Ammonite VSTi

This is now available for free as part of the HGS VST Collection

NOTE: This VST Plugin is 32-bit only

News: Updated to v1.2 with many new major additions such as Additive Synthesis and Sample Based Synthesis, ARP, Sequencer, Scale Remapper and Ominichorder plus much more, this is by far the most powerful HGS synth to date!

Ammonite VSTi is a feature packed dual synthesizer, extremely powerful, yet intuitive to use. It comes from a long line of Astralis Synths and benefits from the proven formula that ensures a user friendly experience. Whether you want a synth capable of undulating atmospheres, or Kraftwerk/Orbital style sequencing or cutting leads, Ammonite is capable of this and much more. A strong point of Ammonite is that it can be used to good effect on a superficial level by people less experienced with synths, and the deeper elements can become apparent through usage.

Dual Synth – 2 Oscillators per Synth

Each synth section combines 2 Oscillators and has various Modes which decide how they interact with each other; such as Add, Subtract, Dual Pitch and FM. Each Oscillator is capable of over 3,500 waveforms ranging from the usual suspects, such as Sine and Saw, to FM bell like sounds, through to cutting digital Waves. There is also a healthy assortment of filters from Low Pass, Hi Pass, Band Pass, Shelving and Comb, which are cascadable up to 8 times. There are two 32 stage Envelopes per synth, one dedicated to the Volume, and the Second to the Filter, both capable of repeating a range. Each synth is completely independent and has it’s own FX send level, Noise, Tuning and Drive.

TerraNova FX Section

The effects section, is comprised of the newly developed TerraNova FX system which has 5 main effects including SoundScaper, Delay, and 3 multi-purpose Modulators which can be used to do a large assortment of Modulating effects such as Flanger, Phasers, Ring Modulators, FM, Pitch Shifters, Filters, Mod Delays, Decimator and synth tones. These can be routed in any order using drag and drop routing, or randomized using a dedicated randomizer. Other effects include, Harmonic Exciters, a Compressor, an 8 band graphic EQ, Low and Hi Cut, plus Drive with 4 different modes.

Sequencing – Gates and ARP

As for sequencing, Ammonite has an assortment of options which include a Polyphonic Gate Sequencer capable of triggering any of the 5 envelopes, plus a unique way of using a polarity setting to trigger Synth 2 on the off positions, as well as either of the filter envelopes. There is a second monophonic gate sequencer which is dedicated to driving a Gapper and/or re-triggering the LFOs in the FX Modulators. Finally there is a full featured Arpeggiator/Sequencer, which can do all the classic ARP stuff, plus can be programmed as a one note sequencer, with an additional Muter mode for deciding which steps will sound. The Muters can be used with the standard ARP Mode, and along with independent step size can create unique ARP patterns.

Modulation – Sequencers, LFOs and Modulation Matrix

On the Modulation front, there are many options including 2 multi purpose Modulation Sequencers, 2 LFOs, 5 x 32 stage repeating Envelopes, Vibrato, Randomizer, as well as the usual assortment of Velocity, Aftertouch and Mod Wheel. All of these can be routed through a Modulation Matrix with up to 8 sources mapped to 7 destinations. There is a large selection of destinations, making it a very configurable synth for those that like to delve into the depths of synthesis. There are also two XY controllers on the front page which can be assigned to a multitude of parameters.

Recorder

There is a useful built in Recorder which is capable of recording at 16, 24, 32, or 32F bit-rate directly to disk. It can be set to record to a custom location, and it will automatically name the file using tempo and date/time. Furthermore, it can either be used to record manually by clicking the record button, or can be set to record a sample accurate ‘x’ number of bars, which makes making loops very easy – ready to load into any application which uses WAV loops.

Other Features

Other notable features are the Microtuner which uses standard Scala files, an Analog mode with 4 different levels to fatten/warm up the sound, 48 note polyphony (2 x 24) with the ability to choose a custom polyphony below that, individual glide and pitch Bend per synth, and Spread for randomizing stereo placement of voices on each note on. There is also an extensive randomization system built in, there are small blue buttons throughout the synth which will randomize nearby controls, as well as a Global Randomize button which can be configured to randomize targeted sections only.

Testimonials

“I had great time playing with Ammonite, it so easy to learn, has plenty of options and virtualy does not need manual for a quick start (which I eventually read to better understand Ammo gem) … I will say randomize function did come in handy on couple of times, but for the most part I simply built patches from scratch, it was more fun to do so and the more I get under the hood of this beast, the more I enjoyed it.” – Darko

Ammonite is compatible with any Windows Application which supports VST Instruments.

• Updated to v1.1 – Includes many new features and now over 400 presets many using the 1.1 features.
• Now includes a bank of 52 sounds by Darko, many thanks for that and the demo, you can check out his music Here
• Also thanks to AbstractCats for his demos and soundbank, you can hear his music Here