Sinevibes has introduced a new effect, Malfunction, designed to turn drum loops into glitchy mayhem, make basses scream and beg for mercy and ‘burn anything to ashes’.
Here’s what they have to say about Malfunction:
Warped from inside. This unique effect is based on a special low-pass filter that has been ‘circuit-bent’ – that is, the algorithm has messed up internal connections and doesn’t operate normally. It produces an incredibly characterful, screaming distortion that is full of attitude and puts out various unpredictable but controllable buzzes and noises.
Motion modulation. Malfunction features a very flexible tempo-synchronised LFO with four waveforms, innovative per-cycle random mode and variable smoothness. It can be used to modulate the input low-pass filter, the circuit-bent filter or the output multi-mode filter – letting you easily do complex sound destruction and morphing.
Effectively simple. With its clean colour-coded interface, Malfunction is incredibly intuitive to work with. The logical control layout and responsive graphics make sure you always see what’s doing what without having to ever consult the user manual.
Malfunction is available at the Sinevibes site for $19. A demo version is available.
My world has ENOUGH glitches and distortion in it already, thanks! My own musical fun is part of how I ESCAPE the cawing-crow nature of the world. I do love wild modular events and other-worldly sounds that make people cock their heads sideways, so I’m not immune to the fun of getting your hands dirty. A synth *should* sound “Martian” part of the time! Music wouldn’t be as much fun without some grit in various places. You can’t rock well if you have your pinky out for tea too much, so all hail our partially-inflated Dark Lord.
Still, distortion should be a seasoning, not a whole style. I hear people who use it well for an edge, but not so heavily that I start wincing. If you can write a decent melody, you should dress it up as it suits you, but too much of it means you might be trying to hide a thin song. Its like the contrast between Freddie Mercury, who sang like a man and death metal “vocalists” screaming like teens who are mad at Mom & Dad’s curfew time. That feels odd to say when I also laughed my ass off at the circuit-bent Barbie head talking in Satan-bass. Oh well, nothing is really a human activity unless it kicks like a mule and zaps like a Tesla coil.
Oops, I maded fun of death metal, so its into the volcano with me, to appease the anger of Baal. He must have become senile; I’m no virgin. Only Judge Judy can judge me. GWAR #1, circuit-bent talkin’ Barbie Head #2, fussy lil’ pussy willows #10.
I tried the demo, and I have to say that as interesting as it can be, it’s still rather feature-limited for $20. A one trick pony is a one trick pony, no matter how good the trick is.