United Plugins have announced the release of Retronaut, a new multi-effects plug-in developed by JMG Sound. Described as a “LoFi Nostalgia Machine”, the plug-in offers a range of vibrato and chorus effects that aim to capture the vibe of vintage analogue processors.
Retronaut features a multi-voice engine allows users to utilise up to four vibrato voices to create rich chorusing effects, which can then be shaped thanks to a pair of switchable two-pole/four-pole filters housed within a VCF section. Low and high-pass variants are present and share a resonance control, and can also be modulated using a Vibe control, which is joined by HP Mod and LP Mod parameters that allow the modulation depth to be set independently for each filter.
Plenty of lo-fi character can be introduced using the plug-in’s Degrade section, which contains a selection of tape-inspired effects. A Flutter parameter adds random fluctuations to the modulation shape, whilst noise and pitch/level drops can be introduced by using Dust and Fail knobs. A Warp control adds some pitch drift and a light tremolo effect globally across all voices, and a pair of parameters labelled Dirt and Feed serve to introduce some tape-style saturation and cross-feedback between voices.
A Diverge section then offers a set of controls that change the behaviour of Retronaut’s vibrato voices. A Spread parameter allows users to offset the LFO phase in the left and right channels, whilst a Lag control introduces a time delay for each voice, and a Phase knob again provides an LFO phase offset, but this time across the individual voices rather than each side of the stereo signal. Independent modulation offset values can then be applied to voices two, three, and four using V2, V3, and V4 Scale parameters.
Check out this introductory video to hear it:
Compatibility
Retronaut is supported on PCs running Windows 8 and above, and Macs running macOS 10.10 and higher. It is available in VST, VST3, AU, and AAX formats.
Pricing & Availability
Retronaut is available now, and is being offered at an introductory price of €24 until 19 March 2023, after which the price will increase to €89.
