Sonic Charge Synplant 2

Synplant 2 takes a more horticultural approach to synthesis than you may be used to...

There can’t be many products with a 15‑year update cycle, but that’s how long fans of the original Synplant software synth have had to wait for v2. I have to admit, it was not a product I was familiar with, but the new release has caused a bit of a buzz amongst both users of the original and those with an interest in synth‑based sound design. So, what exactly is Synplant and, 15 years after the original, what’s new in v2?

Biological Science

Under the hood, Synplant is essentially a twin‑oscillator synth with FM and a flexible system for envelopes and modulation, a rather nice filter section, plus reverb, saturation, EQ and panning effects. The core elements of this engine have been brought up to date in v2 in order to improve the overall sound.

However, as with the original release, Synplant 2’s UI and sound‑design controls are somewhat unconventional. With concepts such as planting seeds, growing branches, and DNA editing, designing sounds within Synplant might seem to have more in common with a biological research lab than a synthesizer. The original’s Bulb and DNA Editor pages have been refined but, by deliberately sidestepping a more conventional graphical representation of the knobs, sliders and buttons found on a typical hardware synth, the UI was created to make experimental sound design accessible to any user.

Sonic Charge have not undermined that ethos in any way, but a more conventional graphical representation of the synth’s controls within the DNA Editor is now available if you want it. And, with the addition of the very intriguing Genopatch system, there is now a whole new (AI‑fuelled) method of starting the sound‑design process. So, if you have got your wellies on, and a suitable spade to dig with, let’s plant some (sonic) seeds...

Sound...