Fanan Team released RandRobin, a free round-robin plugin for Windows.
Sample libraries and virtual instruments come in all shapes and sizes. Some are very dynamic, and the more advanced ones even have round robins (meaning there are multiple recordings/variations of every hit/note) to achieve that realistic sound closer to the real deal.
But let’s say you’re working with something like one-shot samples. You may be able to get some mileage out of them by varying velocities, but even with that, they could still use some more humanization.
Or perhaps pitch bending? Fear not, as the Fanan Team has a solution for that in plugin form called RandRobin.
RandRobin attempts to emulate humanization for sound sources such as drums. It does so by splitting the signal into 3 frequency bands and applying pitch randomization for each band separately.
That’s at least what it does on mild settings, but on more extreme settings, it can lead to some more crazy sounds, which we will get into.
The pitch direction can also be set for each frequency band via the “pitch bending method” menu. “ONLY UP” on a band means the pitch of the band will only go up or sharper than the source, but not down (flatter).
“ONLY DOWN” is of course the opposite, meaning the randomization will only make that band flatter. “UP & DOWN” is pretty much a bidirectional pitch bend, allowing for the randomization to cause the source to go sharper and flatter over time.
Mixing and matching these settings for the 3 bands can lead to some interesting sounds and modulations.
The amount of pitch randomization can be controlled with a MIX knob on each frequency band, so you’re able to dial it in to your liking. Low MIX on a band means that it will receive minimal pitch randomizations. While high MIX can result in unusual and almost glitchy sounds.
The “same pitch to all” control applies the same randomization to all 3 bands, albeit with different amounts that can be set with said mix knobs.
The “DRY-WET RATIO” control determines the chance that the randomized signal will occur. And finally, there are a number of presets to see what the plugin can do.
Interestingly, while this plugin randomizes pitch, on some extreme settings, it tends to cause some form of distortion. This may be suitable for lofi drums or even glitchy sound FX if that’s your thing.
While this plugin is marketed as a round-robin randomizer, I find that it acts more like a pitch wobble effect, depending on how you dial it in.
RandRobin is available for free for Windows only, in VST and VST3 formats.
Download: RandRobin (FREE)
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Last Updated on April 29, 2024 by Tomislav Zlatic.
