Modular Add-On: Mutable Instruments Rings

This product is an expansion for Softube Modular. If you do not currently own Modular, you can purchase it HERE.

A Physical Modeling Phenomenon

Excite a material with some sort of energy input (a slap, a rub, a blow) and you’ll get a noise. The resonant qualities of that material (be it wood, metal, glass; a drum, a trumpet, a buttock), and the way in which you excite it, will determine the qualities of that sound; amongst other things, its timbre, frequency, and length in time. It is this thrilling world of excitation and resonance that concerns the Rings module, originally from Mutable Instruments, and now available in Softube Modular.

Rings uses tuned filters to physically model just about any resonant material imaginable, in three broad categories.

The ‘modal’ resonator emulates the resonant qualities of plates, strings, membranes, and tubes, which reinforce energy fed into them by organizing certain frequencies of sound around certain physical points (called modes) based on their size, shape, and structure.

The ‘sympathetic strings’ model offers the kinds of droning and over-toning sounds and textures offered by instruments such as the sitar. Virtual strings other than the one ‘plucked’ ring in sympathy with the main note.

The ‘modulated/inharmonic string’ model is an extension of Karplus-Strong synthesis, which uses a delay with very high feedback and very short period to synthesize a pitched wave like a string being struck, bowed, or plucked.

In addition to these fascinating and endlessly explorable varieties, Rings offers timbral control of the resulting sound, as well as the ability to excite the resonator models in any way you choose in the first place, either with an internally generated noise burst or with your own external audio signals.

You can even play strummed chords with Rings, due to a built-in polyphony mechanism which generates a new virtual string (up to 4 in total) for every trigger – even while the last note is still ringing.

The range of noises this module is capable of creating is simply staggering, and the joy of feeding different things into it never ends. Grab yours today, and run rings around the sounds you made yesterday!

Features

• The only software version of Rings officially licensed and endorsed by Mutable Instruments
• Three sophisticated resonator models in one module
• ‘Modal’ synthesis imitates vibrating structures
• 'Sympathetic strings’ offers harmonizing drones and overtones
• ‘Modulated/inharmonic string’ model is based on extended Karplus-Strong techniques
• Up to four voices of polyphony, allowing for strummed chords
• Create everything from bells to whistles, and more
• Use in-built noise pulse, or an external audio signal, to excite the resonators
• Requires Modular

System Requirements

• macOS Big Sur 11, Monterey 12, Ventura 13
• Windows 10 (64-bit), Windows 11
• Softube account
• iLok account
• Computer with AU, VST, VST3, and/or AAX-compatible DAW host software
• Internet access (for downloading installers and managing licenses)

Supported CPU Families 

• Apple macOS computers with Intel Core i3/i5/i7 or Apple silicon (M1 or newer) CPU. Apple silicon is supported natively. 
• Windows computers with quad-core Intel Core i3/i5/i7 or AMD quad-core processors with SSE 4.2 support.
• Other Intel processors (Celeron, Pentium, and Xeon) are compatible if they support SSE 4.2 instructions. 

Supported Host Software (DAW)  

Any 64-bit VST, VST3, AU, or AAX (Pro Tools 11.0.2 or higher) compatible host application should work. However, due to plug-in host differences between DAWs—and our rigorous standards—Softube only officially test their plug-ins and instruments in the most recent versions of Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Cubase, Ableton Live, Studio One, and Reaper. Softube plug-ins are not tested regularly in non-listed systems. They will likely work if the system requirements are met. However, the manufacturer cannot guarantee a solution for issues in unsupported systems. 
  
Softube strongly recommend using VST3, as some of their plug-ins have features that are not present in the older VST format. Supported sample rates: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, and 192 kHz, in both mono and stereo. The most recent maintenance release of your DAW application is recommended. AAX DSP is not currently in active development. TDM/VENUE/RTAS are no longer supported. See Legacy Installers.

• Softube Modular is required to run this software.
• Make sure that you always use the latest iLok License Manager. It is not included in the Softube installer but can be downloaded from www.ilok.com​