Lyrate by BRiES [Decent Sampler]

“As with the SYNTHS one plugin pack I wanted to provide the means to sculpt complex and cinematic sounds yourself. To create this pack I didn’t sample a real Lyra 8, instead I recorded other (hardware) synths including several modular VCOs and a vintage Korg MS20. The core feature of Lyra 8 (i.e. being able to tune and tweak the individual voices) is what excited me to create these virtual instruments.

Each ‘color’ of LYRATE has a distinct focus (unique sounds and a somewhat different set of controls) which makes them feel more like seperate instruments rather then just a different preset on the same synth. The soundsources and features of all the colors of LYRATE are listed below.

A quick note on how to operate LYRATE: the instrument consists of two halves (left and right), with each 4 sets of voices with controls for tuning per note and a variation knob (usually labeled ‘sharp’). Even though you can play the instrument chromatically (like a regular organ or synth) I encourage you to drone a few notes and start playing around with the relative tunings and settings. For most instances of the instrument there’s seperate envelope controls for both halves as well as a seperate timbral or shaping control (this can be a wavefolder or a filter). Two LFOs control either pitch of the seperate halves (the amount is set by the ‘mod am’ slider) or the modulation for a custom parameter (follow the dotted lines) like a folder or a filter. Keep in mind that most of the times these LFOs are allowed to go up into audio rates, giving you the ability to perform global fm or other timbral modulation effects. To the right of the instrument there’s a set of effects, tweaked to suit the character of the instrument.” – BRiES Modular

The sample library works with the free Decent Sampler player plugin. Download it here.

LYRATE includes:

LYRATE GREEN: the original, my first iteration of the Lyrate instrument that’s also included in my SYNTHS one pack (full and free version). The regular sounds are recordings of analog triangle waves while the ‘sharp’ variations have added fm grit. There’s wavefolders for each set of 4 VCOs.The LFOs modulate the pitch.

LYRATE ORANGE: a more agressive sounding instrument. Both regular and ‘sharp’ sounds are recordings of fm modulated analog VCOs, while the ‘sharp’ version is sampled at a higher frequency. There’s a bandpass filter for both halves of the instrument that can be modulated by LFO1. LFO2 takes care of global pitch modulation. Rich FM tones can be achieved by setting the pitch modulation (labeled ‘hz mod’) and LFO speeds just right.

LYRATE PINK: Marie’s Lyrate. This color features a bank of triangle waves with alternative square waves for the left 4 voices and saw waves for the right 4 voices. The left set has a wavefolder while the right side has a low pass filter to tame those sharp saw harmonics. Both LFOs modulate the pitch.

LYRATE BLUE: inspired by Strymon stereo effects. The regular sounds are mono low tuned sine waves but the alternative waves (labeled ‘air’) are distinct stereo samples one octave higher. Both sides have a low cut filter that you can modulate with a seperate LFO, creating interesting effects like ‘tremolo’ and beyond. This version of the instrument sounds crystal clear and wide.

LYRATE WHITE: all about those sine waves. This instrument was made using additive synthesis with sine waves. There’s a bandpass filter for every bank to make the sound more or less mellow. These filters can be modulated by the LFOs creating subtle tremolo effects, wide jumps in timbre or at faster settings something that resembles audio rate amplitude modulation. Add some stereo chorus for gentle pads, detune a few voices for fm bells or turn everything up to 11 for some grit.

LYRATE BLACK: a crossover between a late 60s MS20 and the Lyra 8 interface. All the sounds are recorded from a real vintage Korg MS20. The regular sounds are a dirty mix of analog saw and square waves with some XOR ringmod while the ‘sharp’ versions have an octave up element and are brighter. Both halves of the instrument have a dedicated low pass filter. There’s a global resonance setting labeled ‘glb res’ for these filters. The effect section hosts a phaser to stay true to the vintage vibe of the instrument.

LYRATE SILVER: inspired by old ‘west-coast’ modular systems. The sounds for this instrument are recordings of basic waves through a chain of gentle analog waveshapers. What’s unique about this instance is that the LFOs both influence the pitch of all voices which (doesn’t seem all that exciting at first but it) enables you to create drifting arp like patterns and all kinds of stepped melodies. There’s a global low pass filter, a drive parameter and a spring reverb to make the sounds more dark and gloomy.

LYRATE BRiES: a set of unique sounds through a karplus strong delay. For this instrument I recorded a bunch of electronic and acoustic instruments (and variations). There’s low pass filters for both halves which are modulated by the LFOs. Take care when increasing the level of the ultra short delay line (labeled ‘kps lvl’) as the frequencies can get quite piercing. The ‘brighten’ filter that tames these frequencies can be brought up to let them through unaltered.