Kaizen DSP Releases Choroboros - Multi-Engine Chorus Plugin for macOS and Windows (Public Beta)
Kaizen DSP has announced the release of Choroboros, a multi-engine chorus plugin currently available in public beta. The software features five distinct modulation engines, each offering "Normal" and "HQ" modes for a total of ten unique DSP algorithms.
Five Distinct Modulation Engines
Each engine within Choroboros maintains independent settings memory, allowing users to switch between algorithms without losing parameter states:
-
Green (Classic): Utilizes Lagrange interpolation. Normal mode employs 3rd-order Lagrange for low CPU overhead, while HQ mode increases this to 5th-order for higher harmonic fidelity. The Color control manages density and subtle saturation.
-
Blue (Modern): Focused on transparency using Cubic and Thiran allpass interpolation. HQ mode prioritizes phase accuracy and stereo imaging. Color adjusts the focus and spectral spread.
-
Red (Vintage): Emulates analog hardware. Normal mode features a 5th-order cascaded Bucket-Brigade Device (BBD) filter with Color-driven saturation. HQ mode utilizes a tape-style algorithm with Hermite interpolation to simulate wow, flutter, and tape character.
-
Purple (Experimental): Uses phase-warped and 2D orbital modulation. HQ mode employs rotational modulation—moving the signal across a 2D plane rather than a linear path—to create non-standard spatial effects.
-
Black (Linear): Designed for efficiency. Normal mode uses standard linear interpolation for transparent, low-character modulation. HQ mode expands the signal into a multi-voice ensemble.
Global Controls and Specialized Developer Panel
The plugin features global parameters for Rate, Depth, Offset, Width, Color, and Mix. The Rate control supports tempo-syncing with options for straight, triplet, dotted, and swing subdivisions.
Unique to Choroboros is an integrated Dev Panel, which provides real-time telemetry of the plugin's internal DSP operations:
-
Validation Console: Displays live audio thread timing, active parameter readouts, and a trace matrix for signal path verification.
-
Overview & Signal Flow: Visualizes the full signal chain, including pre-emphasis, filtering, and core algorithm status.
-
Tone & Engine Response: Includes engine-aware analyzers such as tape saturation transfer curves for the Red engine and orbital response for the Purple engine.
-
Look & Feel: Allows for the adjustment of UI coordinate mapping, knob drag sensitivity, and visual response timing.
Pricing and Availability
Choroboros is available now as a free public beta until May 1, 2026. The beta version is licensed under GPLv3 with source code available on GitHub. Following the beta period, version 1.0 will transition to a closed-source commercial product, though the beta codebase will remain public.
Source code: github.com/EsotericShadow/choroboros-open-source
