Audio Damage Phosphor Review
Audio Damage delivers again, with a plug-in inspired by one of the earliest digital synths. Mike Hillier test-drives Phosphor.
Price: £59.00
Manufacturer: Audio Damage
Website: http://www.audiodamage.com
Phosphor
Manufacturer Audio Damage
Price $59
Web www.audiodamage.com
Minimum system requirements
PC Windows XP, VST 2.0 host
Mac Intel processor, Mac OSX 10.5,
VST 2.0/AU host
We’ve waxed lyrical about Audio Damage’s unique approach to plug-in design before. The company always takes its own path, developing plug-ins that most other developers wouldn’t dream of letting get beyond the brainstorming stage – emulations of obscure pedals such as the Radio Shack Realistic Electronic Reverb (actually a delay) or sequencers built around Conway’s Game Of Life, for example.
Taking this to a new extreme, Chris Randall (one half of Audio Damage) put together a full alphaSyntauri hardware synth system, complete with an Apple II microcomputer to act as a controller. The alphaSyntauri is a very early example of a computer-controlled digital synthesizer, a forerunner of the soft-synth; the Apple II controls sound programming, sequencing and even interprets notes in real time. The synth itself used a form of digital additive synthesis, with two oscillators made up of 16 partials each. The oscillators could be mixed together and each had its own envelope, enabling you to shape the timbre of a note over time.
Having put together the alphaSyntauri system for himself, Chris used his time with it to shape Phosphor, the latest synth from Audio Damage. Phosphor reproduces many of the functions of Chris’ original system, but including a few additional functions that expand the voice of Phosphor beyond a mere emulation.
Star gazer
Like the alphaSyntauri it’s based on, Phosphor is a two-oscillator additive synth with 16 partials for shaping the waveform of each oscillator. A visualisation of the waveform updates over the partial sliders as you move them; if you’re struggling to get the sounds you are looking for there is a Clear button for resetting the partials and a Rand button for randomising them. Next to these two buttons is a button designed to look like a Space Invader – this sets the oscillator to Vintage mode, emulating the aliasing digital artefacts of the original alphaSyntauri; cleaner, anti-aliased sounds are achieved with Vintage mode turned off.
Each oscillator has its own ADSR envelope, which you can shape by dragging the four handles around the envelope graphic. Dragging vertically between two handles changes the curvature of the envelope, enabling you to describe strict linear ADSR envelopes like the alphaSyntauri or more advanced elliptical or parabolic shapes.
In addition to the wavetable oscillators, Phosphor has two noise generators that can be used to mix in white noise with the oscillator. Like the oscillators, these also have a Space Invader button that puts the noise generator in Vintage mode. In this mode the noise emulates noise sources reminiscent of vintage computers. This shift-register noise tracks the keyboard pitch and is instantly recognisable as sounds from early computer games (including, of course, Space Invaders).
Further timbres can be achieved by using the Cross Mod sliders (which modulate one oscillator by the other) to generate FM synth sounds. Either oscillator can act as carrier or modulator, with the carrier being the oscillator whose Cross Mod slider you are turning up (you could, in fact, choose to turn up both, using both oscillators as modulators for the other).
Phosphor essence
The output of each oscillator is fed through its own delay, with variable cross-feedback enabling you to feed a little of the output from one oscillator into the other’s delay. The delays in turn feed two filters with high- and low-pass filter bands. The delay and filter design is recognisable as a simpler version of the stereo delay built-in to Discord3, and is similar to the delay in Audio Damage’s other plug-in synth, Axon.
Like so many of Audio Damage’s plug-ins, Phosphor has a unique voice that will not be to every musician’s taste. For big, analogue-sounding bass or cutting lead sounds Phosphor isn’t going to be your first port of call. But more experimental musicians will love the unique timbres that the synth dishes out in spades. The presets provide a good way of glancing around the depth of the synth, but the UI’s simplicity urges you to get to grips with the controls yourself and make your own sounds from scratch. Vintage mode enables you to create sounds close to those of the original alphaSyntauri, but Phosphor is not only more convenient than sync’ing an old Apple II to your DAW, it’s got a wider sonic palette, too… MTM
WHY BUY
Unique sounds
Easy to use
Vintage mode opens up plenty of sonic potential
WALK ON BY
Look elsewhere for warm, analogue sounds
Requires learning a new method of synthesis
Verdict
Phosphor is one of those synths that we could see becoming a staple in our studio simply because it’s so unlike everything else.
★★★★★★★★★ (9/10)
Score: 9
This review first appeared in Music Tech Magazine issue 97
Filed under
Home,
Reviews,
Software,
Software Effects,
Synths
Sign in to download this article
New users, please register here
See also...
 MTM 111 |
FXpansion BFD Eco Review |
 MTM 108 |
Brainworx Vertigo VSC-2 Review |
|
 MTM 108 |
Yamaha 01V96i Review |
 MTM 107 |
25 Tips for Mix Processing |
|
MTM 107 |
Control for Live Performance |
 |
Music Tech Focus - Ableton Live 2012 |
|
 |
Music Tech Focus - Synthesis 2012 |
MTM 106 |
25 Pro Tips for Kick-starting Composition |
