Arturia just dropped a new multi-fx plugin called Refract and, even better, it’s free until January 4. Refract is a unison-based effect that stacks voices to create unique soundscapes, which could be a boon for sound designers or just anyone looking to add a bit of textural pizazz to their tracks.
This is a multi-fx plugin, so the unison effect can be leveraged to create a number of different Mode FX algorithms. It can duplicate a signal up to eight times, each getting its own stereo voice. This allows for movement between “unfiltered stems to a wide and powerful sound.” Arturia says each of the integrated effects can be combined to create “a dispersion pathway that fits your wildest imaginations.” We’ll see about that.
The user interface looks colorful and fun, which is usually the case with Arturia plugs, and you can easily adjust the voices, filters, LFO and other metrics. There’s also a boatload of presets that illustrate the plugin’s “multi-effect capabilities.” Some of these presets offer a delay effect, while others go with distortion or a unison-based chorus.
Free plugins are something of a tradition during the holiday season, and it’s always nice to see another one drop. However, don’t sleep on this download. It’s only free until January 4, at which point the price increases to $100.
This has already been a fairly substantial holiday for Arturia, as last week saw the launch of its long-awaited V Collection X synth pack. The MiniFreak hardware synthesizer also got a robust system update earlier in the month.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/arturia-just-released-a-free-unison-based-multi-fx-plugin-160035373.html?src=rss