Hyperion by xoxos is a MIDI note generator that "invents" melodies and chord patterns. I tested Hyperion and found it very useful for any kind of accompaniment, bass lines and almost endless melodic variations. The advanced counters and lfos together with sophisticated cross modulation possibilities and semi-random steppings and measure subdivisions allow for any degree of tonal and rhythmic diversion from repetitive to chaotic. The three step sequencers (sources for stepping are separately selectable from a rather long list) give a good amount of control over note and chord properties. The 3rd seq is capable of influencing other modulators. The notes for the played tones and chords can be chosen from a long list of scales from four flavors of pentatonic over all of the modal scales and some rather exotic ones to pure chromatic. A further modulating subdivision section offers possibilities for grace notes, mordents and trills. This makes for a very realistic playing attitude of natural instruments.
The option for feeding note and/or gate information via MIDI allows for slaving many instances of Hyperion to a common "master line" resulting in euphonic multi-voice arrangements with several harmonized parts.
Hyperion comes with a very good manual that is helpful for understanding this really complex piece of software to a point that allows faithful reconstruction of playing styles typical for a selected instrument and/or genre.
There was some minor issue with a rather big project involving five instances of Hyperion, a MIDI master track and some more oddities. When I reported the problem to xoxos, he was very helpful and his reply email came almost instantly. Another issue regarding key transpositions on MIDI input was solved the same day I reported it.
Hyperion is a great plugin done by an ingenious developer. I guess I'll use it very often to overcome my "composer's block" and find nice-sounding sequences.
Why I gave it the points like I did:
- The user interface is a bit cryptic and uses selector knobs (scales) or draggable items (lfo waveform) where I'd like drop-downs better. I guess it's a screen space trade-off how it's been done. (9/10)
- When investing some time and effort, this program can "sound" ("invent" notes) almost any way you want it to. (9/10)
- The feature-richness and completeness of modulation target lists more than satisfied me. Great! (10/10)
- Hyperion is well documented. Some unanswered questions got solved by trial and error. (9/10)
- The presets show several of the more intricate features of this program. Apart from this I mostly start with a blank sheet as setting up Hyperion is the individual part in a project. (9/10)
- The customer support is as good as can be. No complaints at all. (10/10)
- VfM: OUTSTANDING! (10/10)
- Stability: There's some minor quirk with this version when running several instances of Hyperion in the same project but nothing that can't be worked around. Sounds are very predictable and can be reliably recalled when re-loading a project. Hyperion has a reset feature to set its seqs, lfos, dividers and counters to a well-defined state before starting a recording session. (9/10)Read Review
