a limited time on launch.
Current is the latest release and looks set to take the flagship role in an already impressive lineup. It isn’t just a soft synth; if you imagine every element of Minimal Audio combined with a powerful synth engine wrapped in a sleek, workflow-enhancing interface, that’s what Current is.
I shouldn’t be surprised because I’ve been a fan of Minimal Audio products for a while, but Current packs so much into one product seamlessly; it’s pretty impressive.
It’s an expansive instrument, a fully-fledged effects suite, and a cloud-connected content platform in one.
Current is a subscription-based product that costs $15 monthly or $120 annually.
Everything starts with the Engine view that offers Wavetables, Granular Sampling, an additive Sub-Oscillator, and a time-stretching Sampler.
The Wavetables tab includes two wavetable oscillators featuring spectral manipulation, wave shaping, format shifting, filtering, and more.
The Granular tab does what you’d expect; it can transform a sample into something entirely different. It’s perfect for creating gritty, atmospheric, dense textures, the kind that often sets the mood in films or games.
This tab also introduces intuitive features like Rhythmic Grain Layering and Multi-Position Playback, making creating something unique even easier.
The Engine view also features the Filters and FM/AM tabs. You’ll find a wide range of filter types in the Filter tab, including morphing. The FM/AM section allows you to apply frequency/amplitude modulation per oscillator and the sub-oscillator, sampler, and granular module.
The extensive Effects section provides access to all Minimal Audio effects, including the ones mentioned above that you can arrange across nine available slots.
Once you load an effect, you get complete control of that plugin’s parameters with sub-presets. You can arrange the effects chain however you like by dragging and dropping slots in any order; it’s so easy to use.
The Stream section is where you tap into Minimal Audio’s ever-growing collection of cloud-based presets, sounds, and wavetables. It’s easy to search, preview, and load presets, and you can save favorites for faster recall in the future.
Each preset has four Macros that allow you to quickly personalize the sound without going too deep.
I haven’t used many virtual instruments of this kind; the setup isn’t a million miles away from Output’s Arcade in terms of the cloud-based content, at least.
All of this comes before I’ve even mentioned the Modulation Control Bar with simple drag-and-drop assign functionality. Available modulators include morphing LFOs, curve sequencers, envelopes, and more.
If you’re still struggling to get an idea off the ground, Current has a built-in arpeggiator and chord generator to give you a head start with melody, rhythm, and harmony. The chord generator has lots of useful preset progressions, or you can build new progressions to fit the key of your track.
I’ve had a fairly short time with Current and haven’t even begun to test its limits, but I really like the workflow.
I have two common complaints when a plugin or virtual instrument aims to do so many things. The first is that it becomes a Jack of all trades but master of none by limiting your control in some areas.
The second is that it does everything amazingly well, but it’s so convoluted that I lose interest almost immediately. Current has neither of those problems; it’s an epic release. Well done, Minimal Audio.
Don’t forget to grab UAD’s LA-2A Tube Compressor plugin for FREE; it rarely happens, so I’ll probably remind you a lot!
Check out the deal: Current (Subscription – $15 per month/$120 annually)
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