Nisko

Nisko is a 1960s Super Sub Bass synth plugin for macOS and Windows.

The year is 1963. A legendary German company specializing in making strange electro-mechanical instruments and accordions set out to create something missing in accordion orchestras: a bass voice. They called it the Basset. It was the first solid-state bass synthesizer ever made. It made rooms shake. And now, it can shake yours, too.

Like the Moog Taurus bass pedals that followed it nearly ten years later, it does one thing: an earth-shaking, mind-blowing, chest-punching super sub. Every. Single. Time. Sampled through an all-tube signal path, direct to tape, Nisko captures this rare instrument in its best light. Get ready to discover your highest point on the low end.

By today's standards, the Basset is a simple instrument. Its beautiful plastic shell cases a single oscillator, which you can set to a sine (super fat!) or sawtooth (gnarly!) waveforms, a two-octave keyboard, and a little light bulb lights up when you press the key. The light is then captured by an optical sensor and used to shape the output volume.

If you have ever used an 808-style bass, you know how effective a good sub can be. Whether you're laying it under an orchestra or a trap beat, it helps create the weight and tension your work deserves.

Nisko is the super sub on steroids. Playing it makes my entire studio vibrate. And the more it vibrates, the more I smile. It's as simple and as punchy as basses get. What else could you wish for?

Nisko was recorded directly to analogue tape on a Studer A62 reel-to-reel through an all-tube signal path to deliver the warmth, bigness and oomph you'd expect from an analogue bass synth. All with exceptional focus and class.

The sound was then expertly crafted using legendary Klangfilm mastering EQs and Rohde & Schwarz U23 limiter to fit into the groove without further processing. Sit back, press a key, and feel the rumble deep in your chest.

The solid low end starts with a solid sound. Create a solid sub-bass that sounds great everywhere, every time. Spend less time mixing and start creating with massive, production-ready sub, with no need for further processing. Or enjoy your windows rattle for the pure joy of it, as long as you keep a key pressed.

Dial in as much filth as you please using the unique F! knob and enjoy deeply sampled distortion, crafted by smashing the instrument through a vintage LOMO preamplifier, followed by a 1950s Presto tube limiter. Approach with caution. Or enthusiasm.