Shoulder Pads and Frames – A Geometric Sounds and Presets
Plus we celebrate Tangerine Dream's 50th Anniversary release of Phaedra
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KORG takes us on a trip back in time with Shoulder Pads, whilst Void & Vista give us Frames, another innovative and inspiring library to embellish our productions.
This week’s Sounds and Presets takes us back to the 80s with KORG’s new patch library for Opsix and Module, Void & Vista brings us another unique library with Frames. We also look at a new patch library for Cherry Audio’s latest release, Yellojacket, and some Tangerine Dream sounds from Arturia.
Sounds and Presets
Shoulder Pads for KORG opsix and Module by KORG
I don’t need any excuse to revisit the 80s, my most formative teen to twenties years, whose sounds, music and style are still held dear to my heart. Chief amongst those sounds were those generated by FM synths, predominantly the DX7.
When KORG gave us a sneak peek at the opsix some years ago at NAMM, I was intrigued, and when it finally came out, many others and I were not disappointed. KORG had taken this classic sound generation technique and brought it into a more accessible form.
Now, I’m all for pushing the boundaries, but there’s still something about FM synthesis that screams the 80s to me, so this new pack from KORG speak right to my inner teenager! But it’s not all shiny bells and sparkles. Oh no, KORG have made this contemporary as well as nostalgic.
Whatever your musical tastes, this hugely affordable pack of 32 sounds for both the opsix (hardware and software versions) and KORG’s iOS Module application could easily find a home in many other styles and genres. Buy Shoulder Pads for KORG Module here for $19.99 USD, and for KORG opsix here for a special offer price of $5.00 USD!
Frames by Void & Vista
Void & Vista have quietly but emphatically crept up on us in recent months with a couple of very unique but incredibly useful instruments for Kontakt. Where Strands focused on sounds of a bowed nature, both acoustic and electronic, Folds took the human voice and did hugely inventive things with it.
Both libraries were critically acclaimed with one user telling me that they literally had nothing quite like it in their studio and that it was getting used on everything! Both instruments build on a large and solid library of sounds, but sport intuitive and creative interfaces that encourage sonic exploration.
Now we have Frames which ventures down the path of experimental. It contains 40 sound sources that range from traditional instruments to synthesised waveforms from analogue synths. The samples of physical hardware use a number of techniques, including prepared instruments and found sounds.
Blended through Void & Vista’s powerful, Kontakt-based engine, the user can sculpt, layer and effect Frames’ sounds into dual-layered instruments with a wealth of manipulation tools on hand to make original textures.
Everything is captured at the highest quality and the instrument comes with almost 300 presets to get you started. It is fully NKS compatible and you can use it with either the free or paid-for version of Kontakt (7.10 and up).
Frames is released today and you can buy it directly from Void & Vista here for £129.00 GBP with 20% off until 4th June, 2025!
Hive Mind for Cherry Audio Yellowjacket
It’s only been out a day and there’s already a preset expansion pack for Cherry Audio’s glorious recreation of the EDP Wasp, the Yellowjacket! To be fair, this is par for the course as they always release a preset pack at the same time as the instrument. And they’re almost always created by James Dyson, who did many of the factory presets too!
But these aren’t just some of James’ cast-offs that didn’t make the cut. These are of the same quality and in some cases, with all due respect to the other sound designers, maybe better than some of the factory sounds!
So if you’re feeling the Yellowjacket buzz and want more, more, more, look no further! This pack of 100 patches covers the usual categories and makes the most use of both the unique ‘waspy’ sound, as well as the new, expanded features that the Cherry Audio team have embellished it with.
Cherry Audio’s Hive Mind for Yellowjacket is available directly from their website for just a mere $9.99 USD.
Arturia Tangerine Tribute 1 & 2 for Arturia V Collection Instruments
Now, before any of you smart Alec’s remind me that Phaedra was released in 1974 and so the 50th anniversary was last year, I know. But the 50th Anniversary box set, with a stunning 5.1 mix by Steven Wilson, was released last Friday and I thought, “Why not find some sounds and presets to mark that occasion“.
Phaedra marked a huge turning point for the band, putting them firmly on the map of a burgeoning electronic music scene. They fast became one of the most influential electronic music acts ever and, to this day, are probably on most of our lists of important artists.
Many patch banks and libraries contain quite obvious nods to the oeuvre of Tangerine Dream, but if you flick through Arturia’s quite impressive library of patch banks for their hardware and software instruments, there are two very specific ones.
Imaginatively titles ‘Tangerine Tribute’ and ‘Tangerine Tribute 2’, these two banks contain 48 and 40 patches respectively that make use of Arturia’s V Collection of synths and their umbrella player instrument, Analog Lab in all its various guises.
The first bank focuses on two particular instruments, the Modular V and Jup-8 V. Phaedra was smothered in TD’s newly acquired Moog Modular system and so this is a great place to start. The second volume goes beyond the Modular V and encomapsses the ARP2600 V, Mellotron V (another Phaedra instrument), Solina V, Farfisa V and the Prophet-5 V.
Tangerine Dream fans will instantly recognise many, if not all, of the patches but even if you’re not familiar with your work, and I refuse to believe that anyone might not be, consciously or otherwise, there are lots of brilliant, inspirational and super cool patches to use in each of these banks.
You can purchase Tangerine Tribute here and Tangerine Tribute 2 here, directly from Arturia’s website, or via the Store functionality within Analog Lab Pro.
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