by Rob Puricelli | 4,4 / 5,0 | Approximate reading time: 5 Minutes
ADVERTISEMENT

More great sounds and presets this week, including some for the latest Arturia plugin and a bank that sold me a synth!

ADVERTISEMENT

There’s an unwritten rule when voicing a new synth. The very first patch when you turn a synth on is the one that sells it. KORG’s M1 had ‘Universe’ and the Prophecy had ‘Prophetic Steps’. Roland’s D-50 had ‘Fantasia’ and the JD-800 had ‘Millenium’. Heck, even Arturia’s PolyBrute 12 opening patch, cleverly called ‘The Opening’, is a real sonic statement of intent.

The theory was that when a customer walked into a music store (remember those?), they would turn a synth on or select Bank A Patch 1 and play. This patch needed to grab them and draw them in. It’s the same as the first sentence in a book. That initial interaction has to sell the synth. Just ask Alesis how important that is.

On their ill-fated Fusion workstation, the first 10 patches were pianos. And the very first one wasn’t even that great. Amongst a raft of other things, when the user played it for the first time, all they got was a bog standard piano. It was downhill from there…

Essence Flight Presets for Kodamo EssenceFM

Those who know me know of my penchant for FM synths. So when a new French company sprang up back in 2019 with a modern take on the method, my interest was immediately piqued. The Kodamo EssenceFM sought to redefine how users interacted with an FM synth, making it more approachable and rewarding.

Essence Flight Patches Sold This To Me
Kodamo EssenceFM MKII · Source: Kodamo

I initially held back on buying one because it was both new and a little pricey. I love to support new developers, but like most of us, I don’t want to pour money down the drain. I wanted to see how well the company did and what trusted users thought. Within a year, Kodamo gave us the Mk.II. This told me the company was invested and listened to its customers.

What tipped me over the edge, however, was a demo video they released shortly after launching the Mk.II. This video had a beautiful soundtrack which was 100% EssenceFM and used visuals captured from the cockpit of an airliner. I couldn’t stop listening to it and that was it. My order went in. Here’s the video…

You are currently viewing a placeholder content from YouTube. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.

More Information
ADVERTISEMENT

As soon as my unit arrived, I wanted to find these patches. Rather handily, the patch details and some information was displayed on screen. However, I couldn’t find them in the unit. I emailed Kodamo and within days, they had made those patches available on their website. Fantastic service!

So here they are. Let me know in the comments below whether this video convinced you to buy an EssenceFM. If not, what presets finally made you reach for your wallet on a particular synth?

  • Download the Essence Flight patches from the Kodamo Website
  • More from Kodamo
Affiliate Links
Kodamo Essence FM MKII
Kodamo Essence FM MKII
Customer rating:
(11)

Phantasm Presets for MiniBrute V by LFO.store

Arturia’a latest plugin hasn’t been with us much more than a week and we’ve already got a great set of presets for it! Cloning their own hardware synth, the much loved MiniBrute, Arturia continue to celebrate 25 years in the game with a superb recreation that goes WAY beyond the ‘OG’, as the kids say!

New LFO.store Presets Exploit All Its New Features
Arturia MiniBrute V · Source: Arturia

LFO.store didn’t hang about getting this superb set of sounds out there. Phantasm contains 40 patches that will satisfy most styles and genres. Making use of all the original MiniBrute features, and the expanded options too, Phantasm has something for everyone.

You are currently viewing a placeholder content from YouTube. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.

More Information

MiniBrute V takes the original single Brute oscillator hardware with its simple, straightforward sound-shaping architecture and makes it 8-voice polyphonic! It retains everything from the original and makes it better. People questioned their choice of the Steiner-Parker filter in the original but this and subsequent Brute-based synthesizers from Arturia justify their choice.

Phantasm is a highly useable bank of patches for this great soft synth and only costs a mere €15! I look forward to more great MiniBrute V patches.

  • Download Phantasm for Arturia MiniBrute V from the LFO.store Website
  • More from LFO.store
Affiliate Links
Arturia MiniBrute V Download
Arturia MiniBrute V Download No customer rating available yet

Parsec by Limbic Bits for Twisted Electrons MEGAfm

Back to FM! The Twisted Electronics MEGAfm was originally based on a pair of Yamaha YM2612 FM chips, the same ones used in the SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis console. These 4-Operator chips deliver 8 algorithms with which to build your sounds. The MEGAfm delivers a very user friendly interface to coax those sounds out.

Twisted Electrons MEGAfm MKII
Twisted Electrons MEGAfm MKII · Source: Twisted Electrons

In August of 2022, Twisted Electrons released the Mk.II. The key difference between it and its predecessor is the use of the YM3438 chips found in the Mega Drive/Genesis 2. The key difference with these chips is better DACs. Best of all, Twisted Electronics put these chips on sockets, meaning you can swap them out with the gnarlier YM2612s if you wish.

You are currently viewing a placeholder content from YouTube. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.

More Information

Parsec is Limbic Bits second bank of presets for the MEGAfm. Making use of the new features in the latest firmware, such as loopable envelopes, Parsec features superb pads and textures rich in animated motion. And there’s a wide range of preset styles to suit most tastes too.

All in all, there are 100 new sounds, all for just a mere £25. However, if you buy Parsec and their previous bank, entitled Magnitude, you can save 20% on the combined price and get them for £39.20! Limbic Bits also provide detailed installation instructions on their website.

You are currently viewing a placeholder content from YouTube. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.

More Information
  • Download Parsec for the Twisted Electrons MEGAfm from the Limbic Bits Website
  • More from Limbic Bits
Affiliate Links
Twisted Electrons MEGAfm MKII
Twisted Electrons MEGAfm MKII
Customer rating:
(5)

Note: This article contains promotional links that help us fund our site. Don’t worry: the price for you always stays the same! If you buy something through these links, we will receive a small commission.

How do you like this post?

Rating: Yours: | ø:
ADVERTISEMENT

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *