Athmonova2 from L-Day: Deep Synthesis in Your Hands
Welcome to the world of deep synthesis with Athmonova2 from the talented developer L-Day! This 2-oscillator virtual instrument is designed for musicians and sound designers seeking to expand their sound palette, delving into classic subtractive synthesis with added modern capabilities. Athmonova2 is your key to creating unique timbres, from warm and vintage analog sounds to cold, sharp, and experimental electronic textures. Its intuitive interface invites experimentation, making the sound creation process exciting and productive. Athmonova2 is ideal for a wide range of genres, be it electronic music, hip-hop, ambient, or cinematic soundtracks.
The Heart of Sound: Oscillators and Noise Generator
The sound engine of Athmonova2 is based on two powerful oscillators and a noise generator, providing a rich foundation for any sound.
Sources of Tone and Texture
- Main Oscillator (OSC 1): This oscillator offers three classic waveforms – sawtooth, triangle, and pulse with the ability to use pulse-width modulation (PWM). The sawtooth wave is ideal for creating rich harmonic basses and leads. The triangle wave provides a softer, flute-like timbre. The pulse wave with PWM allows you to create sounds from bell-like to rich, moving timbres. An important addition is the built-in sub-oscillator, which operates in different modes, adding a fundamental low frequency or an octave below the main tone, which is critical for creating dense, powerful basses.
- Noise Oscillator (Noise OSC): The noise generator is an essential component for adding “airiness,” hissing, or creating completely percussive or atmospheric sounds. It can be used to simulate breathing, create wind effects, or as an element of synthesizer drums. By mixing noise with tonal oscillators, you can obtain unique hybrid timbres.
The flexibility of the Athmonova2 oscillator section allows you to create both simple and complex initial sounds, which will be the basis for further processing.
Sculpting Timbre: Filtering and Dynamics
After sound generation, the next step is to shape it using a powerful filter and dynamic envelopes.
Universal Filter
The multi-mode filter of Athmonova2 is an extremely flexible tool for changing the timbral character of the sound. It offers four main modes:
- LP (Low Pass): Indispensable for creating soft pads, deep basses, or emulating analog synthesizers, cutting off high frequencies.
- HP (High Pass): Useful for clearing the sound of unwanted low frequencies, creating radio or telephone call effects, as well as for shaping light, airy timbres.
- BP (Band Pass): Ideal for creating resonant effects, imitating a vox, calls, or specific “whistling” sounds.
- Formant: A unique feature of Athmonova2, which allows you to give sounds similarity to the human voice or other resonating cavities, opening the way to unusual, “singing” synthesizer sounds.
The resonance and cutoff of the filter can be controlled manually or modulated, making this filter extremely expressive.
Controlling Dynamics and Movement with Envelopes and LFO
To bring your sounds to life, Athmonova2 provides powerful modulation tools:
- Low-Frequency Oscillator (LFO): With a wide range of routing targets, delay and depth controls. The LFO can add vibrato to pitch, tremolo to volume, create cyclical “wah” effects on the filter, or even modulate pulse width to get moving textures.
- Three independent ADS/R envelopes: Designed to control the filter, modulation, and amplitude. Each envelope has the standard stages of Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release, which allows you to precisely shape the dynamic profile of the sound – from sharp, percussive plucks to long, ambient drifting pads. The presence of three envelopes significantly expands the possibilities of controlling different aspects of the sound simultaneously.
The Athmonova2 modulation system allows you to make sounds more alive and expressive.
Final Effects: Character and Space
For final polishing and adding space, Athmonova2 includes a section of built-in effects.
Add Character and Size
- Overdrive/Distortion: This effect adds warmth, saturation, or aggressive distortion to the sound, ideal for creating dense basses, cutting leads, or dirty electronic timbres.
- Pingpong Delay: A classic delay effect that creates a sense of space and rhythmic movement, reflecting the signal between the left and right channels. Great for leads, arpeggios, or creating atmospheric effects.
- Stereo Widener: Allows you to expand the stereo image of the sound, making it more voluminous and present in the mix, which is especially useful for pads and textures.
These effects are integrated into the plugin, allowing you to get a ready-made sound without the need to use additional processing.
Technical Information
Athmonova2 is a VST plugin and supports Windows operating systems (32-bit). It integrates easily into any DAW that supports the VST format on the appropriate platform.
Athmonova2 from L-Day is a versatile and powerful synthesizer that offers a rich set of features for creating a variety of sounds. From classic analog timbres to modern electronic textures, Athmonova2 will be a valuable tool in your musical creativity. Try it to discover new horizons in your sound design!
