Physical modelling synthesis has had a rather chequered history. It was initially employed by the likes of Yamaha to recreate the sounds of real instruments by modelling their physical properties. As good as the results could be, the recreation of these instruments has been more successfully achieved by sampling the heck out of them; every pluck, scratch, hit and articulation can be recorded and then employed by you to mix into your tunes. No physical modelling necessary. However, the technology is not redundant and now companies are waking up to the fact that yousounds – from instruments that don’t or can’t exist – perhaps something it should always have been used for. And Physical Audio’s Modus not only does this, but it makes physical modelling a relatively easy concept for us all to dabble with, resulting in, at the very least, one of the more innovative sound design plugins we have seen.
