PHASE PLANT MASTERCLASS

Every so often, a small developer will release a groundbreaking product with minimal fanfare, and within a few months, early adopters spread the word so passionately that the product becomes a game-changing hit. Ableton began as a tiny start-up with an oddball DAW in 2000. Xfer Records released Serum in 2014, and within a year, it became one of the most influential softsynths of the past decade.

Kilohearts’ Phase Plant (9/10, 272) is currently poised to have a similar impact on the synthesis world. By taking the core concepts of modular racks and combining them in a clean, concise interface, Phase Plant delivers on the promise of a fully configurable synthesis architecture with few compromises.

There are four oscillator options: Analog, Sample, Wavetable, and Noise. Multimode filters, EQ, and multiple distortion types then sculpt their output. Modulation tools run the gamut from DADHSR envelopes, customisable LFOs that double as step sequencers, sophisticated random generators, and MIDI tools for velocity and aftertouch. But unlike most other softsynths, you can have as many of these elements as your CPU can handle — and the full version comes with more than 30 effects that can be applied on a per-voice basis.

For many producers, it’s hard to know where to begin, so over the next few pages, we’ll look at a few classic synth architectures that can be quickly designed within Phase Plant.

Designing architectures

For some artists, a blank canvas can be terrifying. With a toolkit as deep and complex as Phase Plant, getting started can be a daunting prospect unless you have a concrete goal in mind. That said, if you’re already familiar with the inner workings