Audeon UFO

$139

www.audeon.fr

UFO is the firstborn for the developers of French company Audeon, which has boldly jumped into the already crowded software synthesis market with a product whose niche is less pre-defined than hardware-emulating synths. Most synthesis applications seem content to expand their tonal range by simply expanding the number of well-trodden tools, but UFO (short for “Unique Filters and Oscillators”) takes a different tack. Instead of compounding simple techniques, it refines a small handful of multifaceted and extremely flexible devices in a clean, intuitive interface. If the average well-adapted VST synth plug-in succeeds by multiplying rigid options until complex tones emerge, then UFO provides a good methodological counterbalance, and what you might miss in familiarity will likely be made up in novel, one-of-a-kind sounds.

At the heart of Audeon’s ground-up approach to rethinking synth design are their proprietary TransModal Synthesis algorithms, which forego the usual waveforms and filter shapes in favor of more complex hybridized versions. Working with a pair of XY interfaces, users can select the sound’s characteristics by placing the cursor along spectrums of attributes such as mellowness/brightness, periodicity/chaos, odd harmonics/even harmonics and more, thus considerably broadening the basic synthesis material before any filters come into play. The unique K-Osc device allows for variable mixtures of periodic and fractal waveforms, a very useful feature that takes the choice between noisier textures and more tonal fare out of “either/or” territory and instead permits more nuanced shadings of pitched and unpitched material.

Though the precise details of its operations remain hidden (you’ll never see the shape of any of UFO’s waveforms), K-Osc maintains a high degree of predictability and accessibility by virtue of an interface that stresses perceptual attributes over waveform attributes. It’s a thoughtful touch that simultaneously reduces guesswork and promotes directed experimentation—the sounds are as rich and diverse as FM synthesis but bypass its shot-in-the-dark patch tuning. The more conventional oscillator sounds are available via the V-Osc, which places the standard waveform attributes on similar sliding scales. UFO’s Morphfilter applies the same approach to the high- and low-pass filtering, allowing for a wide range of composite filter shapes with subtler (or more extreme) audible profiles than the usual stock filters.

UFO’s other distinguishing feature is its distinctive interface, a clean one-screen affair that takes a fresh approach to modulation routing. Two LFOs and two envelopes can be assigned to nearly every onscreen parameter (as can velocity, aftertouch, and keyboard controls) and all parameters are available for continuous modulation—even the oscillator waveforms. All modulation routing takes place on the XY interfaces as with the oscillators and filters—just select one of the modulations sources, edit its properties in UFO’s main window, and then draw an arrow extending from the cursor in the XY window that corresponds with the type of modulation you’re after. With a little bit of practice and some experience with the unusual oscillators, most users will quickly learn to take advantage of this unique system’s capacity for previously impossible timbral modifications. Tones morph smoothly between waveform configurations, creating crossbred sounds that evolve organically no matter how great the disparity between merged timbres. Another handy feature is “morphing,” which allows users to store two alternate modulation settings and alternate between them in real time; again, the parameters are fully continuous, allowing for yet another level of sonic hybridization on top of the previous blending possibilities.

While the new elements take center stage, UFO is filled with plenty of other satisfying, functional touches. Both oscillators can used as ring modulators and feature an array of tuning options, and all oscillators, filters, and formants are easily balanced with straightforward crossfaders (which are also open to modulation). A handful of fairly decent effects like reverb, chorus, octave shifting, and delays add an extra layer of dimension to the already full sounds. MIDI setup and assignment was quick and easy, and the mixer controls supporting UFO’s four-track multitimbral capabilities made for quick routing and balancing of overlaid sounds. All menus are clear and legible, and all sliders and XY-interface cursors are doubled with mouse-over boxes detailing their exact coordinates—often overlooked in other graphic-oriented interfaces, these provide a useful bit of numerical feedback during patch tuning. The only neat-freak nitpick with the 2-D controller windows would be the inability to position the cursor by typing in coordinates, though the control grid possesses sufficiently fine resolution for most needs.

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