NAMM 2004FXpansion SoL previewed at NAMM

FXpansion have previewed at NAMM two of their upcoming projects - SoL and Drum Nine (See next news item for details of Drum Nine).

Here's what they have to say about SoL.

All great instruments have a distinctive sound and invite you to play them. this is what every part of SoL is about: an instrument that wants to be played, with exceptional, responsive sounds to inspire your creativity. A collection of no compromise monophonic instruments is at your command with unprecedented expressive detail and groove based synchronicity.

The beating heart of SoL is a collection of modular units meticulously crafted from the highest quality DSP algorithms including analogue modeled oscillators with FM and PM, physically modeled strings, membranes and bodies, self oscillating multi-mode filters, and swung-time asymmetric LFOs just to name a few.

Much more than a sum of its parts, the SoL instrument collection has been crafted by expert sound designers, bringing power and expression to your fingertips via a unified, straightforward, performance-oriented interface. Each one of SoL's hundreds of read-to-play presets is a living work of real time sound synthesis that responds dynamically to your playing.

If the "heart" of SoL is the high quality algorithms, the "soul" is definitely the "Groove Librarian". A vast collection of expertly played and programmed riffs, arpeggios and control-tweak sequences is presented at your fingertips. Endless fills and mutations can be created using the "Variation Engine" which allows you to modify each riff, preview it, and then store it for later arranging using mapped MIDI keys. You can also use the "Sync Engine" to take the timing from riffs or imported MIDI files to give the same timing to multi-point envelopes or LFOs. No other instrument makes it this easy to get such a tight and swinging bass or lead riff. You can have not only your notes in groove time with your drums, but also the modulation of the sound!

SoL is tentatively scheduled for a spring/summer release in "all the formats under the sun" for Windows XP and Mac OS X, with an expected price of around $299 USD.