Kilohearts Phase Plant
Swedish software developers Kilohearts are the brains behind the awesome multiband processing environment Multipass, into which the user loads individual effects modules called Snapins. Now, for 2019, they’ve incorporated this modular approach into their first virtual instrument, Phase Plant.
In true modular fashion, each oscillator can not only output a signal, but also be used to modulate other oscillator parameters at audio rates. This way, you can easily hook up FM, AM, phase distortion and ring modulation effects.
The instrument’s intuitive approach to modular patching becomes apparent once you start connecting modules to each other. Simply click an output node, then click another module’s input port, then set the mod amount with the depth knob. The waveforms alter in real time to indicate changes in timbre and level.
The Generator signal then feeds into Phase Plant’s three-lane Effects section, where you click and call up your choice of Snapin effects. Each Effects lane can be switched into Poly mode, meaning that each synth voice will be processed independently, and each lane features gain and dry/wet mix controls, mute/ solo buttons, and a routing matrix.
With plenty of virtual modular environments on the market already, it takes something truly special to stand out from the crowd, but it looks like Kilohearts have nailed the balance between patchable complexity and one-window simplicity. In this tutorial, we’re going to explore the synth’s operation using the beta version - keep an eye out for the full review when Phase Plant is released later in 2019.