PLUGIN SUITE V2.0
Providing free content is very much part of our DNA here at Computer Music. Over the years we’ve tried our very best to bring you quality sounds and practical tools that you can use within your DAWbased music making.
Nevertheless, many of the CM Suite plugins have been around for quite some time and although some have achieved classic status (Synapse Audio’s Dune CM and EaReckon’s CM-COMP87 to name just two), some no longer support current operating systems. This has been particularly problematic for Mac users, with the shift to 64-bit only, and authentication issues for the last couple of OS versions. Recently, we’ve been working hard with the developers to get problem plugins updated. This process has given us a chance to reevaluate the CM Suite and appreciate what’s included, and this got us thinking. In this month’s cover feature we’ve cherry picked 10 of the best plugins and we’ll show you some of their great features.
First up, the synths. We’re proud of the synths in the CM Suite. Often based on existing designs but with the more complex features stripped out, they don’t compromise on sound quality and are sourced from some of the best developers in the business.
“It’s an Aladdin’s cave, which makes picking favourites tricky”
For example, Urs Heckman (of u-he, a company well represented in the Suite), is an awesome developer who’s been designing synths and effects for over 20 years. He focuses on designs that he and his team would want to use and this could explain why they find favour amongst the most demanding users. He has made two brilliant contributions to the CM Suite - Zebra CM and Bazille CM – and both are amazingly capable offerings based on his workhorse and modular synths.
Synapse Audio, as another example, burst onto the synth instrument scene over 10 years ago with Dune, a supremely capable synth that’s super easy to program. They’ve gone on to produce some more great instruments, and Dune is now at version 3. Our own version, Dune CM, remains a great synth.
If modular is your thing, Fathom CM from Seaweed Audio should definitely be on your audition list. Recently updated to version 3.6 with some new features, its drag and drop methodology and signal flow visuals keep things nice and simple.
Cable Guys is a developer we have a lot of time for, and their plugins often employ intuitive graphic interfaces. It’s the same story with their Curve 2 CM synth, which is both visually engaging and operationally creative.
For a slightly different take on oscillator editing, Thorn CM has some surprising tricks up its sleeve. Designed by Belarus-based developer Dmitry Sches, this slimmed-down version of the Thorn Spectral Polysynth is still very capable, with some fabulous real time manipulations and core editing options.
CM Suite is an Aladdin’s cave of effects plugins, which makes picking favourites a tricky challenge. We’ve chosen some recent ones and some classics. Baby Audio Baby Comeback is a wonderfully simple delay plugin based on Baby Audio’s Comeback Kid. Its delay features are coupled with some excellent one-switch flavour options, making it ideal for characterful delays. Meanwhile, Caelum Audio Flux Mini CM is a flexible graph-based effect with low and high-pass filters, panning and amplitude.
EaReckon has both a compressor and EQ plugin in the CM Suite and it’s the latter, CM-EQUA 87, we’re using here. Based on a traditional desk channel design, it’s both powerful and incredibly easy to use.
Finally, Audified Tonespot CM is a multi effects processor based on Audified’s many Tonespot processors. Its simple preset-based design has minimal controls, making it ideal for achieving quick results.
Remember, the CM Suite is available online here https://www.filesilo.co.uk/ComputerMusic/, and all you need to get the plugins is your copy of Computer Music. As ever if you like the CM versions of these plugins, why not take a look at the developer sites for more?
u-he Bazille CM
Step by step
1. Get to know Bazille CM’s wave options
1 u-he describe Bazille as their ultimate geek machine and our CM version is similarly blessed. The modular design is pretty easy to spot. Less obvious is that it actually combines two digital oscillators with an analogue modelled filter. It also has some rather excellent features, a couple of which we’ll look at now.
2 Load up a fresh instance of Bazille CM and click in the data display at the top to reveal presets from the currently selected folder. Select the Init preset at the bottom. This basic preset has Osc 1 connected to Out 1. Play this and you’ll see the oscilloscope displays the waveform of the sound.
3 The modules in Bazille CM include signal flow indicators, and to make connections you just drag between sockets. The
