By repeating these grains, a sound can effectively become frozen in time, or you could slowly move through the grains to produce a wavetable-like sound. Rather than simply playing back the sample data sequentially, the Granular mode sees the sample data as a series of sound grains, each lasting no more than a few samples. Imported in as a Granular sample, Alchemy can perform a number of unique tricks in relation to ‘freezing’ the sound. One of my favourite creative applications of Alchemy is the Granular Engine, which is one of the alternative ways you can import and manipulate sample data. The walkthrough illustrates some examples using drum samples, but there are any number of interesting options to explore outside of this, especially when you start to also add in the possibility of including modulators (like LFOs and step sequencers) to control these signal processors. The immediate creative task is to think about how each of your four Sources could use these features, maybe routing groups of Sources through different filters, for example, or using a different effects block for each Source.

The key signal-processing features to note are that the playback engine has two separate multi-mode filters as well as four independent effects busses (A, B, C and D) and a Main effects bus. Once the sample data has been loaded into a Source, we can start to get creative. One key concept to grasp as this point, though, is that the samples can be imported using a series of different modes – Additive, Spectral, Granular and Sampler. Instead, Alchemy’s Import Audio feature is a quick-and-easy way of importing audio files into the synthesis engine, which is perfect for a few drum samples, like those illustrated in the walkthrough, or some basic multi-samples. As each Source has its own sample map, Alchemy instantly trumps the EXS24 in its ability to have four discrete layers in a single patch.Īlchemy’s Import Audio feature doesn’t quite match the EXS24’s ability to import and map samples, so if you’re after some complicated mapping options, I’d stick to the EXS24. The mapped samples could be a series of one-shot, velocity-switched drum samples, for example, or a collection of multi-sampled pad sounds spread across the full range of the keyboard.

As well as holding a sawtooth or square wave, Alchemy can import a series of mapped samples into a Source. Alchemy patches use a total of four Sources – A, B, C and D – that can be thought of as four oscillators.

Alchemy vst logi