expert sleepers has released a public beta of Minky Starshine, a new additive/subtractive hybrid synth Audio Unit for OS X. Pricing and release schedule are yet to be announced.

Minky Starshine details:

A waveform is created by summing 16 independently controllable 'partials'. By setting the relative levels of the partials appropriately you can create familiar waveforms such as sawtooth and square wave, but you can also create an infinite range of timbres in between.

As well as simply setting the levels of the partials, you can flexibly assign them to three 'groups'. Each group has a very flexible envelope generator and an LFO, so you can change the balance of the partials (and therefore the timbre of the sound) over time.

The LFOs have a wide frequency range and can also be used as ring modulators.

The waveform as a whole can have its pulse width controlled. An envelope and LFO is provided, as well as control by note velocity.

A resonant filter is available, capable of lowpass, bandpass and highpass and a continuous range in between. Again, control by envelope, LFO and note velocity are possible.

A flexible modulation section is provided, capable of chorus, flange and delay effects.

The factory presets showcase some of the range of sounds that can be produced.

This beta version will expire at the end of November 2004.