[Review]KILOHEARTS"Phase Plant" Review (semi-modular synthesizer, ease of use, etc.)
Manufacturer Info
Phase Plant is an award-winning semi-modular soft synth designed for music producers and sound designers. Its unique combination of top-quality processing, creative freedom, and intuitive workflow allows you to create amazing patches in no time. Explore endless combinations of generators, modulators, and effects to discover and refine your own original sounds. Imagine the possibilities... .Phase Plant's open modular architecture gives you the freedom to design everything from compact synthesizers to complex, evolving patches within a fun and intuitive ecosystem. Combine as many generators, modulators, and effects as you need to create your own sounds with precision and ease.
Quotes from KiloHearts
Features
Being a semi-modular synth, there are three sections: sound generators, effects, and modulation. There are three outputs for each effect lane (you cannot add more than three outputs), and you can specify which effect lane the sound source goes through by specifying the outputs for each. The OSC can be used for analog, noise, and other effects.
The OSCs include everything from analog to noise, wavetables, samplers, and more. Each rack can contain an unlimited number of modules (although there are limits to what your PC can handle, of course). Modules can be rearranged by dragging. There are modules for grouping, etc., allowing you to create sounds without clutter. It is like creating blocks by grouping each sound source.
The standard version has a limited number of effects (it does not seem to include KiloHearts' effect plug-ins such as "Disperser," which can function on its own), but it has all the essentials, so you should have no trouble. (KiloHearts has some pretty good effects, such as "multi pass," so you'll want to get those.) Of course, ring modulation and other effects are also covered.
The presets are very extensive, which is also a good thing. Tones are comprehensively recorded and categorized by genre. You can also sort by tags and artists, which is great for those who are not good at creating music from scratch (or for those who find it troublesome). You can search by hashtag. The Favorites feature is not as organized as Synthmaster's database (which can be sorted by tone, artist, and genre), but it is more sortable than other synths such as Spire.
Presets range from simple to trendy. The presets are not too quirky, so you could say that they are honor student presets.
Unlike Xer Serum and other methods, modulation is performed by clicking the ⊕ button, which causes the (routable) modulation knob to blink. By turning it, you can modulate. This is great for EDM and electronic music.
Also, oscillators can inter-modulate volume, frequency, and phase (self-modulation is also possible).
Macros are also provided, so it is probably fair to say that there is almost nothing that cannot be done.
The LFO allows custom editing of waveforms familiar to Serum and others. This is a must for modern synths. Not only can you adjust the number of grids and add points, but you can also draw curved lines. It's simple, but with all the tools available, I think it's easy to draw lines the way you want.
And, as is familiar (?) with foreign synthesizers, you can use the "Ingredient" tool to add a new line to the grid. It is equipped with a shooting game like an invader game, so you can play it when you are stuck.
Evaluation
I tend to be a bit nervous about modular synthesizers, but this one is much more intuitive and easy to use than I had imagined. The fact that it is complete on one screen is also stress-free. Also, there are almost no restrictions on modular routing, so it is a great tool for track makers and sound designers who want to create something elaborate. One point of concern is that the arpeggiator and other functions could be simpler to use. It is a good synth with satisfactory functions, though it became a topic of conversation a short time after its release. It is not so well known in Japan yet, but I think it would be a good choice for those who own Serum.
