Amber 1.1.0.29

Amber - bathed in vintage psychedelia

One of the first attempts to realistically model the divide-down string ensemble synths from the 70s, Amber perfectly captures the lush, psychedelic sound of these much-loved but often-forgotten instruments. A formant filter, 3 separate chorus models, a variety of playing responses and flexible modulation build upon the legacy to deliver a new take on these vintage classics.

Amber's sound is derived from a bank of oscillators that are frequency-divided to produce a full keyboard range of 96 notes within a single synth voice - this means that you can play 96 notes simultaneously. These notes, referred to as 'paraphonic notes', are then mixed down into a single signal to be fed through conventional polyphonic processing blocks (a single instance within each synth voice).

Synth and Ensemble sections

Amber includes two sections which both feature very similar paraphonic sources, with the subsequent polyphonic processing blocks defining their final character. The Synth section is fed through a multimode resonant filter, giving it a synth-like tone, while the Ensemble section goes through a formant filter and chorus, to impart the character of a string ensemble. The two sections are mixed together at the final output of the voice, and there are several routing options for the Synth section which allow it to be fed through the Ensemble section's formant filter and/or chorus.