Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5/5 Stars
Sample Science offer a range of low‑cost musical instruments based on the same engine but loaded with different samples. All the common plug‑in formats for Mac and Windows are supported (other than AAX), with downloads via Gumroad.
Ethereal Echoes purports to target ambient music makers, though some of its sounds have a distinctly sinister edge, making them well suited to soundtrack composition. It has much in common with their Organic Soundscapes instruments, but offers a much broader repertoire of sounds. The instrument comes with 60 atmospheric presets, most of which could be described broadly as pad‑like or drone elements. A consistent feature is that the sounds tend to evolve and some contain what I term ear candy — tinkly, organic sounds that creep in and out as the sounds below evolve and mutate. Something else I noticed is that a large number of the sounds cover quite a wide spectrum, with some lovely deep tonal elements that support but never dominate.
Once a preset has been loaded, it can be reshaped using familiar synth‑style controls for ADSR volume envelope, LFO modulation with a choice of waveshapes and a filter (low‑pass or high‑pass), with additional effects stages for distortion, delay, chorus and reverb. A keyboard graphic at the bottom of the window allows notes to be triggered directly when needed. Poly, mono and legato voice modes are available, there are amplitude range controls, variable glide and separate delay sync options for left and right. There are no hidden functions; everything is on the main screen, so after calling up a preset you either use it as it is or tweak the controls and re‑save your own version.
Many of these sounds would make excellent ambient backdrops as long as your take on ambient music is not that it should always be dreamy and relaxing! I hear sci‑fi backdrops that wouldn’t be out of place in an Alien reboot, otherworldly landscapes, distant waterphones, mutated choirs and more than a few ghostly elements. What makes this instrument so attractive is the way that none of the sounds are simple static pads, and where looping is used it is both seamless and of long duration. The filter section is useful for taming some of the higher‑pitched elements, or in high‑pass mode for taming the lows, but the engine doesn’t include resonant filters with envelope control so the filters are really more about tonal shaping than providing another effect. Most of the flavour‑changing action comes courtesy of the ADSR and the effects chain — the distortion section is perfect for recreating the sound of torrid subwoofers so beloved of movie soundtrack composers.
While Ethereal Echoes might be a fairly simple instrument in terms of its additional sound‑shaping potential, it is capable of generating seriously top‑tier sounds.
In summary then, while Ethereal Echoes might be a fairly simple instrument in terms of its additional sound‑shaping potential, it is capable of generating seriously top‑tier sounds. It is probably fair to say that few of these sounds are an ideal fit for mainstream pop, but if you work in the areas of ambient, cinematic or experimental music, it offers a lot of scope for very little outlay.