Future Audio Workshop today announced the launch of Circle, a new semi-modular software synthesizer, designed to be easy to use, allowing you to concentrate fully on sound design and performance. If you are visiting Musikmesse you can check it out in Hall 5.1 Stand D18.

Circle - Stay in the Flow
Flow refers to the state of mind in which you are at your most creative and productive, a place where hours pass like minutes and musical ideas become reality. Staying in flow becomes increasingly difficult however, when dealing with the complexities of modern software synthesizers.

By looking at the most important things a synthesizer should do and designing simple work flows around these tasks, FAW feels it has created a synthesizer that is both powerful and complete in its features, yet simple and easy for the musician, sound designer and performer to use, play and stay in flow with.

Key Features:

• Ease of Use:
  • Designed to be easy to use and intuitive through simple work flows.
  • Large easy to see knobs and sliders.
  • Connect up modulations via color coded circles in a simple and visual fashion. To preview a modulation, simple place a circle under a knob, and hear its effect.
  • See all your connections at a glance, without the clutter of virtual cables.
• Interactive Control:
  • Visually interactive MIDI learn. Assign your MIDI controllers in a simple, fast and familiar way.
  • Attach multiple Circle controls to a single knob. Speed up an LFO, while closing a filter, while increasing a delay effect time. Experiment with control.
  • Use hands on control in a creative way as part of the sound design process.
• Live Performance:
  • Single view, high contrast screen, lets you see everything at a single glance.
  • Organize and group your sounds for live performance using the sounds browser.
  • Use Apple iRemote to change sounds from afar (Mac version only).
• Fresh Sounds:
  • 4 oscillators per voice, choose between classic analog or contemporary wave generators.
  • Semi-modular voice structure, giving you the freedom to pick and choose from many different sound modules.
  • Unrestricted modulation - connect up modulation in an easy and free way.
  • Lots of great master effects to choose from.

Circle will be released in standalone, Audio Unit, VST and RTAS plug-in formats for Windows and Mac OS X (10.3+). Pricing and release date have not yet been announced.