INSTRUMENTS / GENERATORS

Sawer

TRIAL ONLY: Sawer is provided as a demo version in FL Studio and needs to be purchased separately so you can save projects containing Sawer channels.

Sawer is a vintage modeling synthesizer, that can cut through a mix with precisely articulated and punchy sounds. Video tutorials here.

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Overview

Sawer Development

Filters & Oscillators

Sawer pays homage to the envelopes and filters of a rare 1980s 'Soviet era' analog synthesizer, Polivoks. Maxx has devoted meticulous attention to the detail of Sawer's filter design, ensuring Sawer delivers a unique sonic character reminiscent of the Polivoks hardware. But Polivoks, like all analog synthesizers, wasn't without its problems. Keeping the oscillators stable and in tune has been likened to 'moving a pile of live frogs, by wheelbarrow' - impossible! As Sawer is algorithmic, this solves the problems of tuning and stability. However, in the same way electrical component instability makes analog gear unique (if not cranky), Sawer benefits from the 21st century equivalent, a coding error.

While programming the SAW oscillator, Maxx accidentally set some incorrect variables and immediately the sound gained bass, acquired some light but pleasing noise on the attack and an overall richer sonic spectra. Maxx realized this was not a mistake, it was a discovery. Building on this sound Maxx added some frequency modulation to give it a touch of analog 'authenticity', and so Sawer was born.

Physical Envelopes

Sawer carries forward the 'physical' envelopes first heard in Toxic Biohazard. Physical envelopes are named as such because they are modeled on the physical decay & resonance of natural sounds. Rendered in real-time, without interpolation to avoid noise artifacts, they allow Sawer to deliver incredibly fast, sample-accurate, envelopes.

Features

Sawer has the following key design features -

    Voicing

    • Main oscillator for subtractive synthesis: SAW shape with Sync frequency.
    • Sub oscillator (-2 to +2 octaves) with level, phase & detune controls.
    • 1 NOISE Oscillator.
    • Variable polyphony (1 to 24 voices).
    • 8 voice UNISON with user-adjustable stereo panning, detune and 'Octaver'. The Octaver expands the harmonic range and flexibility of the unison sound. Additionally it supports the creation of realistic 'vox-like' effects.

    Modulation

    • SYNC frequency modulation.
    • RING modulation.
    • 2 ADSR envelope generators (one user-assignable to modulation parameters).
    • 4 FILTER modes - low pass (24 & 12 dB/Oct), band pass and high pass. Sawer features a warm, analog-modeled filter with self oscillation. The Sawer filter can sound bright and clean, passing high-frequencies transparently, or 'gritty and grungy' with the addition of resonance (including carefully crafted distortion) for that 'exciting' sound.
    • Keyboard and Velocity tracking for the filter.

    Effects

    • CHORUS provides a fat and warm sound with excellent unison emulation.
    • PHASER great for stereo 'panning' effect.
    • DELAY effect, with tempo-synced, click-free stereo delays and delay time modulation. Lo-cut and hi-cut for trancers!
    • REVERB simulating acoustic spaces.

    Performance

    • Muti-mode Arpeggiator.
    • MIDI learn feature with the ability to save/load MIDI setups to/from a patch.
    • MIDI MODULATION MATRIX - Controller parameters (e.g. LFO and MOD WHEEL) can be assigned to a wide range of performance parameters in Sawer.

Sawer Online

Hear demo tracks, check for updates or purchase Sawer online at www.image-line.com

Plugin Credits:

Sawer was created by Maxx Claster exclusively for -

Image Line Software