Audjoo has released version 1.0 of Helix, a wave-table-shaping, phase modulation, virtual analog, physical modelling hybrid synthesizer.
Unusually high sound quality, massive modulation, creative audio-routing and many built-in effects all make Helix a synth easy to like.
Helix v1.0 features
- Your CPUs new best friend — Few synths can match Helix’s features, and even fewer can match the CPU-friendliness. Intel, AMD, and PowerPC. They all love the Helix treatment.
- Proud Presets — Helix comes with over 800 presets, from both pro and semi-pro sound designers. The name dropping can wait until later, but you should know that the presets range most styles where electronic instrument might fit.
- Super Sound — Inspired by the “super-saw” of the late nineties, Helix takes the unison-sound to the next level and allow you to make any waveform “super”. This makes Helix capable of huge and wide unison pads and leads. Where many Virtual analogs stops at seven or nine detuned waves for a supersaw, Helix takes the extra step and allow for 16 detuned and panned waves per oscillator. At four oscillators per voice we realize that we can max out our sound at 64 (sixty four) waves per voice. That’s super!
- Wave-Table-Shaping — Combining the wave-shaping of synths like z3ta+ with the wave-table synthesis of the Prophet VS and the ESQ-1, Helix lets you shape the first and the last waves in a table, the in-between are automatically filled in. The morph control picks the wave to play
- Clean Cut — Great care has been taken to ensure no aliasing in the oscillators, so the sound is free from many artifacts traditionally associated with software (and Virtual Analog) synthesizers. This becomes very clear when playing high notes.
- Filter Frenzy — Three Filter per voice, including traditional low/band/high pass, EQ, and comb, less usual dynamics, to the exotic String Model and PM Delay, a delayline where the delaytime is modulated in audiorate.
- Distortion Delight — Three stages of distortion/waveshaping per voice and one global can add a touch of old school harmonics or turn any sound into a nightmare of screaming machinery. Select from ten different shapes to find your favourite style of dirt.
- Surely Stereo — All parts of Helix are stereo in – stereo out. Oscillators, filters, shapers and effects. This helps keeping the signal huge.
- Modulation Mayhem — Forty two modulation slots. Each with one source, two destinations and a scale-source. The amount of modulation possible would be impossible to find in the analog realm (it would require a great amount of cables, splitters, multipliers/ringmods and mixers) and hard to find anywhere.
- Exhilarating Effects and Radical Routing — Helix comes with some built-in effect: Distortion, Flanger/Chorus, Phaser, Delay, Limiter, Reverb, 3 band Eq. The effects can be applied in any order. Both the Voice architecture and the Effects of Helix follow an approach where a signal can be mixed in or sent to the effect at any point. The result is great freedom on how to apply filters and effects.
Helix is now available as a VST instrument for Windows and Mac OSX (Universal Binary) for $149 USD. A trial version can be found on the product page.
Visit Audjoo for more information and audio demos.
