Wave Alchemy have recently launched a new website, and are celebrating with the release of Beat Lab, a collection of drum samples that will only be available for a limited time, and Pulse, a virtual recreation of Lexicon’s famous PCM-60 digital reverb unit.
Beat Lab
Beat Lab contains over 7000 drum samples that have been captured from acoustic kits, electronic drum machines, and percussion instruments. Each of the samples have then been subjected to a range of processing techniques, resulting in a collection of over 30,000 individual drum hits which the company say deliver a huge range of sounds designed for modern music in a single unified pack.
Samples have been re-amped through Marshall JCM-600, Ampeg B-15, and Fender Bassman guitar and bass amplifiers, as well as being processed by outboard equipment including the legendary Fairchild 660 compressor. Sounds have also been played back and recaptured using a selection of vintage microphones in three different rooms, offering a variety of different acoustic characters. Studer A800 and Ampex ATR-102 tape machines have then been employed to record the final results.
The collection will only be available until 20 January 2023, or until 2500 licences have been sold.
Pulse
Wave Alchemy's first native effects plug-in offers an emulation of the Lexicon PCM-60 digital reverb unit.
Pulse is the first native effects plug-in developed by Wave Alchemy, and provides an emulation of Lexicon’s iconic PCM-60 digital reverb unit which the company say they have brought into the modern era via the inclusion of some additional features and functionality.
Two different reverb modes are included: Plate and Room, and a Size section provides users with four fixed settings which range from Small to Large. The plug-in’s reverb time parameters are also fixed, and are provided by four buttons within a Time section that are simply labelled Short to Long. A Contour section equipped with Flat, Bass, Treble, and Full controls then offers a range of different EQ settings.
A Delay knob offers control over Pulse’s pre-delay setting, whilst a Smooth control acts as a level-dependant transient shaper, which reduces the volume of transient levels in the reverb signal in order to provide a softer sounding effect. A Duck parameter automatically lowers the level of the reverb in relation to the unprocessed signal, which Wave Alchemy say is useful for controlling thicker reverb sounds and ensuring they don’t become overwhelming in a mix. Finally, a Flux knob utilises a custom DSP algorithm to modulate the reverb signal using level-dependant filtering, offering results that range from subtle movement effects through to more extreme chorus-like modulation.
Those who purchase Beat Lab whilst it is available will be automatically provided with a free Pulse licence.
Compatibility
Beat Lab samples are all provided in 24-bit WAV format, and the collection requires 5GB of disk space. Pulse is supported on Windows and Mac platforms, and is available in VST3, AU, and AAX plug-in formats.
Pricing & Availability
Beat Lab is available now until 20 January 2023, priced at £49, and includes a free licence for Pulse. Those who wish to acquire Pulse on its own are currently able to purchase the plug-in at an introductory price of £29.95, reduced from its full price of £49.95. All prices include VAT.
