Reviewed By Indanautilus [all]
May 5th, 2022
Version reviewed: 5.1 on Windows
Corona by discoDSP is the encounter of (clean) Digital Operator Oscillators and (dirty) 'Analog' Filters with Distortion. This hybrid-concept became popular in the 80s with hardware synthesizers like the Korg DW-8000. Corona trumps (technically) their digital flexibility with exotic LFO shapes, [like X*(X*2-1)] adjustable envelope shapes and their dirtiness via different distortion types on two stages of the signal path plus a hard hitting limiter at the end.
Oscillator Section:
Dual serial filters:
A comb filter would be a very useful addition!
Assignable modulation sources besides the 3 LFOs and Envelopes:
the combined oscillators can be used as modulation source.
both can modulate as they are or as ABS operator.
Otherworldly effects or unstable tones are easy to archive.
Personal summery:
The sound of Corona is different... but on purpose! I can recall a patch in my memory right now. Never heared such a monkey-thing before. The overall sound sometimes reminds me of early ROMplers but with high resolution. It shines on stabs, vocal-like arpeggios, bass layers and strange FM-things.

A wonderful synth. One of my very few main everyday synths. Tons of possibilities just with the tree oscillators (plethora of waveforms + ability to use SF2 soundfonts in EACH of the three oscillators + tons of mathematical algorithms of modulations between them) even before entering into the filters... which are or many types and themselves able to use many complex modulations. A very underrated synth.
About the vintage ('classic") waveforms embedded in this synth it is good to know that the Aeterphon is simply the original name of the Theremine. Léon Thérémine (who was French from Russian origins, named Lev Theremin for the Russians) never used the word "theremine" for his instrument. He named it the "Aeterphone"... to directly recall the impression of "sounds from the Ether". It is when the copyrights were sold to the firm RCA that RCA decided to rename the instrument under the name "RCA Theremin", the physician Albert Einstein having brought the proofs, the scientific evidence that the Ether didn't exist and that this word "Ether" was to forget energetically. Starting from this day the instrument began to be worldwide known under the product name 'Theremin" (or 'Theremine' for the French market) in the RCA catalog. And the name "Aeterphone" disappeared definitely and definitively at Leon Thérémine's death.
A bit of an ironic name in these times.
correct.
I am here for the Waldorf Pulse waves included. Does anyone know if any presets have been made to exploit the capability of Corona sounding like a Pulse? Thanks.
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