Native Instruments – Pharlight £179

> Pharlight uses Kontakt as a host for its new vocal-oriented instrument. Embracing a similar aesthetic, design approach and dev team to the earlier Straylight, Pharlight focusses on vocal textures. Again the sound engine is based around two elements running in parallel – a granular synthesis module and a more straightforward audio sample player.

The granular engine uses audio content optimised for the scanning, looping and shifting that takes place here, with its output running from swarms of glitched atonal madness, to beautiful drone clouds. Although most granular synthesis systems can be unpredictable, the flip side is their ability to help create interesting and inspirational new sonic ideas. Pharlight’s is no exception, and works as a powerful complement to its more conventional sample module. Here a different set of audio content (including both one-shot and multi-samples) is played back via a subtractive synth engine, with the filter section (featuring a wide range of filter types) providing the bulk of the tonal shaping. However, the sound editing doesn’t stop there, as both sections are routed through four effects stages (selected from nine different types), before running into an additional 4-stage Master FX section. There are also two send effects covering an array of delay and reverb types – and this is before even exploring the extensive modulation and macro control options.

Pharlight comes with a host of great presets across a range of categories, but if you run out of raw audio material to mangle, it has one last trick up its sleeve – you can use your own audio in both the grain and sample sections. This is a simple drag-and-drop operation, and really adds to the long-term flexibility of the instrument.

VERDICT 8.9