Imaginando FRMS - new granular/FM hybrid synth

[tl]

MPE mode seems broken. If I switch it on, I get no sound at all, no matter how I set the Midi channels...

Already reported that problem... got an unofficial, repaired and working version during the bug related communication. So a fix is on its way.

Regards,
tl.

[tl]

MPE mode seems broken. If I switch it on, I get no sound at all, no matter how I set the Midi channels...

With the recent demo version for Windows MPE mode works now in Bitwig.

Regards,
tl.

[JoaquinAce]

I really like the workflow compared to other granular vst's. Just my personal opinion.

[Cepheus]

This is a great synth and deserves imho more attention. It got my attention because of its MPE implementation, but there’s far more to it. What sold me was:

- Great sound quality and the variety of sounds, not just obvious granular soundscapes but also snappy FM basses, percussion stuff, massive pads and cutting leads. The sound engine is very capable and responsive without consuming too much CPU. My 8700K i7 hits with complex patches around 5% in Reaper which is on the par with granular engine in Falcon2 (similar settings, same sample).

- The MPE implementation is awesome. Too many manufacturers advertise their synth as MPE compatible, which is in reality just an extended pitch bend. Hurrah for them….. FRMS has true polyphonic adjustable pitchbend. First thing I did was the 2 finger-oppositional sweep test on my Seaboard and it passed the test. Each of the four layers can contains an oscillator or granular sound and is controlled by its own matrix. In this matrix you can assign MPE modulation to list of synth parameters including all the granular stuff (size, offset, density etc). The synth has very organic feel to its playability. The sample and Hold LFO is a big part in that.

- All four layers can act as operators in 8 different algorithms. So basically, you have a 4 operator FM synth. There are not that many synth around that have this flexibility for sound design. In a way, this is comparable with Xfer Serum where you can FM modulate the noise, sub- and 2 wavetable oscillators with each other. Another example would U-he Zebra2 where you can use the FMO and have input from another of its variety of oscillators. There’s probably, a Reaktor synth around with these capabilities, but to my knowledge this is for now, the only MPE synth with granular, subtractive and FM features.

- The interface is well designed, although lacking some faux wood. It is a split screen setup where you can choose its content. This is great for tweaking and moreover, it is possible to link parameters between layers. This is quite useful for adjusting envelopes. It is easy to see this synth as typical funny one trick pony iPad synth but I think that there some extra value to the portable versions. It is fun synth for its tweakability and you can upload the ‘on the road ’ happy accidents into your cloud and use them later in your DAW version.

[noiseresearch]

/* whitenoise */

[aMUSEd]

Looks very interesting - how long is the intro price for?

[fceramic]

I got the iPad app which is identical to the desktop version as far as I know.
Midi input and MPE implementation do not work and I couldn't even get it to send audio to my Bluetooth headphones.
The interface might look modern but it's very confusing and unresponsive. I will ask for a refund.

[Cepheus]

I got the iPad app which is identical to the desktop version as far as I know.
Midi input and MPE implementation do not work and I couldn't even get it to send audio to my Bluetooth headphones.
The interface might look modern but it's very confusing and unresponsive. I will ask for a refund.

You could try to contact their support team. They are very responsive and showed me how to do the MPE settings for the Seaboard. This video from their youtube channel shows a working iPad version with midi keyboard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c9_H6q_-cA

[tiantong]

Those of you who bought it, do you have to log in or give your email address in any form inside the app? (You have to in their DRC app)

[Cinebient]

Nice granular synth really. But way too unstable yet. I hope they fix it in the intro phase.

[Cepheus]

Looks very interesting - how long is the intro price for?

right now until April 12th there’s 50% off FRMS for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android

[Cinebient]

I would buy it but the (at least on my system) unstable nature and that there is no preset sharing its sadly a no buy yet. I doubt i would pay full price, especially if i see the iOS price. Its just strange paying so much more for quite the same.
In general it looks and sounds awesome for me but maybe i take it at the next deal in some months.
Damn, all granular tools i love has some quirks which drives me crazy.

[Tj Shredder]

The iOS version is enough, like with a lot of other synths as well... I am covered for granular synths on the desktop... But hey, its worthwhile to support small devs that way...

[tim.benetonn]

Cool concept, I wish they could do it even more snappy than I would jump in the boat. Definitely keeping an eye

[Cepheus]

Drag and drop samples do not work on my side. I'm on Win10 64bit, Ableton Live latest version.

It was not working and is now repaired in update 1.02.
They also have extended the promotion (50% off) until 30th April 2020.