Amalgam Hybrid FM and Subtractive Synthesizer for Reason
Amalgam is a Rack Extension for Reason that offers a combination of 3 Operator FM, Pulse Wave Oscillator, waveshaping and Ring Modulation.
Amalgam
Developed by Ekssperimental Sounds Studio Amalgam aims to blend the traditional and the modern. It brings together vintage organ vibes with raw 80s FM tones, fat analogue basses and contemporary glitches. It has plenty of effects, a built-in compressor and a whole bunch of CV connections on your back for some serious modulation wizardry in your Reason Rack.
The look is a bit startling. The sliders give it an old school feel somewhere between an ARP2600 and the Deckard’s Dream. The three operators are interesting, switchable from carrier to modulator into the previous operator with ratio and level controls with feedback available on Op 3. Modulations can be directed in from the envelopes or LFOs. The Pulse Width Oscillator is simple enough with the same modulation options and a sub-oscillator 1 octave below.
Two Waveshapers bring in some different character and an envelope controller Noise generator adds to the mix. That all sounds like fun until you hit the Sine Oscillator and Ring Modulator for some soft or hard modulations.
The multimode filter sits squarely in the middle and can handle two different modulations on the cutoff. Everything can be scaled to the keyboard and by velocity.
For effects, you have some juicy Bit Reduction, Chorus, Echo and Reverb.
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The result is a nicely deep and wobbly synth with some familiar and some unusual tones. It’s keen to be modulated and that’s reflected in the large amount of CV patch points on the back. The stand out features of the waveshapers and Ring Modulation definitely give it an interesting edge.
Amalgam is available now as a Rack Extension for Reason for £64 until the end of November when it reverts back to £99.
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