Today Steinberg released the free X-Stream monophonic spectral synthesizer, a Windows and Mac release.
X-Stream requires the free Halion Sonic player or the paid Halion player to run.
The developer said the synth has been developed for sound design, ambient music, beat making, soundtrack work, and electronic music.
The drag-and-drop design of X-Stream allows you to turn any sample into smooth-evolving drones and textures.
Steinberg states that X-Stream “transforms your samples into a colorful spectrum of sounds.”
The synth “stretches the playback of samples, loops or even whole tracks to extreme lengths and creates ethereal, dreamy soundscapes and textures.”
Furthermore, “With tools like the new Blur and Stack, X-Stream will act like a prism, revealing shades of sound you have never heard before.”
Steinberg hosts several SoundCloud and YouTube demos on the product page for the release.
These showcase the synth both solo and in the context of an arrangement. The videos also show off the feature set and presets.
It’s certainly an interesting and novel approach to creating a synth and integrating samples.
As you can see from the video demos, there are many different potential approaches to working with X-Stream, so it’s great to be able to get it as a free release.
A lot of plugins claim to allow you to unlock new and creative approaches to making music, and this might just be one of those that actually delivers on that promise, thanks to the drag-and-drop sample transformation ability.
The official introductory video from Paul Marx is in German, but the English subtitles are accurate and are a good way of getting to grips with the design of X-Stream.
Marx contributed some of the sounds featured on X-Stream, and you can see from his introduction that there are plenty of presets to jump right in and start working with the synth.
X-Stream is compatible with VST 3, and AAX for Windows systems (64-bit only) and for VST 3, AU and AAX for Mac systems.
To access X-Stream, you’ll need to have a Steinberg ID, which requires an email address.
You’ll then need to activate the license and register the product, both of which will require an internet connection.
You can run X-Stream on the free Halion Sonic player, but if you want to go the paid route, Halion 7 is currently 50% off and is available for just €124.50.
Download: X-Stream (FREE – Steinberg ID and Halion Sonic player required)
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