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Innovative Plug-In Developer to Release Public Beta at 50% Off Retail Price, Inviting User Engagement and Feedback
Polyverse, an innovative plug-in developer known for its creative audio tools that go from the pristine to the extreme, has announced a public beta of its latest plug-in, Supermodal. Supermodal is a powerful modal filter that uses hundreds of narrow filter bands working in concert to emulate the resonating qualities of acoustic bodies, both real and imagined. Working in parallel with a zero-feedback state variable filter, Supermodal allows users to shape their audio into a host of attention-grabbing sounds that are at once exciting, unfamiliar, and eminently usable. The plug-in will be available during the public beta window for a reduced price of $49 with a free upgrade to the final release, which will be priced at $99 and is expected later this year.
“We are very excited to share Supermodal with the world and to invite those interested in getting in on the ground level of this exciting new offering with our public beta,” says Polyverse C.E.O Assaf Dar Sagol. “As an artist-driven company, we have always sought to craft the kind of tools we know would inspire us in the studio, and Supermodal is no different. We have pulled out all the stops to create an incredible-sounding and versatile plug-in unlike anything on the market. We know that it will take our users to uncharted sonic territory, and we’re eager to see what kinds of exciting new sounds they can create!”
Watch the Modal Filter demo – amazing!
Two Become One
At the heart of Supermodal are two powerful filter sections working in tandem. On the left of Supermodal’s interface users will find the Classic Filter, a zero-feedback state variable filter that can morph smoothly between lowpass, bandpass, and hipass filter modes with its ‘Type’ control. It features a fixed slope of 24 dB per octave, evoking many well-known analog filters, and is capable of both sweet and chunky filter sounds with the help of a built-in saturation algorithm and input and output controls that allow users to drive it for a fat, musical sound.
To the right of the Classic Filter is Supermodal’s namesake Modal Filter. A ‘meta-filter’ made up of hundreds of resonant bandpass filters, the Modal Filter features 27 different carefully crafted resonation behaviors–or variants– that organize its numerous bands to emphasize various harmonics–known as partials–across the frequency spectrum. These variants are grouped into 9 filter models, which include ‘Vocal Formant,’ with its ‘Ah,’ ‘Ih,’ and ‘Oh’ variants; ‘Struck,’ with ‘Piano,’ ‘Vibraphone,’ and ‘Bell’ variants, ‘Waveform,’ with ‘Saw,’ ‘Square,’ and ‘Hypersquare’ variants, and more. This unique approach to filtering results in transformative sounds unlike anything possible with conventional filtering alone, while ‘Damping’ and ‘Partials’ control allow users to refine the sound of the filter to achieve their desired tonality.
The Classic Filter and Modal Filter are arranged in parallel, combining their outputs for more full-range filtering effects. A ‘Blend’ knob crossfades between them, allowing users to dial in their perfect balance between the two filters’ effects. Supermodal also features a Dry/Wet mix slider, enabling subtler effects that retain some characteristics of the original audio source.
Tactile Control
As with all Polyverse plug-ins, Supermodal is designed to invite experimentation and discovery. Supermodal’s engaging and versatile user interface exemplifies this ethos with its intuitive and futuristic look. Its trackball-like ‘Modal XY’ control enables users to click, drag, and morph between filter models and variants seamlessly on the fly. Morphing between variants allows users to play Supermodal like an instrument, creating dynamic filtering effects. These transformations can also be automated, modulated, and tweaked via the ‘Model’ and ‘Xform’ sliders for additional precision.
Modulation Madness
Supermodal features a powerful modulation section sure to be familiar to users of Polyverse’s Manipulator plug-in, featuring four separate modulation slots, each assignable to one of Supermodal’s six modulation sources. These include an Envelope Follower, ADSR envelope, Midi/CV input, Sequencer, Random Generator, and Meta Knob, which can act as a macro for multi-parameter control. Nearly every parameter in Supermodal can be modulated, and the plug-in’s modulation generators can even create cross-modulation by modulating each other for more complex effects. Modulation ranges–easily adjusted with Supermodal’s colorful sliders–can be set to positive or negative values, and each modulation source is switchable between mono and stereo, allowing for ear-catching spatial filter effects.
Input Welcome
As an artist-oriented plug-in designer, Polyverse has always valued its users’ input. Those purchasing the Supermodal Public Beta are invited to report bugs to polyversemusic.com/beta as well as join the Polyverse message board to share their experiences with the plug-in and interact with Polyverse staff. Their ideas, observations, and feedback will help inform the plug-in’s final release, and may even spur new plug-in ideas for Polyverse to explore in the future.
See a walkthrough demonstration from CEO Assaf Dar Sagol here.
For more information or to purchase Supermodal, please visit polyversemusic.com/products/supermodal
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