Last week, Full Bucket Music launched the 2.0.0 release of the free Ragnarök analog synth emulation, which simulates a custom-made analog synth from 1980.
This is a major update for the synth, which is available for macOS (VST2, VST3, CLAP, AU, AAX) and Windows (VST2, VST3, CLAP, AAX).
Ragnarök certainly wins the most formats for a plugin award this month, but what exactly does this unique instrument offer?
The synth is a collaboration between Hans Peter (aka CrimsonWarlock or TechnoGremlin) and Björn (aka Full Bucket).
Ragnarök is a really interesting project. It’s an emulation of a unique hardware synth that Peter built back in 1980.
The original plugin release was a copy of the original synth, except that it added polyphony and presets.
The new 2.0.0 drop adds several new features, such as velocity control (including control of the attack times), a chorus section, hard sync, and sawtooth oscillators.
The special feature of Ragnarök is the oscillator setup, which has four detuned oscillators with divide-down circuitry over four octaves.
This means the synth can run four partially detuned oscillators and four octave-tuned oscillators simultaneously, offering the equivalent of 16 oscillators on one voice.
The oscillators offer sawtooth, square, and pulse waves simultaneously, giving you another avenue for customization.
There is also an additional array of square wave oscillators that are tuned to an interval.
Let’s have a gander at the overall specs. The synth has a 64-voice polyphony, including portamento, white noise generator, multi-pole zero-delay feedback filter and two envelopes (ADSR and AR) with exponential slopes.
Other features include a low-frequency oscillator, overdrive, chorus, seven-band graphic EQ, repeat/pseudo arpeggiator, and the ability to control all parameters with MIDI controllers.
To top it all off, they’ve also included a resizable interface. What more can you ask for, folks?
READ MORE: Full Bucket Music releases FREE Broken Mini synthesizer plugin
I bet by now you’re probably wondering what Ragnarök sounds like.
Well, ponder no longer as Peter completed an original entire track with Ragnarök, “Midsummernight Love Affair”, which is available on Soundcloud via a link on the product page.
From the first note of the demo, you’ll be able to tell the synth was made in 1980.
It definitely has a phat, distinctive sound that to my ears brings to mind early industrial music and retro film and game soundtracks.
Full Bucket Music provides individual download links to Zip files in all the different formats for both operating systems on the product page.
This is the perfect way of doing it in my book, so big props to the devs.
Full Bucket Music offers Ragnarök 100% free of charge, but if you’d like to send a few doubloons their way, there is a donation link on the product page.
Download: Ragnarök (FREE)
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