Image Line’s newest VST instrument has just been released which is basically a subtractive synth powered by an addititive synth engine. I’m already intrigued. To make things even better they are offering a special deal until the end of the year…Pay only what you think it is worth plus a few bucks to cover the fees and stuff. So go get the demo and they pick up this unique synth for a great price.

From the Press Release:

Image Line Software, the developer of FL Studio (formerly FruityLoops) has released its newest VSTi named Harmless. With a unique twist, Harmless is a subtractive synthesizer powered by an additive synthesis engine. Harmless has no tabs or hidden controls, with all features clearly visible in helpful color-coded groups. Over 100 parameters, most automatable, are available on the clear one-page GUI making Harmless perfect for live performance and sound-design experimentation.

The subtractive-additive synthesis process allows the user to create sounds that are either too complicated or impossible to program using traditional subtractive synthesis techniques. In particular, filters and phasers can be assigned unusual shapes/slopes and can even be defined in Hz resolution.
“Harmless gains control of each partial’s frequency, opening a world of new possibilities for creating innovative sounds. It is a ground-breaking subtractive-additive synthesizer that sounds amazing, has a huge repertoire and invites experimentation, as you are about to discover”, says Didier Dambrin, Chief Software Architect at Image Line Software.

With the release of Harmless, Image Line Software also announces an unique pricing system for the synthesizer. Until the end of 2009 customers are asked to pay only what they think is a fair price for Harmless. The minimum, to cover the transaction fees and handling has been set at 9 USD, but after that, it’s entirely up to customers what they are ready to pay based on the demo and their willingness to support future development.

Harmless Key features:
Single page color-coded GUI for immediate gratification.
Efficient CPU usage & multithreading.
Harmonic mask function.
Specialized pluck filter.
Unique phaser & harmonizer

Main control categories:
Timbre – The oscillator or sound generation controls.
Unison – Voice thickening & stereoizing effect.
Phaser – Creates totally unique phasing and partial based effects, only possible with Harmless.
LFO – Modulation source for adding motion and evolution to sounds.
Effects – Chorus, Delay, Reverb & Compression.

System requirements:
2Ghz AMD or Intel Pentium 3 compatible CPU with full SSE1 support
512 Mb RAM
130 Mb disk space
Windows XP/Vista/7

A demo version of Harmless could be downloaded from Image Line Software Download Section.

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