Stemwire has introduced a hybrid synthesizer which combines physical modeling, modal resonance, analog, digital, and FM synthesis across four layered engines with modulation available on every parameter.
Mica puts two main engine slots, each independently switchable across four synthesis types, at the center of the instrument, letting sound sources be swapped or layered without disturbing the rest of the patch.
Switching an engine or effect type keeps that slot’s previous settings in place, so trying alternatives doesn’t mean losing earlier work. Fourteen modulation sources route directly to any parameter, including the depth of another modulation source, without a cable matrix or separate routing page.
Synthesizers with unusual sources tend to fight you on the way out. The sounds are there, but getting from a starting point to something that breathes usually means working around the instrument, or settling for something static.
Mica keeps the unusual sources and removes the friction. Swap an engine, change a model, reorder the effects: the patch stays yours the whole time. Nothing needs re-patching, nothing disappears when you switch.
Mica features
- Two sound source slots, each selectable across analog and digital oscillators, physical and synthesis models, a modal resonator, and a two-operator FM engine, plus a utility oscillator and noise generator.
- Two filters (low-pass, band-pass, or high-pass, 12 or 24 dB) in serial or parallel routing.
- Four reorderable effects slots across twelve effect types, including reverb, granular, resonator, frequency and pitch shifting, and compression.
- Fourteen modulation sources: three envelopes, three LFOs, three drawable functions, three macros, key tracking, and velocity, routable to any parameter.
- Polyphony from 1 to 8 voices, plus 16 and 32-voice modes, with per-source unison.
- 50 factory presets across eight categories.
The physical modeling, modal resonance, and FM-adjacent engines draw on Mutable Instruments’ open-source Braids, Plaits, and Elements DSP, alongside Clouds and Rings for the granular and resonance effects; the FM engine and the rest of the instrument are Stemwire’s own design.
Mica is on sale for the introductory price of $59 USD through September 11th, 2026 (regular $89 USD). It is available for Windows and macOS (VST3 and AU). A no-time-limit demo with occasional noise bursts is available.
More information: Stemwire
