BLEASSP Phase Mutant £32.99

FM synthesis is known for its deep expressiveness. With their new effect plugin, BLEASS aim to bring that quality to your audio parts too

French plugin developers BLEASS started the year with the launch of Omega, an easy-to-use four-operator FM synth. Working on Omega gave the company the opportunity to embark on a deep exploration of FM, which led to an interesting idea: using FM as the sound processing engine in an effects processor. That idea is now realized in the form of Phase Mutant, a new effect plugin for Mac, PC, and iOS.

FM FX

The notion of using FM techniques in an effect processor isn't entirely original - see Logic Pro's Phase Distortion effect and Kilohearts' Phase Distortion plugin, both of which allow an audio signal to modulate itself. Phase Mutant can do this too, but it also includes an oscillator and this can be used to modulate the input or can be modulated by the input.

The oscillator's frequency is based on the pitch of the input signal, which can be detected from left, right, or both left and right input channels. The pitch-tracking can be smoothed using a legato-style process, and this can even out any small variations in the input pitch. With longer settings, it creates interesting effects as the oscillator's frequency settles towards - or lags behind the input pitch.