Thermal
£134
Web output.com
Format PC/Mac, VST/AU/AAX
Output Audio’s granular multi-effects plugin, Portal, was one of our favourite software releases of last year (10/10, 273), and the follow-up, Thermal, is a three-stage creative distortion module that adapts and elaborates on the same architectural foundation.
Thermal’s main page houses a visually sexy but functionally unremarkable XY controller mapped to a macro on each axis that can be freely assigned to any number of parameters throughout the plugin. Those parameters are accessed via the Advanced page, wherein three serial processing stages, two master effects, two multistage envelope generators, and a master compressor and HP/LP filter are manipulated. The three processing stages are identical in their components, each consisting of two effect slots – the first offering 19 overdrive, waveshaping, clipping foldback and other distortion algorithms, the second nine assorted processors (Bit Reducer, Chorus, Compressor, Stereo Delay, Filter, Frequency Shifter, etc) – stereo widening, and nd low and high shelving filters. Crucially, each stage ge can be filtered down to processing only a userdefined frequency range, e, which brings a hugely empowering multiband angle into play – although h it seems odd that you can’t n’t view the band limits of all ll three stages together in the frequency display.
With the nine per-stage ge effects repeated in the two wo Master insert slots, Thermal’s mal’s processing chain can get truly wild in its depth epth and complexity; but it’s in the superb modulation dulation system that things really heat up, as the two looping envelopes know no limits s in terms of assignments or breakpoints, ints and feature cyclical randomisation.
Thermal’s distortion and other effects sound great, and the whole package comes together coherently as a surprisingly intuitive if perhaps somewhat overwrought sound design tool. We’re not sure how often we’ll find ourselves drawing on its very specific talents, but for extreme sonic mangling, mangling it’ll certainly be among our first ports of call.
8/ 10