Bolt

Harmonic Synthesizer: Shape Sound at the Turn of a Knob

Nektar Bolt is the first Harmonics Synthesizer for VST® and AU® compatible DAW platforms. Its unique Harmonics oscillators will take you from subtle sine waves to overtone-rich pulse chains at the turn of a knob. And Bolt’s user interface encourages instant experimentation when creating sounds. No filter required – it all happens right in the oscillator. Experience the speed of new sounds – literally.

Unique Synthesis

Experience Bolt’s new Harmonics Synthesis engine with its rich, organic sound and lots of unique character – no traditional filter required.

Easy to Use

No PhD in sound design required: Rediscover the fun in tweaking your own sounds with Bolt’s streamlined user interface.

Fresh Sounds

Bolt comes with 500+ factory & artist patches for all kinds of genres. From lush pads to deep basses – and screaming leads to sound effects.

Bolt: A Different Take on Synthesis

Shape It

Bolt’s synthesis engine generates a sound’s overtone structure directly in the oscillator. So you won’t find a filter section like in typical subtractive synthesizers.

The unique Harmonics Oscillator takes care of it all – just by turning the HARMONICS and ROLLOFF knobs you change a wave’s shape and core sound from subtle sine to bright pulse chain. ODD switches the oscillator to create odd harmonics only, If you additionally bring in DEEP, you will notice the waveforms to resemble saw or square shapes (with ODD active). In addition, each oscillator has its own amplitude envelope. So all you need for creating the core sound is right there!

Modulate It

Sounds come to life with modulation: So Bolt offers four powerful modulation generators. Its 3 LFOs and one Modulation Envelope Generator ensure a host of modulation possibilities. No matter, if you are after snappy transients or would like to modulate different aspects of the sound all at the same time – you can do all of that and more. The modulation generators can even modulate each other if you want to push the envelope. The best is, that it’s easy to experiment: Modulation Targets are pre-assigned, so you simply need to bring up a target amount to hear an effect.

The MODULATION EG is modelled after classic ADSR envelopes and cover a range from ultra-snappy and percussive to lush soundscapes. The 4 modulation Targets can be assigned to many destinations, including LFO Frequency and Intensity.

Bolt’s Low Frequency Oscillators go beyond the range you’d expect from a typical LFO. They offer an extended range from 0.01 Hz up to 10 kHz. So they go well into the audible range which allows for some extreme modulation effects, including amplitude and frequency modulation.

Choose from 13 different waveforms, including Random and stepped waves. Switch Cycle off to use the LFOs as additional auxiliary envelopes – or sync them to the beat. Of course, each of them can be synced differently, so you can create interesting poly-rhythms. You can even assign them to cross-modulate each other's tempo. You’ll probably never run out of new interesting modulation combinations to try out…

Refine It

Four integrated effects processors ensure that Bolt’s patches are ready to be dropped into your productions: EQ, CHORUS, DELAY and REVERB provide the essential effects at your fingertips.

The effects are optimized ease of use, only 3 parameters per processor ensure you’ll get to results quickly. Still, you’ll find enough tweakability including tempo sync for the DELAY or parametric and bandpass modes for the EQ.

There’s a lot more that can be said about Bolt – but it’s all about the sound isn’t it? So download your trial version and listen to it yourself!

Features

• Unique new Harmonics Synthesis
• 4 oscillators (2 main, 2 sub)
• White noise generator per oscillator
• Unison Voice Double: Stack up to 4 instances
• Frequency modulation (FM)
• X-Mod: cross-modulation
• Overdrive stage for each oscillator
• ADSR envelope per oscillator
• 1 Modulation envelope generator
• 3 LFOs (13 waveforms & MIDI sync)
• 4 modulation targets per source (LFO 1-3, Mod EG)
• 4 FX processors: EQ, Chorus, Delay & Reverb
• Support for multiple sample rates
• Automatic 2-stage protection limiter
• Up to 16 voice polyphony
• Poly and mono modes
• 500+ Factory and Artist patches included
• Authorization using the industry standard iLok License Manager
• Apple Mac M1 native
• Avid AAX compatible
• 60 Boltronica sounds, from soaring leads to thunderous kicks
• Updated CPU optimization by 25-30%
• Support for Windows HiDPI rendering

System Requirements

PC

• Windows version 7, 8, 10 or higher (64bit) 
• VST 2.4/VST 3 Instrument Plug-Ins.

Mac

• OS OS X 10.9 or higher (64bit) (M1 Mac supported)
• VST 2.4/VST 3/AU Instrument Plug-Ins.

All other requirements are dependent on the DAW software/audio interface used, please consult the respective manuals for further details.