Soniccouture and Ableton have released Morpheus, described as a ‘unique take on a most unusual mallet percussion instrument’, for Ableton Live.

Named after the Greek god of dreams, the Freenotes Morpheus is a modular metallic instrument consisting of a series of metal bars, each attached to its own resonator. With no damping, the notes buzz freely, allowing for lush, ringing pads and sharp attacks alike.

The Morpheus is one of the cleanest, purest sounds you will hear – add tremolo and it sounds very much like a vibraphone, but with an extra ‘glass-like’ quality. Used with subtle delay and phase effects it takes on a hypnotic quality, showing why it is often used for mediative healing. Roll-off the attack transient and you’re left with an almost perfect sine-wave, but not quite; the gloss and shimmer of the metal still remain, making serene yet characterful sustained tones.

Beyond the multiple acoustic presets that come with Soniccouture Morpheus, there are also a series of abstract presets – the Morpheus, sculpted into ambient textures, lush pads, and other experimental timbres, loops and tones.

These presets demonstrate the malleability of the resonances of the Morpheus, and include complex chains of effects, with macros set to easily control the important nuances of the sounds.

Morpheus is available now for US $79.

Sound demos below.