spectrasonics try refreshing the soundsource browser

Spectrasonics Try Refreshing The Soundsource Browser Plus Some Deeper

Also annoying is that patches start loading as soon as you select them in the browser - not great if youre surfing and just want to read the descriptions.

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Unintuitive browser.

Trilogy patches not out at time of review.

Things move on, however, as demonstrated by Atmospheres 2008 sequel Omnisphere - as well as a huge library of brand new sound content, this debuted the companys own samplesynthesis backbone, dubbed the Steam Engine.

Now we have the second Steam-powered instrument, Trilian, arriving to supersede Trilogy.

The library is 34GB in size, and the meat of it comprises the new instruments: acoustic bass with four separate micpickup channels, six electric basses (including Music Man five-string, Fender Precision, Fender Jazz and Chapman Stick) and numerous synth sources, including the Yamaha CS-80, Moog Taurus, Dave Smith Tetra and ARP 2600.

You also get everything from Trilogy (remastered) and, as a bonus, an enhanced version of the Bass Legends library.

Trilians new library is not only very detailed but also sports features such as automatic legato, round robin variations, multisampled dynamic slides, phase-locked ampDI mixing and two modes, Live and Stack, for coping with multiple articulations.

In detail The Steam Engine offers a multitimbral structure with eight dual-layer parts, 33 effects and the ability to integrate streaming sample playback with synthesis techniques - Trilian sports FM capabilities, but it lacks the full-on DSP synth oscillators, waveshaping and granular synthesis of Omnisphere.

However, the 19 stereo filter types with twin filters per layer, multipoint looping envelopes and six LFOs (with nine waveform options) mean that Trilian is still very much a synthesis heavyweight.

Totally new for Trilian are the 4-pole Juicy and Power filters with oscillating resonance.

Trilian sports FM capabilities, but it lacks the full-on DSP synth oscillators, waveshaping and granular synthesis of Omnisphere.

All this power may sound daunting, but Trilian is actually very simple to use.

Patches are built from one or two layers, each consisting of a soundsource (essentially a multisampled polyphonic oscillator).

Layers include the typical synth-esque trimmings (modulation, LFOs, envelopes and filters), as well as insert effects and arpeggiator options.

Up to eight patches can be layered in a multi, with individual level, panning, MIDI channel and auxiliary effects.

Spectrasonics Try Refreshing The Soundsource Browser Plus Some Deeper

For navigation, each layer has four tabbed screens (Main, Edit, FX and Arp), plus some deeper, complex pages accessed with the Zoom icon, such as the modulation matrix.

The multi view also has four screens (Mixer, FX, Live and Stack) but is a simpler affair.

However, theres nothing to stop you sticking to the Main screen with its patch-specific custom controls.

Spectrasonics trilian Sounds Trilians acoustic and electric basses are extremely detailed.

For example, Trilogys Double Bass instrument has four velocity layers and is 288MB, but in contrast, Trilians Full Range Acoustic 1 has 12 velocity layers, 16 round robin alternatives per note and is 2.3GB.

As expected, there are plenty more articulations - we counted 11 basic ones for the Clean Bass (Fender Jazz) - and you also get release noises and automatic legato.

Of the stringed patches, the five-string Studio (Music Man) Bass, with its clean, punchy sound, is our favourite.

Multi patches and the Live mode bring the above elements together, with the Switch option in Live mode enabling temporary keyswitching.

The other keyswitching modes didnt work properly for us, though, sometimes resulting in unwanted articulations playing.