Pluginomat is offering the Xenobyte virtual hybrid synthesizer by Sick Noise Instruments as a FREE download for a limited time.
Despite the futuristic look-feel, Xenobyte is a subtractive synthesizer with three oscillators, a filter stage, four LFOs, four effects, and two ADSR envelopes for both filter and amplitude.
An interesting feature is that the third oscillator is a sample player, so you can blend any external audio source with the classic waveforms the first two oscillators provided. Those can give you access to the common waveforms of Sine, Saw, Ramp, Pulse, Triangle, and White and Pink Noise.
The sample player has controls for Pitch, Volume, and Fine in addition to Octave and Semi to tune the sample loaded.
The first two oscillators have the same sets of controls over the volume, tuning, waveform choice, as well as phase and frequency modulation. The latter feature is perhaps the most interesting since it can extend the timbral palette of sounds commonly created with standard waveforms and basic filtering.
Indeed, Xenobyte is great at creating nasty sci-fi sounds, a perfect fit for more aggressive music genres like Dubstep and PsyTrance.
The included +75 factory presets are a fantastic addition to this limited-time free synth since they explore various sound categories with a common sci-fi theme.
The filter stage is simple, with Low-Pass, High-Pass, Band-Pass, and Band-Reject as available filter types. The Cutoff, Resonance, and Gain are the accessible controls on the interface. You can find the FX and ARP panels located in the central display.
Xenobyte has four basic effects: Flanger, Delay, Reverb, and Distortion. You will probably find better external effects inside your DAW, but exploiting what the synth offers internally can give you results more quickly.
Consider that most of the available parameters in the synth can be modulated by the included four LFOs, so you can craft complex and morphing patches. The ARP section is minimalistic, with some controls over the direction and range of the arpeggiator.
And finally, the Master panel features controls for the main Volume, Pan, Polyphony, and Glide.
Xenobyte is available for both Windows and Mac 64-bit machines, as VST3 and AU. And for a full list of the best free virtual synthesizers available today, you can read our guide here.
Download: Xenobyte (Usually $49.00, now FREE for a limited time!)
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21 Comments
Numanoid
onThanks, an interesting synth, reminds me a bit of Toxic Biohazard (GUI)
alex
onViatorDSP released the Radiant Q, a tube-style EQ:
viatordsp.gumroad.com/l/uxpzms
alex
onPolyverse updated the Filtron:
“Today we’re thrilled to announce Filtron v1.1.1, featuring a meticulously fine-tuned oversampling algorithm that delivers enhanced sound quality across the board. This update brings a cleaner, warmer, and more dynamic audio experience that you won’t want to miss.”
polyversemusic.com/products/filtron/
Gery Zenz
onVAST Dynamics Vaporizer2, is now free (Open Source)
Numanoid
onThanks for the info, it requires almost a gigabyte of harddrive space, so will have to clean out something before I can install it.
Michal Ochedowski
onI see on the product page that it requires 1 GB of RAM, not hard drive space.
gg ez
onThanks, seems to be a solid plugin but very heavy on CPU.
Vik
onAbsolutely no tower synth! Thank you!
Marcel
onXenoByte looks like an interesting plugin. However I cannot get it to work. I have installed the plugin and imported the presets. Unfortunately the installer does not install the samples, and I have no idea where they should go. The manual is rather confusing. Any help would be appreciated.
Numanoid
onYes, for a plugin that is usually payware, the installation is rather cumbersome
I installed the plugin, it notice that it put both the VST2 and VST3 in the same folder.
I use the VST2 plug and that loads up fine in FL Studio, to get the presets I use the import function in the plug to load the bank file that is included in the download.
But If using the VST3 plug, I guess that must be copied from the default installation folder to the Program Files/Common Files/VST3 ?
Marcel
onYou are right, both the VST2 and VST3 plugins are installed in the same folder, that is really odd. You have to manually copy them to the right folder. I am now using the VST2 instead of the VST3, that seems to work better for me. For every preset that uses the sampler, you have to point it to the sample file and save it.
Numanoid
onVoculon 3000 is a retro-futuristic vocal machine. By combining repitch synthesis with analog processing, Puremagnetik has created a library inspired by the Mellotron and 1960s science fiction sound design.
It is free this week.for Ableton Live, Kontakt and Logic.
TM
onThey also have a couple of other free programs. Verv and Driftmaker, which I have yet to try.
Wrongtools just released a free Kontakt instrument, Spin, sampled from a carousel musicbox, and they also have a free cinematic scoring piano available, Tangent. I think they both only work on full kontakt versions though
Fracture Sounds just released a new series of free instruments for the free kontakt player, starting with a chunky Rhodes Mk1
Andrea
onVast Dynamics Vaporizer 2 become open source an free https://www.vast-dynamics.com/?q=Vaporizer2
Aiv
onWaves metafilter free for a limited time
https://www.waves.com/account/free-metafilter-blackoctopus?irclickid=UjRT2D1k-xyPRxMUoDzXtRR%3AUkFRoFVAO3Odwk0&irgwc=1&utm_medium=4851803&utm_campaign=Online%20Tracking%20Link&utm_source=ir
Michal Ochedowski
onThanks a lot for sharing the link. I searched online yesterday, but couldn’t get any info about this offer.
Dirk
onJust got a mail:
Waves MetaFilter offered as a gift for Black Octopus subscribers!
Don’t know how long
Michal Ochedowski
onThanks for letting us know. I probably would’ve missed it if wasn’t for your comment.
Tomislav Zlatic
onThanks from me, too, and here’s BPB’s article: https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2023/09/26/waves-metafilter-black-octopus/
Will Duncan
onThanks for sharing.
Shane Sanders
onInstalled. Move the VST3 to the correct folder. Synth opens up as a blank white screen. Uninstalled thoroughly uninterested in exploring anything else they make. These folks should think harder about first impressions. Total waste of time.